dw0201

How long will it take to go from Bellagio or Como to Milan Linate airport?

If we only have three nights in the Lakes area would you suggest staying Bellagio and traveling to different towns or would you actually stay in one different town?

and finally if we are traveling from Venice to the lakes by rental car(I believe the train is not direct) then would you keep the rental car for the lakes area or is it easier to get around by Ferry?

Thanks so much!

rex

I would keep the car, and stay in Menaggio, since I think that the western "coast" of the lake might actually keep you occupied/interested more completely for three full days, then just Bellagio and places you can reach from there. It is really effortless to get over to Bellagio from Menaggio - - but it is not efortless to get from Bellagio to say... Villa d'Este in Cernobbio. Nor Villa Carlotta. Villa Balbianello - - which I consider a MUST see, is probably equally accessible from either Bellagio or Menaggio.

Having said all that, I would take no serious argument with someone who says "No! Stay IN Bellagio!" (or Varenna). Just sharing my opinion with you, based on my personal experience of staying three nights in Menaggio.

Best wishes,

Rex

Michael

We stayed in Bellagio because of restaurant choices. I wasn't sure that ferries would run in the late hours after dinner. I recommend the Il Perla Panorama as a good hotel located above Bellagio.

Lolo

I liked staying in Bellagio. There are a lot of restaurants and you can easily get to Menaggio, Varenna and Tremezzo by ferry. The Hotel Belvedere was very nice. It overlooks the lake and is only a 10-15 minute walk into town. We drove from Bellagio to Milan Malpensa airport in under 1 1/2 hours. The distance may be around the same for Linate, but check it out on the map.

Wayne

To answer questions others didn't:
-From Bellagio to Linate by car: about an hour, more or less.
-From Como to Linate by car: about half an hour, more or less.

I'd agree with Rex that it might be a bit easier to stay somewhere on the west coast of the lake. Menaggio and Tremezzo are both pretty nice.

Traveling from Venice to the lakes by rental car, keep the car as advised by Rex and use it to visit the sights in the area. Take a ferry if you want to visit Bellagio.

By the way, you probably already know, but it's a good idea to make sure you allow enough time to return your rental car and then get to the terminal at Linate, all of which will take a good 30 minutes, maybe more. And add that to the 2 hours in advance that you need to check in for an international flight. Good luck.

dw0201

Thanks for the responses, I will do some more research on which town in the Lakes area.