Piedmont and Stresa without a car?

Is the problem with car rentals only the price? We have always rented cars in certain locations that require them especially Tuscany, Umbria, and the Piemonte. As part of the whole trip expenses, what would trip be like without a car? Not very worthwhile as far as I can see.

We went to Piedmont for 5 nights in 2019. We stayed at a bed and breakfast/winery a few miles outside of Alba. For what we wanted to do in the region (wine tasting and visiting small villages), we absolutely had to rent a car. If you only want to see the “bigger” cities like Alba, Asti, and Turin, I think you could do that by train and bus. If you’re wanting to do wine tastings at wineries and go to the smaller villages, I think using the bus (if that’s even possible) would be way too much of a hassle. If you decide against a rental car, I think Turin would be a good base. It has enough of its own sights but also good connections to other cities in Piedmont.

We haven’t been to Stresa before, but for what it’s worth, we’re planning to be there for 5 nights this summer, taking the train from Venice, and we aren’t renting a car. We plan to use the train and ferry during our time in Stresa. I’m sure having a rental car would be more convenient, but like you - I can’t justify the cost.

You have some time, so I might be tempted to wait and see whether prices go down over the next year.

I’ve been going to Stresa for many years - back when hotels didn’t have WIFI (Stone Age)!! I’ve always taken the train and Stresa has a station. You can get to other towns and Milano is about an hour. I take day trips to Zermatt or Locarno.
The three island in the middle of Lago Maggiore are fun. Further afield is a botanical garden and Intra (about an hour by ferry) has a fun market on Saturday.
Good luck.

A car is not needed for Stresa / Lake Maggiore.
It is useful in the wine regions around Alba.
So, to minimize expense, I would be car-less for the Stresa portion of the trip, then head to Turin, spend 2 nights there if you have never been (great city), and rent a car as you are ready to leave Turin - or directly in Alba if there are good rental options there.

You can reserve a ride with the Alibus to go from Malpensa (Milan’s airport) to Stresa. I’ve been to Stresa a couple of times and am returning in June. It’s easy to be there just using the ferries, or take the train for a day trip,

I’ve never been to Bardolino, so can’t give input there.

For Bolzano, it’s easy to reach by train. Most of the main villages can be reached by bus, and there’s usually a handy shuttle or bus to lift areas if they’re not within walking distance.

For Piedmont, we have only stayed in Torino which is very easy to reach by train. But for the rest of the Piedmont area, you will want a car unless you’re planning to take some minivan type wine tours, etc. (We went from Torino to Annecy, France by train.)

I would pick the month, depending on the likelihood of decent weather in the Dolomites. Have a great time!

I don’t see why trains shouldn’t work for Piedmont. There are trains in Piedmont. It really depends on what you plan to visit. Stresa is perfectly doable by train. You need to lay out the things you want to do. If you plan to roam the countryside to visit wineries of Piedmont, a car is necessary. If you want to visit the lakes Maggiore in Stresa, you don’t need a car, and you can easily reach Stresa from Milan via train.

I am thinking that if car rentals remain an issue that we will take the shuttle to Stresa and stay there for a few nights and then perhaps get to Alba or Turin with the train and base ourselves in town doing day trips with tours. Worse case scenario.
If this turns totally into a train trip because we don't want to spend $3000 on rentals for six people, is it easier to Do lake Como and then lake Garda and forget Piedmont?
I suppose I need to wait this out til the fall and see what transpires but I might want to have a skeleton backup.
Other option is a guided Insight Tour for the whole trip.

I spent a couple days in Alba without a car, and it really depends on what you want to do/see. Once you have that sorted, you can determine if there are tours/private drivers you can take advantage of (check Alba tourism office). We planned to hike but got rain, so I can't offer any more info, but since you will need a van or two cars, details really matter!

We do still have time but am combing the options in case. I came across this website called railbooker.com, I think, and it organizes trips with stays in multi locations....the one I looked at was Rome(have seen), Lake Garda, Lake Como, lake Maggiore and Milan. Has anyone heard of it?