We're looking to stay in Varenna, Italy, on Lake Como in early November. Do the lake passenger ferries run at that time, or do they close down for the season at the end of October? We really want to stay on the lake, rather than train up from Milan, and want to ferry from one town to another.

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/itali...indicecomo.htm

Yes, they do. Last Jan 1, we were in Como, and basically the only vessel that was running was the state-run ferry.

Thanks, I was afraid of that. I had already tried the website you posted, but don't read Italian and figure it out. Is the state-run ferry worth trying, where do they run to/from?

When you look at the left side of the pages, it has schedules listed from various ports, including Varenna. They're divided into 4 sections - Autumn, Summer, Winter, Spring - and if you look closely, the listing is in Italian/English.

Click on the one that says Varenna under 31/10/05 - 1/4/06 for the winter schedule. [The actual page will show you 2/10/06- 31/3/07 schedule.]

The ferries go to Menaggio, Bellagio and Cadenabbia.

Also click on the link for "Fast Ferry" from Como. Varenna is one of the stops for those hydrofoils, if you want to go to further places.

Navigazione Laghi is the state-owned operator, run as a department of the Italian Ministry of Transport. There are few other passenger boats, apart from small local excursion boats which won't be running in winter.
The web site is partly in English. Do you have a dictionary? It's always a good idea to get a pocket dictionary if you're going to a country with a different language.

Got it. Thanks to both of you. I think I understand it now. Yes, I have a dictionary - just didn't have it when I checked the site.

ttt.