Private Tours for Lucca

[GrammaZ]

We dock in Livorno during our Liberty cruise in September. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for doing a private excursion in Lucca and area. We are staying a week in Tuscany after our cruise so will do Florence, Siena etc. then. Would like to concentration more on the area north of Livorno during our dock day. Carnival does have a couple that interest us if nothing else works out but would prefer to do it on our own. Thanks.

 

Glenda

[Leejnd4]

Glenda,

 

Are you interested in touring the area itself, or just Lucca? Lucca is a pretty small town, so you can probably just do that on your own. In fact, my cruise leaves in two weeks, and on our day in Livorno I plan on doing just that -- I've been all over Tuscany, but never actually explored Lucca itself, so I'm just going to take a train up there and walk around. There are also bike rental shops there, so I'm considering renting a bike to bop around town on. It's apparently a popular town for bicycles.

 

Of course, there are also a number of private tour guides in the area that will take you wherever you want to go...look through the past threads here, and you will see many that discuss the various private tour companies. Or you could just rent a car for the day.

 

LeeAnne

[GrammaZ]

Thanks LeeAnne, I know these boards are a wealth of information and will search a bit deeper. Let me know how your day goes there. Have a great cruise.

 

Glenda

[PINEY10]

Lucca is charming walled city. Depending on the weather, there are a few sites to see but you can also walk on top of the wall surrounding the city. Very pretty place. Pisa is nice, too, and not too far away.

[Leejnd4]

Piney, I think I read somewhere that you can also ride a bike on the wall...is that correct? It sounds lovely...I'm definitely looking to spend my day in a charming city that isn't overstuffed with too many sights to see. Our day in Livorno comes towards the end of a 12-day, 12-port cruise, and I'm probably going to be sight-see'd out at that point! Spending a relaxing day just bopping around on a bike in a lovely town sounds like a perfect antidote.

 

Glenda, I'll be sure to write all about it when I get back. :)

 

LeeAnne

[PINEY10]

Funny you should mention that--my husband and I do a lot of biking and we did rent bikes and do the wall. Also stopped for some great gelati! It's fabulous and riding on the wall really gives you a delightful view of the city. I don't know how you are getting there but cars are not allowed inside the city (only residents) but there are parking lots outside. Many of the streets are narrow.

 

We actually rented a villa a little outside Lucca for a week and enjoyed every minute of it. Used Lucca as a main base and just went out in the car to Sienna, San Gimingnano, Chianti and wine country, Pisa, Cinque Terre, etc. Beautiful and generally quieter than other places in Tuscany. Cinque Terre also is a gorgeous place to go--you can take the train and get on and off and see the 5 towns. That can be relaxing, too and closer to the coast.

[Sandy R]

A few years ago we did the port stop of Livorno and since we had previously been to Florence for a 5 day stay, we elected to see Lucca. We took the ship's shuttle into the town, intending to take the train but we spoke to a taxi driver and for a reasonable price (can't recall the price exactly but it was definitely within reason), he took us to Lucca, where we spent time exploring, eating lunch, stopping for a gelati. There were very few tourists and at times we felt we were the only Americans there. The taxi and driver remained outside the walls because cars are indeed not allowed inside the walled section. When we returned to the taxi, the driver suggested taking us to Pisa, which was only about 20 minutes away and in the direction of the port. We had visited Pisa before but now, people are allowed to climb up the leaning tower. It was a delightful day.

 

Sandy

[PINEY10]

Lucca is fabulous and as Sandy mentioned so is Pisa. I thought Pisa would be kind of touristy but the church there was one of the most beautiful I saw on our trip to Italy. The museum also is not to be missed, and it is very close to Lucca. Good luck.

 

 

Sandy,

 

By the way, I contacted the guide in Kusadasi--I think he is already booked for that date but he is trying to see what he can arrange. Thanks for the contact information. This is actually one of the farthest out dates for me to start planning but many of the private tour operators are already booked for September--sure it is the same for you in June.

 

Can't wait to hear once you get back how things went and what you did.

[Leejnd4]

Piney, thanks for the info. I'm planning on taking the train to Lucca, and then trying to find a bike shop. Do you recall where you rented yours? Also, do you know where the train station is? Is it inside the city walls, or right outside, or will I need a taxi into the city?

