Lake Como transportation questions

Old Dec 27th, 2014, 01:03 PM
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Lake Como transportation questions

My husband and i are going to spend 3 nights in Bellagio in May.. We will be flying into Milan (Linate).
. Would it be a good idea to rent a car or to use public transportation? We need to get from the airport to Bellagio and also want to do some sight seeing during our time there.
After we leave Bellagio, we need to get to Basel Switzerland as we are going to try a river cruise that leaves from there. We also need to figure out transportation for this part of our trip. Although it is an appealing thought to drive to Basel, I don't think we would do that because of the drop off fee to another country but should we drive to the train station ?
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Old Dec 27th, 2014, 01:37 PM
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Once in Lake Como (or on I mean not in) the best way to see the sights ringed around the lake IMO is to go by boat - buy a day boat pass (or longer if it exists) and from the lake you can see both sides at once - driving on the congested lakeside roads lets you see relatively little of the side you are driving on.

No need for a car - and you'll get direct trains from Como's mainline station to Zurich in a few hours and change there for Basel - a half day is all it takes - if you get a chance stop off in Bern for a few hours - put your bags in a station locker and explore what to me is one of Switzerland's most unheralded nice nice cities. Or spend a few hours in say Lucerne - make a whole day of it.

For lots of great info on Swiss trains - check www.seat61.com; www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com. Just buy your ticket at the Como train station - there are some discounted tickets you may find - www.sbb.ch is the official site of the Swiss railways. Como is just a few kilometres from the Swiss border at Chiasso.
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Old Dec 27th, 2014, 09:18 PM
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Car vs. train is individualistic. Some posters in this forum drives in Italy no matter what while others may nor many not drive depending on different criteria. We don't know what criteria you have to makes car or train a good idea in your case.

From Linate to Bellagio by public transit is not complicated. There are frequent bus connecting Linate to Milano Centrale. You can always take a taxi. It is not that far. From Milano Centrale, there are hourly train to Varenna-Esino station, walk down 10 min to Varenna dock, then take one of many boats to Bellagio.

Whether car is useful at all from Bellagio depends on where you are heading which you have not posted. In case you have not looked at the map, if you are heading to Varenna, Villa Carlotta, etc, there is lake between Bellagio and pretty much anywhere along the lake. On foot, you can take frequent boats to these locations. By car you have to drive all the way down to Como or Lecco to get to the other side unless you are willing to put cars on ferries which may or may not be allowed depending on the car rental companies.

From Bellagio to Basel, if you take car, in addition to the drop off fee, you also have to deal with Swiss highway vingette if you travel on Swiss motorways http://www.autobahnen.ch/index.php?lg=001&page=014. The most straightforward path from Lugano to Basel is entirely on a motorway. There are two ways to get to the Switzerland from Bellagio, via Menaggio or via Como. Menaggio is on the other shore, so it is a hassel with a car if not using a car ferry. Como can be reached by boats or bus or drive if so chooses. From Mennagio, there is a bus to Lugano from which you can take a train. The Como route is described by the previous poster.

You can look at what roads to Bellagio look like using the google street view.

If you a typical heavily laden cruise passenger with several huge luggage, a train trip can be a challenge. For example, the Varenna-Esino station platform is way below the train floor and requires pulling the luggage on narrow no-so-even platform then down a hill.
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 01:50 AM
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If luggage is not a problem I would follow the recommendation to reach Bellagio via Varenna.

Over 3 days you could see much of the lake just using a combination of ferries and buses. There are very frequent connections.

For onward to Basel I would not recommend catching a train from Como but rather Lugano.

Their is a daily Swiss Postal bus which runs from St Moritz to Lugano station. It leaves Menaggio at 15.05 arriving Lugano 16.20. There are frequent ferries from Bellagio to Menaggio.

At 17.11 there is a non stop train from Lugano to Basel arriving at 20.55.
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 03:28 AM
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Good advice above from greg and nochblad.
In general, public transportation is preferable for the trip you've described. There are some variables, however, which others have noted. Luggage and your mobility are two of them.

