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Traveling to Lake Como

Traveling to Lake Como on our own. Planning to take the train to Como Norg Lago. There is a stop at Como S. Giovanni. It appears that Como S. Giovanni maybe a bus ride. The train ticket does not include the bus ride. How easy is it to find the bus connection and where to purchase ticket for the bus ride?
From my reading, there is a ferry that goes to all the town along the lake. How easy is it to get around the town using the ferry boat? Do I need to prebook by ferry ride? I'll be doing a day trip and plan to return to Milano Centrale.
Do you recommend to pre-booke tickets to Lake Como

Posted by
32173 posts

It's not difficult to get around Lago di Como but it would help to know where you'll be travelling from, and where you plan on staying on the lake? With more information, it would be easier to provide more specific suggestions.

Posted by
19653 posts

OK, if you want to go to Como Nord Lago, you can get a train from Milano Cadorna station for about 5 EUR and the trains are every half hour or so. The ferry dock is a short walk away. Nothing needs to be bough ahead of time.
You can also take a train from Milano Centrale to Como San Giovanni. Then you can take a bus to the ferry dock, or take the long walk to the ferry dock.

You can get between Milano Centrale station and Milano Cadorna station on the Milan Metro M2 line.

Posted by
14 posts

Taking the train from Milano Centrale to Como Norg Lago. Is this the closest station to the town of Como.?
Would like to see Bellagio & go to Villa Melzi. Go to Tremezzo & Villa Carlotta. See Verana's gelato colored homes. Planning to take the 7:10 train from Milano Centrale & train back by 7:38 from Como. How feasible is this itinerary? Do you any suggestion that's more doable.?
Thanks

Posted by
19653 posts

There is no train from Milano Centrale to Como Nord Lago, the trains from Centrale go to Como San Giovanni. If you want to go to Bellagio, the bus from San Giovanni station might be the easiest, quickest, and cheapest. You can pick up ferry boats from Bellagio that will get you to Tremezzo, then Varenna. You can get a train from Varenna back to Milano Centrale.
The ferry schedules are at http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/c_orari.asp

Posted by
15043 posts

If you want to go to Como Lago, you need to take the train from Milano Cadorna, which is actually closer to the Duomo. There are no direct trains from Milano Centrale to Como Nord Lago, you would need to change. From Milano Centrale the direct trains go to Como San Giovanni. The first train from Milano Cadorna to Como Lago depart at 6:13, theme there is one every 30 min. It takes one hour.
Milano Centrale to Como San Giovanni is less time (about 40 min), but Como San Giovanni is a bit further from the dock, so the two options are similar in time.

The Ferry. There are fast boats and slow boats. To do what you need to do you need to time things carefully.
The first fast boat leaving Como and going north to Tremezzo and beyond departs at 7:33 (SR102) then there is one at 9:00 (SR4)
http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/c_download/E2018_NLC_Como_Colico.pdf

Coming back, the last fast boat is the SR127 (Mon-Sat) or the SR225 (Sun) which bring you back to Como just past 19:00 (7pm). There are plenty of trains from Como to Milano after that,
http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/c_download/E2018_NLC_Colico_Como.pdf

Posted by
14811 posts

Personally, I would skip the town of Como and take the train from Milan to Varenna. Use that as your ferry base to the other towns. You could either return to Varenna to get back to Milan or work your way down to Como for your return. No need to backtrack.

Posted by
11294 posts

First, look at a map of the lake. You'll see that it has a Y shape, and that different towns on the lake can be quite far from one another, and that due to the lake's shape, getting from one to another can be quite convoluted.

So, if your goal on a day trip is to see Bellagio, Tremezzo, and other "mid-lake" destinations, don't go to the town of Como, which is not near these. Instead, take a train from Milano Centrale to the station called Varenna-Esino. From there, there are frequent boats to Bellagio, and from Bellagio to Cadenabbia (for Villa Carlotta).

Posted by
303 posts

Yes!! Do skip Como and go directly to Varenna. We just returned from 4 wonderful days there. We also came up from Milano Centrale on a local train (Varenna_Esino). Much of what you want to see is in the midtake area, as mentioned previously, Como is a long ferry ride away. Bellagio is a 15 min ferry ride from Varenna. We also toured Villa del Balbianello which was beautiful! We booked a boat tour from Varenna that took us around the midlake area and directly to the Villa. You can take the train back to Milano Centrale from Varenna, but I understand that the train station in Varenna doesnt sell tickets. You may want to buy round trip tickets in Milano. Varenna is drop dead gorgeous. It is small, quaint and quiet. You won't want to leave!!

Posted by
14 posts

Since I'm staying at a hotel closed to Milano Centrale, it is convenient to take all my trips from there. From all the suggestions posted, the most efficient route to take to the Lake Como area is by train from Milano Centrale to Varenna- Esino, then travel by ferry to Bellagio, Tremezzo, Como. Train back from Como S. Giovanni to Milano Centrale.
Is the ferry terminal easy to find once in Varenna? Should I book tours from Varenna to get to Villa Melzi, Villa Carlotta or Can I do this on my own using the ferry system.
Thanks

Posted by
54 posts

We just returned from Varenna, the ferry is very easy to find and the ferry that circles the lake is very easy to take, you do not need to purchase your ticket in advance. We took the ferry once around the lake to see everything from the boat, then got off at a couple of different stops to explore. Really suggest you stay overnight in Varenna, it is amazing.

Posted by
11294 posts

"the most efficient route to take to the Lake Como area is by train from Milano Centrale to Varenna- Esino, then travel by ferry to Bellagio, Tremezzo, Como. Train back from Como S. Giovanni to Milano Centrale."

Again, unless you have something specific you want to see in the town of Como, just return by train from Varenna-Esino.

"Is the ferry terminal easy to find once in Varenna?"

Yes, just follow the crowds down the hill to the lake - you can't miss it!

"Should I book tours from Varenna to get to Villa Melzi, Villa Carlotta or Can I do this on my own using the ferry system."

You can certainly do it on your own - just check the ferry schedules: http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/c_orari.asp

Posted by
5188 posts

Make sure you sit on the left side of the train for best views of the lake.
The train journey from Milano Centrale to Varenna takes about an hour.
The train only stops in Varenna for a couple of minutes, so once you go through the tunnel, get ready to come off the train once it stops.

I’d suggest buying a mid-lake ferry day pass, and that way you can visit all the places on your list, except for the town of Como which I’d skip.

Make sure you walk on the lakeside promenade from the ferry dock to Varenna and get a gelato at Riva Gelateria!

Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
15043 posts

I didn’t find Tremezzo particularly appealing compared to the top 3 towns on the mid lake (Bellagio, Menaggio, Varenna). The only interesting thing to see in Tremezzo is Villa Carlotta. Just south of Tremezzo, at Giulino (a district of the municipality of Tremezzina), is where Mussolini was held by the partisans in his last days and executed (in case you have an interest on that dark period of Italy’s history).