We will be traveling to the Lake region in Sept. and staying in Varenna on Lake Como.

Any suggestions on the easiest way to make day trips to Lake Maggiore and Lake Lugano. We will not have a car. Would we need to go through Milan to get the these two lakes from Lake Como?

dtaylorburke

I believe there is a public bus that leaves from the Lake como area directly to lake lugano. I took it from the town that is directly across the lake from Varenna. You definitely do not need to go through Milan.

No, none of the routings require going through Milano. You can take the ferry from Varenna to Menaggio and then the bus to Lake Lugano (12km)

Lago Maggiore is a bit more complicated, because it depends very much where on the lake you want to go. Thus, I would make the Lago Maggiore trip a separate one, and take the train. Check www.bahn.de for your various options. Although this is the website of the Deutsche Bahn (German RR), I find it the easiest to maneuver and it will cover all the connections you might be looking for. It comes in an English language version. On Lago Maggiore, if you have the chance, take a lake cruise visiting the three major islands in the lake.

thanks, I thought there was a bus from menaggio.

Yes, a bus from Menaggio is best, but it takes about an hour.