Hi - I will be purchasing airfare to Italy in the next month for a trip next June 2018. Is there a better day to travel from the US to Italy? It seems to me that Fridays and Saturdays are days maybe to avoid as these are typically so crowded. I was sort of thinking flying to Italy on Sunday. We will probably fly into Milan. Then after we get off the plane, we plan to take a train to Monterosso. But then I read that trains run a reduced schedule on Sundays. I'd hate to not have the flexibility we may need just because we arrived on the "wrong" day. I know that Pisa is much closer to Monterroso but I believe flights are less frequent from US to Pisa and we would not land until the evening. If we fly into Milan, we would land before noon and therefore would still have time to get a train to Monterosso.. Any thoughts on this topic?
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
While not hard and fast, they say Tue/Wed are the cheapest days to travel. Also least busy outside the morning/evening business peaks. Peak summer vacation time tends to render this general rule less applicable.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I just did a quick check on Trenitalia.com for a Sunday in June 2017, and found many trains from Milano Centrale to Monterosso, some with no connections necessary, others with one change. Plus however you get to Milano Centrale from MXP.
Posted by
OP
43 posts
Thanks for checking on that Zoe! Actually you bring up a good point regarding getting to Milano Centrale from MXP. I hadn't thought about that yet. Any ideas on how we would do that? How far away is the station from the airport?
Thanks!
Posted by
Washington DC
27646 posts
Actually, I think you'll find that Saturday is usually a cheaper day to fly to Europe than Friday or Sunday. But that's not something you have to figure out for yourself. Airfare websites like Google Flights have a way to look at a calendar for the entire month to see when prices are lowest. You often can do thst only with round-trip itineraries, rather than the open-jaw/multi-city flights you may end up choosing, but it will help you narrow down your departure date.
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
There is a train station inside the airport (followsigns for "I Treni"); you can purchase your ticket all the way to Monterosso there. Make sure you get to the track for Milano Centrale, not Milano Cadorna; departures alternate but there is an electronic board to tell you departure time and track number for either station.
There is also a shuttle bus, but I have never taken it.
Posted by
Orange Park, Fl
985 posts
I did a lot of research last fall for flight to Amsterdam. Invariably, T-R were the cheapest flights. Play around with dates of flights and see what you can live with.
Posted by
Berkeley CA
1320 posts
Assuming you are flying from the US, your arrival day is one day after your departure day because of the 6 to 9 hour time difference. So remember to factor that in when looking at train schedules and booking your hotel.
Posted by
Chicago, IL, USA
488 posts
Generally, airfare traffic is lower on Tues-Thursday and Saturday. Consider, weeklong business travel is Depart M, Return F. Weekend getaway is Depart F, Return Su.
Prices are generally softer on those midweek days and Saturday. Play around with Kayak.com's flexible dates and you'll see.
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
The Malapensa Express takes 52 minutes from the airport to Milan Centrale
Edit to add.
It's not recommend to purchase tickets online for your arrival day. Yes they're cheaper, but if your flight is late, they could be worthless.
So look at the base fare for prices.
http://www.malpensaexpress.it/en/
Edit typo