Getting a bike in a box to Bormio

gsk82

I'm considering my holiday options for next year and quite fancy a week in Bormio. I can fly from Humberside to Milan no problem, the problem could be getting from Milan to Bormio. The employee at the hotel i have contacted suggested a train to then a bus to Bormio but has been told previously that they can't guarantee you'll get the bike on. I don't fancy risking getting over there and having to pay €300 each way for a taxi, and I'll probably be travelling alone so £250+ to hire a car is a bit OTT.

Has anyone else made the trip before or got any experience of Italian trains and buses?

Cheers
Gary

andymiller

It's a bit of a sod of a journey with a bike box.

A quick search on the trenitalia website shows that there's a train from Milano Centrale to Tirano every two hours and the journey takes two and a half hours. It's a treno regionale and takes bikes and should have plenty of space for a bike box.

You need to get the train into Milano. I *think* (but I couldn't swear to this) there are restrictions on bikes on the Malpensa Express but given your bike is in a box these wouldn't apply (although there might be restrictions on luggage size. [See the EDIT below]

As the hotel person told you, there's a connecting bus service from Tirano that's timed to connect with the train. Here's the link for the bus company:

http://www.busperego.com

The picture shows coaches which should have a reasonable amount of luggage space underneath. The buses that I've seen between Tirano and Bormio also have luggage space underneath.

My impression is that Bormio is fairly quiet in summer - I could well imagine that there might be problems if a load of people turned up with skis and winter sports equipment, but in summer that's less likely - although there's always the *possibility* of a load of people with bikes. But in any case, Tirano to Bormio isn't far (37 kms - according to these guys) - and at a (wild) guess I'd have thought you'd be talking maybe 50 euros for the taxi fare not 300 - your helpful hotel person (or the tourist office) should be able to tell you pretty much exactly.

A couple of points: I've assumed that you're talking about Milano's Malpensa airport, but IIRC Ryanair's Milano is actually Bergamo airport.

The other option you *might* want to think about would be flying to somewhere in Switzerland (Zurich?) and then getting the train to Tirano via Sankt Moritz. I doubt this will be easier, and in any case you still have the issue of the Tirano bus, but it's a possibility.

This page:

http://www.bormio.it/english/how-to-get-to-bormio.php

has got lots of useful links (including a taxi firm).

EDIT:

Just to make your day complete. the Malpensa Express goes to the Milano Cadorna station - which is 5 stops on the metro from Milano Centrale. There is the alternative of a train from Gallarate station - but this involves a shuttle bus. Bergamo starts to look the more attractive option.

gsk82

thanks for that andy.

the klm flight goes to milan linate, i understand there is a shuttle service to milan central. i really fancy this trip. the past two years have been great in with pyrenees cycling but i fancy change, there's so many famous climbs to ride.

andymiller

D'Oh should have asked which airport. The Linate shuttle looks like a good bet.

I wasn't trying to put you off - it's well worth the time for the transfers.

Assuming you're going for a week or so, you might want to consider doing a two-centre with Livigno, which might open up some more possibilities.

You can do the Mortirolo from Bormio - but bear in mind that the SS38 is off-limits to bikes. There's a cycleway (called the Sentiero Valtelina) that takes you to from Bormio to the bottom. More information here:

http://italy-cycling-guide.info/routes/ ... altellina/

(I've just noticed that I forgot to post the gpx files - will do that now).

rodgers73

I hired a bike in Bormio rather than taking my own. Could be easier than this plan?

andymiller

rodgers73 wrote:

I hired a bike in Bormio rather than taking my own. Could be easier than this plan?

Out of curiosity : how much did it cost?

rodgers73

It was for one day only so I probably paid a little more than you would over a week. Plus I was there last summer.

Here's the place I hired from -

http://www.bormioskibike.com/en_Default.aspx

They have prices on there. I was literally going up Stelvio and back down so I wasn't too bothered what I rode as long as the gearing was ok. I think it was a Madone 3.2(?) but it worked perfectly for the day to the point where I didn't really think about the bike itself. I just enjoyed the ride.

I drove up there from Venice so I could have taken my own bike with me but if I was in your shoes it might be easier for you to hire in Bormio or hire a car at the airport and drive your bike up there. I rented a car for about £100 - a Yaris - spent the Saturday driving up into the hills, parked up at the last motorway services after Trento and slept in the car then up early and got to Bormio for 9.00am. Had full day on the bike and drove back again that night - got in about 11.00pm.

rodgers73

Ah, just saw your comments re car hire costs

andymiller

Thanks for the link - 160 euros for 6 days for a road bike. By the time you've taken off Ryanair charges for the bike it starts to look like it might be worth considering for a week's holiday. For two weeks it's probably worth the hassle of taking your own bike.

izza

When are you going?

You could look into a firm such as http://www.5034events.co.uk/40026/info.php?p=10&pno=0. You could see if they could give advice/lift.

gsk82

its all booked now, including bike onto the plane. there was no way i was going to use a hire bike for the best and most intensive weeks riding of the year. flights are with easyjet who actually charge £1 less to take a bike than a suitcase, which i'd need if i left the bike at home.