We just had a great tour in Milan and also to Como with one of Rick’s recommended guides. At the train station in Milan, she arranged to also buy our ferry tickets along with the round trip train tickets. Saved us a ton of time in Varenna.
Also, be aware that in busy season the train back to Milan is VERY crowded. We stood the whole trip back to Milan and counted ourselves lucky to be in the car with the bicycles! Not complaining, we could have taken an earlier train but my husband really wanted some food so we took our chances with the 4:30 pm train.