We'll be staying on Lake Como in early October for three nights. It looks like we'll be using Bellagio as our base after flying into Milan. I'm trying to decide if we should rent a car or use the available train/ferry transportation.

Ferries can take you from Bellagio to Menaggio, Varenna, Tremezzo and Cadennaebia, all in the vicinity of Bellagio. You can also take a ferry or hydrofoil to Como town. If you have a car, you can also drive over to Lake Maggiore and see the Borromean Islands, Stres, etc. Short answer: You can do without a car. Having a car increases possibilities.

I agree with Julie above. You do not need a car, but the car will increase your flexibility. We always get a car in Europe. I just hate to be tied to train and boat schedules and dragging bags on and off.<BR><BR>One tip on Milan to Bellagio. Look at the map. You have two routes. One is direct drive to Bellagio and the other is up the other coast and ferry over to Bellagio. The direct drive is not the best in my opinion. We did that route going up and ran into a lot of very small roads, busses and slow going. When we departed Bellagio for the airport to return home we took the morning ferry across the lake and headed down that side. This was much, much faster and better road.<BR><BR>We all laughed that about the time we became complete experts on how the ferries worked we had to leave all that knowledge behind and go home. A waste. Beautiful area. Enjoy!

The obvious question is: Where do you go from there? Will you need a car afterwards?<BR>For a three-day stay in Bellagio, a car is not necessary. There is so much to see and do there--and you can do it all via the ferries that leave from and arrive in Bellagio.<BR>And, you are going during a wonderful season of the year. Most of the tourists are gone and the weather is still good.

I'm in the camp that thinks a car adds just a touch to a stay there.<BR><BR>You MIGHT find that there is the beginning of some atmosphere of "shutting down" for the season. We were there the last week of September in 2000, and had the most entertaining waiter of the entire trip at Grand Hotel Victoria (in Menaggio, not Bellagio) - - and he said he was headed off for a few weeks vacation the next day - - before going onward to St. Moritz - - for his "winter gig".<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Question to Bob: Which is "the other coast?"

I wonder if I can create a "pseudo-map" here.<BR><BR><BR>....|*|....<BR>....|*|....<BR>... .|*|....<BR>....|*|....<BR>....|*|....<BR>..|*|#|* |..<BR>.|*|...|*|.<BR>.|*|...|*|.<BR>.|*|...|*|.<B R>.|*|...|*|.<BR>@..........<BR><BR>The dots are land, the stars are the lake, the @ is the town of Como, the # is Bellagio, between the two southern legs of the lake. There is a "coast" down the inside of each leg, and down the outside of each leg.<BR><BR>The eastiest driving is down the western coast of the western leg. You can ferry from Bellagio, at the center, over to the "outside" coast, and down to Como.<BR>

I wonder if I can create a "pseudo-map" here.<BR><BR><BR>....|*|....<BR>....|*|....<BR>... .|*|....<BR>....|*|....<BR>....|*|....<BR>..|*|#|* |..<BR>.|*|...|*|.<BR>.|*|...|*|.<BR>.|*|...|*|.<B R>.|*|...|*|.<BR>@..........<BR><BR>The dots are land, the stars are the lake, the @ is the town of Como, the # is Bellagio, between the two southern legs of the lake. There is a "coast" down the inside of each leg, and down the outside of each leg.<BR><BR>The eastiest driving is down the western coast of the western leg. You can ferry from Bellagio, at the center, over to the "outside" coast, and down to Como.<BR>

Sorry about the double post - - it's that re-connect/refresh thing again.<BR><BR>But I do wonder if the answer will be helpful or not.<BR>

to the top<BR>

We spent three days there last fall without a car and it was fine. We spent one day around Bellagio, one day in Mennagio and Varenna and another day in Como. I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not having a car.

In response to Rex's caution about the area beginning to shut down in early October...unless things have changed in the past two years, you'll have no problems on that score in early October.

I'll be staying in Bellagio in late April and I'm thinking of taking a taxi there from the airport in Milan. What is the best way to get there from the airport and do any tour companies offer transfers?

Clarification - - I would not argue with howard - - I said the &lt;&lt;beginning&gt;&gt; of the "shutting down" for the season. A bit like Aspen in April.<BR><BR>But he is right definitely not - - ALREADY shut down. And like Aspen - - I suspect that it never really shuts down much below 50-70%. But I do not know about seasonality there. Just what this one waiter told us.<BR>

We went last year from Oct 31 - Nov 4. Some hotels were already closed for the season and our hotel, the Metropole, closed for winter the day we left. There were still lots of restaurants and shops open and plenty of people around and the weather was excellent!

Norman, there is bus service available from Malpensa to the Lake Como area. (Sorry, someone else will have to provide more specifics about fares, schedules, etc.)

Cousin, you may wish to see<BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=1352790<BR>Norman, you may figure out the return trip (Como to Malpensa) by using the sites mentioned in the thread above.

I will be in Bellagio for 3 days at the end of my Italy trip (with car). Should I keep the car in Bellagio and return it to Milan airport for a 10a flight or drop it off at Bellagio and take a cab to the airport--what's easier? Thanks.

Well, Linda, taking a taxi is obviously the easiest. You may dump your car the day before, and the taxi will pick you up at approx. 6:15am (if you have to be there at 8am - one hour earlier if you have to check in 3 hours before the flight). It'll cost you an eye, though.<BR><BR>If you do the driving yourself, you may leave your hotel around 6am. That early in the morning I don't think that the trip should take longer than 1:30 hours. There's a 5:55am ferry to Cadenabbia which you could take (as Rex suggests once the road on the west shore of Lake Como is much faster (from Cadenabbia to Malpensa it shouldn't take more than 50 minutes), but in your case I think it it only pays if you have to be at the airport around 7-7:20am. I'd drive directly to departures to dump the luggage. While one of you stays in the check in queue, the other may go about dumping the rental car.

ttt