Shannon

My husband and I will be flying in and out of the Milan-Malpensa airport on our trip to Italy. We are planning to take a train immediately to Venice from there and I wanted to make train reservations in advance (I've heard terrible stories of waiting in line for tickets and missing trains). My first question is, how long can we expect customs to take upon arrival(we will be arriving in mid-March)? Question 2, I was planning to leave an hour to get from the airport to the central station in Milan, is this the best station to go to and is that enough time? I wanted to have an extra hour to wait at the station - just in case. If I book the train tickets in advance, will my travel agent get those to me or will I still ave to wait in line to pick them up? Thanks for your help and patience in reading my long message.

elvira

Customs/immigration at Malpensa was fairly quick in Feb 99 (three women, two in 'fur' coats, well past chippydom, weren't of much concern). We took the bus to Milan, and it took just about an hour; I would allow at least 90 minutes if you use the bus, just to be on the safe side. From the Central station we took a train to Varenne - the line was kind of long but we'd left lots of time just in case. Mid-February, short ride to Lake Como a summer resort - compared to a longer trip to Venice? A train reservation might not be a bad idea (make sure you know from which station so you arrive at the right one from Malpensa); being an obsessive-compulsive, I HATE not having everything nailed down before I arrive, so I would get a reservation. If you get your tickets through your travel agent, they will get the tickets (they usually use Eurail) for you. Check the Eurail website; you probably can buy directly and save the agent's fee.

howard

I'll concur about customs not taking too long. As for how much time to allow, I'd allow 2 hours just to play safe.

elaine

Dear Shannon <BR>In fall 98 I too arrived at Malpensa, took the bus to Station Centrale, and then the train to Venice. <BR>In the early morning on a weekday the bus trip from the airport to the railroad station took a full 90 minutes, despite the more optimistic predications of less than an hour. Perhaps it was because of rush hour, or just especially bad traffic that day. <BR>Like Elvira I like to have things nailed down, so I made advance train reservations in the US before I left and I didn't mind paying the extra commission. For advance purchase in the US of train tickets I used CIT Tours:email [email protected] <BR>or phone 888 CIT TOURS They mailed me my ticket and reservation slip long before I left on my trip. <BR>I will add two other pieces of advice. <BR>I had never taken a train in Italy before so I didn't quite understand the system. Your reservation will be for a particular seat in a particular car on your train. When you board the train at the quay, be sure you're getting into the correct car of the train or else you, as I did, will have to drag your luggage through narrow train cars looking for the correct place. <BR>If I had allowed enough time at the train station I would have joined the moderately-long line at the tourist/train information office where they do speak English ( I heard it) and where I would have asked for more info about boarding the train. <BR>The other piece of advice is about the luggage, keep it light and manageable. <BR>I am not infirm, but I really wore myself out transporting it from the airport onto the bus, off the bus, into the station, through the station, onto the train, through the train, onto the luggage rack, and off the train. <BR>All of that complaining aside, my trip was the thrill of a lifetime. If you have any interest in my notes on Venice, feel free to email me. Buon viaggio <BR>

howard

Elaine has given an excellent piece of advice about checking with the information counter/booth at the train station to find out the location of your particular car. They do speak English and can give you the approximate place to stand for boarding your car (which is listed on your ticket--at least, it is for first class). It makes boarding much, much easier!