Getting around Italian lake district without a car
 

When we go to Italy in July we are going to be using trains to get from city to city. However when we arrive in Varenna (where we'll stay for 5 days) we were wondering whether or not it would be wise to hire a car.We know there are ferries but is there a lot ot do/see which can't be accessed either on foot or by bus?

Hi sissy57!

Little tip: rent a very small car,
you can park/enter almost everywhere.

Thanks Eugenio! Will take your advice. Are there any special places you would recommend that would be great to see?

Hi Sissy57, Schnauzer again from Oz. We stayed three nights a year or so ago in Varenna and by circumstances we had a car but quite honestly we really didn't need it. We did drive to the castle Vezio where the falcons were due to fly (bloke decided to go home early so waste of time) and to the Fiumelatte which is the shortest river in Italy. The brochure said you could walk from Varenna, which you could but it would have been quite a walk. It would have been cheaper to just take a taxi, ooh aah at the river (make sure it is flowing - it stops for part of the year) and then get back to Varenna. Have a look at where you wish to go and make sure you really need a car. The ferries are a great way to get around and run very frequently. I would only get a car - maybe for the day to see some of the non lake side areas.

As to places to see and do, well, where can I start. If you do a search for Lake Como - Varenna you will get heaps of trip reports. I wrote a long one about our 20th Anniversary trip to Paris, Lake Como and Rome, from Sept 05. See you can find it first, if not then message back and I will re write the hightlights for you. You must make a booking at Il Cavatappi for dinner and make sure you do to Villa Balbianello - sensational. If you have seen the new James Bond movie, at the end where he is recuperating that is the Villa Balbianello. There is heaps to see, so check out the report and let me know if you want some more info. We just adored the place and wished we had more time there. I will see if I can find a link to my report. I haven't done that before so might not work. Schnauzer

me again, I typed in the search box at the top of the page Lake Como Varenna Schnauzer and up came my report. Have a go and see what happens. Trawl down to the Lake Como bit.

Hi Schnauzer
What a report! I've copied it so that I can print the whole lot off and read it later. How did you remember everything? Did you write a journal every day or do you have some other way of remembering. My memory is not what it used to be!! It's that 50 thing!

Your trip has so many similarities to what we hope to do so thank you. Can't wait!
By the way - I have to limit myself on this Forum - it's so addictive. I'm such a slow typer but I devour all the info and go from thread to website, back to threads again. My husband thinks I've lost the plot!

Hi Sissy, Yes I write a journal everyday, it is just too easy to forget what happened even from day to day!! I know what you mean about addictive, I still spend far too many hours on this board. During the planning stages for that trip I too felt like I had lost the plot, it became obsessive, the getting everything just right. I did find the extra planning certainly helped rather being hit and miss which is what had happened before. Hope you have a great time, and any more questions just ask. Dinnertime here now!! Schnauzer