bellagio italy vs varenna italy on lake como

I am going to Lake Como in July (for the first time). I decided to book Hotel du Lac in Varenna. Look at their website, the views are amazing. My understanding is that its easy and a short hop to go to other towns around the lake, so I'll be taking a boat over to Bellagio for sure.

Thanks so much julie! Plz let me know how it goes!

You can't go wrong with either town ! We stayed in Varenna and took the ferry over to Bellagio.

Even though we only had a 20" bag, we just decided to stop in Varenna instead of taking the next step to ferry on to Bellagio. But, it is not a big deal unless you have tons of suitcases !

Choose a hotel/b&b that you like and visit the other town !

Both towns have a lot to offer. It is easy to travel between the two by ferry. I think Bellagio is more crowded but has much better shopping than Varenna. Varenna is more convenient if you are arriving by train.

Jeannie,

Given the sightseeing you're planning in that area, staying in Varenna would provide easier transportation. Staying in Bellagio will add a small cost in both time and money to access the trains, such as for the trip to St. Moritz. The Ferry from Bellagio to Varenna is only about 20 minutes, but once you arrive in Varenna, you'll still have to walk up the hill to the station which will take about another 15-20 minutes.

I'm not familiar with the "Villas at Lugano", but getting from Varenna to Lugano by train will take at least a few hours each way.

We thought Bellagio, although we did not stay there, was chaotic during the day when we visited. Tons of high-end shops and day-trippers shopping. Varenna was very low key by comparison.

Thank you all. The information about having to go up a hill in varenna helps. I have copd snd walking steep hills is difficult for me!

If you arrive by train Varenna is convenient and you can take taxi to your hotel. We walked with luggage and did not like our hotel so I will not mention it. If we return will stay at Hotel du Lac which is beautiful and the location is quiet. It would be worth the splurge. You can ferry easily to Bellagio (nice shops and restaurants) and other towns. Do not miss Villa Carlotta. I think we took ferry to Mennagio to see it.

I think the two are very different. Varenna is very sleepy, very small, beautiful, relaxing. You can see Bellagio from Varenna just across the lake. Bellagio (only went for one day) is beautiful, bigger, busy, lots of shopping, tourists, more restaurants, more of everything. We always prefer sleepy to busy, but that is just us.

I expected Varenna to be crowded due to RS guidebook. But, when we went in early June it was not crowded at all, and peaceful. I would say that Bellagio looks more high end.

Does anyone know if the ferries run from bellagio to varenna at night also or is this just a day thing? How can i fund the ferry schedules? Thanks so much for all the great info!

Jeannie,

You might want to delete your two duplicate posts with this same question.

This should help with the timetables.....

http://www.navlaghi.it/eng/c_orari.asp

It appears that the last departure from Bellagio to Varenna is at 20:40, but this may change later in the year.

Jeannie,

There is free app iPhone app called "Giro Lago" that lists Lake Como's ferry schedules. I used it when I was in Varenna. The ferries don't always run on schedule but it will give you an idea on how often they run between the towns on Lake Como.

We stayed in Varenna for transportation ease arriving by train from Milan and took ferry to Bellagio, villas, etc. Varenna does not have as much shopping as Bellagio but is lovely. We were here in Early Oct 2014 and weather was beautiful. Buon viaggio!