Milan Malpensa to Venice
 

We need to go from Milan's Malpensa airport to Venice. I know that we can take the bus from Malpensa into Milan Centrale and take the train, but I'm wondering if there is a bus from Malpensa to Venice--thus avoiding having to go into Milan. Have checked air fare, but none of the inexpensive airlines fly Malpensa to Venice Marco Polo. Any suggestions?

Hello roamer, I am 99% sure there is not a bus from Malpensa to Venice.
Taking the Malpensa Shuttle to the Centra (Centrale) Train station is comfortable (the luggage goes underneath the bus in the luggage area) so I wouldn't look at going into Milan as a problem. And you will be left off right where you can take the train to Venice of course. I don't have any other suggestion unless you want to rent a car and drive to Venice.
Best wishes and enjoy Italy.

Go ahead and take the bus to Centrale / train to Venice -- it is very easy!

Last Thanksgiving week, my airporter bus to JFK was stuck in traffic for 3 hours, so I missed my direct flight to Venice (well, actually the plane was still there, delayed, and didn't take off for another couple of hours, but they must have given my seat away). Delta was going to have me go home and come back the next day to take an indirect flight through Rome, which would get me into Venice 1 1/2 days later than planned. Not wanting to miss out on so much of an already too-short vacation, I asked to be put on ANY flight to Italy within an easy train ride to Venice, and luckily was able to board a Milan flight right away.

At first I was scared to death thinking "what am I getting myself into?"-- I had been in Milan only once before (for only a few hours), had not been in Venice since childhood, and knew nothing about trains between the two. However, it turned out to be so easy, and cheap too. The bus was around 5 euros, 55 minutes, dropping you off right in front of Centrale (which is gorgeous and worth a look), and trains to Venice run every hour, costing around 20 euros.

If you have a few hours to spare though, you may want to take the Malpensa Express into Milan and take quick look around-- walk around the Vittorio Emanuele Gallery, Duomo (maybe go up to the roof), La Scala, etc-- most of the attractions are within walking distance of eachother. And have a gelato (those there are better than in Venice). Then take the subway to Centrale and catch the next train to Venice. As soon as you step out of the train station in Venice, you're on the Grand Canal.

Thanks LoveItaly and MademoiselleFifi for your responses. I'm convinced that taking the bus into Milan and then the train to Venice is the way to go. We've stayed in Milan several times, so we don't need to spend time there (when Venice awaits!), but the Duomo is still one of the most unforgettable sights in all of Italy...

Have a wonderful time in Venice roamer, and I know you will find using the shuttle bus and than the train quite easy to do.

I also need to go from Malpensa to Venice. Can you tell me whether I need to make reservations on the trains before arriving or is it easy to just jump on?

I would not reserve ahead because you have no idea if your flight will be late. If you arriving during the day, there are frequent trains between Milano Centrale and Venezia SL. You might check and print the schedules so you can know which trains are possibilities once you clear the airport.