Hub and I had 10:40 flight and decided to take Varenna train to Milano Centrale and Malpense Express bus from there. Took 6:18 train from Varenna, just missed a bus (they run every 20 minutes) in Milan but still were at Malpense at 9:00 and in plenty of time. Our only glitch was that we were travelling on Easter Monday so the ferry from Bellagio (where we stayed) to Varenno was on a holiday schedule. We changed hotels for the night so that solved the prob. Thanks again to all who gave advice about this trip.

Did you look into taking the bus from Como that goes directly to Malpensa in 1 hour? We are flying out at 10:00 and are probably going to take the train that leaves Como for Malpensa at 6:20 in the morning and changes in Soronno arriving at Malpensa at 7:37. Both of these routes seem alot faster than going through Milan. Was there a reason you didn't use them? I know I'm obsessing about this but missing the plane would not be a good thing.

Donco probably used this route (through Milan) because the starting point was Bellagio/Varenna and the ferries, as mentioned, were on holiday schedule. If you're starting in the town of Como, you can travel directly to Malpensa by bus or train.

Donco raised an important point: If you're staying mid-lake, always double-check the ferry and train schedules in case the on-line schedules (or anything you're told on this forum) are incorrect.

Well I decided to register and actually post a few questions and not just mooch off these boards.
I'll be flying out of Milan at 11:00 am. I too am thinking of taking the 6:18 train out of Varenna and following the same steps as donco.

My question is this: I've been trying to figure out the hydrofoil schedule online. If I'm reading the schedule right then a hydrofoil arrives in Varenna at 6:32 at arrives in Como at 7:30. From that point I could take the direct trip from Como to the airport. Is this a better option than taking the train? Please let me know if I'm misreading the hydrofoil schedule. I'll probably repost this on the main board if I don't get a lot of responses.

Bellman - In your situation I'd go by train from Varenna to Milan - and catch the Malpensa Airport Shuttle bus from there. Here's the link:

www.malpensashuttle.it

Hope this helps ...

Steve

P.S. To answer your question, yes - you are reading the Varenna-Como ferry timetable right. But that departure doesn't help you as the next direct bus from Como to Malpensa isn't until 10.40 - according to the SPT website:

http://www.sptcomo.it/servizi/malpensa_03.asp

We, to reply to cjtrav's good question, didn't have enough time between busses from Bellagio to Como and we didn't want to spend 60 euros for a taxi to Como. But we have found Italian trains to be very reliable and Knew tha Malpense Express runs every 20 minutes. It may have taken a tad longer but we felt more secure. I originally thought a bus to Como and then the Ferrovienord (sp?) to Malpense but all the Italians said don't-never explained why. Someone from this forum came to the Lake area from Malpense that way but don't know about the reverse trip. Don't know about the hydrofoil-sorry.