Flight leaves MXP at 1:00 PM.
Stay in Varenna last night, take a shuttle to MXP?
Stay in Varenna last night, take trains to MXP?
Move to a hotel near MXP the night before? If so, any hotel recommendations that would be nice?
Thanks for any advice!
Mary
With a flight out of Milan at 1pm, staying in Varenna the night before is doable if you want. It's a one hour local train from Varenna to Milano Centrale, then you could take the Malpensa Express train right from the central station to get to the airport. Allow another 50 minutes for that connection (there are two lines: Malpensa-Milano Cadorna is a quicker 35 minute trip and Malpensa-Milano Centrale takes about 50 minutes). You will probably want to plan on arriving at the airport between 2-3 hours prior to your flight. Personally, I would stay in Milan the night before the flight just to lower my risk for potential connection issues, like train strikes or delays. On the day I fly out I always try to play it safe and choose the most direct route to make for an easy travel day.
As far as taking the train or shuttle to the airport, Rick opts for the train over a shuttle bus, but either will do. Here's what he explains in the Italy guidebook:
The Malpensa Express train is usually the most sensible way to travel (not covered by rail passes, tel. 800-500-005, www.malpensaexpress.it).
I prefer the train, which is speedy, reliable, and reasonably priced. But two bus companies run between Malpensa Airport and Milano Centrale train station, offering virtually identical, competing services. They each charge about €10 for the one-hour trip (buy ticket from driver) and depart from the same places: in front of Terminal 2 (outside exit 4) and from Piazza Luigi di Savoia (on the east side of Milan’s central train station--with your back to the tracks, exit to the left). They also pick up and drop off at Terminal 1, which, if your flight docks there, might be a reason to prefer the bus. Buses leave about every 20 minutes, every day, from very early until just after midnight (Malpensa Shuttle tel. 02-5858-3185, www.malpensashuttle.it; Autostradale tel. 02-3391-0794, www.autostradale.it). They’re almost comically competitive, regularly offering deals such as three rides for the price of two.
Check out Rick's Italy book for hotel recommendations. Hotel Florida (www.hotelfloridamilan.com) and Hotel Garda (www.hotelgardamilan.com) are two we like near the train station. Buon Viaggio!
We just left Milan on Tuesday. We finished our vacation at the lakes and spent the final night in Milan. Took a nice long walk and had dinner.
We found a hotel that was a 3 minute walk from the train station and took the bus, not the train to Malpensa.
As posted, the bus is 10E, takes about 45min-1 hour. Depends on time of day. The bus will drop you off at Terminal 1 (first stop is Terminal 2 - you won't leave from there)
I'd recommend spending the night before your flight home in Milan, you don't need to stay by the airport, stay in Milan and enjoy one night in the city.
We love Hotel Bern, but couldn't get a room there, so we ended up at the Best Western Atlantic. I found it on Booking.com and prepaid, so all I had to do was pay city tax when we left in the morning. We just needed a bed for the night and a shower, didn't expect charm, just something clean and convenient.
I would stay closer. If you like lakes you could stay on Lake Maggiore, which is very close to Malpensa. Both Arona and Stresa are 35 or 45 min respectively from the airport.
My mom & I ended our vacation in Varenna back in October, however, we chose to spend the last night before our flight in Milan.
We enjoyed visiting the Duomo, the Sforzesco Castle & it's gardens.
We chose to stay in a hotel near the historic center (near Sforzesco Castle & Cadorna train station)
The Malpensa Express( ME) train takes almost half the time to get to the Malpensa Airport from Cadorna Station than from Milano Centrale (29 minutes vs. 52 minutes)
This is the hotel where we stayed & it's very close to the train station: http://www.hotelpalazzostelline.it/en/hotel-3-stars-milan-italy/green-oasis-heart-milan-0
The morning of our flight, the hotel called a taxi & it took less than 5 minutes to arrive to Cadorna Malpensa Express station.
Have a wonderful trip!
