The Bergamo – Orio al Serio airport in Lombardy is the third biggest airport in Italy, and the second biggest near Milan. It’s pretty well coordinated with all the big cities surrounding it. The airport is directly connected with a railway station by a bus, which leaves from the airport terminal. The journey takes 15-20 min at most. The airport itself is located in the centre of Bergamo, right next to the highway, so travelling by car or bus is greatly simplified. How to get to Milan from the airport? What about the shops there, the luggage storage, etc? Let’s go over it all one by one.

Bergamo Airport – departures, necessary documents, how early should you be ready?

Although it may not look like it, the Bergamo Airport is the third biggest in the country. Consequently, the queue times can get a bit tedious, but very rarely does the process take longer than around 45 minutes. If you are using Bergamo’s city buses and you are headed towards the airport, we recommend using the bus stops before Stazione. That way you can avoid a lot of the traffic, you may even find yourself a free spot. If you are departing, how early should you be? Preferably around an hour to 80 min before the flight. If you have a luggage with you, add 10 – 15 min.

The baggage check-in area in the Bergamo Airport is located right next to the gates on the ground floor. We can find lots of service points and Italian restaurants scattered across the airport. There’s, naturally, wifi for passengers, a baggage packing service, ATMs and currency exchange booths (with some horrendous exchange rates).

Which documents will you need? When it comes to members of the EU, an ID and a boarding pass will do. Otherwise, you need to show a passport or a valid identity card. Having went through the security check, we can venture out into the shopping complex in the airport. What to buy, you ask? Well, we believe that the only thing worth buying in Bergamo is the local wine or products like pasta or pesto

Bergamo Airport – arrivals, how to get to Milan?

Apart from Bergamo (especially the Città Alta part), Milan is the city best coordinated with the airport. We can get there by train, bus or a rented car, with the last option being the fastest (unless we encounter the somewhat rare long car rental queues). There is also an option to buy a 24h/72h ticket, which includes all the different lines, including the train ride to Milan (costs 5/7 EUR). 

Bergamo Airport – Milan by train

To get to the train which will take us to Milan, we need to first get a ticket for the bus, which leaves from the airport terminal every 10-20 min (from 5:00 to 24:00). Tickets cost from 1.5-3 EUR for a one-way to 7 EUR for a 72h ticket which includes all of Bergamo rides, including the famed Funicolare (we highly recommend it!).

We enter line 1, and after 15-20 min, we leave at Bergamo Stazione. If we want to, we can continue the ride all the way up to Citta Alta.

The railway station is located 30 m from the bus stop. You can buy the Milano Centrale and Milano Monza tickets at the Trenitalia and Trenord vendors (you can use cash or card). Tickets cost 5,5 EUR and the trains leave every hour. The tickets are also available in booths inside the building. Friendly reminder to validate your ticket at the station instead of at the conductor. You can find the train timetable at trenord.it and trenitalia.com. After roughly 48 minutes after departing from Bergamo, you will be safe and sound in Milano Centrale or Porta Garibaldi.

Worth keeping in mind that, from Stazione, you can get to the majority of the smaller cities like Lombardy, Trento and Veneto. 

Bergamo Airport – Milan by bus

Right next to the Orio al Serio Airport, there is also a bus terminal from which we can get to Milan (tp Milano Stazione Centrale, to be precise). The buses leave every 20 min or so, and it takes up to an hour to reach the destination, depending on the traffic (more specifically, depending on the season). It’s certainly the fastest way to reach Milan, but then we skip Bergamo altogether – if you are not interested in visiting Citta Alta and Bassa, we propose you use the bus. The ticket costs 7 EUR (in the case of flixbus.it), 6 EUR if we order it online in Orio Shuttle (orioshuttle.com) or 6 EUR at Terravision.com. Buses operate all day long, some even do at night.

Bergamo Airport – Milan by car

There are also some of the most popular Italian car rentals at the Orio al Serio airport. Most prominently, you can find Hertz, Europcar, Sicily by Car (Autoeuropa), AutoVia, Avis, Locauto Rent and Maggiore Rent. The location of the airport even further reinforces this option, as it’s right next to the A4 highway, leading us right to Milan (or Venice!). Getting to Milan by car takes roughly 40 mins, but the queues at the rental booths can sometimes stop you for much longer.

Bergamo Airport – Milan Taxi or Uber?

Uber doesn’t actually function in Bergamo itself, but the group operating in Milan does reach Bergamo’s borders, meaning Uber can actually get you to Milan from Bergamo. It costs over 140 EUR though, so it’s one of the least optimal options you have. Taking a taxi will cost you 80 EUR, so it’s much more affordable in this very specific case, but it’s still far from what you’d expect. If you do decide to pick taxis, the taxi stop is located right by the bus terminal exit.

Bergamo Airport parking lot

Map of the Bergamo Airport

1. Exit
2. City buses ATB going to Bergamo (to Citta Alta) and to the main station
3. Buses going to Milan
4. Bergamo parking lot
5. Orio Center (shopping centre)

Map of Bergamo

1. 1. Orio al Serio airport
   2. Bergamo main station
   3. Citta Alta