Travel from Milan Malpensa to Lugano, Switzerland

bus shuttle: http://malpensa-express.com

We hope that in the future a new railway line will be opened making possible a direct train; but at present a short link on Italian territory is still missing.

C.,

The Bus is the most direct and probably cheapest method, but travel by train is also possible using the Malpensa Express train to Milano Centrale (about 52 minutes), and then transferring to direct train to Lugano (about one hour). Of course the overall trip by train is longer due to the time between changes.

If you wish to use the Bus note the changes in the airport pickup location, as shown on their website.....

http://malpensa-express.com/en/

Thank you for the bus information. Is it necessary to book a bus ticket in advance? If I book in advance, can I exchange my ticket for a later bus, in case our flight is delayed?

C,

If booking the bus ticket in advance, you'll have to specify a departure time. I've never used the bus but suspect tickets have a seat reservation so if you miss the departure you've booked because your flight is late, you could have a problem. It could take some time to exchange your ticket (assuming they allow exchanges), which is not something I'd want to deal with in a jet-lagged state.

In this situation, I'd consider two options.....

1. Buy the bus ticket when you arrive, and hope they have some open seats available. If not, you'll have to wait for the next bus.
2. Take the train as you can buy tickets at the airport station (DON'T forget to validate the tickets prior to boarding the train or you'll risk hefty fines which will be collected on the spot!). One other point to note is that the Malpensa Express has two routes, one to Milano Centrale and one to Milano Cadorna. BE SURE to board the correct train.

If you go to the FAQ at the Malpensa Express website you will see that you ticket is valid on the next available bus. No interaction necessary with a ticket agent.

We traveled from MXP to Lugano by bus in March and booked ahead on http://malpensa-express.com to insure that we had a seat. Our flight was scheduled to arrive at 8am so I had booked an approx. 10am bus ticket. It arrived early and we were able to get on an earlier bus. Lugano is beautiful! We enjoyed taking a boat to Gandria and walking back to Lugano along the Olive Grove Trail.

Thanks so much for all of your replies! They have been very helpful.
C.H.