Northern Italy -late September, early October
 

I would very much appreciate any experiences/insights on a possible itinerary of Lake Como/Venice (not necessarily in that order) for 10-14 days over last week of September and first week of October. We're a family with 2 children in the middle grades and I'm concerned that the Lake experience in particular might not be great if weather is rainy (don't mind cool weather but want to be able to enjoy the outdoors at least some days without rain gear!) Our dates are constrained by school/work calendars. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

You ned to post some kind of plan to get meaningful suggestions. Include your home airport.

If your only or primary concern is weather, I wouldn't worry about it. We usually travel the last two weeks of October and sometimes through the first week of November. In more trips than I can count, we've never had a day in Italy that was completely ruined by rain. We've never taken "rain gear," just what we would wear on a rainy day at home.

How many days were you planning to spend at Lake Como? What town will you be staying in? What things are on your Lake Como sightseeing list?

I think you need to be certain that the hotel you want at the lake will be open during your visit timeframe. I suspect most of them will be but some do close.

I'm not sure what you are asking. The weather and how likely rain might be? You can look that up on a site such as Wunderground.com and looking at the "almanac' section for any town.

The weather in the lakes area is very nice in early October. There's usually early morning fog, but that's part of the beauty of the area.

The timeframe is fine. Now make a plan.

Sorry for my earlier response since you have been reassured that the weather will be great so don't waste any time looking up stats.

I pass through this area every automn since decades: the weather is just unpredictable. Fine and warm with bad or excellent views to the Alps, foggy and windy, heavy rainfall and inundations, everything is possible, according to the year!

As to seasonal hotel closures on Lake Como, I doubt you'll find hotels have closed that early. If you were going to be at the lake after the second weekend in October, some hotels would be closed, but there are always some hotels open somewhere.

Have you focused on a particular town?

Thank you to all for the input! It appears that the timing looks positive, weather-wise. We would be flying from Atlanta. I was thinking possibly flying into Milan, overnight there, then head to the Lake area for 5-6 nights. I haven't focused on a town but would like to fairly centrally located with lots of options for day trips by boat as well as hiking and/or exploring on foot. Ideally we'd find a house/apartment to accommodate 2 adults and 2 kids with a full kitchen. Then on to Venice for maybe 3 nights, meaning we'd need to get back to Milan for return flight. I appreciate any and all recommendations!

Trains to the Como Nord Lago Station from MXP take 1:18 [change in Saronno]. Look up the station on booking.com.

Go to Expedia, look up multi-city tickets, into MXP and out of Venice [VCE].