On Monday, the wife and I are taking a trip to Florence. We will be traveling through Milan. Our concern is with immigration. With the winter being a slower time, we are wondering what to expect, time-wise for getting through immigration. We have two choices for trains from Malpensa to Milan Central train stations. There is a 9:43a and a 10:43a. Our flight is due in to Milan at 8:25a via United.
Please advise on wait times and other pertinent information that would be helpful.
I am not sure there is any advantage in getting tickets for that train in advance, in addition you could use other options such as the shuttle bus or even the train to Milano N Cordona, might check out all options and take the best one when you hit the ground. Otherwise, I would assume at least a half hour, to an hour typical for immigration (I take it Milan is your first stop in Europe), but as you noted, it depends on how many agents, how many planes arrive right then
Yes, don't nail yourself down. In December, Trenord was on strike when I was there, but no problem using the bus to Milano Centrale, just a tad slower because of a stop at the other terminal and traffic.
I didn't want to bother playing any games with discount tickets for my continuation to Venice, just bought a full price ticket out of the vending machine at the airport train station. I think you can also use the ticket window to buy continuing tickets to Florence. A Pin & Chip card helps if you want to use the vending machine, but not sure if a magstrip card works or not.
At that time of morning, the Malpensa Express runs to Milano Centrale every half hour, at both :19 and :43 after.
If you have to catch the 10:43 in order to meet a another train you already reserved, then that's the "chance" you've chosen to take, and it's likely to work out if there's no significant delay. If you have not yet purchased your onward ticket, then I would wait and buy it in the train station, when you're sure that you can catch the next train.
I agree with the posters above, besides there is no advantage in buying the Malpensa Express train tickets in advance as the price is the same @ €12/pp.
Keep in mind that your flight might also be delayed, so it's best to buy your tickets at the airport upon your arrival.
So, it seems that there is no price benefit to buying tickets to Centrale early. However, would it be in our best interest to get tickets to Florence early? We have gone to www.italiarail.com and seen 2 for 1 tickets for $72. Would the tickets be just as cheap at the train station?? To answer another question, we recently got a checking acct that has a chip/pin card. Also it has NO overseas fees for ATM use.
This will be our first time in Florence.
There are plenty of buses travelling from Malpensa to Milan
Central station. Just ask what time is the next train and we hic platform no.
All buses stand just outside the terminal.
Enjoy your holiday in Florence.
Francoise
First off, it is never wise to purchase tickets close to arrival. Too many variables you cannot control. Lets walk through it --
Arrive 8.25. Assuming your are on time. Allow a min of hour and a half to exit plane, clear immigrations and to the train stop.
9.00 AM - another hour to Centrale train station because you just missed the train and you have to wait 30 minutes for the next train. The trains run every 30 minutes so not sure why your are saying 9.43 and 10.43. And no discount for on-line purchase. Assume you are referencing your train to Florence.
10.00 AM. Probably need at least 30 minutes - rest room stop, maybe grab a snack, and find platform for 10.43.
It is OK, you made the 10.43, most likely would have missed the 9.43.
Now for variables your cannot control - immigrations is dice roll depending on the number of officers on duty and the number planes arriving at the same time. Last May in Rome it took over two hours just to clear immigrations and other times have been through immigrations in 20 minutes. If you plane is 30 minutes late then everything pushes back. If for some reason the train to Milan is not running, then the bus takes an hour.
This is the time to buy your ticket to Florence when you buy your train ticket to Centrale. Then you know you exact arrival at Centrale. You will pay base fare but that is very reasonable. Anything else is a gamble.
Do you like to gamble? The 2 for 1 special is totally nonrefundable. If you just buy at the station, a 2nd class seat is $60 (at current exchange), so your potential savings are only $48. I've done it, but I leave an extra 2 hours, and I like to have better odds on the bet. If I could get the seats for $42 I'd jump all over it. Otherwise, sometimes I say cost be damned, get me on the next train.
BTW. Click on the currency box at Italiarail and pick Euros and see if you get a lower price when converting the euros to dollars.
I visited Italy last month and flew into Milan. Rome was our destination (my flight to Malpensa was nearly 50% less than compared to FCO). My original plan was to take a train to Rome after leaving Maplensa. We opted to stay in Milan for a night in case of late flight, delay in customs, etc. We breezed through customs, but our flight was delayed an hour leaving the US. This would have caused significant issues making our train. We did purchase 2 for 1 tickets in advance and the price is quite attractive, but I agree with the other posters that it is too risky and stressful. Another option is to purchase your 2 for 1 or economy train tickets much later in the day (2 or 3 pm). This gives you a much better buffer for the unexpected. It is still a risk, but perhaps one you can live. This is dependent upon stowing your luggage at Milano Centrale and going into the city center (10 min by metro) and visiting the Duomo or another site. If you arrive during the week, you could probably get reservations to see the Last Supper. This is just an out of the box idea. Otherwise, I would purchase the train tickets upon your arrival as everyone else has suggested.
"we recently got a checking acct that has a chip/pin card. Also it has
NO overseas fees for ATM use."
Are you referring to a debit card by your statement above?
You do not want to use your credit card at an ATM machine, as it will be treated as a 'cash advance', and you will pay high interest rates.
Other points to keep in mind:
Make sure you notify your bank(s) regarding your travel plans.
It's also a good idea to take 2 debit cards & 2 credit cards.
When using an ATM, only use the ones attached to a bank, & during
business hours, just in case the ATM machine decides to eat your card.
This actually happened to me, but fortunately the bank teller was able
to retrieve it.
Yes. The cards we got our connected to a checking account. So they are debit cards. We will also carry credit cards that have chips in them. We know about using ATM bank machines as opposed to kiosk bank machines that don't work as efficiently as the teller is not nearby. Thanks for the advice! Also the bank knows that we will be traveling out of town.
Sounds like you're all set.
Have a wonderful trip!
