La Spezia Tour (Florence & Pisa)

[brownswirl]

Hi there,

It's my first time going on a European cruise and I have been hoping to get some info on tours to Pisa and Florence from La Spezia. I'm on the Oasis and the tours are super expensive! Has anyone taken the train to Pisa and Florence? Anyone willing to share their itinerary?

 

[Biker19]

Welcome to CC.

 

You might want to ask this in the Roll Call thread for your sailing.

[little britain]

You may also want to check out the Europe Ports of Call boards. 

 

Florence is 92 miles e/way and I don’t think you cannot do it justice in a flying day trip. 

Pisa is very disappointing and very touristy.

IMHO far better to go to the beautiful Cinque Terre villages.

Edited February 22, 2019 by little britain

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 hour ago, brownswirl said:

Hi there,

It's my first time going on a European cruise and I have been hoping to get some info on tours to Pisa and Florence from La Spezia. I'm on the Oasis and the tours are super expensive! Has anyone taken the train to Pisa and Florence? Anyone willing to share their itinerary?

 

We had a fantastic experience and tour through a private excursion with RomeInLimo (.com) - small size vehicles used (typically Mercedes Sprinter vans for 6-8 people max - English-speaking driver.

 

When you check it out...note that you essentially book a vehicle and driver for the day, with the cost spread among the passengers - so the per-passenger amount is a fraction of the Royal excursions offered.

 

More important...you get super service, save a ton of time to and from specific attractions (rather than a busload of people getting on and off),  and the driver parks close to each attraction entrance...saving even more time to and from things. Furthermore, these folks know their stuff and share great insights and information.

 

We ended up using them in Rome too - would use them again anytime.

[brownswirl]

15 minutes ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

We had a fantastic experience and tour through a private excursion with RomeInLimo (.com) - small size vehicles used (typically Mercedes Sprinter vans for 6-8 people max - English-speaking driver.

 

When you check it out...note that you essentially book a vehicle and driver for the day, with the cost spread among the passengers - so the per-passenger amount is a fraction of the Royal excursions offered.

 

More important...you get super service, save a ton of time to and from specific attractions (rather than a busload of people getting on and off),  and the driver parks close to each attraction entrance...saving even more time to and from things. Furthermore, these folks know their stuff and share great insights and information.

 

We ended up using them in Rome too - would use them again anytime.

Thanks - I will definitely check them out. Appreciate it :)

[brownswirl]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

Welcome to CC.

 

You might want to ask this in the Roll Call thread for your sailing.

Thank - will do.

[brownswirl]

1 hour ago, little britain said:

You may also want to check out the Europe Ports of Call boards. 

 

Florence is 92 miles e/way and I don’t think you cannot do it justice in a flying day trip. 

Pisa is very disappointing and very touristy.

IMHO far better to go to the beautiful Cinque Terre villages.

Thanks for the input!

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

We had a fantastic experience and tour through a private excursion with RomeInLimo (.com) - small size vehicles used (typically Mercedes Sprinter vans for 6-8 people max - English-speaking driver.

 

When you check it out...note that you essentially book a vehicle and driver for the day, with the cost spread among the passengers - so the per-passenger amount is a fraction of the Royal excursions offered.

 

More important...you get super service, save a ton of time to and from specific attractions (rather than a busload of people getting on and off),  and the driver parks close to each attraction entrance...saving even more time to and from things. Furthermore, these folks know their stuff and share great insights and information.

 

We ended up using them in Rome too - would use them again anytime.

Another vote for RomeInLimo...however we opted for a private tour for the two of us...wasn't really that much more (at least to us) for this amazing tour taking all into consideration of a shared vs private.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

2 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Another vote for RomeInLimo...however we opted for a private tour for the two of us...wasn't really that much more (at least to us) for this amazing tour taking all into consideration of a shared vs private.

Agreed.

 

Definitely a top destination (Pisa & Florence combined) on the Mediterranean cruise.

 

 

[George C]

Best tour we ever took was papillon went to Pisa , Florence and also a vineyard for wine tasting , prebought tickets for museum with David all for about a hundred a person in new Mercedes van , great guide . We had 8 in group all from roll call.

[jenniferop]

I have no knowledge of RC tours - but we did do an MSC cruise last Oct. and one of the stops was La Spezia - we did this stop on our own...short walk to train station (pre buy tickets online) - 1 hr train to Pisa - short walking to the tower (again pre buy your tour tickets online) and then train back to La Spezia. we did not go to Florence during our time in port. Very easy port to do your own thing if you research pre buying all your tickets.

