Is there enough to do in Pisa with kids and teens?

[ksps cruise fan]

ksps - I am glad you said those things about Context. My gut feeling keeps bringing me back to them but we simply cannot afford to use them in all ports. Also, how do you compare Context's guides to other licensed guides you have gotten not through Context? Something about their tour description for families really grabbed me. For example, in Athens, they have tour around the Acropolis where they actually get your family to role play and "act out" Greek characters.

 

A lot of licensed guides seem to have gotten numb by dealing with big bus tours. When we've had this type of guide, my husband and I ask lots of questions at the beginning of the tour. After a short time, the guide realizes we want to take advantage of his/her knowledge and the guide becomes much more forthcoming. Quite typically, these guides thank us for our interest. They tend to get frustrated that, having worked intently to become licensed, the vast majority of the people they lead are simply un-interested in most of what they know.

 

A guide once shared the following statistic and it was so surprising that it stuck with me: Private clients, such your family, represent no more than 10% of a licensed guide's business. So, any time you use a licensed guide, you need to be pro-active in getting the best that the guide has to offer. Ask lots of questions. Be pro-active if you want to linger when the guide seems to be moving away from a location. Especially let the guide know you're prepared to delete some destinations from the plan because that makes the most sense given everyone's engagement at a site or simple fatigue.

 

The internet has made it much easier to correspond directly with independent licensed guides. I've found that the more in-advance correspondence I have with the guide, the better the tour. If nothing else, you become a real client they'd like to satisfy rather than just the "Full-day tour, November 12."

 

Now this takes time and effort. Before we hired our guide in Israel, I literally read hundreds of bios before I found the guide I suspected would be the best fit for my husband and me: a retired archaeologist formerly with the Israeli Antiquities Authority. Once I identified the guide I wanted to use, only then did we begin corresponding to refine our itinerary. (The guide later told me I was the only person he's ever worked with who selected him on the strenth of his bio. He's had plenty of requests for his services, but these were referrals from other satisfied clients who were put on his calendar randomly by a tour booking agency.)

 

In general, Context guides do not need this prodding about content. Their strenth is their in-dept approach to touring, and this is made very clear from the web site. They assume anyone who has booked a Context tour wants a Context tour.

 

That said, there's definite variation among the enthusiasm and guiding style of Context employees. Noah, no longer with the company, was enthusiastic and full of boyish charm along with volumes of knowledge. Richard Bowen was a delight because he could communicate complex information in such a clear and meaningful way. Francesca Barberini was talking about her own family when she led us through the sites in the Baroque Rome tour. And the list goes on.

 

Still, I haven't taken any of the family tours. Except for Maria Laura in Naples, I can't identify a specific Context guide in Rome or Florence or Istanbul I can tell another person with confidence, "Sure, spend over $2000 for one day's tour. You won't regret it."

[TLCOhio]

I agree, by itself, Pisa isn't worth a lot of time. All told, in and out of the main gate, maybe two hours. Lucca is fun and not intense. So perhaps you could throw that into your tour. 2 hours, maybe a little more, there.

 

After visits to Florence and Tuscany in earlier years, we did Pisa (and Lucca) for the first time in June, 2011. We loved it!! The good news is that the options are limited and more narrowly focused in Pisa. That allowed us more time to do other places we had not visited previously. They have just cleaned the Tower in Pisa and it looked very nice. Below are some of my Pisa and nearby pictures. We found Lucca to be so totally charming and interesting. Lots to see and soak up there. Nice shops, great churches, charming architecture, etc. Much depends on what "ALL" you want to do, whether doing it DIY or with a private tour. Lots of great options at this port.

