From Milan airport to meet my tour in Stresa, Italy, what is the best form of transportation

Take bus# 168 from MXP- Busto Arsizio. 16 minutes, runs hourly. Train B A-Stresa. 49 minutes. Cost around 11 euro.
Taxi is not cheap...about 60 euro.

I'll be doing that from Milano Centrele to Stressa in September. From the airport you are closer and don't need to go to Centrele and double back.

There is an airport shuttle bus with more information here to Stresa - http://stresasights.blogspot.com/2011/03/transportation-alibus-shuttle-from.html

ann,

The method I'd probably use is to take a Taxi from Milan / MXP to Gallarate. From the station there it's only a short ride (about 35M) to Stresa, depending on which train you get. While the Taxi portion of that trip may cost ~€30, after a long international flight I wouldn't be in the mood to tolerate a longer Bus ride.

Alibus Shuttle bus direct from Malpensa to Stresa (55 min. trip):
http://www.safduemila.com/alibus-2015-malpensa.lagomaggiore.html

Another quick option, if the above schedule doesn't work for you, since the Alibus is not that frequent, is:
- Taxi or bus from Malpensa to Gallarate train station (10-15 min by taxi, 20 to 30 by bus)
- Train (www.trenitalia.com) from Gallarate to Stresa (35 min). There are at least 2 trains per hour from Gallarate.

If you take the train from Malpensa to Busto Arsizio (or even worse to Milan), then the train back to Stresa, you will be backtracking and the trip will take you at least 1.5 hours. Much better to intercept the same train in Gallarate which is next to the airport.

I forgot to say that I will be arriving in Milan by plane, so I'm looking for transportation to Stresa from Milan airport. Will all these options work from the airport?

Yes Ann,

We all understood from your title that you were seeking for directions from the Milan airport.

We also all made the assumption you were arriving at the Milan Malpensa airport (code MXP) since all flights from North America arrive there (Milan area has 3 international airports).

All the suggestions you received above are from the Malpensa airport (NOT from the city of Milan, which is quite a distance from Malpensa).

If you click on the Alibus link Roberto sent you, you will see that it starts at Malpensa Terminal 2 and Terminal 1. If you are landing at Linate or Bergamo, that's a horse of a different color.

As Roberto mentioned, your title states that you're travelling from Milan airport (MXP). On a flight from North America, you'll be arriving at Terminal 1, and the suggestions I provided earlier reflect that.

Are you meeting your tour at a hotel in Stresa? The station is on the side of the hill, so I'd suggest using a Taxi as you'll be hauling luggage (although the town is downhill from the station).

Just curious, which tour are you taking?

Ken, thank you for that hillside tip. We are using Grand Circle Tours and beginning an Alpine Romantic Village Tour. Should be fun. They organize transport to pick people up from their airport and take them to Stresa, but our flight comes in after their last pickup and we must find our own way.

If you plan to take a taxi to the Gallarate train station (then the train from there), you can use the local taxi co. and even reserve one ahead of time:
http://www.taxigallarate.it/en/taxi-to-from-malpensa-airport-to-milan-linate-railway-station-rho.php

I've read in some forums from some Gallaratesi, that some Milan based taxi drivers are not too happy when someone walks in from the terminal and asks them to take them to Gallarate. The taxi drivers would rather take someone headed to Milan, which is far, because the fare is almost 100 euro instead of 30-35 euro to nearby Gallarate. I think even 35 euro is outrageous for just 7 or 8 miles, but taxi is in Italy is expensive and Uber Pop isn't allowed.

I used to stay in Gallarate in the early days of Malpensa, before they built the train link to Milano, and I generally used the SACO bus from the station. I think the bus ticket is only just over 1 euro and the travel time is only 25 min by bus vs. 15 by taxi.