[allylily]

We went on Symphony last summer and docked in La Spezia.  Its very far to Florence, just so you know.  We did the ship excursion Pisa and Florence with headset on your own tour.   Briefly, Pisa is iconic - we loved seeing it.  Florence is amazing.  A short afternoon cannot do it justice.  I am happy I went, but with a caveat.   We were supposed to get 5 1/2 hours of our own time in Florence.  We independently ordered tix online for entry into the Uffizi to fit within that time frame.  However, upon reaching Florence our guide advised that we had to be back much earlier, only giving us a total of 4 hours in Florence.   The traffic in that region was heavy, accounting for the much earlier departure time. We barely made it back to the ship on time, too.  Glad we went.   Bus ride long.   Less time than you think in Florence.   If you can do Florence on your own pre or post cruise if you depart from Rome, all the better.   We would indeed try Cinque Terre next time.  We are going to do Greek/Europe next summer and may do the fast train from Rome to Florence (a few hours train time at most) to spend a few days in Florence to really enjoy it.  

[londongal796]

La Spezia is really far out there, so it's hard to say what your best options are -- though all suggestions so far are very good.

 

We used Papillon when we sailed into Livorno for a Cinque Terre/Pisa tour and they were great. However, I found the prices with most private tour companies very cost prohibitive when I was looking out of La Spezia -- this is mainly because it really is so much further away from everything. We ended up doing a ships tour to Florence where once we got to Florence, we just did our own thing and ignored the tour guide. We ended up getting to see and do a lot but there really was limited time to go to Uffizi or to see David. We ended up doing the Galileo Museum instead, plus walking around the city centre etc. The time just went so quickly. (We booked the ships tour as it was still cheaper with 3 of us than doing a private taxi tour.)

 

The journey to/from Florence from La Spezia is just so long, I wouldn't really recommend it unless you don't think you will ever go to Florence otherwise. In which case, Pisa/Florence are two spectacular places to see and visit. Cinque Terre was beautiful and unique but most of the photos you see of the vibrant coloured houses have been filtered/photoshopped -- the houses ARE painted brightly but not neon-effect. Pisa was the best part of our tour on that occasion, to be honest!

[CRUISEFAN0001]

2 hours ago, londongal796 said:

La Spezia is really far out there, so it's hard to say what your best options are -- though all suggestions so far are very good.

 

The journey to/from Florence from La Spezia is just so long...

I'm not sure what route some of the posters went...but we were told (and it was correct) that the best route was to go to Pisa first (which we did) and then take a 35-40 hop over to Florence (which was our path).

 

We never felt rushed, we never were in the vehicle "a long time" or "a long way", but we got to spend a full  enjoyable day in that area.

 

Other than the leaning tower and adjoining cathedral,  Pisa is a 90 minute stop (tops).

 

Florence is where you should and do spend more time.  Yes, buying the Accademia Museum tickets in advance is a good idea (saves both time and money). The RomeInLimo site provides links to do this online easily.  The "David" Statue is a highlight, with a good deal of other art there as well.

 

Florence itself is beautiful and worth a walk through the plazas, viewing the amazing Ponte Vecchio bridge, and other sights that the tour guides know well and point out, including a higher "over the city" view I included in Post 9.

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by CRUISEFAN0001

[bobmacliberty]

We also decided that Florence was too far from La Spezia and decide to instead go to Cinque Terra.  We had a fantastic day.  Very easy to do Cinque Terra without a tour via short train ride.  If you are not already sold on Florence/Pisa, check out Cinque Terra

 

[RN4Nsy]

We used a great company "All Around Italy" but  for Amalfi Coast and Pompeii. For Florence used ships tour named "Easy Florence". We first went by bus, then walked a bit. Then they had guys in golf carts take you around. Lots of fun. 

[londongal796]

20 hours ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

I'm not sure what route some of the posters went...but we were told (and it was correct) that the best route was to go to Pisa first (which we did) and then take a 35-40 hop over to Florence (which was our path).

No idea what sort of vehicle you were in but it's literally a 2-hour drive between La Spezia and Florence when there is no traffic present -- which is never the case in Italy during the morning and evening rush hours, which is when one is travelling during these excursions. Going via Pisa breaks up the outward journey but your return, I guarantee, was still 2+ hours -- ours was closer to 3 each way in the end because of traffic. Fortunately I slept for a portion of the return journey, having made the most of our time in Florence that I was quite wiped out. 

[CRUISEFAN0001]

1 hour ago, londongal796 said:

No idea what sort of vehicle you were in but it's literally a 2-hour drive between La Spezia and Florence when there is no traffic present -- which is never the case in Italy during the morning and evening rush hours, which is when one is travelling during these excursions. Going via Pisa breaks up the outward journey but your return, I guarantee, was still 2+ hours -- ours was closer to 3 each way in the end because of traffic. Fortunately I slept for a portion of the return journey, having made the most of our time in Florence that I was quite wiped out. 

