Transportation Lake Como to Cinque Terre

Afaik the first ferry to Varenna departs from Bellagio at 9:30 AM and the ride takes 55 minutes. Check the schedules here:
https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/en/

We want to get to Monterosso as early as possible, which is around 3:30 pm

No, it's around 11:05 AM, but you should either depart from Varenna-Esino at 6:20 AM or from Como S. Giovanni at 7:03 AM. Did you check the hotels in Como?

There would be other options that would let you get to Monterosso at 13:19, but you should change 3 trains instead of 1.

Travelcouple,

There’s a car ferry that departs earlier, starting at 6:10AM.

Here’s the current Traghetto/ ferry schedule. You can take the ferry from Bellagio at 7:15AM and it should arrive Varenna at around 7:30AM

When checking the schedule, look at the third row, the (left) side label reads “Partenza da Bellagio/ Departures from Bellagio.
The 7:15 ferry (per/to Varenna) is labeled with a T104 (above the time) which is the same ferry departing Varenna (to Bellagio) at 7:35AM

I’d recommend checking this information once you arrive to Bellagio.

** Please note that this may be the ferry that transports vehicles and passengers, but you can take it even if you don’t have a car.

Enjoy your trip!

@Dario I meant reasonably early! Taking the 6 AM train from Varenna means we need to be up by 4-5 AM to check out and take the ferry... We still want to enjoy our holiday and not be exhausted, so the 8:30 AM train sounded more reasonable for us.

Also at this point, our hotel in Bellagio is non-refundable. We wanted to stay in one of the three main villages!

Thanks for the info @Priscilla ! Is this the only Ferry option available from Bellagio? I was looking at the mid-lake ferries thinking that was the best option to get to Varenna from Bellagio.

I should mention we'd be leaving on a Saturday! I'm not sure if there would be a different schedule for weekend vs weekday?

This is the schedule I was looking at : https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/06_Navetta_CL_P2023.pdf

In the second table, the ferry departs from Bellagio at 9:30 but only arrives at Varenna at 10:21?

Please re-read my reply. I just edited it in order to clarify.

The schedule I linked is effective Monday- Saturday, so it should work for you:
navigazionelaghi.it

As previously mentioned, this may be the ferry that transports vehicles/ passengers.

When my mom and I visited Lake Como (few years ago) we took the mid-lake (ferry) shuttle ( only transport passengers) to visit the mid-lake villages. One late afternoon we missed the regular ferry and ended up taking the car ferry from Bellagio back to Varenna.

Hope this helps.

Please Note: The car ferry docks to the left of the regular mid-lake ferry.

I urge you to confirm ferry schedule when you arrive to Bellagio.

Ciao!

I'm considering also a private transfer option from Bellagio to Milan station to allow us to save some time from taking an early ferry to Varenna and walking to the train station. What do you think?

I’d presume a private transfer will be expensive but if it’s in your budget then that would work.

Did you read my reply regarding the ferry that departs from Bellagio at 7:15AM?

Yes, I also noticed this is the only ferry with the same "number" Departing from Bellagio and departing from Varenna..

Private transfer is around 190 euros.

So it seems like my options are :

Option 1 :
Car Ferry : 7:40 am —> 8 am OR 7:15 am —> 7:30 am

Train : 8:35 am (2 changes) -> 3:05 pm

Option 2 :
Mid-Lake Ferry : 10:45 am -> 11:15 am OR 11:45 am —> 11:58 am
Train : 12:35 pm (1 change) -> 6:24 pm

What do you think?

We are in Varenna and there seem to be private motorboat " taxi" services. Perhaps ask your hotel for a recommendation and price.
Also, if the rain continues, bring plastic bags to protect your backpack and suitcase. I never thought about that need!🌧️ However, today was much better with only a few sprinkles!

I asked the hotel about recommendations for transfer. Waiting on their reply! Good idea for suitcase protection. There might be rain when we're there. We'll see!