Wikimania 2016 bids/Esino Lario/Journey

The major city near Esino Lario is Milan, and Esino Lario is served by Malpensa airport - the main Italian international airport - Milano Linate and Milano-Bergamo Orio al Serio, two relevant airport for Italian and European low cost flights. Esino Lario is located 12 km (800 m in altitude) above Varenna. To reach Esino Lario there are two provincial streets: one from Varenna and one from Bellano-Parlasco (Strada della Valsassina).

As planned, participants attending Wikimania Esino Lario reached the location by airplane, trans and priviate transport.

The transport necessities of Wikimania Esino Lario were met by increasing transport between Varenna and Esino Lario and by organizing direct buses from the airports in the main days of arrivals and departures. During the implementation process we also organized transport within Esino Lario. Busses and taxis provides support to mobility within the village, a little train circulating around the venues was rented (and provided with wifi) and people who informed us about mobility limitations were provided for free with scooters meant for mobility support.

Airlines

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The most convenient airports to plan your trip to Esino Lario are Milano Malpensa (MXP), Milano Linate (LIN) and Milano-Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY). There are quite a few low cost flights in particular from Italy and Europe; have a look also at Mediana airlines for low cost flights from Africa.

During Wikimania Esino Lario a direct bus service between the airports and Esino Lario is organized. Please note that once you have arrived in Esino Lario everything is within walking distance: differently from big cities in which you need to take public transport to reach your accommodation or the venue, in Esino Lario accommodation and the venues are all there, located in the near surroundings. Direct buses from the airports take the Valsassina road and carry up to 50 people each. Other options to reach Esino Lario from the airports are public transport (please find below the directions) and car rental.

Airport Typology Directions with public transport Time with public transport Price public transport[1] Time by car/direct bus[2]
Milano Malpensa Terminal 1 (MXP) International airport, long distance-European and national flights.
  1. From Milano Malpensa Terminal 2 to Milano Centrale by train (43-52 minutes, every 37 minutes or every hour, 10 €[3]) by bus (50 minutes, buses every 20 minutes, 10€ one-way, 16€ return ticket[4]).
  2. From Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino by train (1 hour, trains every hour, 6.45€).
  3. From Varenna-Esino to Esino Lario by bus (40 minutes, 2.40€).
2.5 hours 18.85€ 2h
Milano Malpensa Terminal 2 (MXP) International airport, European and national flights, low cost flights.
  1. From Milano Malpensa Terminal 1 to Milano Centrale by bus (50 minutes, buses every 20 minutes, 10€ one-way, 16€ return ticket[5]).
  2. From Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino by train (1 hour, trains every hour, 6.45€).
  3. From Varenna-Esino to Esino Lario by bus (40 minutes, 2.40€).
2.5 hours 18.85€ 2h
Milano Linate (LIN) International airport, mainly European and national flights.
  1. From Milano Linate to Milano Centrale by bus (25 minutes, buses every 30 minutes, 5€ one-way, 9€ two ways ticket).
  2. From Milano Centrale to Varenna-Esino by train (1 hour, trains every hour, 6.45€).
  3. From Varenna-Esino to Esino by bus (40 minutes, 2.40€).
2 hours 13.85€ 1h30
Milano-Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY) Mainly low cost flights.
  1. ATB bus form the airport to Bergamo railway station (10 minutes, 2€[6]).
  2. Form Bergamo di Varenna-Esino by train - change in Lecco (Bergamo-Lecco 40 minutes, trains every hour; Lecco-Varenna-Esino, 21 or 37 minutes; trains every hour; total cost of the ticket 5.30€).
  3. From Varenna-Esino to Esino by bus (40 minutes, 2,40€).
2 hours 9.70€ 1h40

Estimated costs

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To provide an idea of the costs, we report below fares referenced with a departure date in 20 June 2014 from the origin airport, with a return trip leaving Esino Lario on the 30 June 2014 (round trip ticket).

