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Locarno, Ascona, Brissago: climate, getting there, places to see and how to combine your Ticino holiday with a private boat tour on a gaff cutter.
The Swiss part of Lake Maggiore combines Mediterranean flair with an Alpine backdrop – and it is exactly this combination that makes the region around Locarno, Ascona and Brissago a destination fundamentally different from overcrowded holiday resorts. Anyone who has given up searching for a place where Italian cuisine, a mild climate and Swiss precision meet will find it all here at once. This page provides concrete tips on the most beautiful places, the best activities and a special way of experiencing the lake that has less to do with hustle and more to do with peace.
The Striga Constanze offers private boat tours on a traditional gaff cutter – a quiet, exclusive alternative to mass motorboat tours, with only your group on board. The home port is in Laveno-Mombello on the Italian side, but the tour combines perfectly with a stay in Ticino. The 2026 season has ended, but reservations for 2027 are already possible – the season starts on 1 March 2027. Ideal for anyone who plans their Lake Maggiore holiday early and thoughtfully.
The Swiss side of Lake Maggiore combines the best of two worlds: the Ticino way of life with Italian charm and the reliability of Swiss infrastructure. For travellers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, there is hardly a destination that offers so much comfort over such a short distance.
The climate on Lake Maggiore is Mediterranean. The average daytime high in July is around 28 °C, and the region has mild winters with daytime highs around 7 °C in January. Ticino is known as Switzerland's "sun room" – with around 2,300 hours of sunshine a year. More: Lake Maggiore water temperature.
Via the Gotthard motorway and by train via Zurich/Bellinzona, Locarno can be reached in a few hours. No airport needed, no endless journey.
Safety, a clean environment, well-kept infrastructure and a level of service that visitors from the German-speaking region appreciate. At the same time Italian architecture, cuisine and lifestyle in Ascona, Locarno and the surrounding valleys.
Italian is the official language in Ticino, but German and English are widely spoken in tourist areas. Communication is no problem for guests from German-speaking countries.
Outside the high season in July and August, the Swiss shore is pleasantly quiet. Spring and autumn offer a particularly atmospheric time to travel with mild weather and fewer visitors.
Matching tours
Bestseller€490
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Proposal€490
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+ €20 p. p.Private tour
Many visitors only know Lake Maggiore from the promenade in Ascona or the shore in Locarno – and miss the perspective that makes the lake truly special. A boat trip on Lake Maggiore offers a different view of the region: hidden bays, historic stretches of shore and a silence you can't experience from land.
The Striga Constanze is a traditional gaff cutter with red gaff sails, built in 1979 by Baumgartner as a faithful replica of a Northern European working boat. Every tour is a private tour with a skipper – no strangers on board, no fixed timetable, no crowds. The home port is in Laveno-Mombello on the Italian side of the lake, but guests from Ticino can reach the departure point in one to two hours across the lake by ferry or by road.
Every tour belongs exclusively to one group: up to 8 guests at a fixed price, up to 12 guests on request. That makes the offer ideal for families, couples, groups of friends or companies looking for a special experience on Lake Maggiore – without compromising on privacy and flexibility.
This section shows why a private tour with the Striga Constanze offers more than classic excursions from the Swiss shore – and why the difference is decisive for the quality of your stay.
In 3 steps
The procedure is deliberately simple and relaxed – in keeping with the holiday feeling on Lake Maggiore. No complicated booking process, no rigid schedules.
The season starts on 1 March 2027. Spring and autumn are especially popular with Swiss guests – Easter, Ascension and Pentecost are sought-after travel times. For public holidays, a lead time of two to three months is recommended; for summer weekends, several weeks.
Enquiries are non-binding and are usually answered within 24 hours. Contact options: contact form, WhatsApp or phone on +39 333 3802 383 and by email to info@striga-constanze.com.
Three standard durations are available:
Departure is from the home port of Laveno-Mombello. Other departure points such as Brebbia, Feriolo, Cannero or Cannobio are possible by arrangement. Tip: plan the travel time from the Swiss shore realistically – e.g. by car to Intra and ferry to Laveno, or directly by road.
What to expect: a trip to the Borromean Islands, a swim stop in a quiet bay, an aperitivo on board with a view of the mountains. Depending on weather and mood, the plan adapts – more swimming in the heat, more sightseeing in milder weather.
Special moments: sunset in front of the lights of Stresa and Verbania, the morning stillness on the lake before the first excursion boats, the play of light and water on the red sails.
And if the weather doesn't cooperate: free rebooking. That takes away the planning worries for guests from Switzerland when mountain weather is changeable.
Traditional gaff cutter, red sails, just your group. 3, 4 or 7 hours.
from €490
for up to 8 guests at a fixed price, up to 12 on request
There are numerous alternatives on Lake Maggiore: scheduled boats from Locarno and Ascona, large excursion ships, motorboat round trips. They offer regularity and often lower costs per person – but little flexibility and hardly any privacy. Here's what the Striga Constanze does differently:
Real experiences best show what a private boat tour on Lake Maggiore means. Three typical situations in which guests combine the Striga Constanze with their holiday in Switzerland:
A couple from Zurich first spent three days in Ascona – walks on the car-free lakeside promenade, espresso in the old town, hikes in the valleys. On the fourth day came the sunset tour on the Striga Constanze: sunset over the lake, ring, tears, champagne. The popularity of these romance tours is growing because they offer exactly what hotels and restaurants on the shore can't: absolute privacy on the water.
