What do you cruisers think about the two hour ride from La Spezia to Florence?

[CruisinRoxy]

Is it worth it?  I mean, it's Florence, so of course folks want to go there.   But 4 hours on a bus? What do you all think? Just weighing our options.

[mapleleaves]

How long is your port day?  do you have time for your planned activities to make it worthwhile?

We only spent 4 hrs there during our cruise, but it was enough time to see the Duomo, the PonteVecchio, have lunch at the Market and browse the adjacent market,

(personally I prefer the train over a bus, and the station is less than 10 minutes from the Duomo)

[rhiannon84]

If you're docking at La Spezia, have you looked at going to Cinque Terre or Portofino instead? Very easy to get to, and utterly beautiful. You'll be on a train for 30mins max, or small ferry/daytrip boat which is a bit longer. The train station is 20 mins walk from the port, and the boats are 5mins walk.

[euro cruiser]

As I've said on other threads, I think it's deceptive marketing for cruise lines to sell La Spezia as a port for Florence.  Obviously, given Florence's location in the middle of the country, any port will be a trek.  Livorno is bad enough (90 km/50+ miles) but at least there are major highways the entire route and fairly straightforward train connections.  To call La Spezia (150 km/90 miles) a port for Florence is ridiculous. 

 

Fortunately, there are so many wonderful options much closer to La Spezia.  No, they are not Florence, but some places are better seen on a land trip. 

Edited February 23 by euro cruiser

[elaine5]

If it's you're only option (including any future possible trips) to see Florence, I would go. It's much smaller than Rome and beautiful. [When DD17 wanted to see Paris--it was 3 hours on tour bus each way. We had only a whirlwind 4 hours to (literally) run around Paris, but she loved it.]

Florence can be a very enjoyable walk-about with out even having any museums, etc. reserved for 4-6 hours.  Viewing the outside of the Duomo (esp the bronze door scenes), walking by the "fake" David in the square, walking over the bridge, stopping at a cafe for a snack/drink, and meandering down the little side streets doing some leather shopping is a wonderful day. 

With that said, Cinque Terre is one of the most beautiful areas in the world-small cliffside villages in an incredible setting. It's very close to La Spezia. 

Edited February 23 by elaine5

[edinburgher]

20 hours ago, CruisinRoxy said:

But 4 hours on a bus? What do you all think? Just weighing our options.

Should you decide against Florence, there are a number of past threads re la Spezia which you could read for ideas.  This is a good one to start with.  Ignore the driving reference as it very quickly morphs into ideas and suggestions.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2911139-la-spezia-anything-to-do-within-a-short-drive/#comment-64723978

 

[CruisinRoxy]

Thanks everybody!