Train from Milan to CT questions

You are arriving at the airport at 2? You will have to get to Milano Centrale after going through whatever you need to at the airport, so the timing is tight but probably doable. Trenitalia is indeed the official site, and with a little practice it gets easier to use. I cross reference with the Swiss site www.rail.ch to get more detailed information. as noted, you cannot buy tickets on the Trenitalia we site, but the ticket kiosks are very easy to use. some where ther is a website with photos to walk you through it. I will try to find the link and post it.

You won't be able to buy your tickets online through trenitalia as they don't take U.S. credit cards. There is no reason to use a reseller like raileurope. You can easily buy your tickets when you get to Italy. You can use the trenitalia site for schedules and prices. You can pick your train by price or speed. The higher the speed the more the train will cost. If you buy 7 days in advance you can use the 15% discount. If you buy 15 days in advance you can use the 30% discount. Print out a list of the trains you want and buy them all at once if you prefer. The kiosks are very easy to use, just like an ATM machine. I'm not sure if you'll be able to catch the 4 o'clock train but just buy the tickets for the next train leaving and you'll be fine. There will be no need to validate the ticket because it'll be for a specific train and a specific seat. Donna

While you won't have to validate your ticket for any leg you take on an IC train (a reserved seat is included in the price of the ticket), you will have to do so for regionale trains (open seating with no reservations possible).

Thank you - that really clears things up - I didn't want to miss the boat with reservations for the train if we could make them from the states. When I last trained in Italy in the 80's they had a reputation for not being on time, unlike the rest of Europe - I'm glad they straightened that out. Ciao Neil

I am very interested in the Meno15 and Meno30 discounts on Trenitalia. We arrive 4 Oct from the US, traveling by train to Venice that afternoon. Our next train is 11 Oct from Venice to Vernazza (a series of 4 trains I believe). We'll have 3 more train days in our three week stay. To maximize the discount, would those of you with experience recommend buying all of our tickets in Milan when we buy our first segment? It seems to me that if we are to qualify for the Meno15 on 11 Oct, we'd have to buy in Milan at Centrale that first day. Hoping to use credit cards very little and avoid the kiosks. Has anyone used the "Agency 365" that is in each Trenitalia station? Would it be better to go to a Trenitalia ticket window or use an/the agency? Parlo un po' d'italiano! Grazie!

Laurel, you may want to start a new thread of your own to get more responses. But I'll give it go. . . Now that Trenitalia offers Frecciarossa service from Malpensa to Milano Centrale, you should be able to buy your tickets at the airport Trenitalia ticket window. since the Frecciarossa service is so infrequent, I'm thinking the ticket window won't be busy (unlike Milano Centrale, which is a huge bustling station.). I bought most of our trip tickets in advance from the window, using my basic Italian, and it was fun. I took a printout from the Trenitalia website showing the exact trains I wanted, and the date. very quick and easy in an uncrowded station. but there could be long lines at Milano Centrale, and you don't want to let that keep you from making your train to Venice. . .you could also buy the tickets in Venice, as it will still be the same day, still a week ahead, right?

Thanks, Lola, for the info on the Frecciarossa. I was planning to take the Malpense Shuttle (bus). I had not thought of taking the train to Cadorna and then the Metro to Centrale. I am not going to wait for the Frecciarossa (leaves at 1221) as we get in so early, but you gave me the impetus to look at options. Good idea on buying tickets at MXP. I have my list for all 5 journeys and I'll take it to the ticket counter and make it happen before we even leave MXP. Grazie mille! (We fly out of Seattle, by the way, on OCtober 3.)

Yes, the Malpensa Shuttle (bus) is still your best bet, at least until December when they will start offering more frequent service with the Frecciarossa train. . . I hope that works for you to buy your tickets at MXP. And have a great trip. I'm envious of your whole week in Venice!

I am SO happy to have found this thread! We are also flying from SEA to MXP, on the 16th, and want to get to Venice as soon as we can. We arrive at MXP 8am, and are hoping we can be on either the Shuttle or the Frecciablanca by noon. Is that a reasonable amount of time in between? I am a little bit nervous to not have a reservation for the MXP to Venice train, but your advice on getting all of our train tickets at the MXP is fantastic. I will print out the schedules as well, so we can show the ticket person what we want. Any other advice/information would be super! Our other train rides are: Venice[INVALID]Florence Florence[INVALID]Rome Genoa[INVALID]Sestri Levante Sestri Levante[INVALID]Milan Thank you!