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I have arranged to travel to Como in late August, arriving in to Milan Malpensa airport in mid-afternoon. I have not been to this part of Italy before and I have read that the traffic up in the lakes is terrible during the holiday season. Given that one can use water taxis to get around and that I dislike driving abroad at the best of times, I have chosen not to hire a car.

This leaves me with a fairly sizable distance to cover between the airport and the town. I understand there are trains which can make the journey but they require several changes. I haven't been able to track down information about bus travel. In both cases, having a heavy suitcase and travelling with children puts me off using public transport. Taxis may be expensive and potentially unreliable. I don't speak any Italian.

Can anyone fill me in on the details and potential pros and cons of the various methods of travel?

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  • A cursory glance at Google Maps shows trains only need one change (train from the airport to central Milan, then one from Milan straight to Como). Is that still too much hassle?
    – Urbana
    Aug 2, 2016 at 9:24
  • @davidvc Ah, thanks, I thought it was at least two. My concern is primarily navigating the route with potentially tired children: what I'd ideally like to know is a bit of detail about where to change, walking between platforms etc compared with the cost, convenience and reliability of local taxis.
    – Bob Tway
    Aug 2, 2016 at 9:27
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    You wouldn't need to go into Milano. At Malpensa, train 167 with a change at Saronno takes you to the Como Nord Lago station. Rome2Rio.com can help and, depending on the number of travelers, a taxi or hired limo might be as cost effective.
    – Giorgio
    Aug 2, 2016 at 15:25

1 Answer 1

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you can take in Malpensa airport the first train to Milano and change at Saronno with a local train to Como Nord station, it's about 1h 10m of journey.

More information and time table here www.trenord.it

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  • Having now made the journey, I can confirm it's largely as easy as this answer suggests. The train departs Terminal 1 at Malpensa (there's a shuttle from Terminal 2) and the platform is clearly signposted from the airport. At Saronno there are electronic boards showing departures - you want trains to Como Nord Lago. Locate the platform ("Binari" in Italian) and use the underground passage ("Sottopassagio") to get there. Trains on both routes are very regular. At time of writing it cost about 10 euros one way for an adult.
    – Bob Tway
    Aug 30, 2016 at 14:32

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