CT to Como

They are probably going Genova-Malpensa or Genova-Bergamo. Considering the transfer times from the CT to Genova airport and airports to Como, its probably the same travel time. You can get a direct train from Monterosso to Milano Centrale taking 3 hours, then one easy train change to Varenna in 1 hour.

I'd guess the same as Sam (Malpensa or Bergamo) unless they're flying into Milan Linate. Personally, I think this would be a way bigger hassle than just taking the train from the CT. We've done it from Monterosso to Bergamo (1 change in Milano Centrale): painless.

It'll only take about 4.5 hours (same change in Milan) from the CT to Varenna-Esino. You'll waste more time than that messing around with a plane. You would have to train to Genoa, mess around with security, fly to Malpensa, Linate or Bergamo, and then take a train to Varenna.

Malpensa is a little over two hours by train from Varenna, and Bergamo is a little over an hour. Bergamo Orio is also not on the train line: you have to transfer by bus or cab to the station in town. Linate requires a transfer to a train station in Milan as well, from which it's another hour to Varenna by train.

You are aware that (as far as I know) there are no commercial airports in the Como area or the CT?

I'm confused, and I've read the question 4 times. Do you mean to fly from Connecticut or Cinque Terre to the lake?

If another tour says that they can do something, why don't you ask the tour provider how they do it and ask who they use?

rharmon,

Which tours are suggesting a flight from the Cinque Terre to Como? Given the distances and travel times by rail, using a flight would be absurd! Travel time would be longer, and it would cost more.

There are no commercial airports in the Cinque Terre, so you'd have to fly from Pisa or Genova. The closest arrival airports to Como are one of the Milan airports. I haven't checked, but I doubt that flights are even offered on that route. Could you indicate which of the five C.T. towns you'll be travelling from, and whether your destination is the city of Como or one of the other towns along the lake?

Taking a flight would waste more of a day, when all is considered - travel to and from airports, check-in, security, waiting, de-planing, etc. Travel on that route is going to take at least 4 hours, regardless of how you travel.

I'm not sure I'd trust a tour company that recommends a goofy solution like that, as they don't seem to have a clue on how to get around Italy.

To All - thank you so much for your input. Although I was excited about the opportunity to fly and possibly save time, I searched every near by airports (to and from) and could not find anything that would save time by flying. Just wanted to check and make sure I did not miss anything. By the time to get to the airport and hour early, fly, getting out of the airport and then making your way on to the hotel .....likely no time saved at all!

We have not decided which city in Cinque Terre we are staying in, we have 3 couples and were looking for a VBRO house, but that does not seem realistic. Not sure which town we are staying in at Lake Como. Looking at Varenna and going to Verona after this stop, but am open to more suggestions if there is something more suitable to the route.

Thanks ALL

rharmon,

It will be easier to provide more specific suggestions once you've decided exactly where you'll be staying.

With three couples you may have to look at a larger hotel in the Cinque Terre, and Monterosso would be the best place to start as it's the largest of the five and has the best range of accommodations. There may be some larger flats in some of the other towns, but I'm not aware of any. Some of the flats are accessible by numerous stairs so if you have mobility problems that's something to keep in mind, and some don't provide breakfasts so you'd be on your own for that. The C.T. consists of small towns, so tends to be more "informal" and I'm not sure how many VRBO properties there will be in that area?

Varenna would be a good choice for your trip to Lake Como, as it's a very picturesque smaller town and easy to get to. The trip from Milano Centrale is only about an hour, so that will make it easy for your ongoing segment to Verona. Again, I'm not sure whether there will be many VRBO properties there?

I may have missed it, but when is this trip taking place?

It just occurred to me that maybe this other tour company has a chartered seaplane which might fly from the Ligurian Sea near Portofino to the south end of Lake Como. I've seen seaplanes landing and taking off on the lake near Como but always assumed that they were for sightseeing the lake and mountains.

I'm sure that enough money could buy almost anything.

Nigel,

The posh crowd that frequents Portofino can afford that sort of thing.

There are firms in Como which provide sightseeing tours over the Lake, and I'm sure they'd be available for other trips if the price was right.....

http://www.aeroclubcomo.com/Home/tabid/36/language/en-US/Default.aspx

Thank you for the info --- This is why I ask this forum questions, rather than asking another tour company..... If I cannot find a flight that makes sense -- they can't either ,,,,so they are out for only money! Unless George Clooney is picking me up in his plane and taking me to Lake Como - we will be on the train!