Car Rental in Lake Como -- Varenna
 

I wanted to see where would be the best place/company to rent a car in Varenna so that we can drive to Venice. We would like to stop at a few towns along the way for lunch and sightseeing. As I understand it, if we took the train from Varenna to Venice, it is over 7 hours. We love to drive in Italy so renting a car is a fun way for us to see the countryside. Also, would love suggestions for towns to see along the way to Venice. We thought about stopping in Verona. Thanks very much.

You're wrong about the train. It's an hour from Varenna station to Milano Centrale and 2.5 hours from there to Venice. Allowing an hour for connecting, that's 4.5 hours. You could still stop in Verona. The train station has luggage storage.

Also the train allows everyone to see the countryside and the towns en route.

But you may prefer to drive.

Monday through Friday, you can pick up a car in Lecco which is about 30-40 minutes from Varenna on the train line to Milan. The office opens at 8:30a. You wouldn't be driving away until 9:00a or later, but you could probably make it to Verona in time for lunch. The one-day rental could cost as much as a 3-day rental, and you could be charged a one-way fee. (We haven't been charged the additional fee, but the possibility is stated in the reservation details.) You'd need to rent a car with a trunk large enough to hold all of your luggage completely out of view, and I very much doubt you could get a car with auto transmission at the Lecco location.

The only way it would be a "scenic" drive is if you stayed off the A4, perhaps drove around Lago d'Iseo or along a portion of the lakeshore at Lago di Garda. But then you wouldn't reach Verona in time for lunch.

If your priority/goal is Verona, I would probably just take the train.

Count 2 full days if you plan to visit all the major gems along the itinerary via Bergamo - Brescia - Lake Garda - Verona - Vicenza - Padua,
more if you drive through the Alps (Stelvio - Bolzano - Dolomites).

If "a few towns along the way" = "stopping in Verona", this trip make sense strictly in terms your interest in driving as an activity instead as a means of transport.

The one day rental would be same as three day rental and would probably run over 200EU including all the cost. The train fare would be less than half of this.

Also, you would be taking more time using a car the way described. You would have to travel to larger town to rent a car - train/bus/boat trip needed even if you rent, and you have to add time it takes to rent a car, refuel, park, and do return paper work.

If you are going to drive anyway, you might want to rent a car elsewhere and drive to Varenna if you have a place to park.

Ok so it sounds like given our limited driving plans, we might want to go the train route and just stop in a town for lunch. Would Verona be a good stop or are there other towns along the way that would make for a better stop?

Mimar -- you mentioned lockers at the Verona station, are they large enough to accommodate medium/large sized suitcases? Also, do we need to change trains in Milan in order to get to Venice?

Verona: there are not only lockers, as you see: http://www.grandistazioni.it/cms/v/i...003f16f90aRCRD

Local trains from secondary lines never go to main lines. You have to change at Milano Centrale.

Verona may be a good stop if you like this town and it's famous roman amphitheatre
http://www.tourism.verona.it/en/itin...in-fair-verona

To elaborate on neckervd's response, lockers are rare in Europe now. What Verona and other places have are baggage storage rooms (Deposito Bagagli), which will accept all size bags.

Other possible stops are Padua (also with baggage storage) and Vicenza (baggage storage at TI according to one Googled source). These are the options that first come to mind. I'm sure there are others. BTW any of these 3 towns - Verona, Padua and Vicenza - can be visited on a day trip from Venice.