Hi. I'm going to Varenna for a week in July and as Rick suggests, I'll go from the airport to Milano Centrale and take a train to Varenna from there (and reverse). Question is, is it better to take a regular bus or the Milano shuttle from the airport to the train station? If the shuttle is the better option, is it worth it to purchase round-trip tickets before I get to Malpensa? Thanks for any advice.
Deb in Arkansas
The Malpensa shuttle (bus) is pretty easy to take back and forth from Malpensa to Milano Centrale. It picks you right up outside of baggage claim and drops you right on the side of the train station. http://www.malpensashuttle.it has all the details. We bought our tickets right from the driver with no problem. I don't think buying your tickets ahead of time actually reserves you a seat, so it is probably not worth to buy round trip tickets ahead of time unless you are getting a significant discount.
I'd take the shuttle. I remember that there was a slight discount for purchasing the round-trip option for the shuttle--you can purchase it easily at the airport and if you don't get the round trip ticket it's also easy to purchase your return ticket at the train station. There is a kiosk near the door as you're leaving the Malpensa terminal.
I would add that you should verify which terminal you are flying out of at Malpensa. The bus stops at both but they are quite a ways apart.