Mithaiwala

Visiting Italy for the first time with my mom, and 3 youngsters ages 22-25; taking the Globus 13-day tour starting and ending in Rome, going around Italy. However, we are interested in visiting Milan, Lake Como and Bellagio.

What is the best way to add that area without adding too much to our cost. Would like to add it at the end of our tour and this will entail travelng from Rome to Milan. Flights have not been booked yet; will depend on whether traveling back to Rome to fly out will be cheaper or whether we can get a better airfare flying out of Milan back to U.S. Looking for guidance/advice on transportation and lodging in Milan, Lake Como, Bellagio?

Would 2 days be enough to add that segment? Would like to avoid too much walking to make it easy for my mom. Also, would that segment be interesting for my youngsters because they may not be too much into good scenery, etc. !!! Just trying to figure out if it would be worth the extra cost to add it to our tour. Thank you. (By the way, traveling in January 2014)

cmeyer54

We added Milan at the end of a trip as well. There are trains between Rome and Milan so I would look into that as well as potentially flying into Rome and out of Milan. January in the lakes region may not be that great. Perhaps a day trip to Como/Bellagio but be warned, the traffic is nasty. In Milan, you must see the Last Supper and tickets must be booked well in advance. You can also tour the Duomo, LaScala Opera house with lovely costume museum, the Galleria, Ferrari Store, etc. You can also drive down into Piedmonte area for wineries. We spent three days in that area. Drive around Como or see if they have a boat tour that time of year. As for lodging in Milan, we stayed at the Sheraton Diana and took a tram to the city center. Duomo, Galleria, LsScala and Ferrari are all within a couple of blocks of the city center right where the trams come in. If not looking to stay at a major chain hotel, I use Venere since they allow you to search based on budget and neighborhood.

bobthenavigator

Forget Lago Como in Jan.---waste of time.

nytraveler

The lakes in winter are mostly closed, bad weather and not much to see and do.

If you want to see a little of Milan you would need to add 3 days to the trip - 1 to get there and 2 to do any sightseeing. (You need to remember that in winter in Italy many sights are open shorter hours - only 9 am to 1 or 2 pm - not all day.)

But this is quite late to be getting tickets for this trip - were they not bought as part of the tour?

karencita

We were in Como in December of last year and enjoyed it very much. We stayed in Como, inside the old city walls and took a bus to Bellagio and a fast boat back. Milan is an easy day trip from Como. Alternatively, you could base out of Milan and take a day trip to Como then fly home from Milan. We are currently planning a trip to Prague and will be flying home from Milan.
Enjoy your trip!

Holly_uncasdewar

The town of Como is a year-round living, breathing Italian town, and very much enjoyable as a destination in its own right, even in summer when all the other tourists are flocking to other points on the lake. You should follow karencita’s route for a wonderful couple of days there.

neckervd

Yes, Como is a sympathic and enjoyable Italian town, like at least 50 other Italian provincial towns, many of them closer to Rome than Como.
A OW train ride takes about 4 hrs and costs about 100 EUR/140 USD/pax

Mithaiwala

Thank you all very much for your input. Certainly helps to hear from people who have already visited the area! karencita and cmeyer54, appreciate your detailed input and also holly_uncasdewar and neckervd for your positive feedback on Lake Como!
Thank you!