Hi
After advice on purchasing train and ferry tickets online.
We are travelling from Milan Central to Menaggio in late June. I have read that we take the train from Milan to Varenna and then a ferry to Menaggio.
My question is whether or not to purchase the train tickets now online and can you purchase the ferry ticket beforehand online.
Cheers
Laurie
Hi,
Neither ticket needs to be bought online, since there are no seat reservations.
For the train ticket from Milan to Varenna, you can buy online or on ticket machines, as you prefer, but if you buy online (Trenord is the company) it is best to leave it to the day of travel (i.e. when you are sure at what time you are leaving) because tickets are only valid for 3-6 hours from the time you choose.
For the ferry, you can buy online if you want (Navigazione Laghi) but you might as well buy at the pier.
Just a tip, if you're using the ferry back to Varenna from Bellagio or Mennagio, and then to the train- especially on the weekends:
The ferry schedule seems to fall apart by the end of the day, as it takes longer to load and unload the ferries when there are crowds of people, so the ferries arrived and left late. They started out on time in the mornings, but by late afternoon, the schedule was in shambles. This was our experience on the weekends pre-COVID. So if you have a train to catch, plan accordingly, maybe come over to Varenna early, and if your ferry was on time, explore Varenna before your train time.
Safe travels!
Seconding the opinions that there is no point in buying these things ahead of time.
Just a few tips:
-The train station name you're looking for is Varenna-Esino
-The ferry station is an easy stroll downhill from the train station to the lakeside. Just follow the road (and the people) down the hill and take the shortest path to the lake.
-The ferry options and ticketing from Bellagio are much busier and more chaotic than either Varenna or Mennagio
-Download and use the Tenitalia train app so you can check schedules, train progress and buy tickets as well if you want to
It's beautiful at the lakes, have a great trip,
=Tod
And… when your train from Milan is approaching Varenna-Esino , be ready standing by the doors with your luggage, ready to jump off immediately the train stops.
I remember that train only stopping for about 90 seconds!
Then you just walk downhill to the ferry dock.
