I am planning a trip to the Lake Como area next summer in late August. We will be landing in Milan and plan on taking a train to wherever we stay. We plan on a four night stay. Any recommendations on which town to stay in and lodging would be appreciated. We do like B&B's in order to have conversations with fellow travelers.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17050 posts
It’s a busy time of the year. The towns you should stay are those in the midlake that have the most frequent ferry service, namely:
Varenna
Menaggio
Bellagio
Varenna is the only one served by train, but it’s very small and very popular (very crowded in summer) especially with Americans, therefore lodgings are often full and come at a premium. However both Menaggio and Bellagio are just minutes away by frequent ferries, so once you get off the train in Varenna you can walk to the dock and take the ferry to either and be there in minutes.
I prefer Menaggio, since I usually go there by car and Menaggio (unlike the other two towns) has plenty of free parking lots and also my wife loves to visit Lugano (an easy drive from Menaggio). However parking availability is not your concern so all 3 towns will do and all of them are beautiful. You can go to Google or Google Maps and check the images.
See what you can find on Booking.com
Posted by
Washington DC
29621 posts
That area books up very early and rates are likely to increase as we get closer to August. I don't know what percentage of the hotels have opened bookings for next August, but I'd try to nail down a cancelable reservation as soon as I had firm dates.
Posted by
Massachusetts, USA
2037 posts
We loved staying in Varenna this past June. We stayed at Hotel Albergo Milano, which I can highly recommend. They also have an awesome restaurant that serves dinner. You need to make reservations for dinner. I would contact them now if I were you. Varenna is convenient because it is the only town served by train, and the ferries will take you anywhere along the lake, as Roberto states. It worked out perfectly for us.
Posted by
187 posts
Hotel Olivedo, right at the ferry landing in Varenna, just a few minutes walking from the train station (2nd stop from Milano Centrale).
Posted by
San Diego, California
6716 posts
I agree with acraven, book lodging asap. Many of the places are small, so fill up quickly. We also stayed at the Albergo Milano, Varenna, which cost is reasonable, given the view. The room was rather plain, but the scenery world class. What is your budget? A nice budget increases the options, so perhaps you could look at Hotel Royal Victoria', Casa du Lac, or a sister property.
Have a great trip.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32537 posts
I also prefer to stay in Varenna as it's quick and easy to get to any of the hotels on foot from the rail station, and it's a good home base for exploring other parts of the lake.
I agree with other suggestions to book early, especially for August. Any of the hotels suggested would be good. Albergo Olivedo is a older hotel and it's certainly the most convenient to the ferries - https://olivedo.it/en/ . As I recall, the food in the restaurant was really good. Hotel Royal Victoria is more on the posh side, and I'm sure you'd be very comfortable there - https://www.royalvictoria.com/en . It's right in the main part of town, and an easy walk to the ferry dock via the lakeside promenade.
As you're going there right after your arrival in Italy, I can't think of a better place to recover from jet lag!!!