Esino Lario and Lake Como from the airplane.
Menaggio on the right side and Varenna with Esino Lario above on the left side.
The peninsula of Bellagio.
Lake Como from Agueglio in Esino Lario.
Europe
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Europe
From Airline Airport Price (USD) Flight Time Stops Notes
Zurich Swiss Airport $150 1hr 0
Frankfurt Alitalia Airport $161 1hr15 0
Paris (BVA) Ryanair Airport $100 1hr20 0
Vienna Niki Airport $122 1hr20 0
Prague Czech Airline Airport $115 1hr25 0
Brussels (CRL) Ryanair Airport $95 1hr30 0
Budapest Ryanair Airport $123 1hr30 0
Paris (CDG) Easyjet Airport $105 1hr30 0
Amsterdam Easyjet Airport $150 1hr40 0
Berlin Easyjet Airport $105 1hr45 0
Belgrade Easyjet Airport $90 1hr45 0
Copenhagen Easyjet Airport $135 2hr 0
London (STN) Ryanair Airport $20 2hr 0
London (LGW) Easyjet Airport $150 2hr 0
Barcelona Ryanair Airport $100 2hr 0
Sofia Bulgaria Air Airport $240 2hr 0
Warsaw Ryanair Airport $87 2hr10 0
Bucarest Blue Air Airport $95 2hr15 0
Madrid Ryanair Airport $112 2hr20 0
Athens Ryanair Airport $149 2hr25 0
Dublin Ryanair Airport $319 2hr30 0
Lisbon Easyjet Airport $153 2hr30 0
Stockholm Ryanair Airport $146 2hr50 0
Moscow (SVO) Alitalia Airport $552 3hr45 0
Skopje JAT Airport $414 4hr 1 via Belgrade
Helsinki Finnair (AY)
KLM
Airport $388
$301
3hr
7hr
0
1

via Amsterdam (AMS)
Tallinn Lufthansa Airport $279 4hr45 1 via Frankfurt (FRA)
Kiev Air France Airport $260 7hr 1 via Paris
Moscow (DME) Air Berlin Airport $331 9hr 1 via Dusseldorf
Oslo Air Baltic Airport $345 11hr 1 via Riga
Tbilisi Alitalia
Ukraine International Airlines
Airport $442
$434
7hr
8hr
1
1
via Rome
via Kiev
Asia
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Asia-Pacific
From Airline Price (USD) Flight Time Stops Notes
Tokyo (Narita) Air China (CA) $880 17hr 1 via Beijing (PEK)
Dubai Pegasus Airlines
Emirates(EK)
$561,49
$1055,29
12hr
7hr
1
0

via Istanbul(SAW)
Singapore Swiss
Singapore (SQ)
$1294,24
$1392,66
15hr
12hr
1
0

via Zurich(ZRH)
Seoul (Incheon) Aeroflot $1183,98 17hr 1 via Moscow(SVO)
Beijing Air China (CA)
Aeroflot
$1286,60
$1092,40
12hr
16hr
1
via Moscow(SVO)
Taipei Air China (CA)
KLM
$1050
$1500
20hr
1
1

via Placerville (PVG)
via Amsterdam (AMS)
Kathmandu Turkish Airlines $737 12hr 1 via Istanbul (SAW)
Kuala Lumpur Air France $1044 17hr 1 via Paris (CDG)
Manila Emirates $1099 18hr 1 via Dubai (DXB)
Jakarta KLM $1143 20hr 1 via Amsterdam (AMS)
Mumbai (Bombay) Lufthansa $824 11hr 1 via Munich (MUC)
Delhi Turkish $775 11hr 1 via Istanbul(SAW)
Dhaka Turkish $1079 15hr 1 via Istanbul (SWA)
Bangkok KLM $950 14hr 1 via Amsterdam(AMS)
Doha Turkish
Qatar
$842 14hr 1 via Istanbul(SAW)
Jerevan Air France $425 7hr 1 via Paris (CDG)
Tel Aviv Meridiana $256 3hr50 0
Istanbul Turkish(TK)
Alitalia
$293
$202
2hr30
4hr
0
1

