I am driving from Munich to Bellagio. ViaMichelin.com suggests driving through Switzerland, down to Varenna, then taking the ferry to Bellagio.

Does anybody have advice about whether I should take the ferry or whether I should drive around the lake. I have never been, and the drive around might be nice, right (I am sure I will be taking a few ferries during my stay there)? Is the ferry much quicker?

Thanks for the help.

Taking the ferry is likely to be quicker; the ferries are fairly frequent, and take only 15/30 minutes (depending on route) from Varenna to Bellagio. See my page http://www.straughan.com/italy/travel/lake_como.htm for links to the ferry schedule and other area info.

To drive it, you would take the autostrada all the way down the eastern shore to Lecco, then back up to Bellagio. You don't mention what time of year you'll be doing this, but here's a tip for summer: avoid driving on the western (Como-Menaggio) shore of the lake as much as possible - the road is narrow in some places and easily jammed when there's an accident, or a large truck and bus need to pass each other!

best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

www.straughan.com

ps I also have video of the Lake Como ferry, see http://www.straughan.com/vlog/040814p.html

The ferry across takes about 15 minutes, to drive would take hours. Also, I have not driven in that area but a couple I met on the ferry drove from Como up to Bellagio and said it was the worst drive of their lives and it's a miracle they aren't either looking for divorce lawyers or mental institutions. Those were their words. Depending on your style of driving it might be fun, but I think probably not.

Much quicker. The ferry will take 10 - 15 minutes. The drive would take 1.5 to 2 hours. I tried to get the exact time from mappy.com but mappy suggests taking the ferry.

Deirdre--and Isabel and Adrienne--thanks so much for this advice. I'm glad fishskis brought the question up. We were debating the same thing ourselves, driving down from Ischgl on September 30. You've made the choice perfectly clear--take the ferry.
Now the next bit is to decide where to stop for lunch on the way between Ischgl and Bellagio...St. Moritz? Scuol? Sigh. Such dilemmas ;-)

Thanks everyone. Decision made. Ferry it is.

BTW, Deirdre, you have a wonderful website, thank you.

We are driving from the Monferrato area. What is the best way to get to Bellagio. Do we need to take a ferry?

"where to stop for lunch on the way between Ischgl and Bellagio...St. Moritz?"

That's easy - Lanterna Verde, just over the border from St. Moritz on the Italian side, in Villa di Chiavenna. See http://www.straughan.com/food/lantverd.html for a review with photos, and a link with address and contact info. Enjoy!

And thanks - I'm always glad to hear when people like my site.

Best, D'

Thanks Deirdre, it looks great! I will have to contact them later to see if they will allow a dog in the restaurant or on the patio. And my husband and I will have to flip a coin to decide which of us has to drive afterwards and which of us gets to drink all the wine and enjoy an after lunch snooze.