vipsha

1 vote for the Sheraton Malpensa across from international Terminal 1. Other hotels are closer to Terminal 2. The Sheraton will likely cost less than spending the night in a hotel near the train station (or at Varenna for that matter), not to mention the time you will spend on the train. We stayed at the BW near the train station some years ago and it was still a rush to get to the airport for a 10 AM flight home.

Jean

You'll need to check the ferry and train timetables to figure out which train you'd be taking from Como to Malpensa and where the connection would be. Some train options make one connection at Saronno, and others make two connections (Como and Milan) and take an hour longer.

On a clear day, it can be a lovely ride down the lake to Como, but consider the fact that this way to Malpensa involves 2 ferries and 2 trains at a minimum. (Travel light!) If you took the train from Varenna to Milan and then to Malpensa, it's just two trains.

The May 2018 timetables won't be posted for a few months, but you can study the current ones to get a sense of the route and travel times involved. You'd take the mid-lake shuttle to Bellagio or one of the western shore towns on the fast ferry route, and then take the fast ferry to Como. I don't find the "Timetable search" function (at link below) helpful at all and prefer to look at the actual timetables in pdf (lower on the page).

http://www.navigazionelaghi.it/eng/c_orari.asp

When you search train timetables, use Italian spellings. Varenna-Esino, Milano Centrale, Como Nord Lago, Malpensa Aeroporto....

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

HappyTrvlr

We have stayed at Villa Malpensa several times. Their dining room is very good too.
If interested in a driver to take you from Lake Como to MXP, www.davideguerrera.com, He is based in the town of Como.
We have also taken the high speed ferry from Bellagio to Como and walked over to train station to catch a train, Short walk to station.

moatenote

Thank you all for your suggestions. Here's what we're now thinking: will spend the night before our flight home at the Sheraton Hotel at Malpensa (2 of our 4 have a ghastly 6:30 a.m. flight). Instead of dealing with lots of luggage (we're all in our early 70's and aren't as nimble as we once were) and the trains, we'd like to get a private transfer from our hotel in Varenna to the Sheraton. Thanks, Jean, for the suggestion of Flytolake--will definitely consider them. Are there other companies that provide this service that anyone can recommend (or warn us about)??

Jean

See if you can get a quote from varennataxi.com. We used them a few years ago to go to the Moto Guzzi Museum in Marandello, south of Varenna. I see from their website that they will go to Malpensa.

http://www.varennataxi.com/