Varenna-Esino Ferry to Bellagio

Hello ksrv72,

This appears to be the daily ferry schedule until March:
https://www.comoanditslake.com/img/traghetti-inverno.jpg

It appears to show many ferries a day departing Varenna for Bellagio and vice versa. There are some limitations such "people only" for some ferry stops and sometimes the go via another town like Varenna > Menaggio > Bellagio but assuming you're not taking a car that's just more lake tour for your ticket price. Check the little numbered footnotes for any particular trip.

Also - just to be clear - Varenna-Esino is the train station name for Varenna. The ferry station is a bit of a walk from there down to the lake side so there will be some transfer time involved.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

Let me guess.....you were looking at Rome2rio? Very unreliable.

The ferry between Varenna and Bellagio is 15 minutes. And as the previous poster noted, there are plenty.

Thank you for quick responses. I'm so relieved.

My 80-year old husband has a physical impairment that makes walking more than 3 to 4 blocks exhausting (pulling luggage too). Are taxis (Ubers?) easy to grab from train station in Varenna to the ferry and same when you arrive by ferry in Bellagio to hotel?

There is no Uber, but not sure if there will be taxicabs waiting at the station. However the walk is only 5 minutes (less than 400 yards) and is a bit downhill, therefore if you have luggage on wheels, they will roll down on their own. Just watch out for traffic as I don't remember is there is much of a sidewalk (but the traffic is almost non existent).
I remember seeing at least one taxi cab always waiting at the ferry dock, so maybe you might consider it on the way back to the station when you depart, since in that case the walk will be uphill (but not steep).

Technically in Italy you are only supposed to take taxis from existing Taxi Stands or you have to "call" them and arrange a pick-up.
I don't know how seriously they take these requirements in someplace as small as Varenna and if the cab was at the ferry dock already they might be willing to swing by and bring you back, but if I was to do this I would pay or tip them more than the tiny fare unless they have some built in minimum fare to survive. (There are additional charges for being called, Sundays, etc and these are all legitimate.)

I put "call" in quotes because almost everywhere they want you to use an App instead of call but again in Varenna that seems a little silly. There is a ticket office attached to the train station with some minimal tourist information supplies and they might be willing to call a cab for you if you really think the walk would be too much.

There is no Uber in Italy.

One additional note if your husband uses a cane or walking assistance device Italians take this very seriously and special seats on public transportation, shortened lines and special consideration is extended to people with assistance devices visible.

Hope that helps,
=Tod

Taxi: We were in Varenna last September. We saw there was one taxi waiting at the station.
Obviously, if there is more than one person who disembarks from the train needing taxi service, others may have to wait a few minutes.

If you arrive midday at Varenna-Esino you will probably always find a driver there. The walk is relatively steep in places and one secion splits off to stairs, while if you veer left down the road you can avoid stairs but it does add a slight more distance. The spring/summer ferry schedules are out in March. Many ferries daily to Bellagio. Just keep in mind the schedule to return via ferry. Some will be first to Menaggio then to Varenna.

https://www.navigazionelaghi.it/en/

We left Varenna a few days ago. The ferries were running about every 15 or 20, but we didn’t actually check the schedule we just got the next ferry. They were only going to Bellagio and Menaggio. We are 79 and 76 years old and understand your issue. We stayed in Varenna and though our lodging was only a five minute walk from the station our host kindly drove us in both directions. I am sorry to say that since we weren’t looking for a taxi I didn’t pay attention to if or how many there were. Our host did say there would be taxis there. I recommend you get the phone number of the taxi company so you can call if you are returning the same way, just to be sure you will have a ride up the hill to the station.

I hope you enjoy your stay at Lake Como. It was beautiful when we were there.