We plan to visit the "remote" localities of Livigno, Isolaccia, and Bormio--all north of Tirano--and close to Swiss border. Looking for advice on mode of transportation to get around from point A to point B....will we be there 3 to 4 days. Is it possible to rent a car in Bormio? Or will a bus transfer work? We are still working out our itinerary-we are thinking of flying into Milan, staying in Lake Como area, visiting Lugano, taking Bernina Pass rail, the ski resort area of Bormio, and we want to squeeze in Venice--in 10 to 12 days. Help!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15199 posts
Nearly every town in Italy is reachable by bus or train, including the ones you mentioned. However for the type of trip you envision, basically small towns in Alpine mountain areas, a car would be the most efficient mode of transportation, especially considering the short amount of time.
In your case I would look for a flight arriving to one of the Milan airports (MXP or LIN), and returning home from Venice (VCE) if possible.
I would rent a car upon landing at Milan Airport and drive everywhere you mentioned. Then I would return the car upon arriving in Venice, and would stay in Venice without a car, a car is a waste of money in Venice since you can’t use it, obviously. You could do also the exact opposite (arrive in Venice and come home from Milan), which would actually be my preference.
If you plan to visit Lugano, I recommend staying in Menaggio on lake Como. Very easy to drive from Menaggio to Lugano (40 min mostly along lake Lugano). You can do so on a day trip from Menaggio, and save money (prices double when you cross into Switzerland).
Posted by
Vancouver
16 posts
I agree with Roberto da Firenze. We flew into MXP, picked up our car, very easy, did our trip and dropped it in Venice. We used Hertz, found their prices better and selection was good. Lakes is a great drive in the car. We prefer renting a car as we are on own schedule and can stop where ever we to. Never ran into any probs with driving - it was a breeze. Way better than Canada or US. One suggestion I would make is if you are not staying in hotel but rather B&B or airbnb make sure they have parking available. That is the first thing I looked into. In May we are doing in reverse - picking up in Venice, driving thru Italy and Switzerland and dropping at Malepena (MXP) on our way out. MXP is a great airport to fly in and out of.
Have a great holiday!!