We are at the beginning of a three week trip to Italy, our second trip. Last time we saw Rome and Tuscany. This trip we plan to visit Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Florence, Milan and ???. We are a couple in our mid 50's. We leave California and arrive Milan (MXP) at 10 pm local time. We had an 11 hour flight to Heathrow, and god willing we got 7 hours of sleep. We have a 7 hour layover in Heathrow, and we plan to take the local bus to the Radisson and check into the spa for 10 pounds each and soak, steam, and shower the trip off. Freshly showered, we walk down the road to the Pheasant pub and have some pub food and beer, then we hoof it back to the Radisson, catch the local bus to Heathrow and catch our 2 hour flight to Milan. Once we arrive at Milan we jump the bus and take it into the main train station. 1. Assuming all went well, we arrive in Milan at the end of this 27 hour journey having gotten 7 hours of sleep and a trip to the spa. It's 1 pm in California, so we might be able to stay up. The earliest trains to leave Milan are around 6 am. We check our bags at left baggage (assuming we can get our bags and through customs, then catch the bus to Milano Centrale AND get to the left baggage office before they close at 24:00) and walk around, visiting the Duomo, La Scalla, etc. We return to the train station, retrieve our bags and take the train to...wherever we're going. 2. Assuming the trip went poorly, we got no sleep, and we're exhausted. We check into a hotel for 12 hours and catch a later train the next day.
Your comments or suggestions are appreciated.
Posted by
Austin
973 posts
You arrive at MXP, get into Milan Central Station, check into the reasonably priced Berna Hotel and have a drink and go to bed!
Then arise, have a good breakfast, enjoy Milan: hop on the subway and see the Duomo, La Scala, and go on to the Galleria for a little window shopping, gelato, taxi over to the Last Supper, have a delish pizza, put your feet up back at the hotel catch up on the news, and then go out for a great Italian meal. When you wake up in the morning, take a train from Central to your next stop and enjoy the view... I'd be cross and crosseyed if I tried to start major sightseeing immediately. It's gonna be a great trip!
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23297 posts
First off, you can take a train in addition to the shuttle bus to Centrale. Do I understand you correctly that it is 10 pm in Milan because it is 1 PM in CA you want to stay up and catch a 6AM train? Your NUTS !! The idea is to adjust to Europe time not maintain CA time. There are lots of nice hotels around the station, check in and get a decent nights sleep, and go the next day. And who booked a seven hour layover at Heathrow?
Posted by
OP
Caruthers, CA, USA
244 posts
@ Melissa: I'm trying to make allowances for 1. if we're still feeling fresh (thanks to the spa in London) or 2. if we feel like we're about to drop. I don't want to check into a hotel at midnight and stare at the ceiling most of the night. @ Frank: $871 r/t LAX/Milan booked a 7 hour layover in heathrow. It was I. We're United to Heathrow, Lufthansa to Milan and we probably could catch an earlier flight (if Lufthansa let us change flights) but our bags would be on the 10 pm flight (and would probably be pulled because we're not on the flight) When I saw the airfare I jumped at it because everything else was $1120 ea or more. Of course, since Egypt and Libya, airfares are now at least $1420 for the same itinerary in June. I'm planning on spending 2 days in Milan before we leave later that month; I have three nights to spend (besides our first "night" in Milan) before we need to be in Tuscany (Siena or Arezzo, my choice) Also, bear in mind that we land at MXP at 10:10. I figure it's gonna take us an hour or so to get bags and clear customs, then the 50 minutes to take the Malpensa express to the train station in Milan. So, we arrive at the train station at midnight, and it's only 6 hours until a train to Cinque Terre, Verona, Florence, Bologna.....
Posted by
Secaucus, NJ, USA
148 posts
Ted, If you manage to stay awake until 6am you are going to drop as soon as you get off the train the next morning (if not on the train). I think you would be exhausted the whole next day. More likely you will need to sleep as soon as you check into your hotel, which means sleeping in the morning and not adjusting to the time difference. I would be willing to be that you'll be able to get at least a few hours of sleep after a 27 hour journey. Take the other poster's advice and adjust to the Italian schedule. Get a hotel walking distance from Milan Centrale, have a glass of wine and go to bed. Heck, take a sleep aid if you absolutely have to. What are you really going to be able to see in the middle of the night? Save the sightseeing for when you return to Milan later during your trip. I'm 30 and I wouldn't even consider your plan.
