Venice to Malpensa: which way to travel?
 

Need to get from our apartment in Venice to Malpensa airport in Milan for return flight to JFK on Sunday, June 5, 2016. (1 PM flight) What does anyone think is the best way to travel?

I would love to fly, because we would then not have to transfer from train to bus or taxi to get out to the airport from Milan Central, but I'm told that flights all go to Rome or Bologna first. Does anyone have info on this? Many thanks.

In this age of internet, you don't have to settle for the info based on "I'am told." You can usually find it out mostly on your own.

www.skyscanner.com, for example, shows flight options. None direct.

If you don't know any web site, you can used google search. Enter "vce to mxp flights" and you get the similar results - no direct.

I would not stay in Venice the night before a flight out of mpx. Even with trains you run the risk of a strike or a delay which would prevent you from getting to the airport by about 10 am - which is when I would want to get there for a 1 pm to the US. I would go to Milan the night before.

(Not sure why you didn;t fly out of Venice which would be much easier.)

I also looked at the train angle. Using the currently published schedule at www.trenitalia.com to estimate the June trains, if you need to be at Malpensa before 10am (1pm minus 3 hrs), there is only one choice, 5:40am train with changes arriving in MXP before 10am. There are more options arriving at MXP between 10am-11am. This is a risky plan considering you only have less than an hour of margin and considering that transport workers do strike even though high speed lines tend to be spared but not always.

Surely it's obvious: Hourly Frecciabianca train Venice Santa Lucia to Milan Centrale, then frequent airport train from there to Malpensa.

www.trenitalia.com

We did the route via train in the opposite direction and found it quite easy to do.

That said, I think I would get to Milan the night before. You could potentially have to check in for your flight at 10:00 am (11:00 at latest).

Thanks, all, for your help. nytraveler: the flight cost from Venice was incredibly more expensive.
maninseat61: I was planning to check out your website next. I guess there is a train from Milan Centrale to Malpensa, which I did not know. This will be helpful, but I think we will do this to get to Malpensa the night before the flight. We can stay at the Moxy using Marriott points. Further to your comment: I'm trying to bring it up on Trenitalia, with no success as yet, but will keep trying.

maninseat61: I went to Italiarail and found trains only from Venice Mestre and no trains from Milano to Malpensa.. Will google the latter.

Any further ideas? would rather go from Venice Santa Lucia of course!!

There are trains all the time Venice Santa Lucia to Milan Centrale where you change either to airport trains or airport buses - but yes go the night before for reasons others give - train strikes - late trains, etc. Stay at the airport area and relax. There are several types of trains - the fastest ones you can get discounted tickets from trenitalia.com if you book in stone - no changes from a specific train - but there are also lots of IC type trains and regional trains that are cheap even on a walk-up basis - consider breaking your day journey in say Verona - spend a half day there and then head to the airport. For lots on Italian trains check not only Man in Seaat 61's commercial site - www.seat61.com but also these informative sites - www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - seat61.com specializes in discount ticket info - invaluable as trenitalia.com canb e very flummoxing at first glance many say.

OK, found it's different train, and I can get one from Milano Centrale. Still hoping for Venice Santa Lucia, rather than Venice Mestre, as starting place from Venice.

But maybe it's easier to get to Mestre station from our apartment. I'll get on the map, and see.

Thanks again, all for any help.

I would recommend staying either at the Moxy, Shearton or any other hotel near MXP over trying to get there the same morning as your flight. Way too nerve wracking for me!
If you do stay at the Moxy be sure you eat dinner first. The only food they have there is pre packaged--salads, sandwiches, chips. The bar is decent but expensive. You will need to take the airport bus to Terminal 1 in the morning--it's just across the street from the Moxy.

But maybe it's easier to get to Mestre station from our apartment. I'll get on the map, and see.>

Unless you're on the mainland no - Mestre is the workaday Venice across the lagoon - hooked by a long causeway trains and cars and buses travel over. Just buy a ticket from Santa Lucia to Malpensa either in Venice if content with regional or IC trains or slightly faster you can too but you can get discounted tickets of an amount worthwhile of the hassle of using trenitalia.com.

Trains do not seem to run as frequent as they seem from Milan Cle to Malpensa so buses may be more convenient depending on the time you arrive.

There are or at least used to be some trains that go straight to Malpensa from east of Milan Cle - would negate any change of trains in hectic Milano Centrale - one of the world's biggest and busier and most chaotic for novices around.

Oh, yes, PalenQ, we came in to Milan Centrale a few years ago, from Zurich, and while trying to exit, DH got caught on a moving walkway that sloped downward to the street, and if it hadn't been for a lovely, probably homeless man, who came along and grabbed his suitcase and helped him right himself, both DH and the luggage would have fallen over!! And that was after it took us quite a while to find anything like an exit!!

I'm still not able to find a train from Venice Santa Lucia to Milan. Does anyone have any ideas for a June 4 (Saturday) one way trip?
Many thanks.

Do you know how to use google search? www.google.com.
If you feed "train schedule italy", you are presented with www.trenitalia.com.

Feed "Venezia S. Lucia" to "Malpensa Aeroporto" into the search window with June 4th, you are presented with many options. You see that you cannot buy tickets because this route includes ordinary train route Milano Centrale-Malpensa Aeroporto.

You can already find the fare offers available at this time for "Venzezia S. Lucia" to "Milano Centrale". You see various offers in the range of 9€ per person to 24€ and up depending on the class you choose. You can buy the remaining "Milano Centrale-Malpensa Aeroporto" at any station after you get there.

Stay in Milano the night before and then use the bus, train, taxi, or private car to MXP. Staying in Venice the night before a flight home is a very, very bad strategy because any number of events can cause you to miss the flight.

We can highly recommend the 4 star Hotel Berna located 400 meters from Stazione Centrale on Via Napo Torriano. We've stayed there numerous times over the last 10 years and do not want to stay anywhere else. The hotel is immaculate, the staff is top notch, and they serve the best breakfast in the city. It's a great place.

Buon viaggio,

Where are you looking for trains? If it is on Rail Europe, they don't always show all the trains.

Trenitalia and Captain train both show fast trains ~2:35 to 2:45 or less more than once an hour. (The Venezia-Milano route is a very popular route with lots of choices.)

Go to:

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

or:

https://www.captaintrain.com


Type in Venezia Santa Lucia and Milano Centrale.

You'll see a bunch of them.

Keep in mind you can't buy tickets more than 120 days ahead, even if the trains are listed.

SS

There are also (listed on Trenitalia) four trains per hour from Milano Centrale to Malpensa Aeroporto...it's just too early to see them listed for June.

Try a date in February just to ease your mind, and you'll see them all. The trip takes 51-54 minutes.

Stay at a hotel not too far (but not too close) to the station, and it'll be a piece of cake.

I also advise <strong>very, very</strong> strongly against traveling from Venice on flight day.

ssander

Thank you all, once again. I will try again using these suggestions.
We are definitely going on Saturday, the day before our flight.
We may now decide to stay in Milano and that Hotel Berna sounds good!!

I've now had a look at Captain Train. This site is new to me, and very easy to use.
I found what I needed, and it looks pretty easy. Trains for June 4 from Venice to Milano are listed already.

So, great thanks to ssander!!