For instance, some people make the Milan-Varenna-Bellagio trip by train/boat seem like a hop-skip-jump. In fact, if you have lots of luggage and aren't in good physical condition, it can be arduous. First, you have to get to the train station in Milan. Then, as noted in Varenna, you have to walk down a hill to get to the boat stop and then load your luggage onto the boat. I don't mean to make it sound like the D-Day invasion, but it's not easy if you're carrying a lot of luggage or have physical limitations.
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 05:17 AM
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Having been there and done that my recommendation would be as follows:

SPEND the money by going ON the internet and arranging a private car pick up at Linate with the transportation to Bellagio. Yes it will be more expensive than, but with MUCH less hassle, than making your way into Milan for a train to Varenna or making your way to Como with a change to one of the fast or slow ferries from there.

How MUCH are you spending on this trip????? The car transfer would be worth every penny.

From Bellagio take the ferry to Menaggio and get the bus to Lugano for the train to Basel. Oh, and plan on a taxi to the boat cruise dock in Basel, too.
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 05:40 AM
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Thanks for the advice--very helpful things to consider. It is beginning to sound like a car rental would not be the best idea although my husband does have experience driving all over Italy including the Amalfi coast and Sicily--even Palermo!
As for us, we are late 50's but in good physical condition. We usually have one large sized rolling suitcase with us. We have travelled to Europe often and walk everywhere, all day.
Even so, the car hire may be a good idea--I will look into that versus doing the more challenging walking down the hill bit.
Regarding the Bellagio to Basel part--we will be getting a river boat and need to be there by the late afternoon. How long will the trip take us and does it look like there would be connections either by bus or train that could get us there at that time?
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 06:04 AM
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To get to Basel for late afternoon it would be best to leave from Como San Giovanni station. Trains leave at 9.03 and 11.03 arriving at Basel at 13.47 and 15.47 respectively. You need to change at Zurich but the connection time is only 8 minutes according to sbb.ch

However, their are frequent trains from Basel and a better connection would be -

Como 11.03 Zurich 14.28
Zurich 15.00 Basel 15.53

This is a quicker train EC as opposed to IR giving you more time to change in Zurich but arriving in Basel only a few minutes later. Similar timing applies to the earlier train out of Como.

For Bellagio to Como I suggest you take the C30 bus which will drop you at Piazza Matteotti near the Como Lago train station where you can catch a taxi to Como San Giovanni station. If cost is not an issue a taxi from your hotel may be the simplest option.

Your hotel will be able to suggest which bus to catch bearing in mind you will meet commuting traffic if you opt for the earlier train.

If travelling on a Sunday there is a reduced bus service.
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 06:42 AM
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Thank you!! My head was spinning a bit trying to figure out how to get to Basel.
Arriving by 4 PM sounds very do-able or even getting up early to do the 9 AM train if we have to. Do you know what station at Basel we should choose to be closest to the port area so we can pick up the river cruise boat?
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 07:16 AM
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The train from Zurich arrives at the main station (hauptbahnhof). It should only be a short taxi ride 15/20 minutes to the ferry port which is down river (I presume it is Draendereck). Taxi cost about 40 swiss francs. Taxi should be able to accept credit cards but ask before setting off.

There is a tram (#8) but it involves a long walk at the dock end of the trip.
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 07:17 AM
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spelling mistake - should be Dreiländereck
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 07:38 AM
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I agree with Dukey1 as far as looking at the total cost of the trip. We have been to Bellagio three times and always have used a driver service from MXP, Davide Guererra out of Como. Excellent service and was more reasonable than others when we used his company. We used the mLake Como ferries every day and explored the lake from one end to the other, usually stopping for lunch. This is the only place we have been happy without a rental car. Totally relaxing.
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Old Dec 28th, 2014, 01:17 PM
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A driver sounds like the way to go but if you want to go by train from Malpensa Airport to Como's Nord station, right at the boat docks for boats to Bellagio or with buses to Bellagio then you can do it from Malpensa with one simple change of train - and cost only several euros p.p.
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