Cinque Terre from Milan via train -help!

Hi Rebecca,
You might want to check how early the trains leave CT. With such a long trip for your departure you might want to consider leaving CT late the evening before and staying at a hotel near the airport or in Milan. At least that way you have taken the longest part of your journey.
I believe its takes the better part of an hour from Milan to Malpensa, and for international flights you should be at the airport at least 3 hours prior.
We are also leaving Milan at noon (AA) and hope to take a train around 8:00 am for the airport. Good luck whatever you decide!

I have the same issue as you, Rebecca. I land at MXP at 8am, figure about an hour (playing it safe) to get through customs and get my bag (assuming the airline is going to make me check my Rick Steves' bag). Then another hour to get to the Milan Central Station by bus. The next train, for me, leaves at 11am to the Cinque terre. I plan on buying my train tickets as I need them, but for my first leg of the trip, I may buy these in advance.

Flying home from MXP, there were no trains available to get me to Milan at a reasonable time for me to catch my morning flight home. Unfortunately, I sacrificed one day of my trip to spend the night in Milan in order to catch my morning flight home.

There are inexpensive buses that take you directly from both Malpensa and Linate airports to the central train station. If you get caught in rush hour traffic, they can sometimes take almost double the normal time. No worry though - there are frequent trains to Cinque Terre via Genoa. Some will require a 2nd change in Monterosso, but about 1 per hour stops in other Cinque Terre towns (e.g. Vernazza). Buy your tickets when you arrive at the Milan train station - takes all the worry out of the equation. The trains are mostly IC or regional and you'll get a separate ticket for each leg, so be sure to validate the the next ticket when you change trains (easier than it may sound). I second the suggestion to spend your last night in Milan as there's really no good way to get from Cinque Terre to Milan in the morning for a noon flight.

Rebecca, you posted this thread on "To The Boot". I did some research on the question and posted it there. If you spend the last night in the CT, the only train out of the CT that will get you to Malpensa by 9:30am departs Riomaggiore at 4:39am with an arrival time in Milan at 8:07am. This train also stops at Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Montegrosso. The next train out is at 5:17am with an arrival time in Milan at 9:29am. With 2.5hrs-3.0hrs. required at Malpensa, this 2nd train is not a good choice. Even the 1st train out is pushing it.

CLICK HERE to see the morning train schedule.

I agree with the others. Some of the larger trains will stop in Montorosso but otherwise you have to get to the local cinque terre train real early to get to either genoa or montorosso. Unfortunately, I don't think these trains run early enough. If you're flight out of Milan is international, that probably means you need to get there by 10 am and this would be nearly impossible.

I, personally, would allow 3-1/2 hours from the time I land to my first train out of Milan. This allows good time for customs, bag, bus, validate ticket -- and have a cup of coffee before boarding.

Getting to CT takes patience -- just relax and make an experience of it.

I agree with the above poster -- there is one train option that MIGHT work for your return. Keep in mind the trains in Italy are good -- but aren't "Germany good" -- just a 'little Italian lateness' will kaibosh the whole thing. I would take a late train back to Milan the night before your flight.

THANKS to all of the wonderful advice! We are still fleshing out our trip (including where we are staying in both CT and Milan), but these points will all be taken into consideration!

Consider flying out of Genoa (GOA) if possible, that's what we're planning on doing next summer. Even then, we're going to spend the night before in Genoa after a week in the CT.

Rebecca,

That's a fairly easy trip. As the others have mentioned, transit from the Milan airport to Milano Centrale is fairly easy (this is all detailed in Rick's "Italy" book).

One train you might consider departs Milano at 12:10, arriving La Spezia Centrale at 15:18 (no changes, reservations compulsory). From there you can transfer to the frequent local trains that go to each of the five villages (times are listed in Rick's book).

Given your flight departure time on the return trip, I'd agree that it would probably be best to head for Milan on the day prior (perhaps in the afternoon). There's a train departing La Spezia Centrale at 12:40, arriving Milano Centrale at 15:50 (no changes, reservations compulsory).

The Cinque Terre can be reached either via La Spezia or Genova (I normally prefer La Spezia).

Happy travels!

Great advice! It sounds as though I will have to go out and buy Rick's book this weekend!

Rebecca

Two thoughts. You don't say where you are staying in Cinque Terre. There are two wonderful towns close by: Santa Margherita and Portofino. Trains run between Santa Margherita and Cinque Terre regularly. There is a bus that takes about 15 minutes from Santa Margherita to Portofino. Secondly, you might actually want to spend a day in Milan. In May of this year, we went to Rome, Florence, Siena, Bologna, Venice, Milan, and Cinque Terre. We thought Milan ranked right near the top. The Duomo is spectular. La Scala is there and tours are available.

What is the distance from Santa Margarhita/Portofino from the Cinque Terre - by train, that is. We have not yet decided on which town we are going to stay in. Thanks!

As I recall, the train from Santa Margherita to Cinque Terre is around 40 minutes. There is no train to Portofino. You can get to Portofino by bus from Santa Margharita in about 10 minutes.