Hi. I will be on the Villages of Italy tour in October. Our last day with tour is Friday Oct 21st, in Orta San Giulio. We fly out of Milan MXP the next day. It looks like it is a couple hour train to Milan area. Is there a place to stay/see between Orta San Giulio and Milan. I wanted to stay in Milan that night, I just don't think we will have enough time-considering how far the airport is. This is the last item I am trying to figure out. If you are going to be on that trip, so excited to meet you.!
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
I would definitely stay in Milan for your final night. Less than 2 hours by train from Lake Orta. It will be easier to get to Malpensa the following day from central Milan than a location outside.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14030 posts
There may be others in your group that are heading in to Milan that you can share a taxi with Our guide matched us up and most of us left via taxi. Unless your flight leaves really early I would stay in Milan. BTW Malpensa is a closer cab ride to Orta San Giulio than Milan is! I don't remember how long it took us to get to the Duomo area and it was raining cats and dogs but it seems like it was just over an hour.
The guide will probably start working on exit strategies on about Day 3 because if folks are leaving by train the tickets have to be purchased ahead of time. There is no ticket office where the train stops so the guide will help you buy them in Levanto.
Posted by
San Francisco area
1814 posts
When I took this tour in 2014, we went to Milan.
The guide suggested we get tickets a couple of days earlier in Levanto at the travel agent.
Our guide was actually heading back for her next tour by train so she told us which train she would be on. It was a quick taxi from the hotel and quite inexpensive as there were several of us sharing a van. Had to change trains once with a quick 15 min connection and we were in Milan by late morning.
We stayed at a Hilton near Milan Centrale station. Its about a 10 minute walk away. I have to confess that after 2 weeks of the tour hotels, I look forward to a US style hotel. Big bathrooms with showers with strong water flow and soft deep towels, comfy beds and strong AC.....sometimes they even have ICE MACHINES in the hall!
Went to the Duomo and the nearby Galleria Vitorrio Emanuele and had a nice lunch. My friend was coming down with a cold so we returned to the hotel. That night we went to visit the canal area and had a nice dinner there capped off with a final gelato.
We took the bus to Malpensa the next morning. There's room underneath to store luggage. The bus itself has very tight seating. There is a train option but it runs less frequently.
Enjoy your trip, I loved it!