Milan Travel Forum

My husband and I will be arriving at the Milano Centrale Train Station, our son will be arriving at Malpensa Airport. We all get in around 10 am and our trip continues to Menaggio. We need to meet up and travel to Menaggio.

What is the most efficient route (by time) to get to Menaggio?

You need to be leaving for Menaggio from Milano Centrale.
If your son is travelling to Malpensa alone then I am assuming he is not a minor.
He will need to get to Milano Centrale.
His solution is as follows:
1/Express bus to Milano Cardone Station.
2/Subway to Milano Centrale
Once you are together, then catch a train to Lecco (about 40 minutesw journey time). From Lecco, catch bus no C10 to Menaggio.

I would suggest renting a car because Menaggio is a little ways up on the lake, but if you don't want to rent a car the best way is to get on the regional train and you can do this from Malpensa airport, you would have to switch trains while getting to Como. When and if you buy your tickets at the station just ask the attendant which station you would have to switch at. When you arrive at Como, you will arrive at the waterfront, just take a boat up to Menaggio although the boats can be quite pricey or you can take the bus which would take longer than the boat. Go to Como and not to Lecco because it is much closer to Menaggio.

From Milano Centrale take the train to Como San Giovanni and then you can take a bus up to Mennagio.

Actually, there's a bus to Menaggio directly from Malpensa, travel time 1 hour and cost EUR 11. While it doesn't run all that frequently, it's worth a look... check out http://www.sea-aeroportimilano.it/en/malpensa/index.phtml?mod=per_mi_scroll&to=come_arrivare for bus details and contact information.

If that doesn't work, make your way from Malpensa to Milano Centrale. In addition to the previous advice, consider taking a train (direction Tirano... NOT to be confused with Torino!) to Varenna-Esino. From there, you can walk towards the lake and take a ferry from Varenna to Menaggio.

Enjoy your trip!

Mark

complex problem - especially since sptlinea has recently stopped its bus service from Malpensa to Como which wasn't all that frequent anyway. I agree with the poster above that having a rental car is probably the easiest way to do this, but of course not cheap.

From Malpensa to Como, the train requires a change in Saronno. Coming by train from Milan there are actually two lines, one private which ends in the eastern side of Como and the other stops at San Giovanni on the west side and continues on to Switzerland. Either is a short taxi from the train to the ferry docks. From Como one can either get the sptlinea bus up to Menaggio, the C10 ( website for schedule) or take a ferry.

The train up to Varenna is a nice idea for you but doesn't do much for your son. He would have to travel back into Milan and meet you there for the train trip since that line doesn't go anywhere near the airport or Como.