via Rome (FCO)
Riyadh Emirates (EK) $752 12hr50 1 via Dubai
Amman Egyptair $622 11hr 1 via Cairo (CAI)
Auckland Air New Zealand (NZ) $1,500 28hr 1 via Hong Kong
Melbourne Air China $1,953 28hr 0 via Placerville
Vladivostok Alitalia $1267 16hr 1 via Moscow (SVO)
Africa
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Africa
From Airline Airport Price (USD) Flight Time Stops Notes
Cairo EgyptAir Airport $437 4hr 0
Johannesburg KLM Airport $652 14hr 1 via Amsterdam (AMS)
Rabat Royal Air Airport $445 6hr 1 via Casablanca (CMN)
Casablanca Ryanair Airport $- hr 1
Fez Ryanair Airport $- hr 1
Marrakesh Ryanair Airport $- hr 1
Tangier Ryanair Airport $- hr 1
Tunis Alitalia Airport $401 4hr 1 via Rome (FCO)
Addis Ababa Airport Turkish $683 13hr 1 via Istanbul(IST)
Lagos Iberia Airport $806 11hr 1 via Madrid
Karthoum EgyptAir Airport $722 14hr 1 via Cairo (CAI)
Tripoli Tunis Air Airport $446 5hr40 1 via Tunis (TUN)
Algiers Alitalia Airport $478 4hr 1 via Rome (FCO)
Nairobi Ethiopian Airlines Airport $790 11hr 1 via Addis Abeba
America
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Americas
From Airline Price (USD) Flight Time Stops Notes
New York (JFK) Emirates $1082 8hr 0
New York (Newark) Lufthansa
SAS
$1615
$945
8hr25
15hr
0

via Copenhagen
Los Angeles Turkish $1712 18hr 1 via Istanbul
San Francisco Delta $1351 16hr 1 via Atlanta; New York
Washington Delta/Alitalia $1230 13hr 1 via Atlanta; New York
Toronto Turkish $1228 17hr 1 via Istanbul
Montreal Air Canada
Jet Airways India/Brussels Airways
$1300
$1050
8hr
10hr
0
1

via Bruxelles
Mexico City Delta/Alitalia $1375 16hr 1 via Atlanta
Bogota Iberia $1500 14hr 1 via Madrid
Caracas Lufthansa $2920 14/26hr 1 via Frankfurt
São Paulo TAM
Delta
$1646
$1468
11hr
28hr
0
1

via Atlanta
Rio de Janeiro TAM $1699 16hr30 1 via São Paulo
Santiago LAN $1699 16hr30 1 via São Paulo
Buenos Aires Air Europa $1170 16hr 1 via Madrid
Lima LAN $1555 16/30hr 1 via Madrid
Montevideo TAM $1801 16/23hr 1 via São Paulo
Asuncion TAM
TAM
$1744
$1544
15hr
14/21hr
1
2
via São Paulo
via São Paulo, Buenos Aires
Panama Iberia $1030 14/27hr 1 via Madrid


Busses from the airport

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During Wikimania Esino Lario a direct bus service between the airports and Esino Lario is organized. Direct buses from the airports take the Valsassina road and carry up to 50 people each.

Depending on the company, a bus from the airports to Esino Lario with 50 seats is around 450 (average cost), which means that if the bus is completely full it costs less than 10 euro per person. We will have to increase the cost per person to allow busses to travel also if they are not completely full, but even if doubled the cost is very reasonable in particular for people arriving in Malpensa airport (public transport costs already 18.85€). Managing transport for the airports will require to include the booking in the registration form. We will define as early as possible a timetable for the busses with maybe two main departure times, to allow people to consider it when booking their flights.


Trains

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The Varanna-Esino railway station. Pietro Pensa Archive.

From Italy and Europe you can travel to Esino Lario by train through Milan, which is well-connected to Italian and to several European cities. The closes railway station to Esino is called Varenna-Esino (12 km from Esino); from the railway station you can take a bus or a taxi.

The railway station Varenna-Esino is at walking distance from the lake and from the port of Varenna; the building of the railway station is actually located in Perledo and it hosts the Perledo tourist office. There are trains from Milan approximately every hour; direct trains every 2 hours (and every hour at peak hours) leaving from Milan Central Station. The last train from Milan Central Station to Varenna is at 21:20 (arrival at 22:35); the next train is at 6:20 in the morning. The last train from Varenna to Milan Central Station is at 22:21 (arriving at 23:30); the next train is at 5:26 in the morning. Time and prices of trains on Trenitalia website.

