Hello all,
How do you get from the train station in Como to Bellagio? And what is the best way to go from Bellagio to the airport in Milan (with luggage?)
Thank you!

Option 1: take taxi (5 mins) to hydrofoil dock (Piazza Cavour) and take the hydrofoil (45 mins) or slower boat (1hour 15 mins) up the lake

Option 2: take train to Varenna instead of Como, walk a couple blocks downhill to the ferry dock and take the ferry to Bellagio (10 mins).

Option 3: take a bus from the train station to Bellagio

I don't know about going back to Milan airport. Which airport (Malpensa for longer flights or Linate) and when does your flight leave?

I have been to both. The Option 2, even though it might not seem to be the best way, is the recommended way. Additional comments to what Mimar wrote:

Option 1: The train pulls in near the dock #1. But the ticket booth is NOT at dock #1. Most boats leave from docks #3 and #4. There is a taxi stand at the end of the track (not in front of the station building,) but I found more taxis at Piazza Cavour taxi stand. Walking from the train station to the boat ticket booth seems to be about 1/4 mile. The COMO dock is VERY crowded. Also keep in mind that boats from COMO to Bellagio stop running much earlier than Varenna to Bellagio ferry.

Option 2: Is less hassle than #1 in spite of a steep down hill walk of about 10min to the dock. The direct boat from Varenna to Bellagio is a car ferry. The passenger only boat goes thru Mennagio, takes longer but costs the same. Schlepping luggages onto a car ferry is MUCH easier than getting into a passenger boat or a hydrofoil.

Thanks both of you!
Mimar, our flight leaves Malpensa at 10:30 am.
Greg and Mimar: can we handle our small, rolling luggage down the steep hill in Varenna?
Grazie!

cindy2,

You should manage the walk down from the railway station to the ferry dock just fine.

Since I'm on here's a link to my trip report if you're interested;

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34598121

Jim

Probably the best way to get to Malpensa is to take the hydrofoil (aliscafo) to Como and the bus from Piazza Cavour to Malpensa. However, check the time tables. From what I can see, the earliest aliscafo arrives (at 7:30) after the bus leaves (at 7:02).

Thanks!
One more question, Mimar: If I want to take my teenage daughter shopping in Milan one day, what would be the best way to go from Bellagio (and back)?
Any favorite places?

To go to Milan for a one-day shopping trip, you probably want to keep transfers at a minimum. So first choice would be the bus from Bellagio; second choice the ferry to Varenna and the train. Milan has a biggish central area and I don't know where the best shopping is relative to the bus stop or the train station. So that might be another criteria as would be departure times at either end.