Malpensa Airport (Milan/MXP) Customs

Ann,

It's not easy to predict how long it will take you to go through customs/immigration because this will depend on how many flights arrived around the same time as yours & how many agents are on duty at the airport.

It's generally not recommended to buy your train tickets for the day of arrival due to unforeseen delays.
Keep in mind that your flight might also be delayed.

There are direct trains from Milano Centrale to Monterosso every 2 hours between noon and 8 pm for 27.50 full fare 2nd cl. Advance tickets don't save all that much, so just buy when you arrive. If you can find a 9 euro Super Economy fare and give your self about 4 to 6 hours after landing, it may be worth a gamble. You'll need to store bags for a few hours if you want to see a bit of Milan if you end up with a long wait.

ann,

I agree with the previous replies - just buy your tickets when you arrive and try to connect with one of the direct trains to Monterosso as that's a lot easier to deal with in a jet-lagged state. You can buy your tickets at the airport station. You can check the various rail solutions on the Trenitalia website to see which departures are the direct trains.

One question though - which of the five towns are you planning to stay in?

You'll first need to take the Malpensa Express from MXP to Milano Centrale. As that's a Regionale, DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the train, or you may face hefty fines! Note that the M.E. has two routes, one to Centrale and one to Cadorna so BE SURE to board the correct train.

Staying in Manarola, so the plan is to go from Milano Centrale to Monterosso and then take a regional to Manarola. Thanks for the advice, everyone!

ann,

What time does your flight arrive? You won't necessarily have to go to Monterosso and then take another train to Manarola, as there are other options. Which train to use may depend on how many changes you want to tolerate after a long flight.

Our flight arrives at 12:15pm on May 5. I'd love to hear about any other options!

ann,

It will only be possible to estimate your trip from MXP to Manarola, since there are a number of variables. It would probably help if you could get off the plane as quickly as possible, as that should hopefully get you to the front of the line going through Passport control. Most travellers just breeze through the "Nothing to Declare" lane at Customs.

Here's one possible scenario......

The best situation would be to get to the airport rail station, buy tickets and connect with a departure of the Malpensa Express at 12:43, arriving Milano Centrale at 13:35. However, that probably won't be possible, so you're more likely to connect with the departure at 13:13, arriving 14:05 or a departure at 13:43, arriving at 14:35. DON'T forget to validate your tickets prior to boarding the M.E., and be sure to board the train to Centrale and not Cadorna!

Unfortunately the latter two M.E. solutions will be too late to connect with one of the shortest trips to Manarola, which coincidentally departs Milano Centrale at 14:05. Therefore your choices will be a departure at 15:10, arriving at 19:21 (time 4H:11M, 2 changes at Genova Piazza Principe and La Spezia Centrale) or a departure at 16:05, arriving 19:34 (time 3H:29M, one change at Sestri Levante).

One point to note is that there still seems to be some 9€ Super Economy tickets available for the 16:05 departure from Milano Centrale. In the same situation I might be tempted to buy in advance in this case, since there's a considerable amount of time between your flight arrival and that train departure. If you should miss that train, you'd only lose 9€ but would have to buy new tickets. If you decide to buy the 9€ ticket, you'd still need to buy the Regionale ticket for the last segment to Manarola.

Due to the variables, you'll just have to "play it by ear" as there's no way to plan that trip with any degree of certainty.

It's late and I'm not focusing too well, but hopefully some of the above comments make sense.