Studying Abroad in Torino, Italy

since changing the ticket will probably involve going to the same type of person that you would to BUY the ticket, I would say wait....there should be enough information out there for him to be generally familiar with the process, and there will most likely be a tourist information point should worse come to worse...

Dontalgue,

I agree with Katherine, I would wait to buy the ticket to the bus there. One never knows how long it will take to go through customs & passport check points.

Keep in mind that his flight might also be delayed.

Check the Sadem website & make sure your son is prepared to pay extra if he has more than one piece of luggage.

When will your son be studying in Torino?
Will his studies be taught in Italian or English?

My daughter is just starting to do research for her study abroad plans for next year.

Safe travels!

Thanks for the advice. I guess we will wait. I am hoping there are people working there that can help him in English. He is trying to learn some Italian before he goes, but I wouldn't want the language barrier to be an issue in purchasing the correct ticket.

His teachers will be teaching his classes in English, and he will also be taking an Italian language course as part of his studies. He will be there for about 5 months and plans to travel around Italy and surrounding countries during his time there. If anyone has any tips for him, they are greatly appreciated.

There will be plenty of people who can speak English at the Malpensa airport. Most if not all people who work in the airport speak English.
As a general rule in Italy younger people all tend to speak at least some English. Older people not so much. However learning at least some basics in a foreign language is a good thing when you travel overseas.

Don,

Roberto is correct, most of the airport personnel speak English.

Your son will likely learn Italian fairly quickly since he will have the opportunity to practice it daily while in Italy.

He can travel all over Italy & surrounding countries very easily using public transportation.

The train system in Italy is very extensive and reasonably priced in my opinion.

For train schedules in Italy use this website: http://www.trenitalia.com

Here is a website for the Malpensa Airport map: http://www.milanomalpensa-airport.com/en/airport/maps

Your son will most likely be arriving in terminal 1.

Click on Malpensa T1 - Outdoor areas (on left sidebar)

Click small arrow within red circle icon & choose 'ground level' (which is the first floor for us)

Then under 'Services' click on small green arrow icon & choose, 'BUS and Shuttle BUS' --find 'Sadem bus to Torino' & it will show you the location on the map.

Happy studying abroad & happy & safe travels!

Thanks for the tips. We will definitely check out the airport services map. That is very helpful. Good to know most will speak English in the airport. He is planning to use the trains for his travels. They seem to be the best way to travel around Italy and surrounding countries. Will need to weigh whether to get the rail pass or just buy tickets as he goes.

Don,

You & your son may want to check this website which will help you figure out how to travel to practically anywhere by plane, bus, train, or boat & all the different route options, plus price, and travel times!

http://www.rome2rio.com

and you can download the free App--
Rome2rio

When does you son plan to travel to Italy? What organization oversees the Torino semester abroad program? Even if it is run solely by a U.S. university, there should be people that can help facilitate transportation for the American students arriving in Milano. My daughter did a semester abroad last Spring at Florence University of the Arts. The organization that facilitated the program (which my daughter's college contracted with) was 'Study Abroad Italy' (SAI) . There were students from a number of U.S. colleges in the program. SAI had representatives meet the students as they arrived at the airport in Rome, where they toured for a few days before going on to Florence by chartered bus. Other areas that SAI pre-arranged were housing (apartments) and cell phones. They also had a program to facilitate obtaining an Italian visa, which your son will also need. One last tip is that if you both have iPhones, and your son has wifi in Torino (another arrangement made by SAI for all of the student apartments in Florence), you can communicate for free with "FaceTime".

" We are thinking it will be best to arrange as much as possible in advance."

With sincere best of intentions:

Assuming that your child is a college student, why is he allowing you to do this research? This should be part of his educational process. If he is unable to do this minor task, I suspect that he might not be quite ready for this adventure.

If your son figures out how to speak enough Italian to make the bus ticket purchase himself at the airport (even though English would also work), it will be a good start on learning the everyday Italian he can use throughout the semester.

All he has to communicate to buy the bus ticket is "one" and "Torino" and hand over some cash collected from an ATM in the airport. I would bring paper copies of his Torino destination info (street address, Google map, directions provided by the school) rather than relying on computer or cell phone that day.

His arrangements are not through SAI or any organization like that. He has completed all the applications, obtained his visa, and is making his plans for how to get from the airport to his study abroad residence, as was recommended by his study abroad advisors. He was about to puchase the bus ticket, when we decided to post the question here because it seems like a great resource to tap into the community of travelers. After hearing the recommendations, he will purchase the ticket there. Thanks for mentioning bringing the paper copies of his destination info. I will tell him. We do have iPhones and plan to use them to FaceTime as you mentioned.