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Highlights of med


Lanky75
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Hi. We're first time cruisers with kids aged 11 and 6. We're booked on the TUI Highlights of the Med in May. We don't want to do any tours as such as the kids will get bored but we want to go and see places so just wanted some advice on how best to travel to each destination. My instinct is to travel ourselves but would like to know the cheapest and easiest way to do this. These are our ports in Italy and initial thinking:

 

 

Civitavecchia - take the TUI transport to Rome as its too risky to travel so far independent - cost would be £130.

 

Livorno - take train to Pisa then on to Florence - is this achievable ? we definitely want to have a few hours in Florence - not as bothered about Pisa

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Hi. We're first time cruisers with kids aged 11 and 6. We're booked on the TUI Highlights of the Med in May. We don't want to do any tours as such as the kids will get bored but we want to go and see places so just wanted some advice on how best to travel to each destination. My instinct is to travel ourselves but would like to know the cheapest and easiest way to do this. These are our ports in Italy and initial thinking:

 

 

Civitavecchia - take the TUI transport to Rome as its too risky to travel so far independent - cost would be £130.

 

Livorno - take train to Pisa then on to Florence - is this achievable ? we definitely want to have a few hours in Florence - not as bothered about Pisa

 

It's interesting that you feel it is too risky to take the one hour train ride into Rome on your own but are willing to do 1 1/2 hours to Florence -- and even toss in an extra stop -- on your own. :cool:

 

IMO the train is a reasonable option at both ports for a DIY day. Another option, which has been reported here a few times recently, would be a local bus round trip shuttle. One has been mentioned that operates from Largo della Pace (the square at the port entrance in Civitavecchia) -- it provides round trip transport and stops at 3-4 key areas within Rome. A similar shuttle has been mentioned that departs from Livorno's central square. Some cruise lines have shuttles that will drop you at this square in town. You cannot walk through Livorno's port on your own.

 

Post discussing bus "lite tour" from Civi to Rome: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2579247

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Livorno - take train to Pisa then on to Florence - is this achievable ? we definitely want to have a few hours in Florence - not as bothered about Pisa

 

Yes, we've done that by train, not difficult as long as you have a reasonable back-on-board time - say, 6.30pm or later.

Pisa is on the train route from Livorno to Florence & all trains stop there.

 

Especially since you're not fussed about Pisa, can I suggest that you do the trip in reverse order.

That means if you want to tarry longer in Florence you can consign Pisa to a future visit.

If you do visit Pisa on the way back, you have more trains back from Pisa than from Florence. And if you screw-up royally it's not a big deal to take a taxi back to the ship from Pisa.

 

So you need to go armed with return train times from Florence & from Pisa, and decide during the day.

The website is http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en but it's not particularly user-friendly.

You may have to check out times for an earlier date (same day-of-the-week), but even if you can research your actual date you do need to double-check those times on the day because they do change quite often.

Your stations are :

- Livorno centrale

- Firenze S.M.Novella

- Pisa centrale

You need only return tickets to Florence - those tickets permit you to break your journey at Pisa.

 

Ship to Livorno station can be tricky.

Thomson might offer a payable shuttle to the station but most cruise ships only offer a shuttle to Livorno city centre & you need a local bus from there to the station. ( two sides of a triangle, so not a convenient arrangement).

Or you can share a taxi if available at the pier - €25 a few years back but taxis carry 6 to 8 & there'll be other folk on the pier wanting to get to the station.

 

S.M.Novella station in Florence is very handy to the centre. Everything is walkable except the Statue of David, which is an uphill hike on the opposite side of the river. Florence's hop-on buses aren't worthwhile - they can only circulate around the edge of the historic centre.

 

Pisa centrale station is about a 20/25 minute walk from the Field of Miracles - but a simple & pleasant walk.

 

JB :)

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Pisa centrale station is about a 20/25 minute walk from the Field of Miracles - but a simple & pleasant walk.

 

JB :)

 

If time is of the essence (or you just don't want to walk), there is a bus from just outside the Pisa Centrale station that will take you to the Field of Miracles/Leaning Tower.

 

Buy your tickets from a newsstand inside the station (one for each way). Exit the station, and in the turn-around court outside you'll see several bus stops. The bus you want is called LAM Rosso (the high speed red line, also abbreviated L/R). Look at the route map to be sure you get on a bus going in the right direction (or ask the driver "Campo dei Miracoli?" when you get in). The stop you want is called "Torre 1" and it's just beyond the western edge of Piazza del Duomo (a.k.a. Campo dei Miracoli).

