Lake Como and Cinque Terre

It's easy to use train for Lake Como. Car is not needed. Forget about a car for Cinque Terre. No or very little parking. Very narrow mostly one lane roads. When two cars meet somebody has to back for a significant distance so they can pass each other. Five towns are connected by hiking trails, train and boat. Connections by road are long detours.

Cinque Terre is a one of a kind experience. We got around by train and took one boat ride between towns. A car would be a handicap. We didn't visit Lake Como, but we never rented a car for three weeks in Italy. Trains and public transit were great.

Jim,

IIja has given you good advice, there is definitely no need for a car in the CT or Lake Como.

What village are you considering in the Cinque Terre (5 villages)?

Where are you planning on staying around lake Como?

We enjoyed our stay in Varenna on Lake Como, & Monterosso, in the CT, and you can easily get there via train from Milan.

Here are some websites you may like:

• http://www.parconazionale5terre.it/Eindex.php
• http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en
• http://www.navlaghi.it/eng/c_illago.html
• http://www.trenitalia.com/

When checking train schedules on the trenitalia site, you'll need the train stations in Italian:

• Milan = Milano Centrale
• Varenna = Varenna-Esino
• Monterosso = same
• Florence = Firenze S. M. Novella
• Venice = Venezia S. Lucia
• Rome = Roma Termini

Enjoy!

Jim, we just got back from Lake Como on Sunday and I can tell you it's very easy to use the train to get to Varenna. We went from Florence to Milan to Varenna by train end it was a very easy trip. From Varenna you can easily get on the ferry to almost every town on the lake and of course if you're flying home from Milan on the train back to the city is a simple one. My wife and I enjoy this so much we're already planning on going back next year and a part of that was the ease of getting there