Question: On our last full day in Italy we will be staying either in Varenna or Bellagio for 2 or maybe 3 nights. My question to travelers familiar with the navigation of the area is this: Should/ Could we stay the final night at our hotel or should we book a room near MXP if we have a US Flight departing at 10:00am? We most likely will have a rental car with us so not sure if we ditch it around Como and catch a train in Como or we drive it and return it at MXP or we hire a car from the hotel to drop us off. Looking for advice. I will be traveling with my wife and 3 children ages 14, 11, 8 so that will probably add to the time to check in as well..

We've stayed in Bellagio and managed to catch a mid-morning flight at Malpensa by leaving very early in the morning (check the ferry schedule!) I wouldn't bother to drop the car in Como, just drive to Malpensa. If you need to fill up the car with gas, you'll need to do it several exits before the airport, so check that out beforehand or arrange to return the car without a gas refill.

I would stay the last night near MXP. For a 10:00 a.m. flight, and needing to turn in a car, I would want to get to the airport by 7:45 at the latest. If there's an accident on the autostrada, and you are delayed, you will be looking to buy 5 one way tickets home. To me that would just be too stressful.

We have spent the night at an uninspired airport hotel (Hotel Cardano), but did drive up to Arona, on Lake Maggiore for a dinner and a pleasant evening's stroll the night before departure. In older threads here on SlowTravel, Jim Zurer recommended Hotel Tre Re in Sesto Calende for a night before MXP departure, so don't know if it would be a good place to eat:

http://www.hotel3re.it/

Remember that with heightened security controls, you're supposed to check in no later than THREE HOURS prior to scheduled plane departure.

Bob, My question is why do you have the car? If you drop it at Como on the way up you can hire a pro driver both ways with what you save. Do not try it on your own---tough logistics to drive out from Bellagio and Varenna is even further. We just did that in Oct. The driver from Como was 90E and to MXP from Bellagio was 180E.

Bob-

Thanks for the tip. Do we need a car while we are in this area? We are driving up from Lucca after spending one week there of which we plan to travel around via rental car. Than the final leg of our journey is a 3 night stay in the Lake Como area either in Varenna or Bellagio. If we ditch the rental after Lucca is it best to drop it in Lucca and take the train or drive up to Como and drop the rental off there. Any suggestions?

Bob, I would drive as far as I could---your options will be in the city of Como or in Lecco---perhaps the latter if you are going to Varenna. We dropped in Como and hired a taxi right from the car office--took almost an hour to Bellagio on a road you do not want to drive. The choice would be to take the slow ferry or the hydrofoil to Bellagio from the boat docks. You may have to taxi there--about a mile or so. I prefer the slow boat for the joy of the trip---stopping at many of the villages on the way up. If you do drop in Como, get back to me for detailed directions for the AE drop location---easy to miss. I printed a big scale map from Google maps and we still almost missed it--in a underground garage that is offset from the street.
BTW, without the car I would stay in Bellagio. Look at La Limonera apts. Have you seen my trip report from Oct.?

Bob, as usual thanks for the great tips. I am Gold with Hertz and have earned a boat load of certificates that I plan to use to pay for the rental so would need a Hertz drop off.?? Haven't researched this deep on the drop off location. Any idea how long the trek up from Lucca will take? Is it highway or is this an Adventure in driving type of road

Funny you mentioned La Limonera. I had just printed out that property for the wife to look into. We originally looked into Varenna as the city but it looks a bit more romantic than what we're looking for on this trip as we're bringing our 3 kids along for this ride.

I consider a car more of a liability than an asset on the Italian Lakes, and certainly in the Varenna-Bellagio-Menaggio Triangle. You can get just about anywhere worth visiting by comination bus/ferry/hydrofoil.

Were this my trip, I would drop the car in Como and take the bus or the ferry to Bellagio. If you're going to Varenna, drop the car in Lecco and proceed by train.

Here are the pertinent schedules:

www.sptlinea.it (Look for Line C30)

http://www.sptlinea.it/LinkCli...d=666&language=en-US

www.navigazionelaghi.it

www.ferroviedellostato.it

Bob, The Hertz drop may be the same location. Check with Hertz, with your discounts, and then check with Kemwel for comparable car and insurance coverage. You may be surprised.

Bob, Run Google maps and you will see the route I prefer---Lucca, La Spezia, Parma, west of Milano, to Como. It says 3:34--I would allow 4 hours. Print a good map of Como to pinpoint the drop location by address.

Bob, we do this every year. 5 adults traveling together, so we rent a car.

We either stay in Bellagio or Varenna. So we leave around 5:30 for MXP. It's 2 to 2 1/2 hours depending on traffic. With no traffic, it's under 2 hours. Our hotel in Bellagio usually has a breakfast ready for us in bags to eat on the road.

quote:

y

Just to add, in Bellagio, the car never gets used except to and from the airport, but in Varenna, we like to take an occasional trip into the hills or visit some of the towns to the north so we do use the car there.

Harvey, I hate that road from Bellagio to Como. With the $$$ they save by not having the car you can hire the pro driver to MXP.

Bob, where's your sense of adventure.
You're right about that road (Bellagio to Como), But driving it at that time in the morning you'd hardly ever see a car on it.

I drove it last June, early morning, to make our plane, and made it to Como in 45 minutes. We even had extra time to stop for a cappucino. Granted you get a little dizzy from turning the wheel sharply to the left...than to the right...


But, you're right, if he gets rid of the car early, a driver would be a good option.

I'm not sure that I'd advise having the car, but if you do, you can take the ferry and have the easier drive on the West Bank. Under the winter schedules (if on a working day), the first ferry from Bellagio to Cadenabbia is at 5.50; not so good from Varenna: http://www.navigazionelaghi.it...2009/nlc_ora_t1.html

BobTN

Do you still have the contact for the pro-driver you used in your recent trip?

Thx.

s

Yes, we actually used 2 drivers. The first was just a taxi[van] that the girl at the car drop called for us---were there in 5 minutes and very good. The other is a pro who has a company with several drivers. You cvan reach him at:
www.davideguerrera.com They charged 180E from Bellgio to MXP for the 4 of us. It took about 1:45 for the trip on a sat.