So now we've heard the distance from La Spezia to Florence is 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes. Likely it's somewhere in between.

 

The main point was that going to Pisa first renders the enjoyment of that stop, while reducing the Florence drive the rest of the way.

 

The return time matters so much less once you've gotten the chance to see both places with adequate time for each. Doing so with a private smaller group and non-bus vehicle also saves time to and from, as well as at each location (parking, narrow street navigation, etc.). Eliminating the time for a busload of folks to get on, get off and walk a greater distance to where bigger buses can park adds as much as an hour to sightseeing instead of being on a bus.

[arlodog]

When we were planning our Med cruise I was shocked at the prices for the excursions, but knew that I wanted to see some of the iconic sights.  We had a very active roll call and were able to get others to join us to cut our expenses and did private excursions in all of our ports.  We shared a van with 5 of us to Pisa and Florence.  I can't remember the name of the tour company, but some of those already mentioned are recommended time and again if you read the boards here and I am sure are fine.  I do remember that we had to purchase the tickets to see David ahead of time and our tour operator told us the time to purchase them for.  We never felt rushed and it was a very enjoyable day.  

Don't be afraid to put it out on your roll call that you want to do join other tours.  One of our best was a walking food tour in Valencia that one of our roll call members organized.  We walked through town and learned the history and were taught about the different kinds of tapas and how to find authentic gelato.  Great fun and met so many fun people that I normally wouldn't have had the opportunity to meet.  

[londongal796]

6 hours ago, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

So now we've heard the distance from La Spezia to Florence is 60 minutes, 90 minutes, and 120 minutes. Likely it's somewhere in between.

 

The main point was that going to Pisa first renders the enjoyment of that stop, while reducing the Florence drive the rest of the way.

 

The return time matters so much less once you've gotten the chance to see both places with adequate time for each. Doing so with a private smaller group and non-bus vehicle also saves time to and from, as well as at each location (parking, narrow street navigation, etc.). Eliminating the time for a busload of folks to get on, get off and walk a greater distance to where bigger buses can park adds as much as an hour to sightseeing instead of being on a bus.

Not going for a hyperbole here, the fact is that La Spezia is 93 miles from Florence via roads, it will take a minimum of 2 hours to drive there in traffic (checking on Google Maps sporadically throughout the day today, which is a Sunday, an 'off peak' day), with 93 miles of road there is literally no way it would have taken anyone 60 minutes and unless you went over 60mph for the ENTIRE journey there is also no way anyone is doing it in 90 minutes either.

 

Of course, I totally agree that a stop in Pisa is a great way to break up the journey but it does mean you get a lot less time in Florence. 

 

The return journey is a great opportunity for a nap!

Edited February 24, 2019 by londongal796

[CRUISEFAN0001]

10 minutes ago, londongal796 said:

Of course, I totally agree that a stop in Pisa is a great way to break up the journey but it does mean you get a lot less time in Florence. 

If you spend about an hour in Pisa...then no matter which route you take...you get the rest in Florence either method. Florence is the crown jewel of the excursion, but missing the Leaning Tower because of crowding is much less of a risk if you go there first. We are among 4 different couple who have made that route separately on different cruises, and it's proven to be the best route every time.

[brownswirl]

On 2/22/2019 at 1:06 PM, CRUISEFAN0001 said:

Agreed.

 

Definitely a top destination (Pisa & Florence combined) on the Mediterranean cruise.

 

 

 

Wow thanks for sharing!

[KiwiGal117]

I’m not sure where the OP

is coming from, but if at all possible spend time in Florence before or after your cruise. We did a Harmony cruise in 2016 and because of the cost of airfare (from Canada) we wanted to make it worthwhile, so we spent a few days in Each of Venice and Florence before the cruise. This allowed us the most spectacular day in Cinque Terre. I am so glad we did it this way as we were able to really get to see lots of Florence and then our day in Cinque Terre was a huge highlight for us.

[Brad548ye]

On ‎2‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 3:31 PM, brownswirl said:

Hi there,

It's my first time going on a European cruise and I have been hoping to get some info on tours to Pisa and Florence from La Spezia. I'm on the Oasis and the tours are super expensive! Has anyone taken the train to Pisa and Florence? Anyone willing to share their itinerary?

 

Hi,

 

What date cruise are you doing? I'm also on the Oasis this year and interested in doing a private tour.

[brownswirl]

9 minutes ago, Brad548ye said:

Hi,

 

What date cruise are you doing? I'm also on the Oasis this year and interested in doing a private tour.

 

Hi,

I’m going on Oasis June 30. Would like to do both Pisa and Florence.