Best hill town to combine with half day Pisa (with kids)

[navygator]

We are debating the same thing as you... half day in Pisa and then what?? We are leaning toward visiting some caves. There seem to be some near Lucca. Still looking for good info... pretty sure we will have to rent a car to visit them. We thought it would be something totally different for the kids and give them a "break" from history before our port intesive day in Rome.

[euro cruiser]

While there are train connections to San Gimignano and Volterra, that's not the whole story.

 

These are towns built on the top of hills. The train lines run in the valleys. The nearest train station for San Gimignano is Poggibonsi, which is nine miles from San Gimignano.

 

Volterra is closer to its train station, only about a mile away, but that's a mile straight up the hill. Again, a cab or bus is probably requried.

 

For a port day you might be able to get to one of these towns and back, but not in combination with Pisa, it simply takes too long and you'd have too many moving parts to your plan by public transit.

 

With a rental car you could certainly combine one of these towns with Pisa.

[World Gallery]

Navygator - Let me know what you find out about the caves. I am still "all over the board" with Livorno. I tried to talk my kids out of doing Pisa because it would make the day so much easier to go in one direction to Volterra and San Gimignano but they really want to climb it. Of course, because that is what kids know and see about Italy. I have read it was a lot of fun for kids and teens, probably something they will remember more than seeing a hilltown and hearing more history. I am trying to see if through their eyes as I plan but it is hard. I didn't know about the cave option.

[cruisemom42]

Navygator - Let me know what you find out about the caves. I am still "all over the board" with Livorno. I tried to talk my kids out of doing Pisa because it would make the day so much easier to go in one direction to Volterra and San Gimignano but they really want to climb it. Of course, because that is what kids know and see about Italy. I have read it was a lot of fun for kids and teens, probably something they will remember more than seeing a hilltown and hearing more history. I am trying to see if through their eyes as I plan but it is hard. I didn't know about the cave option.

 

I suppose if your kids are already fixated on Pisa there is little you can do, but for the record, I found the Tower a bore when I was a young teen and resented that it took away from time I would rather have spent in Florence!

 

There are many things one can choose to do within a day's span, but one cannot do all of them and sometimes you can't always "choose by committee" what to do. At some point you may just have to make an executive decision....!

[epixx]

for the record, I found the Tower a bore when I was a young teen

 

And, for the record, our 2 teens still, after 2 years, talk about climbing the Tower as one of their favorite activities in the Med. Actually, I also really enjoyed this and would not have wanted to miss it, although I can't exactly explain why. Perhaps because it's such an icon? Oh well. That's why travel is great. There's something for everyone.

[cruisemom42]

And, for the record, our 2 teens still, after 2 years, talk about climbing the Tower as one of their favorite activities in the Med. Actually, I also really enjoyed this and would not have wanted to miss it, although I can't exactly explain why. Perhaps because it's such an icon? Oh well. That's why travel is great. There's something for everyone.

 

Indeed, I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with a stop at the famous tower -- just wanted to let people know that it's always a good idea to know what your own and your family's interests are -- sometimes they will surprise you.

[navygator]

Indeed, I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with a stop at the famous tower -- just wanted to let people know that it's always a good idea to know what your own and your family's interests are -- sometimes they will surprise you.

 

 

I completely agree with you about surprises! We are doing 12 days on land before we embark on our cruise starting in England. I came up with trivia questions for my DD's to answer linked to the official websites for the attractions we plan to see. While looking for the answers the girls explore the website and I am always surprised at which parts interest them. At Windsor Castle they were amazed by Queen Mary's Dollhouse. Neither one has ever had any interest in dollhouses nor wanted a dollhouse. This is something I would have probably breezed by but now I know we need to plan for some extra time there. Same thing for Warwick Castle. They both think the Dragon Tower is much cooler than the Princess Tower. Who knew!

[navygator]

Navygator - Let me know what you find out about the caves. I am still "all over the board" with Livorno. I tried to talk my kids out of doing Pisa because it would make the day so much easier to go in one direction to Volterra and San Gimignano but they really want to climb it. Of course, because that is what kids know and see about Italy. I have read it was a lot of fun for kids and teens, probably something they will remember more than seeing a hilltown and hearing more history. I am trying to see if through their eyes as I plan but it is hard. I didn't know about the cave option.

 

 

There seem to be two choices of caves near Pisa. The closest is Antro del Corchia. The entrance is near the town of Levigliani about one hour from Pisa right up the coast and about 1.5 hours back to Livorno. Entrance fee is 12 Euros and the tour lasts about 2 hours. The other choice is Grotta del Vento. It is about 1.5 hours from Pisa and about 2 hours back to Livorno. The route takes you through Lucca and then on some VERY windy roads through mountains. The entrance fee is 9 Euros and up and they have 3 different tours you can take depending on your physical health.

 

I think we may opt for the closer cave. Since we are driving ourselves I don't want to take any chances rushing back and missing the ship. It would be nice to take a pit stop in Lucca but I am not sure we will have time.