DIY Pisa and Florence from Livorno

[pjfnme]

Hi all.  I wanted to get someone else's opinion on this itinerary that I've come up with for a DIY excursion from the cruise port in Livorno.  My group of 4 wants to go to both Florence as well as Pisa but they only want to see certain things.  In Pisa we wish to visit (and climb up) the tower and then in Florence we want to visit the Accademia Gallery in order to see David.  Those are really the only two things that everyone is interested in seeing.  All of the organized tours that I have researched include a very comprehensive list sights in Florence and then just enough time in Pisa for photos of the tower.  Those that allow for time to walk up the tower don't allow for any free time in Florence, which we really want to have.  And the private tours are more than we want to spend (given that I've booked tours for almost every other stop, lol). This is the itinerary that I have so far and I would appreciate any suggestions.  Get off of the ship early.  We are scheduled to dock at 07:00 so we would like to be in the first wave of passengers off.  Take a taxi to Livorno Centrale (apx 25 euro total) then a train to Pisa (18 minutes @ 2.7 euro pp).   Walk to the leaning tower, 30 minutes for the top, then look around a bit before catching the train to Florence, hopefully by 10:30 (apx 10 euro pp), head straight to the Accademia to see David then spend the rest of our time walking around and enjoying Florence.  We would need to be back on the train no later than 15:30 for the 1 hour and 20 minute ride to Livorno (apx 12 euro pp) then hopefully catch a taxi back to the port in plenty of time for sail away at 19:00.   Does this sound doable or are there obstacles that I need to factor in and reconsider?  Does it sound like we would have enough time to do everything on our list?  Thanks in advance for the information! 

[euro cruiser]

It only works if every single thing goes right, and if you are able to secure tickets in advance for the exact times you need.  Both the tower and the David require timed tickets.

 

If you are set on this I would seriously consider spending a little more money to buy yourself time, which is surely a precious commodity for a day like this.  Pay the additional taxi fare to go right from the ship to the tower in Pisa.  It's about a 45 minute taxi ride, so best case you arrive around 8 AM, if things move a little slowly perhaps a little later.   The first slot for tower tickets is 8:30 AM so that would work perfectly for you.

 

Note that tower tickets only go on sale twenty days prior so you need to be vigilant and get on line ASAP on the twentieth day before your trip.  Remember that Italy is six or seven hours ahead, depending on what part of Tennessee you are in.

 

Tower ticket web site here:  https://www.opapisa.it/en/tickets/buy/

[euro cruiser]

This is the official site for tickets to the Accademia, for the David:  http://www.firenzemusei.it/

[pjfnme]

18 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

It only works if every single thing goes right, and if you are able to secure tickets in advance for the exact times you need.  Both the tower and the David require timed tickets.

 

If you are set on this I would seriously consider spending a little more money to buy yourself time, which is surely a precious commodity for a day like this.  Pay the additional taxi fare to go right from the ship to the tower in Pisa.  It's about a 45 minute taxi ride, so best case you arrive around 8 AM, if things move a little slowly perhaps a little later.   The first slot for tower tickets is 8:30 AM so that would work perfectly for you.

 

Note that tower tickets only go on sale twenty days prior so you need to be vigilant and get on line ASAP on the twentieth day before your trip.  Remember that Italy is six or seven hours ahead, depending on what part of Tennessee you are in.

 

Tower ticket web site here:  https://www.opapisa.it/en/tickets/buy/

Thanks so much for the insight - that is exactly what I was looking for.  I had not even considered a taxi to go straight to Pisa and that is a wonderful idea.  Thanks for the links as well!

[mapleleaves]

does anyone have an idea of the taxi fare  from Livorno to Pisa ? 

Thx.

[pjfnme]

16 minutes ago, mapleleaves said:

does anyone have an idea of the taxi fare  from Livorno to Pisa ? 

Thx.

From what I have been able to gather, it's around 150 - 175 euros per taxi, one way.

[euro cruiser]

That's way too much, contact a few car services for transfer service.  You should find service between 75 - 90 euro.

 

This one quotes 90 euro in a van:  https://secure.trasferimentoaeroportocitta.com/reservations/res_fre_eng.php

Edited July 9, 2019 by euro cruiser

[pjfnme]

29 minutes ago, euro cruiser said:

That's way too much, contact a few car services for transfer service.  You should find service between 75 - 90 euro.