From Itinerary Time Price Note
Milano
  • Direct trains from Milan (Milano Stazione Centrale) to the station of Varenna-Esino (direction Lecco, Morbegno, Sondrio, Tirano). Trains every 2 hours; h 1:03 ride with regional trains from Milano Stazione Centrale; 6,45 € ticket.
  • Bus from the station of Varenna-Esino to Esino Lario (the bus waits for the train, 2,40 €). The regular bus schedule changes in winter and summer; for WIkimania we have increased busses.
1h 40 minutes. 8,85 € Milano Stazione Centrale has direct trains from
  • Napoli (Rome, Bologna, Florence)
  • Paris
  • Geneva
  • Zurich
  • Basel
  • ...


Cars

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If you are traveling in particular from Italy and Europe, it can be convenient to travel also by car, rented car or rented busses. Please note that buses should not exceed 35 seats on the Varenna-Esino road whereas 50-seat buses can take the Valsassina road: please do come with a maximum 35 seats bus.

It is possible to rent cars from Milan and from the airports. Among the main car rental companies AVIS, Europecar, Hertz.


From Directions Km Miles Time[7]
Milano SS36 + Provincial road 62 + Provincial road 65 (Strada della Valsassina) 99 61 1h39
Lecco SS36 + Provincial road 62 + Provincial road 65 (Strada della Valsassina) 43.2 26 51 minutes
Varenna Via per Esino 12,4 7 26 minutes
Lugano
  1. By car+boat. Gandria-SS340-Porlezza-Menaggio (29km, 44 minutes) + boat Menaggio-Varenna (8.60€-14.40€ for car and driver only according to the car size, 15 minutes; buses too can cross the lake by ferry-boat) + Varenna-Esino Lario (12,4km, 26 minutes).
  2. By car. Gandria-SS340-Porlezza-Menaggio-Colico-Varenna-Esino Lario (93,4km, 2h).
  1. By car+boat: 1h10 + boat ride
  2. By car 2h


Boats

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Arrival of the boats in Varenna.
Boat for the transport of people on Lake Como-

From Varenna it is possible to navigate on Lake Como to many destinations, among which Abbadia Lariana, Argegno, Bellagio, Bellano, Careno, Cernobbio, Colico, Como, Gravedona, Isola Comacina, Lecco, Mandello, Menaggio, Piona, Pognana, Torno and Tremezzo. The ferry-boats between Varenna, Menaggio, Bellagio and Cadenabbia allow the transport of both cars and buses. Fast rides are more expensive than regular transport. Boat rides are also a beautiful and cheap way to enjoy sightseeing on Lake Como. Time and frequency of boats on Lake Como on navigazionelaghi website.

From Time Price
Menaggio* 15 minutes (7 minutes for passengers only - fast transport, more expensive) 4.60€ one-way; 15€ one day. Car+driver: 8.60€-14.40€[8]
Bellagio* 15 minutes 4.60€ one-way; 15€ one day. Car+driver: 8.60€-14.40€[9]


Busses (increased local transport)

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Esino Lario is connected by bus to Varenna through the public line Bellano-Varenna-Perledo-Esino Lario. Time of the buses on LT Lecco Trasporti website (SAL Servizi Automobilistici Lecchesi S.r.l. - Linea Bellano-Esino Lario D21; info 800.011.840 / Tel. +39 0341.363148). The timetable of buses is organized to wait for the train to arrive (normally trains from Milan). During Wikimania Busses between Varenna and Esino Lario will be increased during Wikimania to meet the needs of the participants.

From To Time Price
Bellano Esino Lario 2.40€
Varenna Esino Lario 40 minutes 2.10€
Perledo Esino Lario 1.70€

According to the local company managing the public transport, the cost of the ride Varenna-Perledo-Esino is 220 euro; the cost of the public service is below the actual cost because supported by the Province of Lecco[10]. The option which appears to be the most convenient is to book a series of busses with 35 seats for the day to have them making round trips. Of course transport can also be managed managed by car/taxi and minibuses. For 35 seats busses a round trip takes approximately 100 minutes (40 minutes to go, 40 minutes to come back and an extra 20 minutes to included).

