We are traveling to Italy, flying into Milan Milpensia airport terminal 1 arriving at 10:20 am are hoping to take the shuttle to Milan Central Station and then take the train to Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre. Should we purchase train tickets in advance? Are they less expensive if we do or is the price about the same? When I traveled in England by train tickets were much more expensive purchasing them day of but I'm not sure how long it will take us to get out of the airport and get to Central Station, or how easy it will be to navigate the train station. There is a train that leaves at around noon and another one at 2. Anyone have experience with this?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17584 posts
If you buy a ticket at a discounted fare, and then your flight is canceled or arrives late and you make it to Milano Centrale after the train is departed, you lose the whole money you spent to pre-purchase the ticket.
Milan to Monterosso is not a high speed line, therefore there are mostly Regionali Veloci (no discounts) or InterCity trains (not a huge discount). So at most you can save about 10€ over the full base fare.
It is your call.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you. So probably best to buy them last min.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17584 posts
That’s what I would do. As I added in my edited comment above, the discounts on that traditional lower speed railway are not that big.
Posted by
263 posts
Our experience was in May 2022 - as Italy was just reopening from COVID. Immigration took a long time, but again, times have changed…
I assume when you are referring to the Malpensa Express train, which we took from the airport to Milano Centrale. As I recall the train from the airport to Centrale took about 30 minutes or so.
In my opinion, even with an on time gate arrival time of 10:20 and a smooth immigration process, a noon departure time from Milano Centrale would most likely not work.
While we purchase most of our high speed train tickets ahead of time, on arrival day to Europe, if we are going to another city, we just pay a high ticket price and buy the tickets once we arrive at the station. As the saying goes, time is money.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32632 posts
As the others have mentioned, it's not a good idea to pre-purchase tickets for the premium trains if connecting with an incoming flight. These have compulsory seat reservations that are specific to train, date and departure time, and can only be used on the one train listed on the ticket. If your flight is late arriving and you board any other train, even by mistake, you'll be subject to hefty fines which are often collected on the spot.
Transportation from the airport to Milano Centrale is very easy using the Malpensa Express. You can buy your tickets at the station, either from a staffed ticket office or an automated kiosk. Be sure to validate the tickets in the small trackside machines prior to boarding the train, or again you may face fines. Note that the Malpensa Express has two destinations in Milan, Cadorna and Centrale. Be sure you board the train that's going to Centrale!
Given the scenario you described, I'd suggest taking the M.E. to Miilano Centrale first, and then connect with the ongoing train to Monterosso. I checked using an arbitrary date and there's a direct train (no changes) departing Milano Centrale at 12:10, arriving 15:04 (time 2H:54M). I've used that one on several occasions and that's absolutely the one I would recommend. I really like to avoid changes when I'm tired and suffering from jet lag, so always look for direct trains. You can check all the details on the Trenitalia website.