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Hi

 

Welcome to the world of cruising. I think that by travelling in May you have made a good choice. We used to be stuck to summer holidays due to husband's job. Since he retired I have loved spring and autumn trips.

 

I think it would be really useful for you to read through trip reports and previous messages on the boards. You can start getting an idea of what is possible.

 

John Bull's comment about going to Florence first is should be one of your golden rules for DIY travel. Always go to your furthest distance and work back. The other golden rule is to leave the ship as early as possible when you are doing DIY. You always have to make sure that you are on the 'train before the train before the last train', to ensure that you do not miss the ship.

 

For Rome, with young kids, think small. A pizza in the Piazza Navona, an icecream beside the Trevi Fountain and visit inside one big church (doesn't have to be St Peter's) would have done mine at that age. Getting from one site to another you are going to see more beautiful stuff. You cannot avoid lots of walking in Rome.

 

I wonder if Pisa might be frustrating for your girls. You have to get tickets in advance but I think that the youngest is too young to go up the tower. Unless you warn them in advance they may not understand why they cannot go up the tower. Perhaps ice-cream could console them.

 

I am sure that Florence will be really busy, but one point in its favour is that you don't have to go inside anywhere. All the architecture makes it just lovely to walk around.

 

For our first visit to Florence we did a "Florence on Your Own" tour from the ship (like you are looking at to Rome). At the time I did not want to have to sort out getting from Livorno to the station and felt that the convenience was worth it. . Looking back it really is not that difficult (from an NCL ship which has a shuttle to the station, not sure about Tui), but you still may want to consider this. The journey into Rome is much simpler. Be reassured that if you can purchase train tickets from a machine in the UK, you can do it in Italy. I seem to recall that you can change the language.

 

A nice alternative to Florence (if you want to avoid crowds) is Lucca. We went there this year and I am longing to go back.

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Hi

 

Welcome to the world of cruising. I think that by travelling in May you have made a good choice. We used to be stuck to summer holidays due to husband's job. Since he retired I have loved spring and autumn trips.

 

I think it would be really useful for you to read through trip reports and previous messages on the boards. You can start getting an idea of what is possible.

 

John Bull's comment about going to Florence first is should be one of your golden rules for DIY travel. Always go to your furthest distance and work back. The other golden rule is to leave the ship as early as possible when you are doing DIY. You always have to make sure that you are on the 'train before the train before the last train', to ensure that you do not miss the ship.

 

For Rome, with young kids, think small. A pizza in the Piazza Navona, an icecream beside the Trevi Fountain and visit inside one big church (doesn't have to be St Peter's) would have done mine at that age. Getting from one site to another you are going to see more beautiful stuff. You cannot avoid lots of walking in Rome.

 

I wonder if Pisa might be frustrating for your girls. You have to get tickets in advance but I think that the youngest is too young to go up the tower. Unless you warn them in advance they may not understand why they cannot go up the tower. Perhaps ice-cream could console them.

 

I am sure that Florence will be really busy, but one point in its favour is that you don't have to go inside anywhere. All the architecture makes it just lovely to walk around.

 

For our first visit to Florence we did a "Florence on Your Own" tour from the ship (like you are looking at to Rome). At the time I did not want to have to sort out getting from Livorno to the station and felt that the convenience was worth it. . Looking back it really is not that difficult (from an NCL ship which has a shuttle to the station, not sure about Tui), but you still may want to consider this. The journey into Rome is much simpler. Be reassured that if you can purchase train tickets from a machine in the UK, you can do it in Italy. I seem to recall that you can change the language.

 

A nice alternative to Florence (if you want to avoid crowds) is Lucca. We went there this year and I am longing to go back.

 

Would you mind if I asked what the atmosphere was like in Lucca? We would like an easy train day when we are in Livorno in Oct. We have been to Florence and Pisa on a ship excursion in 2014. Btw, for the OP, we did tours with our 14 year old and it worked out great. Agree in Rome, stop for pizza and gelato in Pazza Navona, and visit the Colliseum and Peter in Chain for sure.

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Thank you all so much for posts. I'm much clearer now and sure we can manage on our own. We have expensive trips to Monte Carlo and Nou Camp in Barcelona to consider which is why I want to keep the costs down. Thanks again.

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