excursion to Florence&Pisa

[lemmey]

going on the Arcadia 5th October and want do trip to Florence &Pisa .the ship does a trip but does anyone know if it easy to do your self .would like to do both and usually do them on our own ?

[kruzseeka]

going on the Arcadia 5th October and want do trip to Florence &Pisa .the ship does a trip but does anyone know if it easy to do your self .would like to do both and usually do them on our own ?

 

It's easy to do Pisa independently by train but even doing Florence DiY is a bit more of a challenge nevermind doing Pisa as well. Depending on where you berth you may need a shuttle into the centre of Livorno then either a mile walk, local bus or taxi to the station. It's only about 20 mins to Pisa on the train (then about another mile to walk from the station to Miracle Square). You'd have to get back to the station to go on to Florence - the station there is a bit of a walk from the centre too.

 

When I tried to plan getting to Florence independently, we decided it was possible but involved changing trains at Pisa with a wait too so that we thought it would limit the time we'd have there. We just settled for the Florence on your own transfer. There's a lot to see in Florence. We did Pisa ourselves on a separate visit.

 

I'd say the most efficient way to see both Florence and Pisa in one day would be an organised excursion as although perhaps it's possible, I doubt you'd get much time in either location if you rely on public transport. I think a taxi would be very expensive.

 

Good luck with your planning.

[kruzseeka]

Just had a look on the trenitalia site for trains - one leaving Livorno for Firenze leaving at 09.12 arrives in Florence at 10.32 so realistically you have to get from the ship to the station at Livorno then walk into the centre of Florence which I think is going to take you about 2 hours. Same for the return - and allowing a safe margin to get back to the ship makes pulling in Pisa as well a non starter imo other than a very very rushed visit to both. You can check out the trains yourself on the trenitalia site - you will have to select English for the site but it doesn't recognise the English version of Florence so you have to enter Firenze. Cost btw is €9.60 p.p. each way just to Florence - haven't costed what it would be breaking the journey at Pisa perhaps a little more.

 

We're keen to DiY wherever possible but doing both in a day isn't one we'd try.

[tartanexile81]

We DIY in most ports and did it in Florence but I'll be honest it was very challenging and we wouldn't recommend it. We definitely won't do it again - ever!

 

First problem was getting a taxi driver who would take us just to the station from the port and at last we did. Our day in Florence was good but we got a bit lost on the way back to the station which was a first for us. When we got to the station we discovered the train had been cancelled so we HAD to get the next one. At the last minute we discovered that there had been a platform change which we hadn't understood and we had to run across the station and along the longest platform ever. We got on the train by the skin of our teeth.

 

We had a limited time to get back to the ship from the station but there were no taxis waiting at the station and though one eventually arrived we got back by the skin on our teeth.

 

Like I said we DIY most places but never again at Livorno. Perhaps Pisa alone might be doable but personally we'd pre-book a private tour or if P&O offers a Florence on your own, we'd go for that. It certainly is an amazing city.

[kruzseeka]

We've never tried do Florence on the train as I'd read of people having experienced problems similar to yours - having to change trains/platforms figuring in their reports too. Reading your account - I'm glad we didn't try it! We also opted for the Florence on Your Own and found this gave us time to really explore - as you say, a great city.

 

We are fairly confident but cautious DiYers and must say Pisa is very doable - it's quite close to Livorno but we made it the focus of the whole day on a different occasion and found far more of interest than we had imagined.

[jeanlyon]

Yes we did Pisa on the train. Very easy. We walked to the station from Livorno. I think the fare was 4 Euro each way.

[lemmey]

thanks so much for your advise a real help will book on ship and enjoy a busy day thanks:)

[yamanid]

thanks so much for your advise a real help will book on ship and enjoy a busy day thanks:)

 

We have done Pisa/Florence before by booking with a Company before we left home (don't think I am able to say who they are on here??) as it may be classed as advertising but we were picked up by luxury coach and were away all day - was fantastic and much cheaper than ship :) Company very professional and we had all documents emailed to us before we left for out Cruise - if interested could pm you

[jasperado]

DH and I did the western med last year and DIYd everywhere except for Florence and Rome.

These we did with P and O because of the distance factor (one and a half hours coach travel ) and the uncertainty of public transportation in Italy. Strikes can happen without much warning and delays and accidents are a sadly everyday occurance.

The "fear factor" of missing the boat by being delayed on an independant tour would have ruined a "saver bargain" day for us so we bit the bullet and P and O'd.

Paid the pennies..... and had super "Rome / Florence on your own" trips.

Regards Kathy

Edited January 28, 2016 by jasperado

[lemmey]

thanks so much for helping us looking only to book that one trip so will do that one.