Does Holland America provide shuttle at Livorno port to city center?

[nho9504]

The very last time when we were at Livorno we did not even bother to head out (been at this port many many times) and just stayed at the terminal to use free wifi for catching up.

 

However I do remember each line operates differently, most provide shuttle either free or $5 ticket something like that.   Though at least one or two times the port actually operated a free bus but there was a distance to walk to the bus station from the docking pier.

 

Anyone has any knowledge on this? 

 

We plan to take a train to Florence, not for sightseeing (been in Florence many times also) but to take an actual look of the area of Florence S.M.N. station because after finishing our Tuscany land trip we will need to return our rental cat to a garage near the station.  I would like to check out the location with this opportunity so not get into trouble with the ZTL and then incur large fine.

[OlsSalt]

Think about going to Lucca by train from Livorno, if you are looking for new things to see.

 

Delightful, small walled city. Not overly touristed. Puccini's birthplace. Meander around the city's tree shaded and wide walking/paths on top of the walls, and peer down into the daily lives in this formerly very wealthy Italian city state - also center of the former Italian silk trade. Fine dining options also in this mainly car-free city.

[Mary229]

I was there last spring and they had a paid shuttle. I think it was a lot more than $5.  I went to Lucca  

[FOPMan]

It is over an hour bus to Florence. There had bern an excursion that was only bus service, plus a guide leading the riders from the bus parking to city center (no sightseeing, just leading is to the meet point for the return-no buses were allowed in the city center. Ten years ago, it was somewhere between $90 and $135 a person. And if was nog a shuttle, in the sense there were multiple buses over a period. Im not sure what would have happened if you were late getting to the meet spot, but the guide seemed impatient with our group, and everyone was there 10 minutes before deadline.

[Iamthesea]

The few times that we have docked in Livorno, we've had a private tour guide or transportation. 

 

The last time we went to Lucca and loved it!  Shared transportation with another couple from the ship and met back up with them for the trip back.  Once, we went to Pisa (leaning tower).  Charming province.  Another time we went to Cinque Terre (right after the mud slides).  I think that going to Florence was our favorite of all!

 

[Hlitner]

You want FREE shuttles than cruise Seabourn, Silverseas, etc.  Cruise on HAL and you will pay, pay more, and pay often.  If there is a paid shuttle to the center of Livorno, it still will not get you to the train station.  That will be a long walk or an additional pay local bus.  If you want to take a train at Livorno, do your best (which is not always enough) to find a shared taxi directly to the train station.

 

Hank

[nho9504]

@Hlitner

 

I only ask the questions how the shuttle situation is - be it free or pay I do not care.  My goal is to find out if there is a shuttle or the port authority provided a bus (which happened at least 2 times in the past and I was pleasantly surprised by such amenity!), so we can get to Livorno town proper.  From where we take the train to Florence S.M.N. station - the main station at Florence - for the purpose to check out the surrounding streets and the ZTL situation - so that we we much later at the end of self-driving land trip, returning the car to Florence we know how to avoid ZTL.

 

Thank you for bringing up the shared taxi idea.  Now I remember  we have done this back in 2008...

 

It was the year we took our neighbors to do a Fall Transatlantic on Princess, a total of 4 couples (the other 2 couples just joined us) find a minivan at the pier to head to the Livorno train station.  Once we were all onboard the driver suggested he could do a "private tour" to Pisa and to Florence.  The per person cost was very reasonable and we, our neighbors and another young couple agreed to take the deal but the 4th, older couple thought they were ripped off by that and insisted to just go to the train station... 

 

I will keep this in mind and see how this might work.  HAL has Florence on your own type of excursion (8 hours - and we definitely dont need this much time as we do not plan to sightsee Florence) that costs $139.99 per person.  I feel that is much more than what we would spend even including a taxi ride to Livorno train station and back.  Train tickets are very cheap.

 

 

[nho9504]

Actually the idea of cruising with the luxury lines is a good one because many items are included in the fare.

 

A friend was asking me a self-driving to see the D Day beaches on their Seabourn 12 days cruise that are visiting historic sites on the northern coast.  It is a Veranda Suite at $6200 pp, with no tipping, all drinks included, wifi is free, and some other things I forgot, also included in the fare.  I suspect if you book similar cabin size on HAL and pay the "have it all" packages, your cost would not be much less than the Seabourn but the things you get from HAL would most likely several grades below Seabourn.

 

Before the Pandemic I was looking at Seabourn's repositioning cruise from Florida to South America then back and onto Europe, 30+ days for less than $7000, with almost $2000 taxes - the per day cost was still not bad.  Then Pandemic hit...

 

[nho9504]

Just checked some estimates online - taxi fare from Livorno port to train station usually runs 25 euro but the taxi drivers often try to sell you a longer tour, or inflate the fare...

 

Need to negotiate hard I guess.

 

Bus to Livorno center is 1.2 euro

 

https://www.iqcruising.com/ports/europe/italy/livorno/basics/train.html