Flying into MXP and train to Venice

It is possible - any commuter would try - but it is a bit rushed and if you are huffing and puffing with a big piece of luggage or the inbound train is delayed it may be quite strained. At Trenitalia they usually consider at least 15 minutes for connections at Milano Centrale.

You won't have to worry about trains selling out, because you could take a regional train from Milan to Venice (connect in Verona). It would take an hour longer, but those trains can't sell out, and they cost the same booked in advance as at the last minute. And you have a four hour window to use them from the original time of your first train.

The regional trains can be busy, though, and you could wind up standing I guess. But the point is: you won't be stuck in Milan because the trains are all sold out; at worst you could take the regional trains and still get there in a reasonable amount of time. Or, you could book the fast Frecciarossa train at the last minute when you arrive.

If you will have a working smart phone in Italy, install the Trenit app - this will let you buy tickets on your phone without having to wait in lines at ticket machines or from an agent. You can buy tickets up until maybe 15 minutes(?) before the departure of the trains - so you can't do it as the train is leaving. You could book the Milan to Venice train while you are on the airport train to Milano Centrale, perhaps.

Personally I would give myself a bigger window. You may want to use the restroom. I would rather hang out in the station for an extra hour than miss a train by five minutes.

Super curious -- when was it that you found all the trains between Milan and Florence sold out? Given that there is at least a train an hour and sometimes two, it should be impossible for all trains to be sold out. Did you try first class?

We have traveled via train all over Italy for years and never encountered a sold out train.

Milano Centrale has plenty of places to pick up some lunch: http://www.milanocentrale.it/en/.

Every single train sold out from Milan to Florence?
How is that even possible?

Even now there is nothing sold out for tomorrow (it's 10pm in Italy now), actually even Economy tickets in standard class are still available.

If you told me that the standard class was sold out and you needed to buy a premium class. Or if you told me that the standard class was sold out on a train and you had to wait for a next departure one hour, or even two or three hours later to have a standard class ticket (there is a Frecciarossa from Milan to Florence every hour at 20 min past the hour), I could be willing to accept.

But all train tickets all sold out all day? That has never happened since Stevenson invented the steam engine.

Check tonight when it's morning in Italy. If you find not all, but even one train sold out from Milan to Florence take a screenshot and post it.

If your intention was to go to Venice, why didn't you book your flight directly to Venice? I understand it may be a bit cheaper to fly into Milan vs. Venice, however the added expense and time wasted to get to your true destination needs to be considered.

Or if you are already in Milan, why not spend a night or two there and see the local sights before you move on to the next? Then you can pre-purchase your train tickets with confidence. I did something like that on my last trip to Italy... I flew into Rome and stayed just the one night and popped into a few local sights before I headed to Sorrento for nearly a week because I didn't want to deal with further travel while jet lagged from the long flight from the west coast.

Angela, I'm guessing NJMOM had already thought of flying to Venice.

There are good reasons to fly to Milan instead besides price (which may be a good reason) - namely getting a direct flight in vs. having to connect to fly to Venice. I''d prefer the flight and the train ride vs. a longer connecting flight, and in fact I've done that in Italy.

Some of us also fly to Europe with award tickets, which may be available to some cities but not others.

You say the 2:07 gets in at 2:35? I think not. It takes 50 to 55 minutes to get from Malpensa to Centrale. Just buy tickets when you get to the Malpensa train station, then you will know what you can make. There will not be huge crowds trying to get to Venice in November.

Thank you everyone. The purpose of my post was for advice, not to defend my travel plans or my airport of choice. Obviously, I have no reason to make up that the trains were booked all day when we ere trying to get from Milan to Florence back on Good Friday, April 2015.

My wife and I made the same trip last fall. We arrived on a Wednesday about the same time as your flight, had only carry-ons, and DID pre-purchase tickets from Milano Centrale at 16:30, I believe, to Venezia Mestre. We intended on swinging by the Duomo in Milano, even for a quick visit, prior to heading to Venice. That said, it was rainy and we were exhausted, so we did not do the Duomo. We ended up using the time to have a relaxing bite at a cafe and pick up our phone sim card for the trip. If I recall, we were able to make it to Milano Centrale by 2 (looking at our photos) at a somewhat leisurely pace. Having gone through that, I definitely second what has already come up... I'll fly directly to my first destination next time rather than saving a few bucks on airfare to spend a few hours in transit.

The short of what is relevant to your question is that we landed at about 12:15 at MXP (Wednesday, no checked bags) and I have a photo of us outside of Milano Centrale at 14:00. Hope that helps.

Thank you WhiteFuzz... We are 4 people travelling and saving almost $400 a tickets, so very worth the train fare to Venice!

Will aware that your question was for advice (it was given) but also be aware that this is a public board with lots of people searching for answers. The broader advice and questions help these people understand the situation and may suggest alternatives that are not obvious. The trains may have been full on a Good Friday but that is not commonplace as you suggested in you op.

If you want to purchase advance tickets online, there are some available at 19.90Euro each after 14:00 on 11/18, into the late afternoon hours. Train takes about 2.5-3.5 hours depending on the type of train.