granbury

We are flying EasyJet this June leaving at 8:25 am Paris and arriving Milan Malpensa at 10:00 am. We will need to take the shuttle to Milan Centrale where we will then train to La Spezia. I am trying to decide what to do about purchasing the train tickets and also arranging for our driver in La Spezia to pick us up. I have purchased from trenitalia before but have concerns about doing this ahead of time on this trip. I have not flown EasyJet before but have enough experience with Ryan Air to know that these airlines are not always on time. My questions are:

1. How long do I need to allow myself to get from Malpensa to Centrale (collect bags, find shuttle, etc.)?

2. Will I be okay to buy my train tickets for La Spezia when I arrive at Centrale? We are traveling in late June.

As always, thanks a million for all your help in travel planning questions!

Steve_James

Hi Granbury - The scheduled shuttle bus journey time is 50 mins - but it's always dependant on traffic, of course.

Departures are every 20 mins.
http://www.malpensashuttle.it/mxp-mil.htm

If you're quick/lucky with baggage reclaim you might make the 12.10 IC from Milano Centrale. Otherwise it'll be the 13.10.

You'll be fine getting tickets at Milano Centrale. Use the ticket machine if you're in a hurry ...

Hope this helps ...

Steve

DeiveB

At about the same time Granbury is landing, We will be returning a car to Malpensa and taking the shuttle to Centrale to catch the train to Venice.

I thought I would be better off buying train tickets in advance thru Trenitalia to eliminate last minute hassles and risk of not getting a seat to Venice, but can see from this posting that traffic can certainly affect shuttle schedules.

I still want to buy the train tickest in advance but wonder how much time we should give ourselves over and above the 50 minute noted ride to Centrale. Would adding 1 hour be enough cushion? Would 2 hours cushion be too much?

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thanks

granbury

Thanks Steve_James - you're always the greatest source of info!

bobthenavigator

I believe there is a direct bus service from MXP to genoa that leaves about 11:00. That would be ideal for you and cut out Milan.

granbury

bobthenavigator - I looked at the volpibus website and, if I am reading it right, we could probably make the 11:30 bus and arrive in Genoa at 14:30. But then we still have to get to La Spezia. I'm not sure how to do that. Is there another bus or would we then take the train from Genoa to La Spezia? How long does it take to get from Genoa to La Spezia? If I can make the 13:10 train at Milan Centrale I can be in La Spezia by 16:04. I am totally unfamiliar with this part of Italy and riding the bus in general. I am probably making this way too hard. I am trying to get us from Paris to La Spezia. The only flight I could find closer was into Pisa on Ryan Air and it does not arrive until 8:00 pm. I don't want to get in that late. We would rather leave Paris earlier, fly to Milan, and then ride the train (bus) into La Spezia.

Steve_James

Granbury -

Bob's right - I'd forgotten that option. (- And I only posted it the other day )

But looking at it it doesn't actually make any difference time-wise.

Assuming the Volpi bus arrives on time, you would catch the same train connection from Genova as you would with the 13.10 train from Milan.

Journey time Genova-La Spezia is 1hr 12'
www.trenitalia.com

So it depends whether you prefer a 1hr bus ride to Milan, then train - or a 3hr bus ride to Genova. Cost will be the only difference ...

Hope this helps ...

Steve

granbury

OK - Steve and Bob - after looking at everything, it appears to be a toss up between the shuttle/train and the bus/train. I think my plan will be to take the shuttle/train only if I feel I can make that 12:10 train. Otherwise, I will take the bus from Malpensa to Genoa, then the train to La Spezia.

Next question concerns the bus. Do I purchase tickets at Malpensa? Where do I catch this bus? I am having trouble navigating the volpibus website as I don't speak Italian.

Thanks again for all your help.

Steve_James

It says you can buy tickets on the bus. € 19

Dep Terminal 1: 11.30
Dep Terminal 2: 11.35

http://www.volpibus.com/servizi/index.htm

Presumably the stops are outside the terminal buildings (- or will be well signposted).

Hope this helps ...

Steve

STUMBLEBUM

Easyjet have been running late recently due to a shrotage of pilots. They couldn't cover all of the flights, cancelled one of mine and delayed another by three hours, purely because of the lack of pilots and those they did have had flown too many hours and needed enforced rest.

LoveItaly

Hi granbury, here is a website which should help you

http://www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/en...=nel_frattempo

granbury

Steve - thanks for that. After reading your post I looked again at the website and could pick out that I could buy them on the bus.

LoveItaly - thanks for the wonderful website on Malpensa. Fear of the unknown always gets the better of me. That website helps me understand Malpensa a lot better.