We expect different kind of flows:

  • a flow associated to arrivals and departures (people based in Italy, participants traveling by train and boat - in particular from Wikimania Takes Lake Como and some participants from Lugano)
  • a flow coming from the railway station (in particular people arriving with direct trains from Milan on saturday and sunday)
  • a regular flow of participants who have their accommodation in Varenna or organizers-volnteers based in the area.

The cost of local transport can be directly paid by users, or it can be fully or partially paid by our budget. We have also estimated the cost for a series of minibuses in case they can be useful during the event for runners or for short rides within Esino Lario. It is relevant to mention that some local city councils own minibuses used for the transport of students; we can ask if these busses can be made available for Wikimania at a reduced cost.

Travel Estimated time for a roundtrip in minutes Estimated roundtrips per day[11] Number of busses Number of people per bus Total displacement of people
Varenna-Esino 100[12] 4 5 35 700
Inside Esino Lario 30[13] 30 4 8 960
Expense Number Days Cost/Unit Total in euro Total in dollars
Buses to intensify the service between Varanna-Esino 5 7 € 450 € 15.750 $ 21.616,72
Minubus 8 places 4 € 400 € 1.600 $ 2.195,98
Total amount planned in the estimated costs € 17.350 $ 23.812,70
Currency € 1,00 $ 1,37


This hypothesis does not take into consideration normal flows (below 35 or 70 people) but it focuses on the exceptional peaks of Wikimania Esino Lario.

Varenna-Esino Lario Expected participants Wikimania Takes Lake Como Wikimania Takes Lake Como Wikimania Takes Lake Como Wikimania Takes Lake Como Pre-conference Pre-conference Conference Conference Conference Post-conference Post-conference
Organizers Wikimedia 100 50 50 50 25 25
Organizers Esino Lario 100
Organizers Extra 30 30 30
Organizers from the territory 50 25 50 50
Attendees from Italy 50 5 35 10 40 10
Occasional visitors (conference days) 100
Occasional visitors (conference days) 150 30 100 100
Hotel guests in Varenna 53 53 53 53
Expected travelers by train 29 37 24 36 6
Total extra flow Varenna-Esino Lario 633 114 72 168 203 347 71 31
Number of extra rids (considering no cars) 35 3 2 5 6 10 2 1
Number of extra rides (considering cars) 1 1 2 2 2 1 1


An electric car was serving participants in local displacement. The car was offered for Wikimania Esino Lario by a partner company.



Parking

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Parking need to be managed during the conference. There will be runners, vans, bus stops, busses and cars to park for visitors and attendees.

  • Runners and vans. Runners and vans will need parking specifically reserved for them.
  • Bus stops. Presumably we will have between 3 and 5 bus stops.
  • Private parking. In particular during the week-end visitors by car can increase (please refer to the hypothesis of number of participants). Some apartments we will use have private parking; parking is also available at Villa Rogo - Pime. There are some parking in the centre of Esino Lario but we will not encourage visitors to use them during the conference; we will rather ask permission to use the industrial area of Bigallo and streets managed by the city council; Cainallo and Ortanella can provide parking but transport inside Esino Lario needs to be managed (15 minutes van ride from and to). We didn't jet explored the possibility of parking cars on streets managed by the Province of Lecco.
  • Busses. If busses remain in Esino Lario they can be parked at night in the industrial area of Bigallo (we need to ask permission).

Please note that we have a partnership with the city council and we are in contact with the provincial administration. It is possible for Wikimania Esino Lario to close streets and squares to the traffic, and to discuss with the province about how to manage circulation on provincial streets during the event. Within Esino Lario streets are managed by the city council (i.e. via Montefiori, the street to Cainallo and Ortanella, the industrial area, and all the streets in the centre); the two streets coming from Varenna and Valsassina (and passing through Esino Lario) are provincial streets.


Info points

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We plan to set an info point at the Varenna-Esino railway station. We still need to arrange it but the Varenna-Esino railway station is a building of the Perledo city council which already hosts the tourist office. According to the hypothesis of flaws it is reasonable to create an info point also at the Airport Malpensa in the two days of main arrivals. The reception in Esino Lario will also serve as info point.

Wikimania Info point at Malpensa Airport

Wikimania Info point at Linate Airport

Wikimania Info point at Varenna-Esino Railway station




Notes

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