Milan to Padua timetable advise please

If you buy reserved tickets ahead of time and miss your train, you have no recourse, so it's risky to do on the day you're flying in. Speaking of flying in, is it too late to arrange to fly into Venice instead of Milan, since it's much closer to Padua? There's even a direct bus from the Marco Polo airport to Padua. In any case, if you're going to Padua, you buy a ticket for Padua.

My suggestion is to not buy a ticket beforehand. Also, you buy a ticket to Padua, not Venice.

IIFC, when I did it a few years ago the FRECCIABIANCA train took almost 2 hours. Like the other poster suggested, if you can go direct to Marco Polo, it's a better travel situation. When we did it, we puposefully stayed on night in Milan to see Duomo and Last Supper. If not for that, I would have gone direct to Venice.

Joe

Addendum: it's 'Padova' in Italian - might be an issue when buying tickets.

The usual recommendation is not to pre-book trains for yur journey from the airport. Too much risk of the flight being delayed and missing the train. If you buy tickets ahead of time and miss the train, hard luck, you have to buy another ticket. It will not be too expensive to buy a "Full fare" at the station on the day.

"I'm guessing padua will be a stop on the way to Venice & that I will actually buy a ticket for Venice, right?" - why would you want to buy a ticket to Venice when you aren't going there, a lot more expensive? Just buy a ticket to Padua/Padova. The railway company then sells the same seat to someone who is getting on at Padova.

"How long should it take me to get through Customs?" - No time at all, just walk through "Nothing to declare" (aka the "Green Channel"). It is immigration (passport control) that takes the time. Worst case 1 hour.

"child-sized pick pockets are a force to be dealt with at Milan Central" - I have never really seen all these things other people report at Milano Centrale (actual spelling). What I have noticed is an uneven floor which makes rolling a case with wheels difficult.

Follow advice given so far. Only point of clarification: when looking for your train platform, the train will show Venezia Santa Lucia or Venezia Mestre as its destination. But your ticket will be from Milano Centrale to Padova, unless you can fly into Venezia instead.

My thanks to all who replied. I had initially planned to fly into Milan and take the train so that I could see the countryside between Milan and Padua since our does not cover that area. However as a senior lady travelling alone, I found myself becoming increasingly anxious about the train travel since I have never done that before in Europe on my own.

Your advise has convinced me to change my plans and fly into Marco Polo. I hope that other tour members are arriving the day ahead of time and we can perhaps plan a daytime excursion to Venice before the tour starts. Once again, thank you.

The scenery is not interesting on this route.

There are many senior women on this board who travel solo, it is very easy. But I think your revised plan is best for this trip.

If you want to see something of Venice right after you land at Marco Polo, you can take the #5 ACTV bus into the city (there's a ticket machine in the terminal). It stops in the Piazzale Roma, at the base of the causeway. Both the Piazzale Roma and the nearby Santa Lucia train station have baggage check rooms (Deposito Bagagli), in case you want to lighten your load - they'll need to copy your passport.

Once you're done exploring, you can take a train from the Santa Lucia station to Padova. Be sure to validate both train and bus tickets. Have a great time!

Addendum #2: if you're wandering around Venice and see a sign for 'Ferrovia', that's the train station. Helps if you're lost. There are trains to Padova every 15 minutes - just buy a ticket and go.

It sounds like you have not bought your airline ticket yet? If you have the time, I would add a day or 2 on before your tour in Venice. I find Venice slightly confusing but there are some hotels that are fairly easy to get to.

Otherwise, I'm guessing you are going on the Village Italy tour? I wish I had spent an extra night in Padova before the tour! There was more to do there than I had researched, so I didn't see everything I wanted to. This tour was so much fun!

I've traveled on a number of RS tours and several of them solo and I can guarantee you will have a wonderful time.

Yes Pam, it is the Villages of Italy tour and I am sure it will be stellar. I now have my tickets set up to fly into Venice on Sunday and will explore a bit of Padova that day. Do you have any suggestions of must-sees that are not covered by the tour?

Since the tour does not start until 5pm on Monday, I plan to get up early that day, after a good rest and make a day-trip to Venice.

The biggest challenge for me traveling solo is tha despite being a senior, I have ADD that really presents itself when I am in new, unfamiliar places with a lot of stimulus, like airports, train stations and busy city streets. But I will not let that slow me down. I just have to remember to stop, gather myself and BREATH.

Thanks again, Cherie

The extra sites I enjoyed were the Basilica of St Anthony and the Botanical Garden which is nearby.

We saw the Basilica from the outside on our walking tour of Padova but did not go inside. Now this may sound creepy, but I decided on this tour I was going to see all the saintly relics in the churches along the way. I started here by seeing the relics of St Anthony which are his jawbone, his voicebox (I think) and his tongue. Yes, his tongue. I sort of raced thru here in an hour or so and it was not enough time. There is also an abbey next door.

We also did the Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico) which was great. I am not really a gardener but I enjoy plants and I particularly enjoyed the new Biodiversity Gardens they have. We also did not have enough time to spend in here either. I think we were here for maybe 2.5 hours? Not nearly enough...nor are there enough places to sit for a bit!

http://www.ortobotanicopd.it/en/

There were also a number of other things we missed! The group does the Scrovegni Chapel (wow!) and the University/operating theater along with a walking tour. I could have spent a lot more time in the downtown area (market area) as well as searching out the old city walls, spending more time in the Prato della Valle which is an oval "square", lol. I tore out the Padua section of my Italy guide book so I can't see what Rick suggests.

I would leave your plans for going in to Venice open to see how you feel regarding jet-lag.

If you are staying at the Al Fagiano (not sure if all the VI tours stay here or not) it is near the Basilica, the "oval square" and the Gardens. Take a taxi from the station to the hotel.

Cherie, Padova has one of the finest markets in Italy, both outside and inside at the Piazza delle Erbe near the middle of town. Beautifully displayed produce, and inside there are small shops focused on everything from cheese, to breads, to salamis and similar meats, to horse meat products, and on and on. I believe this functions on Monday mornings, and it should be a wonderful place to stroll around, photograph, sample foods, etc.

My flight arrives at 11:40am so I should have plenty of time to get to the hotel, freshen up, and then stroll the Botanical Gardens before dinner and turning in. I had hoped to see the gardens & it sounds like the timing is right. I will check on the market on Monday also and perhaps swing by there on the way to Venice. I'll just play it by ear as jet-lag could be an issue.

Thanks Pam & Larry

Wandering through the Orto Botanico, and more wandering through the automobile-less streets of Venice, are both wonderful ways to overcome jet lag. Best wishes for your trip - I have a feeling you'll have a lovely time!