We are planning a two week trip to Italy in late June with our arrival in Milan. We want to visit the Lake Como area first for maybe two or three days and then drive to the Portofino coastal area. I haven't seen any comments about Portofino or this region and am curious if anyone has visited this area and has any suggestions as to what town to stay in and hotel recommendations. I would think we would spend another two or three days there and then on to Tuscany for the balance of our trip.

We stayed in Portofino in the Nazionale. You can get a room looking out onto the harbor - the same view as the very expensive Splendido Mare. I wouldn't want to stay in the back rooms. I had one booked and it was just too dark for me, one window facing a wall, so I immediately upgraded to the harbor view room. Another place that is recommended is the Hotel Piccolo. Portofino is a great place just to sit around and relax, or you can explore the Cinque Terre. I was there in late September so their was no crowd. You might not find it as relaxing in June, but it will be beautiful.

Bob, Portofino is lovely but very small, expensive and somewhat isolated. I would stay in Santa Margherita only 3 miles away. Much more to do and a wide range of good hotels. Tell us your price range, or do a search above under that name and you will get dozens of good past posts. Good luck !

hi Bob. my husband and i just spent 8 days in italy. we split our trip between the lake area (como and garda) and the ligurian coast (genoa and cinque terre.) if i could do it over i would spend the entire time at the coast. we both grew up on large lakes and so the lake area was not very impressive to us. it was very developed and not in the least bit peaceful. the coast however,was fantastic. we stayed just outside the cinque terre in a town called moneglia. there is a B&B there that used to be a castle. it is one of the neatest places i've ever stayed. moneglia itself is only 10 minutes by train to the CT. there are several threads on this site about the CT and the website for the hotel is www.castellodimonleone.it/

Heather, you didn't say in your posting but I would be interested in how you traveled from the lake region to the coast. We are planning on driving. If you drove, what route did you take and do you recommend any interesting stops along the way? Thanks to Bob and Kay for your insights as well.

I love both Lake Como and the ligurian coast. On Como we stay at Grand Hotel Menaggio in Menaggio and love it. Others swear by Gr. H. Victoria in Menaggio and various places in Bellagio and Varenna. It's all lovely. We stay in Camogli on ligurian coast and take boat to Portofino. Hotel in Camogli is Cennobio dei Doge. Swell place with rooms around $200 per night. Town is sometimes called the poor man's Portofino. Has two harbors including a fisherman's harbor. Quiet, walking street by harbor. Painted houses. It's also swell.

If you can afford it, Portofino is wonderful. Small, peaceful, beautiful. You can really get to know this town and that is what I loved about it. Roads wind up the hills to the top and the view is lovely. I stayed at the Piccolo and would walk into town each day. Taking a boat ride to Camogli would be heaven as the town also looked so quaint.

Heather, thanks for the web site www.castellodimonleone.it<BR>What a treasure. I was in Italy exactly one year ago -- both Lake Como and the Ligurian Coast. I would not have wanted to miss either one but then, unlike you, I didn't grow up around a lake. For Bob I would recommend exactly what he outlined, 2-3 days around the lakes and lots more around Portofino. I am bookmarking your website, Mary, for another trip someday. Wish it were soon! What a wonderful area, especially before high season! Ciao.

Heather, thanks for the web site www.castellodimonleone.it<BR>What a treasure. I was in Italy exactly one year ago -- both Lake Como and the Ligurian Coast. I would not have wanted to miss either one but then, unlike you, I didn't grow up around a lake. For Bob I would recommend exactly what he outlined, 2-3 days around the lakes and lots more around Portofino. I am bookmarking your website, Heather, for another trip someday. Wish it were soon! What a wonderful area, especially before high season! Ciao.

I have received lots of great advice and help from Bob the Navigator, but I would not have wanted to stay in Santa Margherita... not the same feel at all to me.

