Reaching Turin Airport (TRN) from the city is quite easy because the town of Caselle, where there is the airport, it’s only 16 kilometres away. If you don’t have a car, or want to save on parking, you can travel easily to the airport from the city centre by bus or train. In this article I will advise you on how and where to get your ticket, to take one worry away before you leave.
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Turin-Airport by bus: the Arriva and Flibco transport companies
The bus is undoubtedly the most convenient way to travel from the city centre to Turin airport, located in the nearby town of Caselle. The journey time is about 40/50 minutes from the city centre.
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After years of a monopoly by Arriva Italia, the Turin-Airport and Turin-Malpensa routes are now also covered by Flibco, which has led to a lowering of prices in recent years.
Arriva Italia is a local public transport company that provides passenger transport services in northern Italy. It was the first bus company to operate the service between the city of Turin and the airports of Turin Caselle and Milan Malpensa.
After several years of Arriva’s bus monopoly, Flibco buses arrived in Turin to cover the route between Turin and the airports of Turin Caselle and Milan Malpensa. Flibco’s prices are significantly lower, although I haven’t always had the best time with them.
Where does the bus to the airport leave from
Arriva buses leave from piazza Carlo Felice 39, opposite the Porta Nuova railway station and take about 40/50 minutes to get to the airport. There are both direct and intermediate stops routes, so check them before boarding.
If you get on the bus with intermediate stops, it will stop at various towns around Turin, with the airport and Torino Porta Nuova (the railway station in the city centre) as a terminus.
The Flibco buses, on the other hand, leave from the bus station in Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 131 in front of the Palagiustizia (the Turin courthouse) and are always direct. By not making intermediate stops, they are faster, about 30 minutes.
Take note that the bus station isn’t in the city centre. The Palagiustizia is near the Intesa Sanpaolo skyscraper (one of the only two – small – skyscrapers in Turin).
Several buses leave from the bus station, so always ask just in case. At the time of writing, the bus stand for the Turin-Airport route is no. 5.
As the two departure points are not very close, I always advise you to check the departure point carefully, especially if you have bought your tickets online on sites where the bus company isn’t specified, like on airline sites or tourist ticket sales.
How much Turin-Caselle Airport (TRN) bus tickets cost
Arriva tickets from Caselle Airport to the centre of Turin (Turin Porta Nuova and Turin Porta Susa stations) – and vice versa – cost € 7.5 one way and € 11 return. The group ticket Caselle Family costs € 23 for two adults and two children up to 17 years of age. If you buy your bus ticket on board, there is a € 1 surcharge.
Flibco tickets online start at € 2.99, which makes them much cheaper. Check Flibco prices here. If you buy them online, they usually do not exceed € 3.99, so the round trip will cost you about half as much as the Arriva tickets, even without finding special offers. On the other hand, Flibco tickets bought on the ground cost € 6.
Where to get a bus ticket for Turin Airport
You can buy your bus ticket for the airport bus either at the desk and machines in the arrivals hall, in a tobacco bar, on board, or via the app of the bus companies that operate this route.
Airport bus ticket
In the Arrivals Area of Turin Caselle Airport you will find both a Flibco desk and an Arriva ticket machine. You can also purchase Arriva tickets at the tourist information and sales point.
Bus ticket on board
If you cannot buy your bus ticket in advance, you can always buy it on board with a surcharge. Usually, there is no problem with buying the ticket directly on board.
However, sometimes, payment with debit or credit cards doesn’t work, and the driver may ask you to pay in cash. This hassle doesn’t depend on the driver (who works for the bus company) but on the network/ticketing machine.
If you decide to buy the tickets on board, take some cash with you just in case. I haven’t found out how much there is a surcharge to purchase a Flibco ticket on board; as far as Arriva is concerned, it costs € 1 extra.
Bus tickets in the shops in the city
In Turin, you can buy any kind of bus ticket (airport, city, and suburban) in authorised shops. Usually, they are bars, tobacconists, and newsstands.
Theoretically, you should be able to pay everywhere with cash, debit, or credit cards. In Italy, however, almost every small business makes a fuss about accepting payment by debit and credit card because they don’t want to pay the bank commission.
Unfortunately, there is little you can do in these cases. Protesting is useless because they will not sell you the ticket. If you don’t have the cash to pay for your ticket, you can just leave a negative review on Google Maps and buy your bus ticket through the bus company app.
Bus ticket on the app
The best way to get your ticket, avoiding queues or problems paying with cash, is to download the Arriva or Flibco app, depending on the ticket you wish to purchase.
Arriva and Flibco operate several airport routes, so from the same app, you can buy tickets to Malpensa from Turin or other airports, several provincial and regional routes in northern Italy, and more.
In my opinion, the app is the best choice because it allows you to buy your ticket from/for the airport bus at any time. Even a second before you get on. This is really useful because sometimes there are problems paying by card when you buy the ticket on board, plus you avoid any surcharges.
The Arriva ticket on the app has to be activated in front of the driver the moment you board and is very simple. The Flibco ticket, on the other hand, is already active.
Tips for travelling on the Turin-Caselle Airport bus
In my experience, Arriva buses to Turin Caselle Airport (TRN) are often late. Arriva buses run every half an hour, so you might even get on the earlier one late (this has already happened).
Otherwise, Flixbuses are less frequent but more punctual, and you can only board the next bus from the airport if your flight is delayed.
Arriva buses: criticalities and advantages
Arriva Italia buses are a reliable choice due to their greater frequency, with journeys every 15 to 30 minutes alternating between direct and intermediate stops routes. They also have greater flexibility with the tickets. Unfortunately, they are also a much more expensive choice.
The drivers, however, always have a decidedly ‘sporty’ driving style. If you take a bus with intermediate stops, be prepared for jolts and buses filled to capacity. I haven’t yet found an explanation for this because the same route is very smooth by car with no potholes and no need for hard braking!
Flibco: convenience and criticality
In contrast to the competing company, Flibco is a much cheaper choice that saves you even half on bus tickets from/to Turin airport. I haven’t yet taken Flibco buses on this route, but I have many other times to Milan city, Malpensa Airport and Brussels Airport (in Belgium).
The cost is so low that it gets you over the hump. I recommend it, especially if you find any offers. Although I have had good experiences on several occasions, I have also had bad experiences at Brussels and Malpensa airports.
In Brussels, I once encountered a problem with the mobile site, which did not work correctly, and they charged me the cost of my trip for an incorrect ticket without offering me any reimbursement after I reported the anomaly with the error screenshot.
At Malpensa airport, the bus left in front of me (I was 30 seconds late, and I was waiving, running with my luggage). Again, I didn’t get any refund despite my customer service complaint.
Based on my experience, I recommend Flibco if you can find reduced tickets online and not at full price!
Turin-Airport by train: route operated by Trenitalia
Ages ago there was a train service between the centre of Turin and Caselle airport via the Dora station. Today, the new train route, operated by Trenitalia, Italy’s leading railway company, goes through Venaria Reale, which you will know for the famous Reggia di Venaria. The airport railway continues to Alba, Asti or Fossano, for tourists interested in visiting the Langhe.
Train tickets between Turin and the airport cost €3.70 one way. You can purchase them from ticket offices or self-service stations and at points of sale, online or on the Trenitalia app by typing in ‘Torino Aeroporto di Caselle’. Or with a Visa, Mastercard or American Express contactless card directly at the validators marked with the TAP&TAP pictogram.
Feel free to share in the comments if you have already taken the bus to Turin airport and what you think about.