Morning train to Malpensa airport from Lake Como: Should I stay in Como, Bellagio, or Varenna?

If you look at a map of the TreNord network younwill see why it is so much faster from Como---you don't have to go all the way into Milan to catch the Malpensa Express.

http://www.trenord.it/media/1699323/mapparegionale_2016_01_a3.pdf

Now look at the Saturday schedule for morning trains from Varenna to Milano Centrale:

http://www.trenord.it/en/timetable/timetable.aspx

You would have to leave Varenna on the 6:23 or 6:39 to make it to the airport by 9 am. If you are comfortable with that, you could stay in Varenna. But by mid-October, it will be getting dark fairly early. Also, if it is raining, there is not much to do there indoors. We stopped in Varenna overnight on our last trip, in early October ( Oct. 1 to be exact). We like Varenna and the dinner on the deck at Ristorante La Vista in particular. It was a cloudy/drizzly day but we managed a hike up to the old castle anyway. But we did not get to have dinner on the deck---they were only serving indoors.

So if I were in your position I would choose to stay in Como. If it is a nice day ride a boat. If it is raining, you could explore the town.

Lake Maggiore is much closer to Malpensa (and I like it better than Como).
Stresa or Arona are less than 40 min away via bus or train (via train to Gallarate station, then short 10 min taxi ride to airport).
The bus schedule from Lake Maggiore is below:
http://www.safduemila.com/alibus-2016-malpensa.lagomaggiore.html
If the times don't work well with the bus, there is the train. With the Trenord timetable linked on the previous reply, you can see that there is a train departing Stresa at 7:51am that gets you to Gallarate at 8:33am. From there a taxi will get you to the airport in 10 min (the city bus takes about 25 min since it makes stops).
If you prefer a private car transfer from Stresa to Malpensa, the cost is about €90-100 (45-50 min). From Arona, which is closer, the transfer (with any means of transportation) would be less both in time and money. I've been to Stresa multiple times, and I recommend it, but never been to Arona (just passed through but never stopped).

If you are limited on time with the 9am flight Roberto has a great suggestion for Lake Maggorie. Look on a map where Malpensa airport is west of the Milan and it's closer to Maggiore then Como. I'm heading to Stresa in 3 weeks for a few days.

I have this same situation coming up in two weeks and we decided to stay in Milan the night before our flight. I just didn't trust the train system to get me to the airport on a Sunday morning.

I agree with Roberto that Lago Maggiore would be a better choice than Lago di Como, in terms of getting to Malpensa.

If you're completely set on staying in Varenna on Lake Como, it would be possible to get to the airport by 09:00 (assuming no strikes or other problems with the trains). There's a departure at 06:23, arriving MXP at 08:46 (time 2H:23M, one change at Milano Centrale, current fare listed at 18.70€ PP - DON'T forget to validate!). I used an arbitrary Saturday to check that.

I wouldn't suggest staying in Bellagio, as the time on the Ferry will add time and they may not run as frequently or as early on Saturdays. Varenna would be a better choice than Como (IMHO).

Why are you going to Como to drop off your luggage and then take a boat to Varenna? You can easily reach Varenna in 1H:03M by train from Milano Centrale. Much easier than boat!

Thank you so very much for all of this information. I am grateful for how generous everyone is with their time and their knowledge.
We have decided to travel up to Lago di Como (by train to Varenna) for just the day, and then back to Milan to sleep Friday night. Then to the airport on Saturday morning. We'll probably take a ferry over to Bellagio or Menaggio after we arrive for a little variety, then back to Varenna for dinner and catch the train to Milano.
This was my first post on Rick Steves's forum and I am impressed. Thanks.

Mark,

It's great that the information was useful. A couple of other points to mention....

• You may want to buy your return ticket from Varenna-Esino to Milano Centrale at the same time as your ticket TO Varenna. As I recall there's no ticket office in Varenna, and the ticket Kiosks may not be working. As I mentioned earlier, DO NOT FORGET to validate (time & date stamp) your tickets prior to boarding the train on the day of travel. Failure to do so may result in hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! DON'T validate the return ticket until you use it, as tickets have a "shelf life" once validated.
• The trip to Varenna is 1H:03M. Be ready to disembark promptly as the train doesn't stop for long. The train will go through a tunnel just prior to arrival in Varenna.
• On the trip to Varenna, sit on the left (when facing front) as that provides the best views of the lake.
• The Ferry dock (to Bellagio) is down in the hill in front of Albergo Olivedo (bright yellow building, you can't miss it).
• There's a wonderful promenade along the lake from Albergo Olivedo to the main part of town. When you return from Bellagio, that would be a great way to get to your dinner location.
• One of the big favourites for dinner with many here is Albergo Milano, but having reservations may be advisable (hopefully one of the others can provide some information on that). If you want more of an "upscale" dinner, you could also look at Villa Cipressi. Finally, I've always found the food at Albergo Olivedo to be good, but they don't open for dinner until 19:00 (that still provides time to get back to Milan - I know as I've done that).