Transportation Milan Centrale to Varenna

There ad trains to Como S.Giovanni at 15:10 and 15:25, see if there are ferries departing to Varenna at around 16:00

Thank you for our reply. We are looking to go straight to Varenna as we will be touring Lake Como the next day and we have 4 suitcases in tow:). Is the drive to Varenna not a good option?

Hoping to not spend a tremendous amount as the rail is $8 each. Thank
you in advance for your suggestions!

Just doing a dummy booking with a random company, I'm coming up with 146.62€ - 157.17€ for a one-way trip for 4 adults+ 4 medium bags. Granted, that is just one company but Varenna is over an hour away (1 hr. 15 min by the random company's timetable, and probably longer depending upon traffic) so I would expect to be paying quite a lot more than 6.70 € each.

Testing another company, I got a price of € 220.00 and 1 hr 46 mins travel time.

I just looked on Trenitalia ( https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html ) for 3rd June (a Monday). I see the following trains:

Venezia S. Lucia --> Milano Centrale
10:50 --> 13:15
11:12 --> 13:45
11:50 --> 14:15
12:12 --> 15:35

I.e. a train every 30 minutes (there are earlier and later trains than the ones I listed above). No way you need to wait nearly 2 hours In Milan.
I cannot see anything arriving at 14:25

If you actually want to go from Venice to Varenna, that is what you should be looking up, not looking up every leg separately. For example:

Venezia S. Lucia --> Varenna-Esino
09:35 --> 14:23
11:12 --> 15:23
11:50 --> 16:52
12:12 --> 17:23

I cannot see anything arriving at 14:25

Chris, I have a feeling they're looking at an Italo train?
There is one leaving Venezia S. Lucia at 12:01 arriving in Milano Centrale at 14:25.

But not, of course, that they would HAVE to take this train unless they've already purchased non-refundable tickets.

Yes, correct. We booked the 12:01 Italo Treno train. We arrive Venice the day before so we don't want to leave any earlier than the 12:01. I also looked at the Como train station from Milan and it is the same problem. I have not checked any buses from Milan to Varenna. The problem is that we are 2 couples with 4 suitcases so taking a train to Como and lugging our suitcases to the ferry whether its walking or cab is a pain. I am thinking that either taxi or a private transfer would be best due to the luggage and the rail schedule. I was hoping someone had experience with a private transfer or taxi from Milan to Varenna:)

None of us have done a private transfer because the train is so cheap and easy.
Good excuse to have a leisurely lunch at Milano Centrale.

'Fraid we'd fall into Sam's camp and opt for enjoying an adult beverage or lunch at the station before we'd spend the $$$ for a transfer. I personally think trains are more comfortable than vehicles anyway, and no potential traffic snarls to deal with. :O)

It's really worth to look around Milano Centrale station. It is an attraction in itself, one of the grandest stations of the world.

https://retours.eu/en/29-milano-centrale/#

Just how big are the four suitcases?

It's really worth to look around Milano Centrale station. It is an
attraction in itself, one of the grandest stations of the world.

This is a really good point. The station is an architectural piece of work.

You mentioned "Hoping to not spend a tremendous amount as the rail is $8 each." If you're on a limited budget, that would seem to preclude using a private transfer as the cost would be considerably higher. If you're willing to splurge for that, I can recommend a good service in the area.

If you'd rather stick with the budget approach, then waiting for the next train is probably the only option. Can you make a slightly earlier departure from Venice?