Lake Como Ques.

I would take the train from Milan to Varenna. From Varenna, it is an easy ferry trip to a number of towns on the lake. Be sure to buy a round trip ticket as you probably won't be able to buy a return ticket from the train station in Varenna. Also don't forget to validate the ticket before you get on the train.

I'd recommend taking the Regionale train from Milano Centrale to Varenna, then you can take the ferry from there and visit the villages along the mid-lake (buy a ferry day pass) such as; Bellagio, Menaggio, Lenno, Tremezzo, etc...

You could take the ferry from Como to the mid-lake, but make sure you take the fast ferry, which takes about an hour vs, the regular ferry that takes two hours.

Here is the website for the ferry schedules.

Have a great trip!

Thank you for your advice. It is most helpful. When I click on the link you provided to see ferry schedules, it only has schedules posted through March. We are going in April. Do you know when the schedules for then will be posted?
Thanks!

The new ferry schedule will most likely come out on March 25th or 26th.
Most of the hotels in the lakeside villages/ towns, close down for the winter in early November, then they reopen in late March to early April.

There are frequent ferries traveling the mid-lake during the busy tourist season.

When you take the train from Milan, try to sit on the left side for best views of the lake.

You may be interested in reading this recent post.

Enjoy!

Thank you, Priscilla. Do you know approximately what the ferry fares are? I can't see that on the site either.

I don't remember how much the ferry is, but I've been on them all afternoon, up and down both arms and it wasn't much or I would have remembered it. The car ferry is a bit more but still very cheap.

Varenna is the name of the village and the name of the ferry stop, but the train station is called Varenna-Esino.

Laurie,
I don't recall exactly how much we paid for the ferry, but as Nigel points out, it was not expensive.

We took the car ferry one evening from Bellagio, because we'd just missed the passenger ferry.
We purchased the day pass, so we could ride on the ferry all day long.

Thank you for all your help and suggestions!!

The main train station Varenna-Esino is very close to the ferry stop (a 5 minute walk). The other local stop is Fiumelatte (Milk River), near the local very short river of the same name. The Fiumelatte stop is much farther away from the ferry landing, about 2 km.

The town of Varenna is a great home base for exploring Lake Como. The ferry is relatively inexpensive (e.g., Varenna to Bellagio is 4.60€ normal adult fare), but each leg adds to the price. Day passes are 15.00€, so depending on your itinerary, it may be the way to go.

Varenna is quiet and easy to navigate. It also has several worthwhile attractions, good lodgings and restaurants. All in all, it's a good home base. I was there last in May 2016.

A previous poster is correct. There are no ticket machines at the Varenna station, so be sure you have your return ticket ahead of time.

Thank you. Should we start in Varenna and end in Como, and take the train back to Milan from there?

You could take the train back to Milano from Como, but the ferry distance from Varenna to Como add a little bit of travel time. Personally, I like Como itself, but if it means spending less time elsewhere, I would skip it.