My sister in law and husband are going to be joining us in Bellagio, Lake Como in July for a week. They are trying to organize their trip so that they might do some other things prior to and after their week with us. They have not been to Italy. They want to spend 3 days in Rome but they are struggling with the 3-4 days on the other end. I have suggested that they might fly into Milan and rent a car and head to Santa Margherita and visit the Cinque Terra (by train). Then they could drive to Bellagio from there. They had originally thought about flying in and out of Rome and driving from Rome to Bellagio. I suggested that is not a good idea and have suggested that since they are doing Rome at the end of the trip that they fly into Milan and out of Rome and that they might be able to return the car in Como and get a train to Rome as they will not need a car in Rome. What else might you suggest as an alternative.
Posted by
872 posts
A car would be a serious liability on this trip. Read this about driving in Italy and restrictions involved [ZTLs]; never leave anything of value in a vehicle when parked:
http://driventoit.blogspot.com/
The tiny Cinque Terre villages can be crowded to the point of being unpleasant when cruise ships are in port:
http://crew-center.com/la-spezia-italy-cruise-ship-schedule-2020
Posted by
Vancouver, BC
375 posts
We usually rent a car for at least part of our Italian trips, but if I was doing what you describe, I don't know that I'd rent one at all. Those places are all on good train routes.
Fly to Milan -- they'll be jet lagged, so do something close, then take the train to Varenna, and the short & frequent ferry to Bellagio. After that, train back to Milan and then take the high speed train to Rome.