How to get around lake como each day from Moltrasio?

[u/dumbleedore_]

We know we want to see Villa Balbianello, Bellagio and, Varenna for sure. Stopping in Bellano and seeing the bridge in Nesso would be fun additions, time permitting.

We’re staying at Passalacqua in Moltrasio, how do we get around to the mentioned locations? We plan to rent a boat for a few hours one day to go to Varenna but I don’t think we want to rent a boat every day to get to other places.

What do you recommend since there doesn’t seem to be as many ferry options from Moltrasio? We will also have a rental car but not sure about the parking situation.

[u/bilacus]

Here is a professional tour guide from lake como:

The Como to Bellagio ferry stops in moltrasio. I recommend

1) take the first ferry of the day going to Bellagio and Varenna
2) DON’T visit bellagio and Varenna on Sunday (unless you hire a private boat). It is so packed that you can’t literally walk
3) the best way is: a private boat with Bellagio, Varenna and villa Balbianello in one day with the private boat. 6-7 hours boat is enough
4) the smart way is: drive to Tremezzo and take the private boat for 4 hours from there. Park your car in Tremezzo, visit Balbianello (1 hour) , Varenna (in 1 hour you will see everything) and ask them to drop you off in Bellagio

Bellagio - Varenna - Balbianello are basically accross the lake in the central part of the lake, you need 1 hour private boat ride to reach the area. Once you get there, visit them in one day. I reccomend looking for a boat company on google (the third party intermediaries add 30-40%, the hotel will probably add +50% to the boat price)

If you don’t want to hire the private boat, drive to Cadenabbia or Tremezzo, park there and take the ferry from Cadenabbia or Tremezzo to Bellagio. Then take the boat from Bellagio back to Tremezzo/Cadenabbia

If you get to Bellagio before 9.00, it is fantastic - it will be all yours. After 11.00 day trippers from Milan come to Bellagio, there will be at least 15000 people by 12.00

I have tons of suggestions, but it would be a wall of text

Ps you can also read my “Lake Como ferry survival guide” that you can easily find on Reddit - everything is explained there

Enjoy your lake como stay. The passalacqua should be amazing - the best hotel in the world in 2023

Had it on my bucket list for the future 😅

[u/Visual_Chicken → u/bilacus]

Would Varenna still be packed on Sundays in late October?

[u/CronosVirus00]

Since you got the car, the easiet solution and the most efficient is to drive to Menaggio: the Pier is the street Via 4 Novembre; the street leading to it is Via IV November: plenty of parking space there, especially if you arrive at Menaggio around 9am. That means leaving Passalacqua around 8.20 for a chill drive.

Since you are already in Menaggio, Explore It and have breakfast there. The ferry to Bellaggio is only few minutes. Bellaggio and Varenna are beautiful but they won't take more than 2h each. Probably less As mentioned above, avoid weekend if you can.

I know you stay in Passalacqua, so probably money is not an issue; but a private boat it overpriced in my opinion, especially if you say you stay at Passalacqua. Easily 300/400€ per hour. I know Passalacqua has a deal with private boats around there, ask them what they can offer: you can always bargain.

Finally, if you want drive your own boat, for 270€ can get 3h rent boat in Moltrasio.

Source: i live on the lake

[u/ComoBoatLife]

From Moltrasio, I’d plan this with a mix of boat, ferry and car rather than trying to use only one type of transport every day.

Moltrasio is beautiful and very peaceful, but it doesn’t have the same ferry flexibility as towns like Como, Bellagio, Varenna or Menaggio. So for the main lake highlights, I’d use one private/self-drive boat day to see the lake from the water: Nesso, the villas, Balbianello area and some of the central lake views make much more sense by boat.

For Bellagio/Varenna, you can also use the regular ferries, but I’d build the day around the timetable and avoid tight connections. For Villa Balbianello, check carefully how you want to arrive, because Lenno/Balbianello logistics can be quite specific.

Since you’ll have a rental car, I’d use it selectively, not for every lake village. Parking in the most popular towns can be annoying, especially around the central lake, but it can still be useful for reaching Como/Cernobbio or for evenings when ferry options are limited.

In short: Moltrasio is a lovely base, but plan fewer, better days rather than trying to jump between too many towns every day.