Italian Lakes vacation itinerary suggestions

Stresa and Varenna are both an easy hour train from Milan. At Stresa, be sure to take the ferry out to Isola Bella and Isola Pescatori. Isola Bella has beautiful gardens.

Is this your first vacation in Italy? I'm asking because there are nicer towns than Milan to stay.

Hi Jean, thank you for reply. This is our first vacation to Italian lakes. Can you suggest a better place than Milan that will be more convenient to travel to lakes? Thank you

If you want to orient your time to visiting the lakes and hiking, you should look at staying at one of the lake towns. Varenna is one, and provides access to the far side of Lake Como and other lake towns. Varenna is a 60-65 minute train ride from Milan, with no train changes,so is very easy to do.

Being based in Milan or somewhere else and "commuting" to the lakes is a waste of time

Thanks Joe. Is it possible to visit lakes without driving a car and rely upon trains?

If your question is about moving from one lake, e.g., Lake Como, and going to another, e.g., Lake Maggiore, you could use a train, with a connection in Milan.

Here is a helpful site for planning train travel--- https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

When you say "active vacation," could you clarify what you mean? I agree with Rick's comment: If relaxation's not on your agenda, the lakes shouldn't be either.

I spent three nights in Varenna with a friend (two full days), and we really enjoyed it, but it wasn't because of "activity." We walked around Varenna and Bellagio, had some nice meals (and a mediocre one in Bellagio), and enjoyed the lake views from the ferry between the towns. The area really is lovely and relaxing. If this doesn't sound like what you want, do go somewhere else.

(I say this as someone who just made a similar mistake. I went to Basque country, not realizing that the pleasure of it is driving around small towns and dipping into the beaches, linen shops, and high end restaurants. Not only was that NOT the kind of trip I wanted, but I don't even drive, so it wasn't even possible. I was not happy until I started doing more things to keep busy, and until I got to the bigger city of Bilbao. So, there's nothing wrong with deciding you want a particular kind of trip).

I also agree that staying in Milan to see Lake Como or Lake Maggiore, each an hour away from Milan, will defeat the purpose. You should spend a few nights actually in one of the lake towns. Rick's book (either Italy or Snapshot: Milan & the Italian Lakes District, which is excerpted intact from the bigger Italy book) has all the details of getting there by trains and buses; no car is needed.

I just noticed this post is in the General Europe category. If you repost it in the Italy category, you will receive more responses.