We are planning a two week trip to northern Italy. We arrive in Milan August 29 and stay in an Airbnb there for two nights. The two of us will be joined there by our son's family of six including 4 grandchildren ages 9 through 13. We then intend to a train to Varenna and have booked a large Airbnb on the lake. We'll be there for five nights. Any suggestions on Como activities would be welcome.

After Como we split up with the younger people and my wife and I head for Bolzano. As of now I’m planning on taking a train back to Milan then another train to Bolzano. Maybe it would be better to rent a car at Como or Milan and drive to Bolzano? We intend to stay in Bolzano for five nights. Possibly hire a guide to take us to the Dolomites for a day and another day with a guide to visit local vineyards/wineries.

After 5 nights in Bolzano back to Milan to spend a night before flying home to Chicago.

Any advice on this itinerary and travel would certainly be appreciated.

You can find some ideas for Lake Como in my TR starting post#4, we were also based in Varenna
Northern Italy May 2024 : Lombardy, Piedmont and Liguria

Regarding car rental, I'm not sure about choice of cars/suppliers (but I suspect renting in Bolzano may score over Como + avoids the long drive. Milan would of course have the widest choice of cars and frontline agencies - it is safest to stick to the likes of Europcar, Hertz, Avis, Sixt etc). You can run a few dummy searches on Autoeurope to check.

Just one point - while Bolzano is nice, it's not actually in the Dolomites. My vote would go to a place like Ortisei (so much to do with multiple hikes/walks starting from the the town centre or its vicinity) in the heart of the action at Val Gardena.

I also recommend staying in a town like Ortisei or Selva for shorter drives to the sights you likely want to see. But Bolzano is worth a short visit to see the Ice Man exhibits at the South Tyro Archeology Museum.

But you could avoid Bolzano altogether. You could train to Verona or Trento and pick up a rental car near either train station. (FWIW, I'd pick Trento, but you need to check rental office hours/days v. train schedules for your dates both from Varenna-Esino and to Malpensa.) Take the smaller secondary roads via Cavalese, Val di Fassa, Moena, Canazei, cross over Passo Sella, and approach Ortisei (and Selva) from the other direction. A great intro to the Dolomites.

The drive from Como to Bolzano isn't memorable unless you detour to drive along the shoreline of Lake Garda. If you pick up a car in Como and return it at Malpensa, there could be a one-way surcharge but perhaps not a crazy amount. Picking up a rental car IN Milan (as opposed to Malpensa) can be tricky as you avoid the ZTLs, depending on the rental office location.

Most scenic itinerary from Varenna to Bolzano/Bozen: motorway to Bormio - Stelvio pass road to Meran - motorway to Bolzano/Bozen.
The same by public transport:
Varenna dp by train 11.25 - Tirano ar 12.52, dp by Swiss Postbus 13.35 via Stelvio Pass (9050 feet) to Mόstair Monastery (Unesco site) ar 16.25.
Mustair Monastery dp by bus 16.40 - Mals ar 17.04, dp 17.06 - Lasa ar 17.32, dp by train 17.37 - Bollzano/Bozen ar 19.26

During your time in Varenna, some things the kids might enjoy would be Castello di Vezio and the Orrido (gorge) in Bellano.

Have you stayed in Ortisei? If so, do have accommodation recommendations.

Have you stayed in Ortisei? If so, do have accommodation recommendations.

Ive stayed here https://www.garniplanaces.it/. It might be a good idea to run a dummy search on booking.com for your intended dates to consider all the options.

We are currently traveling in Italy, and we did spend 4 nights in the Dolomites in Merano. We visited Bolzano for a day; we saw the Otzi the Iceman exhibit, which is amazing. And we took the cable car to the Renon plateau. Took the train at the top and then a 30-minute walk to see the earth pyramids. It was a great day but I would not want to stay in Bolzano. It’s a large city, and I think there are nicer places to stay.

We stayed in Merano which is beautiful, nestled in the mountains with a river running through it. It’s a spa town; has lots of restaurants to choose from. From Merano, we drove to Ortisei to take the cable car to the Alpe de Suisi plateau, absolutely gorgeous scenery and some easy hikes. Then another day we drove to Val di Funes to see more gorgeous scenery and the St. Giovanni church in the meadow. However, each trip took us an hour one way to drive there. If you don’t want to do this, then I think Ortisei might be a better choice. There are two other cable cars in Ortisei.

We are currently in Varenna, and today we visited Villa Monastero, including the villa and the gardens. The gardens are especially beautiful. They are long and narrow, and are built along side the lake, so you are always walking next to the lake. We saw families with young children here.

I don’t know if this will help with your planning, but we picked up our rental car in Verona and drove to the Dolomites from there. About a 2-hour drive to Merano. A very easy drive.

The spa town of Meran between the Etsch river (coming from Lake Reschen at the Swiss/Austrian/Italian border) and ending in the Adriatic Sea) is a real gem and the starting point for day trips to
Grawand Glacier Hotel at 3300 metres above Sea level. (the highest situated in the Alps and not far from the place where Oetzi was found,
Stelvio Pass (the highest Pass road in the Alps) adjacent to the Swiss National Park,
the WW1 canons at Zufall Glacier, at 3200 metres above Sea level,
Val di Sole and the famous resort town of Madonna die Campiglio,
Timmelsjoch and all the Glacier lifts of Oetztal,
etc, etc,.....

but Merano is NOT in the Dolomites. Sorry!

We stayed at this small family-owned and -operated hotel in Ortisei in October and then again in late September. Very comfortable, very helpful staff, great breakfast, within walking distance of the town center. It would be lovely in summer although I don't think it has A/C. Rated "Wonderful" (9.0) on booking dot com.

https://www.garniwalter.it/eng/

We stayed at Hotel Grones both times we were in Ortesei, and enjoyed our time there. We were there for a week each time.

I've been into the Dolomites twice and both times we stayed at https://www.uhrerhof.com/en/. I will say this is an expensive place, but it's also one of the nicest (mountain nice...not city nice) places I've ever stayed and it includes food and spa.

I'd recommend driving the Sellaronda, a loop road around the Sella group of mountains that includes 4 mountain passes.

Hotel Grones is a wonderful place to stay. We paid for the half board and enjoyed some wonderful meals. It’s a great family run hotel.

Having seen it all, instead of Bolzano and whereabouts, I'd travel with the rental to Cortina, see the the beautiful small Dolomites, then the Venetian hills and stop at one of Palladio's impressive villas before arriving in Venice where there are many parking options. The Venetian countryside also offers better dining options than around Bolzano.

Thanks for your detailed info

In Milan itself you can visit the QC Termemilano SPA. We really liked it, you can have a great time https://maps.app.goo.gl/p7NKUe39MiTyuK5E7

QC Termemilano SPA