A family from Basel used a long Easter weekend in Ticino for a special outing. The children solved puzzles in the exit game "The Treasure of the Mazzarditi", while the parents enjoyed the view of the Castelli di Cannero. The result: a family day they were still talking about weeks later – far removed from the typical hotel entertainment programme.
A small company from German-speaking Switzerland added a 7-hour tour to its team-building weekend in Locarno. The mix of time together on the water, a swim stop and a restaurant visit ashore created connections no seminar room can produce. For companies from Zurich, Zug or Lucerne, the short distance to Ticino is a decisive advantage.
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Bestseller€490
Private tourBestseller€490
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Photoshoot€490
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Other providers
Striga Constanze
Mass experience
just your group
Engine noise
sound of wind and water
To-do-list holiday
holiday at your own pace
Guests staying in Switzerland benefit in particular – and see highlights of the Italian shores without giving up Swiss comfort.
Anyone renting a holiday home or apartment in Ticino and looking for a special day on the water will find child-friendly programmes with a swim stop in the family pirate tour or the exit game. The Lake Maggiore region offers outdoor activities all year round – popular activities are hiking, cycling and sailing.
Ascona has a romantic old town with a lakeside promenade and is a perfect starting point. For a marriage proposal, a honeymoon tour or an anniversary, the Striga Constanze offers the privacy a lakeside hotel doesn't have.
Anyone planning a weekend on Lake Maggiore and booking a holiday home or apartment in Ticino can round off the stay with a relaxed day on the lake without timetable stress. There are currently over 9 holiday homes available on Lake Maggiore, with prices between €247 and €430 per night. Three holiday homes on Lake Maggiore have excellent guest reviews.
Combine team building in Ticino with a special outdoor experience. The proximity to Zurich, Zug and Lucerne makes the region the ideal choice for an offsite with character.
Meditation on the water, digital detox or simply enjoying the silence: the mild climate of Lake Maggiore, ideal for outdoor activities, makes the lake the perfect place to slow down.
All prices are fixed prices per boat for the whole private group including skipper – that makes budgeting easy, whether you come as two or eight.
€490 for up to 8 guests (up to 12 on request).
A compact highlights round: e.g. Santa Caterina del Sasso or the Borromean Islands up close. Easy to combine with the journey to or from Switzerland – for example as a stopover on the way home.
€690 for up to 8 guests (up to 12 on request).
The perfect half day: a combination of sightseeing, a swim stop and a relaxed aperitivo break. Recommended for families and groups of friends staying in Ticino who want to experience Lake Maggiore at its best. The Locarno region offers numerous sights and leisure activities – the boat tour rounds off the stay.
€990 for up to 8 guests (up to 12 on request).
Plenty of time for several stops, longer swimming, a restaurant visit ashore and hidden bays. Suitable for companies, retreats, digital detox days or special occasions such as a milestone birthday. The pilgrimage church of Madonna del Sasso offers a fantastic view over Lake Maggiore – a visit fits perfectly into the 7-hour tour.
No-obligation enquiry, reply within 24 hours. Weekends in the 2027 season go fast.
This section specifically addresses questions that holidaymakers on the Swiss shore of Lake Maggiore ask most often.
A typical case: three to four days in Ascona or Locarno, one of them a boat tour day. Getting to the departure point in Laveno-Mombello takes about an hour by car or by ferry from Intra to Laveno. Holiday apartments are suitable for longer stays, and the region has strong rental demand for holiday homes – booking early pays off. Choose tour times so that the outward and return journeys stay relaxed, e.g. a 10 am start for a 4-hour tour, returning to Ticino in the late afternoon.
The Swiss part of Lake Maggiore offers ideas for every taste: the car-free lakeside promenade of Ascona, the Verzasca valley with its emerald-green water and the Ponte dei Salti, the Cardada-Cimetta mountain railway with a 360-degree view, the Brissago Islands with their botanical garden of over 1,700 plant species, the Pizzo Leone with its contrasting views – and Bellinzona with its UNESCO World Heritage castles as the region's cultural heritage. The Ascona-Locarno region has more than 1,400 km of hiking trails. Locarno is the warmest town in Switzerland and known for its film festival. The region offers numerous music festivals and art exhibitions. Ascona is known for its car-free lakeside promenade and colourful houses. More ideas: Lake Maggiore sights.
Season 2027
All this becomes even more intense when you also experience Lake Maggiore from the water – privately, at your own pace, on a boat with history. Peace instead of crowds, flexibility instead of timetables, fixed prices instead of surprises.
Enquire now without obligation about your preferred date from 1 March 2027. Via the contact form, by WhatsApp or email to info@striga-constanze.com. Reply usually within 24 hours.
No online booking through a shopping cart – but personal arrangements for a tailor-made experience.
Skipper of the Striga Constanze
Ciao! Questions about the route, departure harbour or date? Just message me – I reply personally.