 

As for the Cinque Terre, I've been there several times, and it's one of my favorite spots on earth! Two years ago we rented a flat for a few days in Riomaggiore. Our stop right before Livorno is Portofino, and my plan is to train it there and do the entire hike between all five villages. I've done portions of it before, but this time I'm going to go from Riomaggiore all the way to Monterosso. Can't wait! :)

 

LeeAnne

[PINEY10]

If I recall, the train is outside the town but right there. THere are several places to rent bikes--I can't remember where but it is near one of the entrances to the city. They also were quite reasonable and generally good bikes for the ride. You also could probably check on a website for Lucca--I am sure there must be one.

 

We stayed in Riomaggiore--lovely place to stay and a good vantage point to go to the other towns. Picturesque--perfect! You'll love Lucca.

[Leejnd4]

Piney -- did a search on Google, came up with the address of four different bike rental places in Lucca. I'll take those with me. Thanks again for all the help!

 

LeeAnne

[PINEY10]

Glad to be of help. They had great bike shirts as well.

[Sandy R]

Hi Piney10... hope you read this thread again. Glad you were able to connect with Kagan for Kusadasi. Hope he can arrange something for you. Ephesus is totally amazing. Bring your camera! It is remarkable how far out you have to start arranging private guides. And, it's a good feeling when hotels, guides, transportation is complete.

 

We are a very chatty group on our June 7th roll call. We have all gotten to know each other and can't wait for June to arrive. And, I will definitely post our experiences when we get home. I imagine there will be others of our roll call that will post, too. I just hope we survive this port intensive cruise. We really will need a vacation when we get home!

 

Sandy

[PINEY10]

That's another issue--want to know how you survive it. It is a busy port intensive cruise and just planning for it is making me tired, but will continue . . .

[24butterfly]

We're going in July on the Liberty and have been to Florence and Pisa, considering Lucca on this trip. However--we've been to Florence when it was a SUNDAY and not to much was open (the market) or was there much going on b/c of that. So--has anybody been to Lucca on a Sunday (tour is 9am-1pm) and with that in mind would you still recommend it??? Thanks!

[PINEY10]

the sites are open, maybe more crowded but still a beautiful place. Just remember around 1 to 3 PM most of the stores at least are closed.

[PINEY10]

Sandy R--

 

Another unrelated question. I saw that you had some information on transport in Venice. You must be in the know on this, too. We are coming to Venice a little early, renting a car, and will be returning the car to the airport on the date of departure. I have seen a site for Venice Limousine--50 euros for both of us with luggage which will pick us up at the airport and drop us at the cruise ship terminal. I saw you had a thread a while ago on transport to the cruise ship terminal. If you know of another way that is easy, I am always interested in other options (and costs) if you know.

 

Thanks.

 

Joan

[ClaudiaF]

We dock in Livorno during our Liberty cruise in September. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice for doing a private excursion in Lucca and area. We are staying a week in Tuscany after our cruise so will do Florence, Siena etc. then. Would like to concentration more on the area north of Livorno during our dock day. Carnival does have a couple that interest us if nothing else works out but would prefer to do it on our own. Thanks.

 

Glenda

Hi Glenda,

We hired

http://www.papillonservice.com/index.htm

for touing Pisa and Lucca and places in between. Lucca is a wonderful town. Loved it!

[dbh62ark]

We also used Papillon--our driver was Max--and had a great day touring Siena and San Gimignano along with a short stop at the small village of Monteriggioni last year. Monteriggioni is like a land that time forgot. We also traveled on the scenic Chianti Road and other scenic roads in the area. As an added bonus, Papillon's prices were quite a bit lower than the other guides in that area.

 

We've been to most of the other places listed and loved all of them, but I really hope you can add San Gimignano to your schedule. It's not very large, so a 1/2 day would probably work (of course more time is always better). It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site too, and I haven't met one of those I didn't like.

 

Hope you have a great trip,

Donna

[azrose]

what is the possibilty of doing florence, pisa AND lucca all in 1 day? i have been to florence previously and would just like to "run in/run out" to show my son "david".....think the other 2 places would be of interest to him even moreso....

[ClaudiaF]

what is the possibilty of doing florence, pisa AND lucca all in 1 day? i have been to florence previously and would just like to "run in/run out" to show my son "david".....think the other 2 places would be of interest to him even moreso....

You could do it with a driver.. but out of breath already