Is there a bus to Varenna from Malpensa???
 

Fortunately I get on this site from time to time as I plan our trip to Italy...have received some really useful info thus far..so thanks everyone!

We are arriving at Malpensa May 11th via London. Staying at Hotel Cervo overnite. Original plan to shuttle to Milan and train to Varenna on May 12th will not work due to train strike.

Alternatives (as I see them):

1. Continue our journey to Varenna on May 11th to avoid the strike. That would mean a late night by the time we go thru customs, shuttle to Milan and catch an evening train to Varenna. Also will need to find lodging in Varenna for that nite...but it would be neat to get up the next morning in Varenna.

2. Stay at Hotel Cervo as planned on May 11th. Shuttle back to the airport on the 12th and take the SPT bus to Como and then a ferry to Varenna for our 2 nite stay. I guess the plus to this plan would be day time travel vs. nite travel. Probably a longer trip as my info shows the ferry ride to be 2 hours between Como and Varenna but that would not be hard to take! Also SPT site is in Italian so can't verify bus schedule.

Will it be difficult getting a seat on the bus due to the strike??

Any suggestions gladly welcomed!

You can also take the SPT Como bus from Malpensa to Como (airporter express), then from Como to Bellagio (Line C30), then the short ferry hop to Varenna.

I don't think you'll have any problem finding space on the SPT buses or on the ferry boat.

Bobsie,
First off, that strike is not set to start until the evening of the 12th, so you'd have plenty of time to follow your original plan. 2nd, I'd be somewhat surprised if the strike actually affected the line that runs from Milano to Varenna. 3rd, I would not be surprised at all if the strike never came about at all. You gotta love it...Happy travels!!!

Another couple questions if you don't mind.

GAC, does the train strike affect ferry travel? And Coco.. you sound optimistic about the strike which pleases me...how do you know what time of day the strike starts?

With the information that you have provided we will spend overnite on May 11th at Hotel Cervo and shuttle back to the airport May 12th to find out if trains are still traveling or if we need to take the bus to Bellagio.

Thanks so much for the helpful information.

Train strikes don't automatically affect ferry travel, nor local bus companies, for that matter.

From Como to Varenna you have the choice of the ferry, the hydrofoil, or the bus to Bellagio/ferry to Varenna.

Hi Bobsie, Not sure where you got your info about this planned stirke, but the web sites that post the strike notices all seem to indicate the May 12 strike is set for 21:00 hours (9 pm), to last until 21:00 on May 13. I see you have posted on another thread about the strike and the OP there also states the announced time as 21:00.

With your original plan you should be in Varenna for lunch, hours before the announced strike time. Always good to have some backup info, but I don't see any reason to change your plans needlessly. :)

Thanks GAC!

We will see what life hands us when we arrive in Milan. All this helpful info is going into a notebook today which will be like a security blanket while in Italy.

Thanks to all of you again.