Somewhere between 7 and 10 days is a nice amount of time here, which could also give you time for Milan and Lake Como. In the Dolomites, there is a very nice mix of short, easy trails accessible by gondola and longer trails, which you can see in our Dolomite Hiking Guide .
You can take a train from Como to Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) via Monza, Bergamo, and Bergamo Autostazione in around 2h 39m. Alternatively, Lecco Trasporti operates a bus from Como Lungolario Trento to Stazione Autolinee Bergamo every 4 hours. Tickets cost €6 - €8 and the journey takes 2h 8m. ASF Autolinee srl also services this route 3
In terms of travel time from Milan via train, Varenna (lake Como) is 1 hr away (to the North); Florence is 1h+45min (High Speed) away to the south-east; Cinque Terre is 3 hours to the south of Milan (via Genoa). Since you seem to like lively places that don't roll up sidewalks, Florence never rolls up anything, regardless of weather. From the airport, you can catch either the Autostradale 144 to the central station, or the 73 bus followed by the 60 bus. Tickets will cost around €3.00. After reaching the central station, catch the RE80 Bus, which passes through Como. The ticket for this ride will be around €10.00 and can be bought directly online. Train, train to Milan Malpensa, fly to Newark. Take the train from S.Margherita L.-Port to Milano Centrale. Take the train from Milano Centrale to Malpensa Aeroporto T.1. Fly from Milan Malpensa (MXP) to Newark (EWR) Take the train from Newark Airport Railroad Station to Long Branch. 17h 50m. However, you can take the line 1 subway to Cadorna Fn M1, take the walk to Milano Cadorna, take the train to Como Lago, take the walk to Como, then take the ferry to Varenna. Alternatively, you can take a vehicle from Duomo (Milan Metro) (Station) to Lago di Como via Sesto 1 Maggio Fs, Sesto S.Giovanni, Lecco, Lecco, Bellagio, and Bellagio in
