Milan Travel Forum

I am arriving in Milan on June 7 and wish to get to southern Tuscany by plane. I am looking for cheap flights to either Perugia or Florence to connect with tour plan. Any ideas? Alitalia is very expensive.

have you considered going by train?

trains usually work very well in italy and are reasonably priced

check the trenitalia site -

I have to aggree that train a cheaper and more convenient option than flying. Not only that, but the train takes into the centre of Florence, so no commuting in from the airport.

There are approx 2 trains an hour with the journey taking between 2hrs 45min to 3hrs 15mins and will cost no more than €36 for a 2nd class ticket.

You can book your ticket in advance but I would not necessarily recommend it as your flight to Milan might be delayed, just buy at the station.


For Perugia, change trains at Florence.

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html

As far as I can see there are only 2 flights a day from Malpensa to Perugia, the first is at 1245 and the second at 2030 booked through Alitalia.
Florence also has 2 planes a day from Malpensa at either 1100 or 2020 again with Alitalia.

Billy

I agree that train will be a far better option.

Not only will it be cheaper but it will take less time, in the end, than hanging around/checking-in/retrieving your bags/getting from the airport. And you will see some lovely Italian countryside on the way. Trains in Italy are comfortable and very reasonably-priced.

Having checked www.whichbudget.com and www.haresfares.com it seems only Alitalia fly those internal routes. You have left it a little too late for cheap fares even if there were also budget carriers: the nearer you get to departure the higher the price.

Definitely train. You will lose time reaching the airports and waiting for luggage. Trenitalia is quite punctual and convenient. Take a Eurostar train and you will save a lot of time.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I was reticent to use the train through Milan Centrale as I had read several reports of thieves on trains and in the terminal and as I am travelling alone I was concerned.

There is no need to be more concerned about Milan Centrale (or any other Italian station)than any station anywhere else. Just use your common sense.

I always travel alone. No problems at all.

Totally agree with leics - I've been to Milano Centrale alone many a time and nothing untoward has ever happened or been seen.

Someone once told me about an incident with some 'Albanian businessmen' in the gents' toilets there, but when the full story came out it turned out that a) it was a storm in a teacup (nothing happened!), b) the guy concerned was a racist, and c) a drama queen too.

I think that stories like his probably explain a good proportion of terrible tales about Milano Centrale (and all Italian stations).

That's not to say that some of what people say isn't true. The area in front of the station is a kind of meet-up place for drunks and drug-takers and I wouldn't want to walk there alone at night, but inside the station normal rules apply. I'd walk around outside during the day too. And I'm sure there are pickpockets. I had my mobile stolen at Bologna Centrale, but then I had stuck it in my coat pocket which wasn't very clever.

The train will be fine. I'd take it for journeys over twice as long as yours, which I wouldn't in the UK. Italian trains are far more reliable and good value for money. I took a return flight between Manchester and Gatwick the other week because the train journey looked like torture in comparison (and I hate flying). Felt extremely bad about the environmental impact when it was such an unnecessary journey - if I'd been in Italy it would have been the train all the way!

Thanks for the responses about Milan Centrale. I feel much better about the train options versus flying.