Almost stuck on Lake Como

It’s the attitude thing which was the main point actually - and then that leads to the possible calamity of getting stuck in a distant city.

We were in Lake Como for five days staying in Bellano which is not as well connected so we were extra attentive to ferry schedules. You can get ferry schedules online and we had some also we got at the ferry office. It is true it can be tricky but not sure that is any one’s fault. We one day took the ferry from Bellagio to Varenna and then the train to Bellano because we missed the last regular ferry. There was one more ferry but it was a “fast” ferry which carried a considerable surcharge so we decided to have dinner in Varenna. But we knew that was going to be the case, as we carried the ferry schedule with us.

In our case, we found the man in the ticket office to be quite pleasant but then we had already mapped out our options and just wanted to confirm. There usually was a line and I am not sure anyone would have been happy had he spent very much time with any one customer.

Thanks Beth. Yeah, if we missed the boat from Menagio, there was a bus supposedly. If we were actually stuck in Varenna, I was thinking to bus south then catch a train back to Como - and probably 2 hours if it was to work.

I am in Italy now on my 7th trip here. The main point of my post was warn others of the pitfalls here. I have no further responses to people attacking me and twisting what I said. You insult me, but I hope you don't take these judgmental attitudes with you on the road.

Lemme get this straight. You went to Bellagio went to Varenna then on to Menagio and made it back to Como that evening? Sounds like a pretty good day. BTW I was in Varenna last week got a day pass. Staff on the boats, ticket sellers and ticket checkers were all helpful. I was given a pocket schedule with my pass. I have "survival" Italian. Brad

I appreciate you sharing your experience, and letting people know that they need to do their own research on line ahead of time. Good advice to others.

I agree Bets!

You have my sympathy because we had something similar while there. We were staying in Como and using all-day passes, took the slow ferry to Bellagio. Beautiful trip but it takes a while to get there. Bellagio was very pleasant and we lingered. After lunch, we wanted to check out Varenna. We waited for a ferry and it all takes time. It became apparent as we got into Varenna that the outgoing ferry was going to be the last one of the day. We literally stepped off the ferry and back on, wondering about the next boat home. We hooked up with a couple from Montreal who were in the same position. Between us, we managed to get back to Bellagio and secure tickets on the last fast ferry back to Como. It was a bit nerve-wracking but we did finally get back to the hotel.

In retrospect, we probably could have explored Varenna and taken a train back to Como. In the back of my mind, I knew that but the thought of being stranded as night fell was too much. I think what threw us was the sheer distances between places and the what seemed like a hard stop on the ferries. The schedules can be confusing but that's part of the adventure of travel. However, in the ticket lines, I noticed that Italians spent a long time conversing with the ticket sellers. Hence, the long lines. Maybe they are chatty but maybe they are confused, too. Now, it seems kinda funny but it really wasn't at the time.

I was in Varenna Sunday to Tuesday and we walked to Bellano and the Ferry schedules were clearly posted at the wharves at both places. At Bellano with its reduced ferry schedule, we decided to take the train back to Varenna rather than spend another couple of hours in Bellano. On Tuesday we bought a Mid-Lake all day pass for €12 per senior and with the ticket, we got a detailed schedule. It was no trouble to visit 4 mid-lake towns.
We stayed in Varenna for its easy access by train from Milano (1 hour by express train) its access by ferries to all Lake Towns, and its range of accommodations and restaurants as discussed in the RS guide.
We’re now in Stresa and will take the ferry to visit the 3 main islands. The Information Office gave us a schedule yesterday and noted that only the trips in white columns operated on weekdays and yellow columns also operated on weekends.
People should read guide books and consult the Information centres and not expect ferries or trains to go whenever they want. I have also planned our train trips considering cost and convenience and all schedules require you to take the time to read and select your best routes and times.
ps with trains, check what station comes before your destination as there is not much time to get your luggage to the doors, open them and get off. In Bellano on our way back to Varenna, we advised 2 women who had missed getting off in Varenna and wanted advice to confirm if next train south would be going back to Varenna.

