Portofino Travel Forum

What is the best way to quickly get from Portofino to Bellagio on Lake Como?

It seems you will be travelling around quite a bit. If time is of the essence, why not rent a car. You could pick up in Rome and drop wherever your journey ends. You will also get to see more of the Italian countryside this way, and cut down on journey times.

Thanks for the advice. I have never driven outside the US beore. Is it an easy drive from Rome to Portofino? Portofino to Como? Well marked?

Portofino to Bellagio - drive through Santa Margherita Ligure into Rapallo and get on the autostrada north. Several turns in Rapallo, not all well signed. Drive north to Genoa on the autostrada and follow the signs for the Milan expessway - easy. There is a ring expressway around Milan, follow signs for Como and Lugano Switzerland and get off in Como. Drive thru Como headed east - sort of confusing, several one way streets and turns, but the signage is pretty good. Then the narrow twisting and beatiful road up to Bellagio passing through lovely villages. Till you hit Como, basically all expressway driving. Plenty of rest stops. If you are staying at Villa S., come back to me because there is a difficult turn to get there, can describe it for you.
Rome to Portofino - members differ on whether it is better to drive many more miles on the expressway via Florence at much higher speeds or to take the more direct but slower and far more interesting cross-country route. You will need a map for the latter.