In response to Bob:<BR>"Message: Heather, you didn't say in your posting but I would be interested in how you traveled from the lake region to the coast. We are planning on driving. If you drove, what route did you take and do you recommend any interesting stops along the way?" <BR><BR>My husband and i live in germany so we were able to get a super cheap flight (only 12Euro each) into Bergamo (near Milan). We then rented a car and drove from Bergamo to Moneglia which took about 2.5 hours. We spent 3 days on the coast, with day trips to Genoa (my husband has a thing for aquariums and Genoa's is the 2nd largest in the world) and of course the CT. We did the CT hike one day-it is not for the faint-hearted, but not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. We were not able to see all 5 towns of the CT due to time constraints - we started in Riomaggiore and made it to Vernazza (we skipped Monterosso) before we decided we better start drinking some wine ASAP! Here is a good site for CT www.cinqueterre.it/index_e.htm <BR><BR>Frommer's also has some good info, and we brought the Fodor's book with us too. Someone had also loaned us a Rick Steves guide but I am not a Rick Steves fan (i like to make my own decisions) so i "forgot it" at home, much to my husband's chagrin. In my opinion, Rick Steves has totally ruined Vernazza for the traveller who wants a vacation, asopposed to a cattle-call experience. But I digress. From CT we drove through Parma where we stopped for lunch on our way to Lake Garda. There is excellent food and drink to be had in the Parma region. Here is a pretty good site for Lake Garda <BR>www.gardalake.it <BR>We were there 3 days and made day trips to Verona (a nice city) and to Lake Como (specifically Bellagio). <BR><BR>I mapped all the driving routes and distances with mapblast.com and found that they were actually quite accurate when it came to driving times. When i originally posted my itinerary on this site people told me that we would end up spending too much time driving, but we didn't feel that way. It was a great opportunity to see more of the Italian countryside and also allowed us more freedom to change our plans at relatively short notice. For example, we had every intention of seeing Milan and Bologna, but axed those plans after realizing that Bergamo is a charming little city deserving of a visit. We spent one day there at the beginning of our trip, and one day at the end. <BR><BR>I hope this answers your questions Bob!

topping for bob@hotmail

12 EURO's, wow! I'm afraid the airfare from New Orleans to Milan is a bit more. Your answer was right on target and many thanks for following up as well as the web sites. This is a big help in our planning. What did you think about Bellagio and would you consider using it as a base to see that region? We have been to Stesa so we are somewhat familiar with the area in general.

Bob, my husband and I went to Lake Como and also the Portofino area with a daytrip to CT last fall 2001. Some ideas from that trip are as follows. We landed at Malpensa and rented a car from Autoeurope--a really painless way to rent a car. Then we drove to Varenna on Lake Como taking the western road along Lake Como to Managgio--took the car ferry to Varenna. Stayed at Albergio Olivedo a really funky hotel right on the harbor. We had a corner 3rd floor room with fantastic views both ways. Had a really big bathroom. Price was 260,000 lira for 2/nights including breakfast. The most outstanding feature about this place was Laura, the owner/waitress. We ended up eating most everynight meal there as well just to hear her recite the evening menu. Anyway, we parked the car that first day then the next two days we took the ferry to other places like Bellegio (be sure to go to the tourst bureau and pick up their walking brochure and take the purple trip (Ithink) into the suburbs of Bellegio--So interesting and so up and down the narrow "streets". On the boat trip to Mennagio we first heard of the bombing of the World Trade Center--after getting off the ferry we immediately ducked into a local pub and watched the ensuing events on CNN--so unreal it was, but there were lots of other Americans there doing the same thing. Anyway we didn't see anything of Mannagio but had to take the last ferry of the day back to Verenna. One day at Verenna we took the hike out of the village along the coast and saw remarkable villas and gardens. After three days we left there and headed to Castelrotto to spend four days in the Italian Alps at the Hotel Cavallino d'Oro. <BR>I will not go into that part but we left there and spent the next night in Sirmione (Lake Garda) at Hotel La Paul. It was not our first choice but okay. The town of Sirmione is cute but a bit over run by shops, etc. Was crowded.<BR>Next it was on to Santa Margherita on the coast. We stayed at Villa Gnocchi a wonderful B&B in the hills overlooking the water in the distance--a really nice Italian experience, nice innkeepers. One day there we drove to Portofino (not far) and parked in a garage and walked to the harbor and took a boat to San Fruttuoso, a monastary reachable only by boat. The lunch at the only full service restaurant had the best pesto sauce I have ever eaten. We then took an afternoon hike from there back to Portofino--some parts of hike were strenuous but the walk along the coastal path and through the suburbs of Portofino was wonderful. Another day we drove to Vernazza, one of the CT towns. The drive was absolutely hair raising, not for the faint of heart. The road was sometimes crumbling down the mountain and no guardrailes! However the town was really quaint and the lunch at an outside cafe at the harbor was wonderful--was leisurely while we watched the activities at the harbor, even had a brief shower that didn't affect us under the umbrella. <BR>We left CT and travelled back to Malpensa to stay the last night at Villa Malpensa, a 1920 villa right at the airport. Infact the airport was built on the former land of the Villa.<BR>Anyway, I did not intend to be so wordy but we really enjoyed the trip even if it was overshadowed by the 9-11 events.

