3 days to spend at Lake Como

I'd have to go with the old standard, Varenna. Easy to reach from Milan by train, central location, beautiful surroundings.

we stayed at çasa villa clara, an apt close to the train, 2 bedrooms w in suite bathrooms.....small living room, enormous yard with lounge chairs......http://www.varennaflats-marilena.com/index.html

im trying to link a thread from January about this same question, includes some restaurant recommendations as well.....

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/home-rentals-in-lake-como-area

I agree with Sam, Varenna is a great location & you can easily visit the lakeside villages via ferry.

My mom & I recently stayed at 'Casa Gialla' annex to 'Albergo Milano'-- it's a quaint 2 bedroom apartment.

The price of the apartment includes a delicious breakfast served at the hotel's terrace just a few yards away.

Here is their website: http://www.varenna.net/ENG/home.html

Here is the ferry schedule:http://www.navlaghi.it/eng/c_illago.html

Have a wonderful trip!

Ks,

I'd also recommend Varenna, as it's a beautitul smaller town on the shores of Lake Como, and it makes a great home base location for touring other parts of the lake. However, there may not be too many things that will interest your daughter and her friend (that will be true of other locations on Lago di Como as well).

It's very difficult to know what to recommend in terms of hotel pricing as "trying not to break the bank" is a somewhat subjective term. If you'd like more of a conventional hotel, you might have a look at Hotel Royal Victoria. It's right in the centre of town, an easy walk to the promenade along the lake and I'm sure you'd all be very comfortable there. I always travel solo and never rent apartments, but you could also consider that. The guidebook has listings for a number of hotels in Varenna. If you don't have a copy of that, post back here and the group can provide some further suggestions.