Off Stresa lie the three Borromean Islands: Isola Bella with its baroque palace and terraced gardens, Isola dei Pescatori with its fishing village and Isola Madre with its botanical garden. Here are the boats side by side, what they cost, the public boat and the hour-by-hour weather and wind.
Forecast updating: please check back shortly.
Budget option → · Stresa, Lake Maggiore
| Tour | From | Duration | What you see | Languages | Cancellation | Departure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our pickMotorboat (Consorzio Motoscafisti)GetYourGuide | €15 | All day | Isola Bella, Isola dei Pescatori, Isola Madre | Not listed | Free up to 24 h before | Piazza Marconi 1, Stresa |
| Hop-on hop-off motorboatTiqets | €8 | Flexible | Borromean Islands (depending on option) | Audio IT, EN | Non-refundable | Piazza Marconi, Stresa |
| Hop-on hop-off motorboatTiqets | €13 | Flexible, 10:15 departure | Isola Bella and Isola Madre | Audio IT, EN | Non-refundable | Stresa |
Our pick: the boat to the 3 Borromean Islands, from €15. It leaves from Piazza Marconi in Stresa and takes you to Isola Bella, Isola dei Pescatori and Isola Madre for the day: stay as long as you like on each island and catch the boat to the next. Rated 4.5 from over 1,000 reviews, with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Extra: entry to Palazzo Borromeo and the gardens is paid separately, and Stresa charges €0.50 per person for each island.
1 day · 4.5 from 1,013 GetYourGuide reviews
4.2 from 99 Tiqets reviews
5.0 from 5 Tiqets reviews
Indicative prices, checked on November 9, 2026: they may change: the final price is the one shown by the seller.
The public Navigazione Lago Maggiore boat runs from Stresa to the islands.
The best months are April to October: the gardens are in bloom and highs range from 18 to 29 °C.
| Month | Average high | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8° | 6 |
| Feb | 10° | 7 |
| Mar | 15° | 8 |
| AprBest | 18° | 9 |
| MayBest | 22° | 12 |
| JunBest | 27° | 10 |
| JulBest | 29° | 8 |
| AugBest | 28° | 10 |
| SepBest | 24° | 8 |
| Oct | 18° | 8 |
| Nov | 13° | 9 |
| Dec | 9° | 5 |
Verbania: mean daily high 2006–2020 and days with at least 1 mm of rain (ENEA, 1961–1990). Source: table on Wikipedia (“Verbania”).
Forecast updating: please check back shortly.
Lake Maggiore gets a lot of rain in spring: up to 12 days in May; less in winter.
Stresa is on the Milan–Domodossola railway; from the station walk down to the lake and Piazza Marconi.
The hop-on hop-off costs from €8 (non-refundable) or from €15 for all three islands with free cancellation. The public boat costs €11 for two islands. On top come €0.50 per island landing fee and palace tickets.
Yes, with the 3-island boat or the public boat day pass.
Yes, the hop-on hop-off boats sold by Tiqets have an audio guide in English and Italian.
The private hop-on hop-off boats do (on 8 November they ran from 9:30 to 18:00); the public boat island offers end on 4 October.
Reliable forecasts go about 10 days ahead: here you get the next 10, hour by hour (with wind) for today and tomorrow and as a trend after that. To choose the month, see the climate month by month.
Forecasts come from MET Norway, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, calculated for the tour area’s coordinates and updated every hour during the day and every 3 hours at night. Tour prices and conditions are checked on the sellers’ pages, with the date.
Boat to the 3 Borromean Islands · from €15
Forecast by MET Norway, the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, calculated for the tour area’s coordinates. Forecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), updated every hour. Updated: November 9, 2026.