Hello. We are flying in to Milan and spending a few days doing the lakes, then going to Villefrance to board our cruise. We do not have any transportation set up yet, and need help in figuring out how to get from Milan airport to Streso (where we're staying). Are there private taxis, buses, etc.?

Next we need to get from Streso to Villefrance. I looked at the train schedule, but nothing goes straight into Villefrance. It seems we will board the train in Milan, transfer in Ventimiglia, then again in Monaco. I understand there is a train station in Villefranche which you can take once you're in Nice, but it sure seems like a lot of transferring. What is the most efficient way to get from Milan to Villefrance?

Lastly, our trip will end in Rome (Civitavecchia) (early am) then we need to get to Milan for an early morning flight the next day. What is the fastest and most efficient way to get from Civitavecchia to Rome?

Thanks to all.

I understand there is a train station in Villefranche which you can take once you're in Nice, but it sure seems like a lot of transferring. What is the most efficient way to get from Milan to Villefrance>

fly Milan to Nice. There were direct Milan to Nice (Villefranche is a few miles and just over a mountain from Nice) trains but they were scrubbed when Trenitalia, Italian Railways, decided to stop most trans-border trains for some weird reason so you much change at Ventimiglia, the border point - the best scenario would have two changes of train - Milan and Ventimiglia but you could have to transfer as well in Genoa depending on time of day.

Rome to Milan take the train in about 3 hours to Milan Centrale then the new, launched in September, 2010, train from Milan Centrale to Malpensa Airport.

The train route will be as you have discovered. It involves several transfers but otherwise should not be a bad journey. You can look into renting a car and driving. The trip takes about 3 hours and utilizes major highways for most of the way. Or you can always arrange for a private door to door taxi... for this distance and time you can estimate the rate being at least 200 euro.

can you return the rental car in France without a huge surcharge?

I would ask for and compare a few car rental quotes and see if the price is acceptable to you.

Take an airport shuttle bus from Malpensa to Milano Centrale. There are direct trains from there to Stresa.

Since there currently is no direct train between Milan and Nice, your best route is Milan-Ventimiglia-Monaco-Villefranche. The trip takes around 5 1/2 hours. See the timetables at www.bahn.com/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml. After you get summary timetables for Milano to Villefranche-sur-Mer, click on the arrow to the left of the departure time(s) of your choice to see the connecting points.

There are roughly three trains/hour from Civitavecchia to Roma Termini. Most are regional trains which make the trip in a bit over one hour and the fare is 4.50 EUR. There are a few faster and more expensive trains. I suggest you buy regional train tickets in Milan. They'll be good on any train and you won't have to stand in line at the Civitavecchia station with all the other people wanting to get to Rome.

Stresa to Villefranche-sur-Mer by train takes a minimum of seven hours. See the timetables on the German Rail site as I noted in my previous post.

Why not go to Stresa after the cruise?

There is no good way to get from Stresa to Villefranche, as Tim says, trains are an all-day affair (no good night sleepers, either) and even the cheaper airlines (Germanwings and Niki) do two-hoppers via Vienna or Germany and have luggage restrictions, Alitalia does two-hoppers for much more money...

Since your cruise ends up in Italy it makes more sense to visit Stresa after your cruise.