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Varenna to Milan airport

Hi, experiences travelers!
I've learned so much from you all.
In Italy, I was wondering if we can go straight from Varenna to the Milan airport. [I know we can go from Como.] We will be there the end of April. Our flight out of Milan is noonish.
Also, we're getting ready to book hotels. Am reading the RS' Guide book now. Any special properties to recommend?
And- cooking classes?
Safe travels.

Posted by
11030 posts

Where is the flight going? If to a non-Schengen destination, I absolutely would not spend the night in Varenna.

If to another Schengen country, I would be hard put to think about trying to do it.

From Varenna, the train goes to Milan Central, where you can catch a train ( or bus) to go to the airport. That is a 2.5 hour journey, if all goes well

Posted by
5187 posts

Pat,
Which airport will you be flying out of?
Malpensa or Linate?

As the others have said, you’d need to return to Milan before heading to either airport.

I’d suggest spending the night prior to your departure in Milan.

If you’re interested in visiting the ‘Last Supper’, do make sure to book your tickets 3 months in advance.

In Varenna we enjoyed our stay at Albergo Milano. We chose to stay in one of their apartments. The room (or apartment) rate included a delicious breakfast served on their terrace overlooking the lake.

Enjoy your trip!

Posted by
308 posts

Agree with above posters. Spend the night in Milan beforehand. Too many things can go wrong in the morning to make you miss a flight. Btw, you really should be at the airport at 10 am assuming you’re flying internationally. If you’re flying out of Malpensa, you can take the Malpensa express or a bus from Centrale station. Express is better choice bc it’s travel time isn’t affected by bad traffic like a bus. Malpensa express also leaves from 2 other major train stations, depending on the location of your hotel. Your hotel can tell you the best option. To Linate, your best option is to take a bus from Centrale.

Posted by
32171 posts

Pat,

Unless you can afford a private driver, the easiest and cheapest solution would be to travel via train to Milano Centrale and then to MXP.

Are you referring to hotels in Varenna? The guidebook provides a good summary of the choices. Albergo Milano is very popular or you could look at Royal Hotel Victoria or Villa Cipressi.

Posted by
1626 posts

What time is your flight out of Milan?

Direct to US, or to destination where you are connecting to US, or destination in Europe to continue your vacation.

Posted by
4614 posts

Our flight out of Malpensa is at noon, to Heathrow, then to home to CA, with carry-on luggage only.

We don't mind boarding a 6:00am-ish train in Varenna early that day.
So in summary, there is a train from Varenna to the central Milan train station, and then we would change onto an express train to the Milan Malpensa airport, correct?
And this should take 2.5 hours?
Thx to all for your help.

Posted by
22 posts

You are correct. That should work. You probably need to buy your tickets the day before at the travel agency in the train station. Seems like there was not a vending machine, and the office may not be open that early. I think that's explained in the quide book.

Posted by
355 posts

Last trip to Italy a rail strike messed up our plans.

With flying out, I would want to spend the last night in Milan - have a nice dinner, sleep in a bit and then you have options - just in case. You can easily take the train (or if needed, a bus) to Malpensa. Enjoy a stress free departure.

Posted by
14806 posts

I was in Varenna in the spring and stayed at the Royal Victoria. I splurged and paid extra for a lake front room. The view from my terrace was worth every penny.

As mentioned, train strikes can happen at any time. Make yourself aware of alternate transportation to the airport.

Posted by
3812 posts

You probably need to buy your tickets the day before at the travel agency in the train station.

I'd get all tickets now on-line, but that's just me. If they will arrive at MXP, they can get the return tickets from Varenna-Esino to MXP at the airport station.

Locally purchased tickets are day-specific, not train-specific. You can use them on any local train making that route on that day: just remember to time-stamp all tickets before boarding the train to Centrale.

Being quite lazy, I think that even the Tobacconist shop on the main street in Varenna is a better option than going up to the station.

train strikes can happen at any time

Well, in a way they can't. Train strikes must be announced at least one week in advance and they are published on a Government site. I'm sure the hotel staff will be happy to check for them.