 

Teens can be a challenge, but Lucca has more variety and options than Pisa.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Recently back from a June 7-19 Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 42,762 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

On our first visit to Pisa, we were very impressed by its famed Leaning Tower. This tower is much taller than I expected. It is 185’ high. Big for that era and their construction tools/techniques! They just completed a major cleaning of the tower in the weeks before our June visit. Below shows its lower ground-level. The second shot shows the middle details for the tower. Third, is more of an overall view. Work on the white marble campanile began in1173, during a period of Pisa’s military success and financial prosperity. The tower began to sink as construction started on the second floor in 1178. This was due to having only a three-meter foundation, set in weak, unstable, sandy subsoil. Construction was halted for almost a century, due to the Republic of Pisa being almost continually engaged in battles with the city-states of Genoa, Lucca and Florence. The seventh floor was completed in 1319. The bell-chamber was added in 1372. Also impressive here are the Pisa Baptistry (begun in the mid 12th century) and Duomo (main) church (construction started in 1064 as a model of Pisan Romanesque style of architecture). Pisa has a couple of major universities here. There is another church here that also has a leaning (and shorter) tower. We drove by that site, also. Two leaning towers in Pisa! How many knew that?:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Lucca, this is the San Michele church, built in the 11th-14th centuries. It is in the heart of this walled town.:

 

 

 

Lucca has so many cute and interesting shops. Here is one example that we enjoyed so much. It is the Antico Caffe Dei Simo at Via Fillungo 58. Its origins date back to 1846 and has seen famed local and area artists such as Verdi and Puccini pass through its doors and hang out here.:

 

 

 

In charming and beautiful Tuscany, here is one of the countryside views that we all love so much.:

 

[World Gallery]

TLCohio - Love the pictures!:)

 

Cruisemom - "Is your real concern the quality of the guide? The ability to be entertaining for children/young adults? Or the transportation?

If you are just not sure about Florence/Pisa. I REALLY do recommend just taking the train on your own. Then you can decide on the spot how much or how little your family is up to after several long days."

All 3 are concerns. My goal is to have as stress-free as possible transportation because we went to NYC this summer and used the subways for everything. Not having used any public transporation before (we are from New Orleans) it was extremely frustrating those first few days, and that was all in English!

Quality of guide - A bad guide can really make a for very bad memory or experience. We had the worse guide ever at a United Nations tour and that is what my kids remembered about it because they simply didn't get anything out of the tour (and the UN had a lot of potential).

My kids are pretty easy going and tend to find ways to entertain themselves (and can find fun and humor in just about anything) if they are not engaged but on the other hand, they can easily entertain themselves at home and we can save a ton of money! So to answer that question, it is a little bit of everything and I guess I am just overwhelmed by all of the options (DIY, licensed guide, just driver, or both!)

 

ksps - I know exactly what you mean about guides. I think that same way.

 

The one unusual thing about Context travel is that they ask you to describe, in detail, all members of your family- likes, dislikes and anything at all that I think will be helpful for them in choosing a guide for us. This amazed me.

 

Thanks for all of these tips. They are extremely helpful and I know that they will help others down the road that may not post this exact question. It gives people a lot to consider and think about.

[World Gallery]

If you are just not sure about Florence/Pisa. I REALLY do recommend just taking the train on your own. Then you can decide on the spot how much or how little your family is up to after several long days.

 

Do you happen to know what the price for trains tickets are to and from Pisa (not Lucca)? I read the DIY option in Rick Steves Med cruise ports book but it seemed much more complicated than taking the bus in Naples (getting to Pompeii looked very easy in comparsion).

[euro cruiser]

The train tickets are Euro 6,80 each way (second class). You only need to buy the one ticket, from Livorno to Florence. Even if you get off at Pisa and get back on (in either direction), you don't need another ticket. Regional tickets are good for four hours from validation (you have four hours to complete your journey before the ticket runs out), so you can get on and off at will as long as you get where you are going in four hours.

 

Generally the best advice is to go to the farthest point first, which would be Florence in your case, then stop at Pisa on the way back. That way if you get behind schedule you can just drop the stop at Pisa.

