My husband and I would like to travel to Venice for a few days and then go on to Lake Como via Verona, Padua, Lake Garda. We don't want a car in Venice but don't know where to rent one after leaving Venice. We need advice on how to navigate this sort of trip? Presumably we would be flying from New York into Milan. How would we get from Milan to Venice? We have traveled independently before so we are not totally inexperirenced. Also, we would welcome any suggestions for places to stay in these areas.

You can take a train from Milan to Venice. Many people find flying into Milan more cost-effective, even with the train fare to Venice, versus other options. It's a popular choice.

Obviously, you can't drive in Venice but people who arrive by car usually park in the large garage in Piazalle Roma, which is the entryway to the Grand Canal. Car rental offices are located at Piazalle Roma and it's very easy to get a car upon exiting the Grand Canal and pursuing your itinerary. The drive to Lake Como is easy and lovely.

Where are you flying to Italy from? Why not start in Venice (we would highly recommmend B&B Sandra-excellent upper with a roof-top terrace and terrific breakfast & treats) and pick up the car at the airport when leaving? Or end up there and drop the car at the airport there. We found it an easy thing to do. Additionally they have a "left luggage" at Marco Polo Airport that worked very well for us on our trip. Happy Travels! shirley, Waukesha

Hello Marijke, which airport near Milan will you be flying into? If Malpensa you can then take the Malpensa Shuttle bus to the central (Centrale) train station in Milan


http://www.malpensashuttle.it/e-default.htm

and take the train to Venice. You will want to go to the Santa Lucia station which arrives right in Venice proper along the Grand Canal.

You can rent a car as mentioned by NYCTS at the Piazalle Roma when you leave Venice and then drive back west to visit the other places you wish to visit. If you are departing Italy from the Malpensa airport you can turn your rental car in there.

From JFK in New York you can get a few direct flights (Delta) to Venice or connecting flights (a few airlines) to Venice via Milan, Rome, Frankfurt, Paris . . . this might be worth considering when you add in the time and cost of travelingby bus to Milano Centrale and then connecting to the train to Venice.

I would fly to directly in or out of Venice if you can.

If you fly into Milano, consider reversing your trip. Have a driver pick you up from Malpensa and drive you directly to Lago di Como. Relax, and pick up a car (if you even want one) in the town of Como. However, from the lakeside town of Varenna it takes about 3 hours to get to Verona by train.

Although it will seem expensive to hire a driver for the beginning or end of your trip, that one "extravagance" will compare favorably, cost-wise, with renting a car, including gas and parking fees. About the only place I can imagine you missing a car is Lago di Garda if you had certain destinations in mind not easily reached by public transportation.

I'd fly directly into VCE and back to JFK from Milan. You can take the train from Venice to Padua and then go from Padua to Verona by train also. If you wanted to do some driving u could pick up a car in Verona and drive to the lake area,