purchasing train tickets

Please do the math before buying a rail pass for Italy. It usually does not save you any money. You can easily buy point to point tickets. The trips you have listed are very basic trips and you can find the prices on the official trenitalia site. http://www.trenitalia.com/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=ad1ce14114bc9110VgnVCM10000080a3e90aRCRD When doing the comparison be sure to add the 10 euro per person fee for each trip you take with the rail pass. This is an extra fee not included in the rail pass price. That fee is included in the price you see on the trenitalia site. Once on the trenitalia site you can enter your cities and dates. On the next screen you can choose your train. Once you choose your train you can see on the next screen if there is a "mini" fare available. If your travel dates are set you can choose a mini fare and save up to 60%. You can buy these tickets online or wait until you get to Italy to buy them. The mini fares are capacity controlled so if you are sure of your dates you should buy them as soon as possible. If not, just buy the base fare ticket. Dona

Thank you Donna. I'll check the Trenitalia site.

Donna has given you very good information. Book your tickets ASAP (up to 90 days allowed) on the Trenitalia site to be certain of getting the lowest fare. I don't think that Trenitalia sells railpasses. You probably would have to buy one from an agent in Milan. However, according to the Eurail site, you'll pay 20% more than you would if you buy one from home. If you do decide to get a railpass, be aware that the Malpensa Express runs from MXP to Cadorna, not Milano Centrale. It's a private train and your pass won't be good on it. The best way to get from MXP to Milano Centrale is to take a shuttle bus.

Tim,
Thanks for your input. Looks like you can take the Express to Milano Centrale now. http://www.italylogue.com/planning-a-trip/taking-the-malpensa-express-into-milan-in-8-easy-steps.html

Suz, As the others have mentioned, buying P-P tickets is usually the most cost effective method in Italy. If you buy tickets at least the day before travel, it's often possible to get the discounted "Mini" tickets. Have a look at This Website for details on the "Mini" tickets. If you did decide to travel with a Railpass, you can buy them from this website. Click the "Railpasses" tab at the top of the page. ETBD is one of the largest vendors of Railpasses in the U.S. On each of the routes you mentioned, you'll likely be travelling via EuroStar Italia / Alta Velocita trains, which require compulsory reservations. If you travel with a Railpass, you'll have to pay separately for those. DON'T be caught on a train in Italy without a valid reservation, as you may be fined on the spot and it won't be cheap! The same is true for travel on Regionale trains. No reservation is required but tickets must be validated in the yellow machine or the same consequences can result. If you buy P-P tickets, reservations are included in the cost. The reservation will list your assigned Car No. (Carozza) and Seat No. (Posti). Buon Viaggio!

Agree with what Suz found. I'm sure I heard that it is possible to take the train to Milano Centrale now. I defer to those with more Italian train nouse than me.

The train service to Milano is about 18 months old and is twice an hour. The shuttle bus still runs also. My guess is most train passes will not work since the link is a private railroad similar to the Leonard Express in Rome. A first class pass might work. Check carefully with the ticket office or a conductor as the penalty will be severe is your are wrong. For a few short trips in Italy generally a rail pass in Italy does not save money.

You could go through RailEurope or Rick Steves for a Eurail Pass. But Italian train tickets point to point are relatively inexpensive, and the way most Americans travel. If you go on Trenitalia, schedules are posted for the next 60 days, and the kinds of train service is shown. The fastest trains from large cities to large cities usually require reservationswhich will cost you extra over a pass. With all the future cutbacks in Italian governmental budgets, train service is subject to change. Most popular locations are serviced by very frequent train service. Don't get concerned about the details. Keep on reading online, and your questions will be answeredlike on Rick Steves' Italy section. Google the city's airport, and their website will tell you how to get to and from the city.

This is a super forum, thanks everyone for the help. I was totally overwhelmed by the rail system but as you fed me info, I have confidence that I've figured out what suits my needs.

Suz, A few further comments regarding transportation from MXP to Milano. The choices are: > Malpensa Express - terminates at Milano Cadorna, which is close to Sforza Castle. It's not difficult to get from there to Milano Centrale by Metro, but that's something I'd avoid by using other methods (unless of course your Hotel is somewhere near Cadorna). > "Regular" train - as the others have mentioned, these run about twice hourly, departing from Terminal 1. Check the Trenitalia website for times. > Malpensa Shuttle (Bus) - these have frequent departures, departing from Terminal 1 but also stop at Terminal 2. The trip is about 50-minutes (depending on traffic) and terminates at Milano Centrale. The cost is €7.50 as I recall. You can buy tickets in the Terminal or from the Driver. I've been using the Malpensa Shuttle lately, and don't mind the Bus ride, but have used the Malpensa Express in the past. Are you you stopping in Milan for a few days when you first arrive, or traveliing directly from MXP to Rome immediately after your flight arrives? Cheers!

Suz, You're right. The Malpensa Express now goes to Centrale. However, the English version of the timetables on the official site haven't been updated to show this. That's why I assumed that Cadorna was still the only option. The timetables on the Italian version do show Centrale. I just checked the Malpensa aiport site and it, too, says that the express runs to Centrale.

There is a lot of confusing stuff here. Bottom line is there are two trains per hour from Malpensa airport to Milano Centrale. Both the Trenitalia site and the Malpensa Express sites show them. The fare is 7 euro ( unless you happen to take one of the Es or Freccia trains) so even if Suz has a pass ( which is probably not a good idea) it would be a bad use of a day on the pass to cover that trip.