strawberryjamtart

Hi, I would appreciate advice on the faster and hassle free way to get from Milan Malpensa airport to Bellagio. I prefer to go by train. From reading past thread of years ago, I cannot decide on whether to do by train:
Malpensa - Saronno - Como then ferry to Bellagio, OR,
Malpensa - Milan Centrale - Varenna then ferry to Bellagio.
We will be 2 adults and a 3 year old child. And we'll be getting off a 22 hour flight from Australia. Yes, we'll tough it out, but would help to have a sure way of getting to Bellagio with minimum hassle, on a Friday morning in late June (2012). We will be arriving into Malpensa airport at 7am.
I guess a private car/taxi is another option, but from what I hear, the roads close to Bellagio are rather narrow and treacherous, so that gives me the creeps - plus have to have a child seat installed in the car - not sure if they have this option in taxis. Therefore, train is the preferred travel option. I would greatly appreciate advice! Thanks in advance

Jean

The roads are not treacherous, but the child seat is an issue. You'd have to inquire.

Here's one taxi company:

http://www.taxibellagio.net/Home.html

And here's a shuttle service that operates on a schedule:

http://www.flytolake.com/home/index.php?lang=english

If you decide to go by train, the route with the fewest connections is through Milano Centrale and Varenna Esino. Be ready to get off in Varenna. The train only stops for a couple of minutes.

HappyTrvlr

www.davideguerrera.com, excellent driver, relaible.

jent103

The MXP-Centrale-Varenna option is really straightforward and has great views, and I bet the three-year-old would love the ferry ride to Bellagio.

If you plan to take the train out of Varenna as well, you might go ahead and buy those tickets when you buy your tickets to Varenna. The Varenna station is very small and doesn't have a ticket office.

DRJ

Several years ago we took a bus directly from MXP to Como, then a boat to Bellagio. Painless.

strawberryjamtart

Thanks for all the input. I only asked as I saw an old posting saying that Malpensa - Saronno - Como was the way to go, but the ferry ride sounds long from Como to Bellagio.

So if it looks like Malpensa - Milan Centrale - Varenna is easy, I will do that, also as Jent103 says, I will be exiting by train out of Varenna as well, to go on to Venice, so it will make sense to buy a return ticket for Centrale - Varenna - Centrale when I am in Milan Centrale on my way up.

Do you know if there are lots of trains on that Centrale - Varenna line? Hopefully not just a sprinkling every 3-4 hours, too much waiting around otherwise.

ellenem

My experience a few years ago was that there was a train every two hours. You can check current schedules here.
http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage_en.html

Since schedules for R trains like this one are not posted that far ahead, use a date for this coming week to see the possibilities. I took a quick look and the schedule is still every two hours . . . 8:20, 10:20, 12:20, 14:20 . . . and takes just more than an hour.

jent103

My experience last year was the same at ellenem's. I remember, because we barely missed the 10:20 train and had to hang around waiting for the 12:20!

auleen

Strawberryjamtart, Don't dismiss Varenna! It is a lovely old town, delightful to walk around in and lunch. You may want to ferry back to it one day when in Bellagio, just for the pleasure of enjoying the town. We actually liked it better than Bellagio.