Golfergal

I'm looking into the options of getting from MXP to our hotel in SML. My concern is that we don't get into MXP until 3:45pm and that includes our flight from JFK to AMS and then AMS to MXP. Needless to say, we will already be exhausted and dying to get to the hotel to really start our vacation. So far the options I have found are a car service for a small fortune. And the train route, which will be long and get us to the hotel around 8:30pm at best.

Here are my questions. Do I have the most efficient trip and is it realistic?
We arrive at MXP at 3:45 and will only need to get baggage and go through customs (passport control will be in AMS). We will get our tickets at the airport and take the shuttle bus to Milan station(not sure of the shedule but seems very frequent). We would catch the 6:10 train to SML arriving at 8:13 pm. Do we have enough time to comfortably catch the train? Is there something better?

Thanks! Sheila

Steve_James

Gg - It'll be a rush. If you manage to catch the 16.20 or - at the latest - 16.40 bus, you should make it. Otherwise you'll have to catch a later train.
www.trenitalia.it

Here's the airport bus timetable:

http://www.malpensashuttle.it/mxp-mil.htm

Hope this helps ...

Steve

P.S. You will have to go through passport control in Malpensa.

Golfergal

Thanks Steve. Yuk, if we can't make the 18:10 train, it's really not going to be worth the savings to take the train. At that point, we're better off taking the car service and getting to SML much earlier.

The airline said we would only go through passport in AMS when we transfer flights. Are they wrong? Of course, that wouldn't surprise me.

Sheila

montyw

Why not drive? Rent a car and head south on the Autostrada - it is very easy and was my very first driving experience in Italy several years ago.
Get a nice snack at the AutoGrill on the way!

GAC

If your flight is SCHEDULED to arrive a MXP at 15:45, you must be prepared for the possibility of a late arrival. I would check the history of actual arrival times (by checking on a daily basis) from the Malpensa Airport website.

Even if the flight does arrive on time, you should expect a delay of one hour to catch the airporter bus to Milano Centrale. You can better manage this delay by taking your luggage with you as carry-on. I'm not totally convinced about avoiding passport control at MXP, just because you do this at AMS. This represents a potential bottle neck and delay.

So catching the 18:10 train to SML is a 50/50 proposition, at best. But there is another train at 19:10 which you should be able to catch in any event. It requires a very brief change in Genova-P.P. and in Rapallo, but otherwise is nearly as fast as the earlier train. Why not look to this later train as a fallback? A private limo from MXP will cost you a fortune.

BoulderCO

Even if you can catch the 5:00 pm shuttle to Milano Centrale you would still likely get there in time to make the 6:10 train. That gives you 1.25 hours from touchdown to sitting on the shuttle bus. That is definitely cutting it close. The luggage system at Malpensa is notoriously slow but you should not have to go through passport control again if you are arriving from another EU country. I would try it, if you don't make it you could just grab the next train.

Huitres

It's perfectly easy to catch one of the many trains leaving Milano Centrale station for SML. Getting a rental car will just take more time out of your already limited afternoon. Note that the travel time via train to SML takes ~2hours/30 mins and generally stops in Genoa first. I wouldn't expect to arrive there before 7:30 pm.....given that, you might want to fax/email your hotel in advance letting them know of your late arrival. Car/limo services will be quite expensive - I would stick with the train if I were you.

GAC

If you catch the 5 pm airporter bus to Milano Centrale, you'll have less than 10 minutes to run up the stairs or escalator to board the IC train leaving for SML at 18:10. Hope your luggage is light! This also assumes that there is no traffic jam or accident slowing your arrival into central Milan (a big IF during the rush hour).

All this presupposes that you've already purchased the train ticket from the travel agency located on the arrivals level of the Malpensa Airport. Otherwise, if you need to stand in line at Milano Centrale (at rush hour!!!) to buy the ticket, forget the 18:10 train!

After a long flight from North America, the last thing I would want to do is rent a car for a 3-4 hour drive during rush hour to the Ligurian Coast!!!!!!