Posted by
Florence, OR, US
267 posts
I agree totally with the "adjust to local time" statement! You will be in Italy for some time, and you'll want to be on THEIR time, not California time since it's a 9 hour difference. I say sleep when you get there, start to adjust to the time change right away, and be well-rested for the rest of your adventure.
Posted by
Coraopolis, Pa, USA
1018 posts
We have been traveling to Italy for 30 years and we ALWAYS adjust to Italian time as soon as possible. We do not try to remain on Pennsylvania time mainly because we are not in Pennsylvania when we are in Italy. Secondly, I understand your desire to fly for the cheapest price possible, but when you travel, especially internationally, you either spend time or money...or both. Putting together segments that make the trip longer diminishes any benefit of saving money. A frequent misconception about European travel is that sometimes people seem to think entities like time, distance, and body clocks do not apply. Wherever you go you take you with you. Maybe distances are short in Italy, getting there is another story. Traveling from place to place takes a MINIMUM of 1/2 day, or longer. Remember, you may be trying to find places such as hotels or sites that you've never seen and are in an unfamiliar city and you must navigate to find them. You asked us for comments and suggestions and we supplied them. If it were us, we would go to the Hotel Berna and go to bed. The next morning we would arise and our body clocks would have adjusted to the time difference ready to begin our vacation somewhat refreshed. Italy is the land of "Il dolce far niente." This means the sweetness of doing nothing. Our travels are tiring, but we start them as rested as we can. One more thing, all of that running around at Heathrow sounds complicated to me. Your intentions have too many parts that can fall apart or cause you to miss the connecting flight to Milan. Hey, but it's your vacation. Buon viaggio,
Posted by
OP
Caruthers, CA, USA
244 posts
In Reply: I read up through Amy's post last night and had all but decided to book the hotel in Milan. The comments that followed Amy's were icing on the cake. Regarding the flight cost and layover at Heathrow: We're flying from the west coast. If there are non-stops to Italy, I didn't see any. Your minimum layover is going to be 2 hours. Mine is 7, an extra 5 hours. I gave them 5 hours, they gave me $250; actually, we're a couple so we gave them 5 hours and they gave us $500. It's a bargain I would take. This is the beginning of a 3 week trip, so the 5 hours won't be missed. We'll see how the layover works out. I'm kind of proud I put it together. The Radisson is on the peripheral road around Heathrow, so it's very easy to get to. A steam bath, jacuzzi and shower will feel great after traveling for 17 hours. The Pheasant Pub got some great comments on yelp ( http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/the-pheasant-restaurant-and-public-house-hillingdon ) Finally, thanks to all who commented. I really needed a few kind souls to tell me what a hair brained idea that was. Ciao!
Posted by
OP
Caruthers, CA, USA
244 posts
Well, here we are in CT. The layover at Heathrow was 8 hours instead of 7 due to tailwinds. The trip to the Radisson Spa was GREAT!!! Shower, steam sauna, relaxation room (pack a travel alarm clock if you want to take a nap!) The Pheasant Pub was also wonderful. Fish and Chips, Bangers and fries, Two pints and two glasses of wine came to 32 pounds. Seven hours is plenty of time. When we got off the plane we went and checked into our next flight, which meant we could arrive back at the airport anytime before boarding. None the less, we were back at the airport two hours before boarding just to be sure. Read about the free bus alternative, the best kept secret (from tourists, not from the locals...) at Heathrow. See the link below, and page down to the story about the free buses. They ROCK! http://www.londontoolkit.com/lhr/hotel_hoppa_bus.htm Finally, the advice about NOT staying up all night was great. I probably could have done it, because I slept for about 7 hours on the flight. However, my traveling companion was not as lucky, and she really needed the hotel when we got there.