Margo, thanks so much for the info. Do you have a web site for Villa Gnocchi? How long did you stay along the coast and what would you consider to be the right numnber of days to devote to this area? I know this is a difficult question but consider it knowing we want to use our two weeks as follows: 3 days in Lake Como, 3 days along the coast, 5 or 6 days in Tuscany and the last 3 days in Venice. Our flight home departs from Vencie.

Margo, please read my follow up message above. Thanks.

Bob, Your trip sounds wonderful, just the right amount of time in each place. As I said we had 3 nights and 2 full days in the Portofino area, including Cinque Terre. The Villa Gnocchi is listed in the Karen Brown B&B book and is thus available on the web by going to that site. Just click on the b&b Italy site and find it by name. As I said, we liked it alot. As for things to do, take the ferry to San Fructuoso for lunch at that restaurant even if you don't take the walk back. It wasn't expensive and was so good and the view of the sea and the monestery was wonderful. The town of Portofino is great to walk around in, has an old castle and quaint church within walking distance from the harbor. The other day we went to Varnazza as I said. We could have easily spent a couple more days there but as you know, all good things must end. Next month I am going back to England for this years trip--my favorite place, Let me know how your trip turns out and if you agree with my recommendations.

Margo, thanks so much. Hope you have a great trip to England. We also have enjoyed our trips there. I will definitely get back to you on the results of our trip to Italy.

Dear Margo,<BR><BR>Thanks for the great info. <BR><BR>We're heading to Varenna mid June and then on to Sestri Levante - and will day trip to Portofino & CT.<BR><BR>Great tip about San Fruttuoso and the walking trail in Bellagio.<BR><BR>Is the Olivedo open to the public? We're staying at the Albergo Milano.<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR><BR>Nancy<BR>

Nancy-The inside restaurant and outside cafe at Olivedo are open to the public to eat, but I think it would be a good idea to stop by during the day to make reservations for the evening meal. They always seemed to fill up quickly for the evening meal.<BR>While in Verenna, if you have a chance, walk to the center of town and then out along the shore to visit the Villa Monastero (sp?) then be sure to take the shore walk back to the harbor area (along the water). If it interests you there is a hike, straight up, to a castle ruin above the town which has fantastic views. Even the cemetery outside of Verenna which is built into the rocky ledge overlooking the lake is interesting. It is a nice Italian Village. So is Bellagio but that village is more for the shopping sophisticated that is why I suggested the walking trip to the outside of the town. You pass "fields" and quiant smaller villages with really narrow walled streets where only 3-wheeled little "trucks" can get through. <BR>Please give a report when you return from you trip--I'll be interested in your experiences.