questions about train travel in Italy

Honestly, we have trouble with ticket machines for subways in the U.S. so obviously not our strong suit.

Get help from the others; it is not possible that your whole group won't be able to understand how to use these. The kids can figure how to use the machines. I travel with a 16 year old you'd be surprised how they understand how things work since they grow up with computers

a. Is it possible to buy tickets ahead of time for the train from airport to Milan?

You can buy them here https://www.malpensaexpress.it/en/

Is it possible to buy tickets ahead of time for the train from airport to Milan?

Yes, but you don't need to. There is a manned counter at MXP station. The employee will sell you a through ticket to Firenze SM Novella station. If asked he/she will find you a connection with more time to transfer from one train to another.

It keeps changing the time I am searching for.

The app keeps changing the time because you use it at different times. In other words, if you don't pick a day and time of travel the app obviously defaults to the time of your system, to show the first train you can take.

is three hours a reasonable length of time?

Why running the risk of wasting your money if you arrive late at the track? Or having to wait for the booked train if you arrive at the airport station earlier than expected? If you don't want to get tickets at the counter there is free wifi inside airports, you can use Trenitalia's app while waiting for luggage or in line for immigration.

window of time?

There is a 4 hours window of time for Regionale tickets purchased online (75 minutes in the Cinque Terre). But again, you can get all the tickets at once at the airport station or at any other Trenitalia station in Italy. This way you will enjoy the 24 hours window for locally purchased Regionale tickets, but you'll have to time-stamp them before boarding. A note with all the days of travel using the European dd/MM/yyyy format and the number of passengers would make things easier for the employee at the counter.

It keeps changing the time I am searching for.

The quirky thing about the app is that if you enter a time, the app adjusts hours to your time zone. If I’m looking for a train leaving at 8AM, I enter 2 AM since I’m on Eastern Time. drove me crazy till I figured that out. Otherwise I find the app easier to use than the website.

I would not risk making the train to Florence with a 3 hour window. Though it will be more expensive, I would purchase the tickets on day of arrival after you have landed. Either on the app or at the station in Milan.

Thanks for all the help. I should clarify, however, that the young adults are not traveling with us to Italy but rather joining us. (For example, my daughter and husband are going to Rome first.) So we are on our own!

I had not thought of the ap adjusting the time across time zones, since the site on my computer did not but that makes sense. Thank you! I will play with it some more now that I understand that.

And it had not occurred to me to buy all the regional train tickets at once. I was thinking about doing it multiple times and thought it would be a big hassle. I also like the idea of writing it all down, especially since my command of Italian is nonexistent!

Here’s the logic I use. First, I look for the route with the least number of train changes on www.trenitalia.com. For jet lag days, I won’t consider the cheaper routes that take longer and have more station changes. I want plenty of buffer time, but Malpensa is usually not a difficult airport to arrive and go through procedures.

These have one train change from the airport to Florence.
12:37pm leave Malpensa. Arrive at Firenze Santa Maria Novella at 4:04pm. 69 Euro
The next one is:
1:37pm leave Malpensa. Arrive at Firenze Santa Maria Novella at 5:04pm. 69 Euro.

The same tickets purchased a couple of months early are 47 Euro. For four people, that’s enough difference for me that I would purchase one of these departure times for plenty of buffer and use any wait time to have breakfast or a gelato.

I know it’s not difficult to validate the ticket (time-date ticket in a machine), but purchasing the tickets ahead of time and printing ahead of time also eliminates the need to worry about that step when I’m jet lagged and incurring a fine. Of course, you could also just use the app.

Jean--it actually is cheaper than that- 69 Euros for two because it is a Saturday that we are traveling. I am concerned that that class of tickets will be gone and thus will cost 69 Euros each! 69 Euros is a big enough difference to me to make it worth waiting around a bit. So maybe my plan to buy ahead of time is OK but need to allow more time.

I was thinking of allowing four hours not three as I initially proposed.

Hi Beth, I was thinking about the answer I gave you earlier. I would go ahead and take the first train available into Milano Centrale - no need to wait at the airport which is rather boring, and it’s just a regionale ticket. Then you can use your buffer wait time to grab breakfast near the train station.

Jean,
It actually didn’t register with me that you were suggesting staying at the airport!
I decided to go ahead and buy the 13:00 tickets. It is 4 hours-more than I think I need (I have been to Milan airport before and it is fast) but won’t have to worry about time at all this way. We can have lunch in the train station and then take a nap on the train. It was 60 euros for both of us with a seat reservation.

I haven't read all the replies, but a few thoughts.....

Most of us don't recommend buying advance tickets for the express trains when connecting to an incoming flight. After a long transatlantic flight, four hours is more than I'd want to spend waiting but since you've now bought the tickets you're stuck with that option.

Even at four hours, it's a bit of a gamble. If everything works out, you'll connect with your booked train. If there are extreme delays with your flight and you miss your booked train, your ticket is worthless and you'll have to buy another at Base Fare (the highest price tier). If you're caught without valid seat reservations for the train you're on, you'll face hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!

Not all the connections to Florence are at Milano Centrale. Some trains connect at Milano Porto Garibaldi. Note which station you need to use. Be sure to use Firenze S.M. Novella as your Florence station. There are trains about every 1/2 hour from MXP to Milano Centrale/Porto Garibaldi. There are other trains from MXP that go to another Milano station - don't get on the wrong train at the airport.

I agree that adding 4 hours of waiting after a flight is a real pain, but I assume budget is more important than time. At least you'll have plenty of time to get the regionale tickets you want.

You can buy either at the counters inside Milano Centrale or at the ticket machines. Note that the machines use the same graphic interface of the official Trenitalia site, there are videos on youtube explaining how to use them. The main point is changing the departure station and picking the right day of departure.

ps Chani, even if the poor souls forced to live in Milan would love to enjoy a porto... I am afraid that in the Garibaldi District there is only a trivial Porta.

Dario,
Well, it isn’t really waiting four hours for a train because in that four hours I have to get through MXP and take the train to Milan Central station. I have padded my time such that I will be there at least an hour extra. But it is 69 euros cheaper than buying on day of travel. So yes, I guess I am valuing my money more than my time!

I will do as you suggest and buy all my regional train tickets while I wait. So then I will actually waste less time!