Venice to Lake Como next year.

By train. You'll need to change trains in Milan. Some departures also require a change in Bologna. Total travel time will be roughly 4 to 5 hours (that's for Varenna).

Do you know where you'll be staying on Lake Como? I think some of the small towns would require a last stage by bus or lake boat. Varenna is very popular on this forum, and it does have rail service.

Thank you very much for your help. We are possibly staying at villa Flori in Como. We were there in past. Have Not been to Veranno and little knowledge. Do you think it’s better? More to do or see? Thank you again.

Also do you know what train schedule I will look at, and can I buy a ticket In advance?

Varenna is located in the mid lake triangle of ferry service along with Bellagio, Menaggio, Cadenabbia, etc. The scenery there is the most beautiful on the lake, Alps to the north..
If you take a train to Como, then you can take ferry north up the lake. Or take a train to Varenna and stay there or take a ferry to one of the other towns to stay.

Thank you! We will stay there then.

You asked about a website for train schedules and fares. The national train service, Trenitalia, can be found here: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Tickets for the Freccia (high speed) trains can be purchased in advance, at a discount, but these are nonrefundable. In these uncertain times, you might not want to buy them too far in advance. The slower, regionale trains can also be bought in advance, but the fare is fixed, so there is no monetary advantage to advance purchase.

we did the Heart of Italy tour then struck out on our own, train from Florence to Venice, three days there then train from venice to Verona, such a lovely place well worth a visit on way to Lake Como, then we used a private driver to take us from there to Bellagio on lake Como, about 200 euros, we felt we saved time and hassle with the door to door service but I think if you schedule it right the train change in Milan wouldnt be a problem, we loved Bellagio, and the lake ferries are small and very nice way to tour the lake, like you we are hoping the next year sees us all travelling, we love RS and travelling with our southern neighbours

Go down stairs if you need customer service at the Milan train station. The self-service kiosks were acting up one day when we were there. The small kiosks with one person working them were not helpful (we tried several). We finally made it to what felt like the basement, and we were met by a very nice customer service agent that spoke English. She explained that the machines upstairs were experiencing “technical difficulties”, and then she helped us use a machine downstairs. My memory is that this was to purchase our slow train tickets to Varenna.

Pay attention in all these towns around Lake Como as the train arrives. The arrival platforms tend to be small. You need to sit near the front of the train and be ready to disembark. You could get stuck on the train if you move slowly. We did.....;-)

Edit: I see Dario’s post below. He may be completely right on the relevancy of my post/advice. I purchased a frecciarosa (Venice to Milan) ticket well in advance of my planned trip, with the idea of purchasing my connecting ticket once I arrived in Milan. Almost all Italians have been pleasant and helpful during my time in that country...but, deal with some computer issues and then some smug attendants at the track and you may need to wander those big halls that were built by a little dictator. The basement customer service desk is the only reason that I made it to Varenna.

The above post is not really relevant to you. In fact, You can buy both legs in a single transaction, either online or at Venice station's counters and ticket machines. Same if you prefer more time to transfer at Milan Central and you want to make two separate purchases: you can get both tickets in Venice. I can't imagine why you would exit the tracks area in Milan and start wondering around those big halls.

The schedules of trains running between the 14th of December 2020 and the 13th of June 2021 will be uploaded on trenitalia.com by December 13 in batches: high speed trains first, the locals last. Covid19 permitting, local trains have no reserved seats and can't sell out.

Going via Bologna is a waste of time, I think Trenitalia shows that route only to sell two high speed tickets to those tourists who have never looked at a map.

Ok thank you. This makes sense. I’d rather get ticket online ahead with my presumed schedule. I looked online and didn’t know what stations to put in. Several came up when I put Venice. Do you know exactly what station in Venice to get to Varenna ? Where to switch etc? I appreciate your help very much!

If you are staying in Venice proper (not on the mainland) then you would use Venezia S. Lucia station. To see where you would change trains, on the website, look at the Duration column and click where it says "changes".

Thank you very much!

hey hey mdghiozzi
gonna throw another idea out there for you.
since you've been to lake como, have you thought of going to another lake, garda or maggiore?
i've been to lake garda's town of bardolino for their annual festa de uva (wine festival). absolutely loved the festival and parts of the lake we saw. gorgeous views, small villages, shops, cafes, ferry rides, wineries to other towns for day trips.
we were staying in venice, rented a car and off we went. we spent the night in bardolino. the train is easy from venezia st lucia and you can also buy tickets at the station. if so, don't forget to validate before boarding. it's a couple hours away, train station peschiera. stay there or adventure out around the lake.
others here have been to lake maggiore and give you info on ideas and places to see. just adding my 3 cents in. see something new and different.
aloha

You would get off the train at Varenna-Esino. The town is just in front of you and the ferry dock is down a very short hill and completely visible from the station. You will change onto the TreNord network at Milano Centrale. You will leave the Venice islands at the Ferrovia (literally iron road just like trains in the US were called 150 years ago) vaporetto stop and go up the steps (also a ramp, an extremely scenic and artistic ramp) into Venezia Santa Lucia station. The fast Frecciabianca train makes a very small handful of stops on the way to Milan and you don't need to change. Anything else is more complicated and slower.

How about renting a car and seeing some of the sites along the way (especially if you're flying round trip to/from Venice)?

Check the price of the train versus the price of a private driver. We opt for the private driver for time savings.

How do I contact a private driver from here? A company that does it? Thank you

My opinion - you are overthinking this.
The day before you want to travel, go to the station in Venice and buy your tickets.
Use the vending machines, which have an English option.
Select departure station, Venezia SL and arrival station.
Select “next day” and your travel times.
Select the number of passengers.
Shove your visa card in, collect tickets.

Taking trains in Italy is very simple.

The day before you want to travel, go to the station in Venice and buy your tickets.

Why the day before? It would be too late for discounted tickets.
Why should they waste vacation time going to the station? I doubt they'll pick one of the few accommodations in Venice that have no free wifi.

The day before you want to travel, go to the station in Venice and buy your tickets.

Of course if you buy a few weeks ahead of time, you can save about €15 per ticket.

Shove your visa card in, collect tickets.

And pray that it works. Not all US credit cards are compatible with the ticket selling machines.

mdghiozzi - I'm not sure what you are asking? I just looked up private drivers on the web. I used Bellagio Taxi.

Thank you all. I appreciate your help.