I will be ending my trip in Venice. Before we fly out of venice, how far is it to get to Lake Como (do trains go there or should we drive?) Is Lake Como the best 'R&R' place to go after venice for a few nights before coming back to States or does anyone have any other suggestions?

For less than half the travel time, you can have a similarly pleasant at "the Lakes" at Lake Garda - - consider staying at Sirmione, for example. Other choices include (the town of) Garda itself, Malcesine or Riva del Garda.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

thanks, what is Lake Garda like? How is it different from lake como? How do we get to Lake Garda (should we drive or train?) Any thoughts? Looking for a R&R place near Venice, but before home for 2 nights......thanks again in advance!!!!

What is it "like"? um... filled with water?<BR><BR>Okay, well the southern end (which includes Sirmione) is not nearly so edged with steep craggy walls like Como is. But the northern end is (terminating in Riva).<BR><BR>Along the eastern edge, especially nearer the south, there are a lot more family-style attractions - - an amusement park (Gardaland), one of those "Medieval Times" restaurants (or something like that).<BR><BR>Sirmione has much of the elegance of Bellagio (down a notch), and some genuine history, both from Roman era and medieval. Malcesine and Limone are both fairly cool, relatively undiscovered (by Americans - - but not by other Europeans, especially Germans). At the northern end of the lake, the conditions are especially ripe for windsurfers.<BR><BR>I would recommend a car.<BR>

The two railway stations for the Lake Garda are Peschiera del Garda and Desenzano del Garda, both two hours from Venice by InterRegio or InterCity trains on the main line to Milan. The IC trains tend to stop in one or the other, seldom in both.

As a follow-on to advice on train connections given by Daniel, you would find that your arrival at either Peschiera of Desenzano stations would not put you in a very desirable location for seeing some of the Lake Garda shoreline and attractions. From either station, you would need to take a taxi to get to the lakeshore and the shops, restaurants, and sights along the water. Having been all around the lake, I can emphasize that the water is nice and the amenities are all available on the southern shores, but (as Rex already advised) the scenery toward the north end of the lake is much more dramatic. <BR><BR>I'd suggest you take the train to the south end, then rent a car or take a bus around to the north end of the lake. A full circuit of the lake by car, given the typical traffic during tourist season, will probably take around two hours---longer if you stop at some villages along the way.<BR><BR>You have implied that you'd like to spend a few nights at Lake Como or some similar place. If you head halfway up the eastern shore of Lake Garda, you will come to Malcesine, a lovely village with nice sights all around, already recommended by Rex. And you'll be a lot closer to Venice than going all the way to Lake Como.

It is possible to travel from town to town on Lake Garda by boat. Hydrofoil from Desenzano takes 2 hours to Riva at the north end, ordinary ferries between 4 and 5 hours.

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