Linate Airport Milan

Can you fly out a day later, staying in Milan overnight? Linate is not far from downtown.

What is so risky about leaving from Linate before noon? It has been a few years but we used to fly out of Linate which we preferred over Malpensa. And our flights were before ten in the morning. We had no problems leaving on time from Linate.

Good point! We may do that. Thank you!

I believe that the concern is getting from Lake Orta to Linate with enough time to spare. For those leaving from Malpensa Rick suggests not booking a flight before 10:00, unfortunately the flight that we can book with our miles leaves from Linate which is twice as far from Lake Orta.

I think it would be less stressful to spend the night in Milan and take the 11:30 flight out the next day if you could still save money that way. The thing is....from Lake Orta your guide will organize taxis or shuttles to Milan. Malpensa, the other airport, is pretty close to Lake Orta - at least it's on that side of town. Linate is on the other side of Milan. You'd need to be there 2 hours ahead. It took us about 1.5 hours from Lake Orta in a shuttle/cab to the city center of Milan then you'd need to get out to Linate.

You do not want to miss your Farewell dinner on the tour...they are a lot of fun.

This is a really fun tour!

If it is not on a Sunday, and you are an early riser, there are trains from Orta-Miasino at 6:26 & 7:12 that will get you to Milan in time to make your flight. You change trains in Novara. The train from Novara actually goes to Milano Forlanini station which is just 2 1/2 miles from Linate terminal. I don't know about taxi availability, but the 73 bus makes a straight shot to the terminal. The 7:12 train gets you to Forlanini at 9:25

If you want a taxi, get off the the train at Milano Garibaldi station. Its a big station and there should be taxis outside the station.

Thanks, Pam! As I thought it would mean that we'd have to leave quite early from Lake Orta. I can see why Rick recommends not booking a flight that leaves earlier than noon. I enthusiastically researched the idea of spending the night in Milan and flying out the next day. I even researched hotels only to find that the flight that we wanted doesn't have the same route the next day and instead has two stops making it a 16 hour trip instead of 12. I'll consult with the other three travelers in my party and see what we decide. It would be nice to save the $2000+ dollars. It would go a long way toward our next Rick Steves tour.

An 11.30 flight to another Schengen country (assuming you are taking the first leg of your connecting flight at Linate) should be manageable, just be prepared to have a plan B and leave Lake Orta very early. Under normal conditions, train to Milano + taxi to Linate will do it (Linate is fairly close to the city, though much farther away from Lake Orta than Malpensa). If there is some disruption on train services, then have some plan to hire a transfer all the way, it will be expensive-ish but far less than the $2000 you'd save.

Ask the driver to take the fastest route even if it will cost you a little more (avoiding the notoriously bad urban sector of A4 highway).

Well, darn. Maybe 2 or 3 nights in Milan? Even 3 nights (If you have the time off, lol!) in a hotel might be cheaper than the ticket price!

All set! We started thinking outside the box and arranged to fly out of two different cities coming and going. We'll end up taking a one way rental car home from JFK which will be much less money than long term parking and is only a three hour ride. Now we don't fly out of Linate until 1:20 and we can use our miles for the whole trip. Thanks, everyone for all of your suggestions!