Lake Como area - what train station?

The website is at www.trenord.it. Unfortunately, it's in Italian. For the schedule, use "Malpensa Aeroporto" and "Como Nord Lago". I don't think it is covered by any railpass. I did find it on Trenitalia. I believe the 2nd class fare is €8,45, with a change at Saronno. I expect you can buy tickets at the airport.

It is "Varenna-Esino" and "Como S. Giovanni". The drop-down menu should give you those choices (most likely at the top of the list).

Thanks Lola - I saw those but wasn't sure.

Como S. Giovanni is a ways west of downtown Como and the harbor. There is a private train line, LeNord (Malpensa Express) with a line directly into the harbor at Como. It goes to Como from the airport or from the Cadorna station in Milan.

Lee, Re: the private rail line - what's the skinny on buying tickets for it? Is it covered by any rail passess as far as you know? Thanks!!

Marshall, Where are you planning to go on Lago di Como? There's quite a distance between Como and Varenna. If you'll be travelling only to Varenna, it's an easy trip by train. As Lola mentioned, the "official" designation of the station is Varenna-Esino. Happy travels!

No actual plans yet. Just trying to loosely piece together a potential trip of new places I'd like to visit. I'm fairly nimble with an excel sheet, google maps, this site, and Bahn.de and am constantly trying out different plans/routes. Once I've gotten a broad outline down (total #of days and rail routes) then I begin the more detailed planning (which of course always means adjusting the original plan). I havent researched Lake Como much but know that it's beautiful from the few pictures I've seen and that it is a popular destination. That's enough for me to consider it.

I don't know where you'll be coming from, but there's a good chance you'll go through Milano Centrale station on your way to the lake. I've taken the route from Milano Centrale to Varenna and can tell you that you shouldn't have any problem just buying a point to point ticket at Milano Centrale for the next train out...advance purchase/planning not really necessary. As I recall, they run about every hour with no changes...travel time is about an hour. Tickets were cheap. Milano Centrale is big and busy, so you might have to wait in line at the ticket window for 10-15 minutes. I'm not sure if a rail pass covers that route or not...I have never used passes. BTW, I can recommend Albergo Milano in Varenna (http://www.varenna.net/) – excellent small hotel with balconies overlooking the lake. Also a big patio overlooking lake...breakfast and meals served out there. Check tripadvisor for reviews and photos...4.5 stars.

Marshall, As Michael mentioned, you'll likely be transiting via Milano Centrale. If you need to buy tickets there, you can either use the automated ticket Kiosks or the staffed ticket office. The office is two floors down, accessible via "moving sidewalks". If there's a huge queue, there are also Kiosks adjacent to the ticket office. Those accept Euro cash as well as credit cards, but as I recall the Kiosks at track level only accept credit cards. The trains from Milan to Varenna depart every two hours, except during "rush hour". The trip is 1H:03M and the current second class fare is 5.75€. Cheers!