sjbnyc

Leaving for Milan in 2 days! Haven't had time to do research for transportation and directions. Found some threads from Fodorites, but need more help please! Arrive in Milan Friday 9AM plan to stay until Sunday. Leaving Sunday for Bellagio until Tuesday then heading to Malpensa. Need help with train schedules between Milan and Como (plan to hydrofoil from there to Bellagio). Also, would you advise spending the night Tuesday in Bellagio or near Malpensa if flight in Malpensa departs at 1PM on Wednesday?

Huitres

Have you checked the trenitalia.com website? You can put in the city pairs you want on the far L side boxes (Milano and Como) and then it will pull up the train schedule/trains. I checked October 8, for example, and found there are trains departing Milano Centrale every hour (9:13a, 9:43a, 10:43a, 11:43am, 12:13p, etc). It is approx 50 minutes away. I would suggest printing out (prior to your trip) the exact train/time you would like to take, show that paper to the agent at the ticket window in Milano's Centrale station.

I would advise staying near Malpensa or at least in Milano the night before your flight. Remember you should at least arrive 1 hour or more prior to your flight and don't want to chance any transportation glitches trying to get back into town from Bellagio that early in the morning. At least in Milano, you are only 1 hour away from the airport (via the Malpensa Express shuttle from the train station).

HowardR

As for getting to Bellagio from Milan, bear in mind that the train from Milano Centrale station stops in downtown Como, which is about 1/4-mile or so walk to the hydofoil. There are also trains from the other Milan station (the name of which skips my mind at the moment) which stops near the hydofoil station. So, it's a 6 of one a half-dozen of the other situation.
Either way, there are two boat choices. One, that I'll call the "express" only makes a couple stops before Bellagio and takes about 45 minutes. The other, which I'll call the "local," makes many stops and takes about 2 hours, I've been told.
I believe there is a bus from Bellagio to Malpensa, but unfortunately, I don't know any details.

PalQ

Don't know about bus from Bellagio but I took one to Malpensa from Como, right across from the boat dock. Runs a frequent schedule right to airport. From Milan by train the line that runs right to the boat dock (from Milano Nord Bovisa station i think) is not part of the Trenitalia system so may not show up on their website; these commuter trains take longer but right at dock, whereas Como mainline i think is a tad bit more than 1/4 mile. Check schedules at bus depot en route to Bellagio, seems like you could do a 1pm flight; but Italy has its share of transport strikes so consider airport option. Probably some kind of minibuses right from Bellagio.

bobthenavigator

Find the many posts by GAC--there are several good answers.

HowardR

PalQ could be right about the distance from the station to the boat. It could be as much as a 1/2 mile. (We didn't have any luggage at the time, so it really didn't matter that much to us!)

zozozo

Message: this is a website for lombardy travel. Pick collegamento then fill in city ie: Milano and Bellagio and actual date or pick a day of the week and it will give you options train, bus, boat and if you highlight choice it goes into greater detail.

http://www.infopoint.it/trl_index.htm

I would consider staying in Como and catching ferrovienord train in Como to Malpensa. This is just because I really prefer Lake Como to area around Malpensa. It takes about 1 hr or 1 and 1/2 if miss train. Posts by GAC are very informative on train from Como to Malpensa.

sjbnyc

Thanks to all! I leave this afternoon for Milan. Feel much better now.