Are there many late-night social options in these places? I am by no means a party animal, but I prefer to at least have the option to socialize at lively bars until late.
Also, Como currently has the best hotel prices, especially compared to Bellagio. I'm thinking a one-hour train ride to and from Bellagio might be doable to save money. Have any of you used Como as a base to explore this area using public transit? If so, how did that go?
Thank you.
Como is at the far end of the lake while Bellagio is mid lake. I stayed in Como once and enjoyed it but did not try to see the rest of the lake.
Mid lake is a better central location and is prettier.
The train doesn’t run to Bellagio.
You can take a ferry but it is more than one hour.
We met some people staying in Como and they had explored by ferry. So can be done. It just takes longer and you have to pay attention to ferry times.
When I was in Varenna in October it was very, very quiet at night. The RS guidebook says about nightlife in Varenna, "there is none." However, there did appear to be at least a couple bars open late.
Yes, you need to research transportation options for the locations you'd like to visit. Como is larger and would have more nightlife, but you would need to take ferries (slow) and/or buses to reach your other suggested towns. It's a question of spend more money or spend more time.
I've stayed in both Varenna and Bellagio in late September. There are plenty of restaurants, but very little in the way of bars. There was definitely one in Varenna on our last trip that appeared to be open til 1am or so.
Most people in that area seem to eat late and retreat to their rooms, which is exactly what we did. We were often at dinner til 10 or 11pm and didn't feel like bars then.
Keep in mind Como is a large city of almost 84K while Bellagio is about 4K so I would expect more activities and options in Como based on that alone. You can take the ferry from Como up to the Bellagio area but the distance is pretty far so you'll want to take a fast ferry if you want to go between Como and Bellagio/Varenna/Menaggio so that probably means no late night trips.
The lake is beautiful - have a great visit,
=Tod