It's fortunate that you were able to make the connection back to Como. While an unscheduled hotel stay would be an "interesting" travel experience, I'd rather not have the extra cost and possible disruptions to my Itinerary. I always plan transportation links in great detail, and check train and ferry schedules carefully.

Travel can be a challenge, especially when you are a foreigner on a foreign land. Technology certainly can help. The Trenitalia app is fantastic regarding train schedules as well as for buying tickets. And for the "Big 3" Northern Italy lakes there is a great app as well - Dreamlake (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.navigazionelaghi.app&hl=it&gl=US). Not as easy to use but functional regarding schedules, etc. When purchasing ferry passes it is best to always ask for the current schedule. All ferry stops will also have these posted as well near the embarkment point. The long haul ferries often do have seating limitations so it is often a good idea to be there early in line. Seasonal schedules are greatly reduced, with some schedules more to accommodate workers/commuters rather than tourists. Knowing the bus routes can be helpful as well. The C10 on the western shore will get you most everywhere and it will get you from Menaggio to Como San Giovanni in a relatively short period of time. Just remember to board and find a seat on what would be the lake side of the bus. Utilizing Google Translate can be handy in you communicating what you need to folks that do not have a command of English. It has been my experience that folks, in general, are helpful to the tourists. Especially if you make an effort to know basics of their language and realize that you are the strange man in a strange land. Smiling and be willing to accept that your fate may rest in their hands is often a passport to a good outcome. YMMV

One thing about travel - you need to solve problems. Not the big problems of the world, but the little problems.

We were waiting for a connecting train. My wife and I determined that 4 Italian women were also doing the same trip. I made acquaintance with them, although they spoke no English, by showing them our tickets. This was important. As the train time came closer, there were indications that we were on the wrong platform. We were all getting a little flustered. I saw a TrenItalia guy on the next platform and asked him in a primitive way what platform the train was on. The Italian ladies noticed me talking to him, and jumped in to get the information in Italian. Sure enough, the platform had changed, and we had to hustle down the stairs, thru the subway, and up the stairs to the correct location. We got there with 1 min to go.

Not a big problem, but we did get on the train correctly. The Italian ladies were very helpful, and it was good that we had reached out to them. That solved our language problem for that situation.

Railrider-appreciate your post! If I ever make it to that part of the world, I will pay close attention to ferry schedules. I guess unlike trains, you can’t make a reservation for the ferry? Did you show up sorta last minute?

We have been to Bellagio four times, used ferries exclusively to get around. We never were confronted by any of the problems you describe.
We always bought ferry passes. Yes, there are fast and slow boats. This is rather common knowledge. The ferry staff were always helpful but we also treated them respectfully.

I've cleaned out a number of posts in this thread. Guidelines #1 and 2 folks. If you have an issue with something said, report it and keep the thread on topic. Thanks, everyone.

To add to my previous post, it just occurred to me that in the same circumstances, if I missed the boat I probably would have just boarded the train in Varenna, and travelled back to Como by rail.

this thread is 6 months old - blog and vlog promos are forbidden

In places like Sorrento or Naples, there are half a dozen different ferry companies - each with their own schedule and their own ticket kiosk. In Como, I am not sure if there is one ferry company or not. There are at least three classes of boats - high speed, normal speed, and car ferries. They seem to all accept the ferry pass - possibly with a surcharge of 10eu if I recall.

The purpose of my post was to alert people to possibility of getting stuck because the ferries are few, sometimes full, and stop running fairly early. Before more scorn is heaped on me, let me just say, that we arrived in Como, and went down to the ferry ticket window to make our plans for the next day. There was a long line but finally spoke to someone who did not speak much English. I did see a schedule, but I believe it was only the ferries coming and going from Como - not the entire ferry system. We then arrived first thing in the morning and bought all day ferry passes, and took the first boat to Bellagio, had a lunch, and took a car ferry to Varenna, and walked for an hour or two. It was about 3 pm, and we saw a ferry leaving - which turned out to be the last one to Como we could have taken. Another ferry came an hour later, but they refused to let us board it because "it was full". We waited another period of time and got a ferry to Menagio, and had 90 minutes, then paid the surcharge and got the ferry back to Como, getting dark by then.