Venice to Varenna, Lake Como by train
 

Hi, How do I purchase tickets from Venice (Venezia S. Lucia) to Varenna (Varenna-Esino) for 1st week of Sep? When I try this in Trenitalia, all I get is "No Travel Solution Found." I was able to purchase Florence to Venice successfully for the same week.

Do I have to purchase Venice to Milan and then Milan - Varenna separately? In fact I am not able to see even Milan - Varenna either. What am I doing wrong?

Because Trenitalia doesn't run the services north of Milan: Trenord does...look at their website or you can buy those regional tickets in Milan or elsewhere in the machines. The trains to Verenna-Esino are all second class and they run about once every two hours.

http://www.trenord.it/EN/

I don't know if you're doing anything wrong. IMHO, the Trenitalia site exists just to annoy travelers.

Try booking through italiarail.com.

The route from Milan to Varenna is on regional trains, which can't be bought online more than 7 days in advance. There's no reason to buy them in advance at all; they're like bus or metro tickets: always the same price, never sell out, and no reserved seats. If you're sure of your travel plans, you can save considerably by buying the tickets from Venice to Milan now. The discounted tickets can't be exchanged except by paying the full non-discounted price, though, and can't be changed at all on the day of travel.

Buy the tickets from Milan to Varenna at any train station in Italy; they're not for a specific train. Before boarding the train, you have to stamp the regional tickets in a machine by the track to fix the time you're using them and prevent them from being re-used. If you want to see the prices and timetables, check a date in the next 7 days. There's a timetable (and maybe price) change coming up in mid-June, so check again after that happens.

Milan to Varenna train line is operated by Trenord trains I believe - affiliated with Trenitalia but maybe not in their data base - all your need is yes Venice to Milan and once in Milan it's a flat fare ticket I believe to Varenna-Esino (official name of station) - that is if you can't do it all - discounts are available Venice to Milan but I do not think much if any Milan to Varenna-Esino. Check www.seat61.com for possible insights - for general info on Italian trains - www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

http://www.trenord.it/en/ - check this site for possible Venice to Varenna-Esino ticketing or Milan - Varena - buying a ticket at Milano Centrale can mean long lines at ticket windows or waits at ticketing kiosks - I believe those are regional trains with no seat reservations possible so with a ticket just hop on - after cancelling the ticket yourself in a machine before boarding or your ticket will not be valid - not sure policy on this train line but is in general in Italy on regional trains.

This is why I think the Trenitalia site was built by trolls. I'll bet if the OP has tried to book the trip through to Varenna, the Trenitalia site offers Venice to Varenna in its drop-down options, when in fact you can't travel Trenitalia to get to Varenna from Venice.

Trenitalia operates regional trains from Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino. The Milano-Varenna route is on the Trenitalia site, and you can buy the tickets there, just like other regional train tickets. You just can't buy them more than seven days out, just like other regional train tickets. And you shouldn't buy them online at all.

Trenitalia does NOT operate the trains to Varenna; they may sell the tickets but they do not OPERATE those trains.

If bvienci says Trenitalia operates trains to Varenna then Trenitalia operates trains to Varenna - take it to the bank - you can bank on it!

I certainly am not infallible, but if I'm wrong so are a lot of Italian web sites, like the following:

http://www.lagodicomo.cc/varenna/com...-a-varenna.php

<i>In Treno:
utilizzando la linea ferroviaria Trenitalia: provenendo da Milano la linea costeggia la SS 36, e la stazione di Varenna-Esino si trova a circa 30 minuti di distanza da Lecco; 20 minuti circa. </i>

and this:

http://www.lakecomo.it/come_arrivare/arrivare_in_treno

It's a train that stops in Monza and Lecco before arriving at Varenna.

I'll be on that train, anyway, in a few weeks, so I should be able to verify the operator.

Trenord is a partnership between Trenitalia and Ferrovie Nord Milano. Regional trains in Lombardy are run by Trenord, but you can buy the tickets from both parent companies.

I just did that trip last month. Before leaving home I purchased tickets for Venice to Milan. The Milan to Varenna tickets can be purchased at the Milan station. When you get off of the fast train at Milan there are Trainitalia (yes, they do sell Trainord tickets too) ticket machines right at the end of the tracks you came in on. If you miss those machines (as I did) you can buy tickets inside the station, but that takes longer.

If you don't want to use one of the automatic machines, you can line up inside the station. Just be sure that before you get on the regional you remember to validate your tickets. With regional trains you are not limited to a specific departure time. Just buy the tickets and look at the big board for the next tregional train that goes to your destination. The tickets are a good deal, and, once you figure out how to purchase and use them, they really make it easy to get around

The train station at Varenna doesn't sell tickets, so I bought the tickets I would use both to and from Varenna at the same time from the machine in Milan. We absolutely loved Varenna. Have a great time!

Thanks everybody. I understand now. I think I will buy just the tickets upto Milan for now.

Are you staying in Varenna? If so yes take the train there from Milan - but if going to say Bellagio you could take a train to Como and then go by boat to Bellagio - may be quicker even than going via Varenna and you can buy a Venice to Como ticket on www.trenitalia.com I would think.

>>The train station at Varenna doesn't sell tickets, so I bought the tickets I would use both to and from Varenna at the same time from the machine in Milan.<<

There's also a travel agency there that sells train tix. It's at the bottom of the hill that leads up to the train station.

You can also go overland to Bellagio from Milan, taking the train to Lecco, and a bus from there. This would be quicker than taking a train to Como and a ferry to Bellagio. The ferry ride alone from Como is about two hours, to which you have to add the train, which is about an hour.

The quickest way is to take the train to Varenna-Esino (about 1 1/2 hours) and a ferry from there (30 minutes).

The quickest way is to take the train to Varenna-Esino (about 1 1/2 hours) and a ferry from there (30 minutes).>

It all depends however on train and ferry schedules and down time waiting - I think trains to Varenna are not more than hourly and if not timed with boats - but yes that seems if going to Bellagio or Varenna the best - train to Varenna-Esino.

The fast ferry from Como to Bellagio takes less than an hour, but there aren't many morning departures. The Lecco-Bellagio ferry takes 75 minutes. The Lecco-Bellagio bus supposedly takes 45-50 minutes, but I couldn't find a current timetable which always makes me wonder if the service has been suspended.