 

In Florence, the thing our teenagers enjoyed was climbing to the top of the dome at the Duomo and seeing the construction from the inside, as well as the view from the top. Note that in the summer there will be a line to do this, and that it will be hot. There is no way to reserve a time slot for this climb, unlike the tower in Pisa.

[World Gallery]

I am a bit confused. Do you mean I only need to buy a one way ticket if we are on and off within 4 hours? If we do it on our own, we are only going to go to Pisa (maybe Lucca but probably just Pisa).

[euro cruiser]

No, you need to buy a ticket for each direction. Each ticket is good for four hours along the route from the starting point to the ending point, so you can stop off along the way. You can't go and come back on one ticket.

[Langley Cruisers]

Pisa is by far the worst tourist city in Italy. I have been there several times between 1968 and 2010 and it has never been anything but filthy' date=' filled with petty thieves and knock-off leather goods vendors and not worth your time. [/quote']

 

:eek::eek::eek: Wow. Sorry you feel this way.

 

I loved Pisa and I am really kind of shocked that anyone would see only "filth and thieves" there...

 

I am also shocked and saddened by the above comment. :(

 

Seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa was one of the highlights OF MY LIFE. Seriously. I had seen pictures of it all my life and here I was standing in front of it. Are you kidding me? Incredible. Oh my goodness, I am still on a high after this Med trip. AMAZING!!!

[vapersecutor]

I have been to Pisa twice and personally find the Leaning Tower sort of underwhelming. I do think it's really neat for kids to see. The trashy souvenir stands around it are no different than what you'd find around the monuments in DC. Just walk a block or two away and see where the regular people live and work.

 

On my last visit we walked around the town using a walking tour from

http://www.behindthetower.com/en/pisa/sights/whypisa. Click on the must see sights to the right of the page - Historical Quarter. To me it's a good place to see the market, buy a gelato or pastry, maybe check out the university to see how that's different than a U.S. school.

 

I have also been to Lucca and bike riding the wall there was fun for my then 9 y.o.

[hubofhockey]

Seeing the Leaning Tower of Pisa was one of the highlights OF MY LIFE. Seriously. I had seen pictures of it all my life and here I was standing in front of it. Are you kidding me? Incredible. Oh my goodness, I am still on a high after this Med trip. AMAZING!!!

 

 

I know people who feel that way about Fenway Park.

 

Seriously, everyone is different and that port for me was all about experiencing the original Michaelangelo's David.

[klauer]

LOL, I loved Fenway Park too!

[chipmaster]

Lots of choices lots of decisions :confused: Like you we did the big three in a row.

 

Naples with stops at Pompeii and than the full deal along Amalfi coast, next stop was Rome went for broke there too! Then after that, Livorno and Pisa and Florence to complete the big three!

 

We did it with 11 family memembers from 7 to 81 years two private cars from RIL. Was it exhausting, kinda of. Was it a whirlwind, yeah! In reflection would I do it any other way, NO WAY!

 

Trying to do so much in such a short time won't be everyones style and depending on your interest some things might not seem worth it.

 

Not sure about others but I wanted to make sure my parents and kids got a peek at what they read and see in books and on TV and there was a good chance at least for my parents would never get this way again, kids too.

 

Climbing Pisa, timeless. Holding up Pisa kind of cheesy but also timeless, YMMV. Florence just had to make hard choices but saw enough to give everyone a taste of what the place was like!

 

Want to do a lot, go private, you spend more but see more!

 

I have had two tour companies tell me that there isn't enough to do in Pisa and they suggest combining it with Florence or Lucca. Livorno is 3rd in line with Naples and Rome the two days before it. I am thinking we won't be able to do another intense day for teh 3rd time. Also, I think Florence would just be too much to try and do in less than one day and I read that Lucca isn't worth it.

Any suggestions?

Should we not even use the tour company and go on our own (is the train or bus an easy option)?