 

This one quotes 90 euro in a van:  https://secure.trasferimentoaeroportocitta.com/reservations/res_fre_eng.php

Yes, I hadn't looked for any transfers yet.  I was just answering about how much a taxi would normally cost to Pisa.  😏  I definitely wouldn't pay that much - it wouldn't be worth it to do a DIY.   

[euro cruiser]

That's still too much for a taxi, going on the meter it would never get that high unless they drove to Pisa via Lucca.  If you're reading someone reporting what they paid, they got taken.

[pjfnme]

I think the reason that it cost that much is because the taxi service insisted on being paid for the round trip since it was such a lengthy drive?  

[euro cruiser]

Yes, you do pay double the meter fare for an out of town ride but it still would not add up to that much.  

 

It's about 23 k from the port of Livorno to the Piazza dei Miracoli.  I don't know the Livorno rates but they're probably not terribly different from Naples, which is ,05 euro per every 48 meters, plus a starting fee and standing/waiting fee of ,05 euro per every eight seconds.

 

That puts you in the range of about 30 - 35 euro one way, or 60 - 70 euro round trip.

 

 

[Ashland]

On one of our cruise's we did the cruiseline offered DIY Pisa & Florence....this gave us transportation but freedom to do what we wanted...worked well for us. We just did the same  DIY option but for just Florence this past May. Unfortunately it was pouring rain.

[pjfnme]

21 minutes ago, Ashland said:

On one of our cruise's we did the cruiseline offered DIY Pisa & Florence....this gave us transportation but freedom to do what we wanted...worked well for us. We just did the same  DIY option but for just Florence this past May. Unfortunately it was pouring rain.

I just checked and ours is also offering the DIY to Pisa & Florence.  It's unfortunate that it actually costs more per person than going through a tour operator.  

[pjfnme]

1 hour ago, euro cruiser said:

Yes, you do pay double the meter fare for an out of town ride but it still would not add up to that much.  

 

It's about 23 k from the port of Livorno to the Piazza dei Miracoli.  I don't know the Livorno rates but they're probably not terribly different from Naples, which is ,05 euro per every 48 meters, plus a starting fee and standing/waiting fee of ,05 euro per every eight seconds.

 

That puts you in the range of about 30 - 35 euro one way, or 60 - 70 euro round trip.

 

 

Great information!  Thank you!

[euro cruiser]

And that amounts sounds right when contrasted with the van quote of 90 euro.

[Ashland]

6 hours ago, pjfnme said:

I just checked and ours is also offering the DIY to Pisa & Florence.  It's unfortunate that it actually costs more per person than going through a tour operator.  

That's too bad our RCI DIY was $64.00 pp. And worked out well for us to just be on our own especially due to the rain.

[JBare]

Cruise lines DIY Pisa and Florence on your own trips stick to a (unkown beforehand) timed schedule with limited time in Pisa which may or may not coincide with any tower climb. Certainly not there long enough to purchase a ticket and go up and prebooking a climb would be a great risk. Same in Florence but less of a risk as time there is much longer.

Edited July 11, 2019 by JBare

[margbem]

Have you looked at Tuscanybus.com? Their trip to Florence and Pisa is €40 pp. we have booked with them for Lucca and Pisa in October. They have been very responsive to any queries I have had.

[pjfnme]

On 7/11/2019 at 10:13 AM, margbem said:

Have you looked at Tuscanybus.com? Their trip to Florence and Pisa is €40 pp. we have booked with them for Lucca and Pisa in October. They have been very responsive to any queries I have had.

Thanks for the recommendation.  I will check them out!

[pjfnme]

I checked with Tuscany Bus and they said it should be doable to do David as well as the tower climb.  How was your experience with them?

[pjfnme]

On 7/11/2019 at 10:13 AM, margbem said:

Have you looked at Tuscanybus.com? Their trip to Florence and Pisa is €40 pp. we have booked with them for Lucca and Pisa in October. They have been very responsive to any queries I have had.

I checked with Tuscany Bus and they said it should be doable to do David as well as the tower climb.  How was your experience with them?