A few last minute questions on Lake Como and still have those Last Supper tickets
 

I have a few questions if anyone has any advice. We're leaving in two weeks :)

Milan-one night

I have two rooms booked at the Hotel Aosta-I know the best-but since we're only staying one night and it's right across the street from the train station where we're leaving from in the morning I took it (plus I got a rate of 80 Euros. I have since reconsidered a little since seeing a post from another fodorite who suggested Hotel Sara-they have room. Should I just keep my original hotel in not the best area or drag our luggage, kid etc. the extra 15 min. for a better area and service?
I'm not sure how significant the difference would be for just one night.

Still have my extra Last Supper tickets for 8/9 1:30pm. Any last minute out-of-the-box suggestions? I've tried here, slow travel, ebay, etc. no takers. Maybe I'll get lucky outside on the day before. Any ideas are appreciated!!

Bernina Express

After much research I just can't seem to find connections between ferry, train etc. to make this work on our own so I'm thinking of doing a day excursion with Il Porticciolo Viaggi, anyone ever dealt with them?

Lake Como

Anyone ever heard of the Como Lake Card and if so did you use it? How was it? I filled out some survey and supposedly got a free one here
http://www.lagodicomo.com/e%20nglish/como_lake_card.php

Finally we're doing a daytrip to Bellinzona any suggestions for another stop? I don't think Bellinzona will take the whole day. I know Lugano is an option, but honestly it just doesn't look worth the extra stop. Opinions?

Thanks as always!!!
bl

Anyone??

Bettyloo,

could you be a little more specific about your Bernina Express plans/expectations?

Were you planning to take the train from Milan or the mid-lake area to connect with it in Tirano?

We're staying in Lezzeno which is a little south of Bellagio. We have a car but I was trying to come up with a schedule without it via train from Varenna to Tirano.

I'm not sure I understand what you're asking about the Lezzeno to Tirano leg. If you're asking whether it's possible to get to Varenna without a car, the answer is yes. Bus or ferry to Bellagio, and then ferry to Varenna.

But if you're staying in Lezzeno, I hope you keep the car. It's possible to get there without a car, but once there your ability to explore other towns is severely limited by the ferry and bus schedules. The last ferry and bus options back to Lezzeno are not very late, so a day trip from Lezzeno to Lugano using public trans might not be worth it. I don't know whether it's possible to day trip from Lezzeno to Bellinzona using only public trans.

In case you haven't checked the ferry and bus timetables:

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/com/nlc_ora.html

http://www.sptlinea.it/pdf/invernale_0708/C30.pdf

If Lake Como is a stop between Milan and the Bernina Express, may I ask why you chose Lezzeno and not one of the mid-lake towns of Menaggio, Bellagio or Varenna?

Jean, i think bettyloo was asking if it's possible to get to Tirano by public transportation.

But like Dukey and you, I'm unclear if bettyloo is trying to take a daytrip into Switzerland or -- ?

In case, bettyloo ever returns to her post...

yes, you can get to Tirano by public transport (train) and most easily from Varenna.

I really want to help this poster but its hard when they don't answer the questions.

Zeppole and dukey Thanks for the help and sorry for the delayed response. My daughter was in Maine with friends and got sick and brought to the hospital so I had to attend to that :).


Also sorry my questions were unclear.

We are staying in an apartment in Lezzeno and we will have a car the whole time.

We are driving to Bellinzona and a possible second destination Lugano? Mercote? I'm not sure.

The confusing question seems to be this one.
On another day we want to do a very long daytrip to S Moritz on Bernina Express. We're leaning towards doing this with a company Il Porticciolo Viaggi, I was wondering if anyone's ever used them before.

I know we can park in Bellagio and take public transport to Varenna to Tirano to S Moritz and back, but in order for it to work we have to make several very tight (1 min.) connections and in my experience when a child is along it's very easy to miss a connection that tight.
As Jean pointed out the ferry doesn't run too late and I'm afraid even if we took the car ferry to Varenna and drove to Tirano we wouldn't be back in time for the last ferry.

It seems like much less of a headache to just go with a company for this, but I'm open to doing it myself if anyone knows a good way.

Jean-We're staying in Lezzeno because we know of a great apartment there that meets our needs perfectly (price, swimming on the lake right outside the door for the kid, close grocery, etc. and it's too far from Bellagio)

Thanks again everyone :)

Hope your daughter is okay!

I can't give you advice on this swiss day trip except to say it sounds like you need a vacation!

If that apartment in Lezzeno is perfect for you, I say just enjoy it. I doubt you have to book in advance with that company if you feel you must go to St Moritz once you're there. Just keep their number or e-mail. You're right about not wanting to race through train stations in Italy with a child.

Have a nice time on the lake. Say hi to George.

Bettyloo,

I am honestly not sure where these tight connections you are talking about exist but when I input a possible itinerary at the Bahn site I see connections in Colico and Tirano and neither of those are one minute or shorter...

but that's OK...if it is easier to do it with an organized group then I would do so...especially if it gets you on the train over the Bernina and then back again in a timely fashion.

One out of the box suggestion for your Last Supper tickets is to go to the Tourist Info office just off the Galleria - they might know how to sell them or offer to sell them for you. Just don't know how you'd get the euros back. When we were there (at the church), people were not asking for tickets for the next day but for the same day. Also - when you're waiting in line, let people know you have extra tickets - those waiting for tickets that day might have flexibility to return the next day....target backpackers since we saw many of them doing Milan on a whim and out of luck for tickets.

We were recently at Lake Como. We had a car and took a day trip to Soglio and St Moritz. That was easy. We went to Switzerland and were back to Lake Como by 3:00pm.

My point is that since you will have a car you can work something out. On a earlier trip, we left our car at Tirano and then took the Bernina Express train.

That is a beautiful train ride.

We took the tour from Milano from Zani viaggi, www.zaniviaggi.it
The trip started at 7 in the morning, with the bus till Tirano, then by Bernina express till St. Moritz. Return by bus. it was spectacular/
But it is only once per week, on Tuesday.

IMHO, Lugano is definitely worth an extra stop. It's one of my favorite towns and I can't wait to go back, for the 7th or so time ...

Thanks so much for the advice everyone!