Adelle, IMO, travelling from Venice to Lake Como to the Cinque Terre makes sense only if you can spend three nights in each place. You'll lose more than half a day getting from Venice to Bellagio and another half day getting from Bellagio to the Cinque Terre. If it were my trip and I didn't have the six nights for this part of my itinerary, I'd skip either Lake Como or the Cinque Terre.

If it's a first time trip, I suggest Bellagio also with Varenna as second choice.

We stayed out of the way in Bellagio at the Pergola. A family-owned hotel with a restaurant. It was a 15-20-minute walk to the main part of town but we enjoyed its quiet location (in March) and its quirkiness.

Have a wonderful trip!

I agree with Jean--skip Como unless you have the time to enjoy it--too much hassle for 1 nite.

I think Bob the N. means skip Lake Como, not the town of Como. And yes, the detour isn't worth it for just one night.

Either hire a car and take the A4 motorway all the way to Milan and then the E64 all the way to Como - it's realy easy and takes about 3 hours 30
follow this link for a full road itinerary - http://www.rac.co.uk/route-planner/r...rue&jsOption=1

OR
simply hop on a train all the way from Venice to Como San Giovanni station via Milano Centrale. It takes around 4 hours, Follow this link for train times - www.trenitalia.com