Hello,

My husband, 4-year-old, and I will be in the Lake Como area (Villa d'este) for 4 nights in mid-April before going on to Venice. We will want to see surrounding villages and eat outside the hotel probably once or twice a day. Should I rent a car for our time in the lakes area?

Probably not necessary to rent a car as the boats are very comfortable, meaning many and many during the day, nice, cheap and easy to ride.

Ciao.

Vincenzo.

Well, we just got back from Lake Como. We drove to Bellagio from Umbria. The last few kilometers was enough for us to park our car the next 5 days!!! The boats, buses and ferries were easy to catch. We enjoyed exploring the lake villages with this transportation.

So far I am hearing that I don't need to rent a car to enjoy the Como area. Is there anyone who says that a car is a must or that there are special things I will miss without one?

A car is not a necessity.

In some places the terrain is very challenging for the road builders, so the roads are narrow. The Como to Bellagio road looks like it was hang halfway up the side of a very steep mountainside.

Converseley the boat service is easy as can be. Buy a day-pass for extensive or unstructured boat trips.

Also, the Villa D este has several boats for their guests to hire. I have seen a pair of them docked at the town of Como. I have no idea of the cost, but you should ask the villa.

Some people might suggest that you could use the car to hop over to Switzerland or one of the other lakes, but even Switzerland can be accomplished by public transport. Most sights of the area are lakeside and accessible by boat or public bus.