We are getting off a ship in Rome in September on a Friday. We need to get from Rome to a hotel in lake Como - probably in Bellagio. What is the best way to get there? Train? Air? Ferry? Car? .

It will be about 6 hours by train and that is just to the city of Como---another hour by ferry from there.
Why not a nite or 2 in Florence to break it up?

Unfortunately, we don't have the time. We have 2 children at home.

What do you recommend, ferry, train, air or car? We are used to traveling 6 hours by car because we have a 2nd home that we have to drive to. Sounds like we will have to make multiple changes unless we do the car.

You can't take a ferry from Civitavecchia, which is on the coast, to Lake Como, which is an inland lake. Do you have a map?

As bobthenavigator says, you'll need a 6-hour train ride or a long rental car ride to get to Como, then a ferry to Bellagio if you take the train.

Yes I know. But since I am on the coast I thought it might be easier to take a ferry to the other coast and then get transportation from there to Como.

I can't think of any reason that taking a ferry all the way around Italy would make sense (if one exists), so I'd rule out that option.

How long will you be at Lake Como? Typically I'm a big fan of train travel, but I try to travel with just carryon luggage. If your cruise means you'll have a lot of luggage and/or you'll be in Bellagio for more than a few days, a car might make sense.

If your stay in Bellagio is only 2-3 days, though, there's probably enough accessible via ferry and foot to keep you occupied. I'm not sure about getting to Roma Termini from Civitavecchia (plenty of info about that here though), but from there you can take the train to either Como or Varenna (via Milan) and take the ferry to Bellagio from there. I've done the Varenna trip and it's quite easy, but again with light luggage. Going via Como might be a little trickier because there are multiple train stations.

The easiest would be to go to Rome FCO and get a direct flight to Milan on Alitalia.

The distance from the port of Rome to Como is about 400 miles, or roughly the same distance from SF to LA.

In your case I'd say the best case is probably to rent a car and drive.

I wouldn't fly from Rome to Milan; same 6 hrs or even longer but way more transfers and dragging luggage around. Takes about 1.5 hrs to get from Civi to FCO, 1-1.5 hrs before flight, 1.5 hrs gate to gate, wait for luggage and then 1.5 hrs from MXP to Como by train.

I agree with Holly_uncasdewar.

I doubt you'll want a car in Lago di Como and the drive from Civitavecchia is just a slog -- and driving In Italy is not like driving at home where you know the route. The train trip is long and cumbersome.

If your cruise arranges for transport to one of Rome's airports, just head there and catch a flight to Malpensa or Linate. There are a number of ways of getting from either airport to Lago di Como. but the simplest one is to arrange to have a driver take you.

PS:

You don't need to go to the town of Como and take an hour-long ferry ride to get to Bellagio. You can take a train to Varenna and it's a 5-minute boat ride to Bellagio from there (although I would just stay in Varenna, which is very nice.)

Since it looks like you don't plan to spend any time in Rome, any chance your last port of call before Rome is in or around Genova? It would makes for a shorter trip to Lago di Como. (Or do cruise ships not let people off early?)

Something else to consider is going to Lago di Como before your cruise, depending on where you leave from. You would obviously need to rebook your Transatlantic flights to fly into Milan and out of Rome, but sometimes that is cheaper when all is said and done.

Enjoy going by a car. Car will let you see the sights in between your way and also you are free to stop wherever you want. All the best.

Based on all the discussions I decided to extend the trip by one more day and take the whole day to get there by car. We will have 2 large suitcases plus 2 carryon's so train travel is not that appealing (although I love the train. I have asked the hotel where I can park the car. I realize it might be a pricey charge but be that may. We may want to travel around that area anyway and we have to get back to Linate anyway somehow. Not an easy feat getting from one location to another on this route! Thanks everyone for all your help.