Lucca from port of Livorno, Italy Question?....

[Ruth]

Has anyone every done Lucca in one day from the port of Livorno.

I have been looking into private tours...they are our of our price range.

Is it easy to rent a car and easy to drive? Are road signs in that area easy to follow? Are there students in the area that want to pick up extra money by directing us in the correct location so we don't get lost....

[Hlitner]

We have been to Lucca many times, both from cruises and when just driving on our own around Italy (we do this quite often). If your only goal is to go to Lucca from Livorno, than I would recommend you simply take the train. Its a lot cheaper than renting a car and you do not have to deal with the hassles of getting and dropping a rental car. The toughest problem is getting a taxi to take you from the pier to the train station (be assertive and insistent and somebody will take the short haul) where you can catch a train to Lucca (you will have to change in Pisa). The train station in Lucca is a short walk (across the street and through the parking area) to the cities walls, and Lucca is a city that can best be explored on foot. Another fun thing to do in Lucca is to rent bikes and ride around the top of the cities walls. Its hard to get very lost in Lucca and with a simple map and guide book you will be fine.

 

Hank

[bp traveler]

We took the train to Lucca on our cruise this summer and it was one of our favorite days! We took a taxi to the train station as soon as we could get off and headed to Lucca - we were the only tourists there!

 

We had a great lunch in the piazza right as you enter the city. We then made a stop to Pisa - which was such a zoo.

 

Now we need to find another city to visit on our Med cruise next summer - any suggestions?

[suekay]

Two weeks ago we were on Voyager. We took the ship shuttle to downtown, then number 1 bus to the station for 1 euro, then train to Lucca changing at Pisa. Quicker and easier than it sounds and certainly much cheaper than a ship tour and more enjoyable as we were not herded around or rushed

[Albert Ross]

Livorno – we caught the RCL bus to the central bus terminus [the only way to get out of the large port], bought the tickets from the newsagent and then took the #1 bus to the train station. Here we went via Pisa to Lucca – the most beautiful town and not many tourists there. Bikes are rented from Piazza Santa Maria at the top of the town pas the old amphitheatre – a good way to get some exercise and to see a more relaxed Italy. On the return we had time between trains to walk over to see the Leaning Tower – about 25 mins walk – and take the obligatory photo. The #1 bus back was a scrum with everyone in port racing to get back to their cruise ship.

[jmb4534]

Has anyone been to Montecatini? HLitner, I'll bet you have! Is it worth going to, or will spending a day biking around Lucca be more enjoyable? We're looking for simple pleasures.....no stress. Lucca sounds like it might fill the bill all by itself.

 

Thanks, Janelle

[Phamer55]

Which is cheaper for 2 adults & 2 kids, taking the ship's shuttle and the #1 bus or a taxi to the Livorno train station?

 

Also, how did you get back to the ship from the train station? Were their ship shuttles waiting for you in town (in which you had to get back on the #1 bus)? Were there taxis waiting at the train station to take you back?

[GSPLover]

We took the train to Lucca on our cruise this summer and it was one of our favorite days! We took a taxi to the train station as soon as we could get off and headed to Lucca - we were the only tourists there!

 

We had a great lunch in the piazza right as you enter the city. We then made a stop to Pisa - which was such a zoo.

 

Now we need to find another city to visit on our Med cruise next summer - any suggestions?

 

If you are going to be in Livorno you might look into the Island of Elba. It is not that far from Livorno.

[ab0si]

Montecatini: The old town Montecatini Alto is lovely and on clear days has spectacular views. You get there on a funicular from the new town (which has some nice green spaces and gardens as well as "medicinal" spas. A pleasant enough place to kill a day. Getting there and back by train on a tight schedule is problematic.

 

That said, between it and Lucca is no contest. Lucca is simply a wonderful place to wander.

 

 

Elba: Unless one is is "into" Napoleon and/or German package tours, I'd give this a pass. there are some nice drives in the interior, but with limited time, Lucca is much better. If you have seen Lucca and do not want to revisit it, than Montecatini would be a good alternative.

 

Paul

[Hlitner]

Regarding taking 2 adults and 2 kids to the Livorno train station, you would be better-off with the taxi for convenience, efficiency and cost. A taxi (assuming you can get a taxi to take you to the station) will cost less than 20Euros. The shuttle (not all the ships even have a shuttle) would cost you $20 and than you are still not at the station. Plus, with the shuttle you have to wait until they decide to leave the pier, and than still find your way to the station via a taxi, local, bus, or a good 20 minute walk.

 

As to Elba, there is little good to say about the place which is why they stuck Napoleon on that place. The island is quite nice, but other than Napoleon's house (sometimes not even open) and a tiny museum there is not much of interest. Elba is one of those places where we say, "having been there for 10 min we see no reason to ever return."

 

Hank

[teacherman]

We just did this trip to Lucca on the train 4 weeks ago. I have posted reviews of our 2 B2B cruises on the Member Review board for Celebrity Century. Livorno is a BIG port and it depends on where your ship docks. We got off the ship at about 8:30. All of the big tour busses were gone. We walked down to the end of the pier to the shuttle bus, but the nice Italian man selling the tickets told us we could easily do a 10 minute walk from where we were to where the shuttle would take us (Piazza Grande). So, we walked. Easy to do, but I do not know if I would do it with children, depending on their age. We did Lucca and saw the leaning tower in Pisa. Read my review. Have fun.

[texasgirl]

We'll be in port on the Legend of the Seas overnight. We've rented a car with the idea of touring some of the Tuscan countryside, visiting one winery, on to Florence and back to the ship. The next morning we're planning on a trip to Pisa then driving back through Lucca and back down the coast to Livorno. I'm hoping we considered everything. I'm assuming we can park overnight in the cruise passenger lot at Livorno.

[Hlitner]

We'll be in port on the Legend of the Seas overnight. We've rented a car with the idea of touring some of the Tuscan countryside, visiting one winery, on to Florence and back to the ship. The next morning we're planning on a trip to Pisa then driving back through Lucca and back down the coast to Livorno. I'm hoping we considered everything. I'm assuming we can park overnight in the cruise passenger lot at Livorno.

 

Sounds like a plan. My only comment would be that Lucca is actually beyond Pisa (coming from Livorno). Its easy to get to the high speed A12 from either city which makes the drive back to Livorno very fast. Try to get your rental car dealer to allow you to drop the car at the port (some of the dealers used to allow this practice) which will save you a lot of time and hassles. We used to just park our rental car on the pier next to the ship (they would pick it up later) but I am not sure this is possible with the increased security.

 

Hank

[gotglasses]

Has anyone been to Montecatini? HLitner, I'll bet you have! Is it worth going to, or will spending a day biking around Lucca be more enjoyable? We're looking for simple pleasures.....no stress. Lucca sounds like it might fill the bill all by itself.

 

Thanks, Janelle

 

This post is a bit old, but here are my two cents worth. We found Montecatini Terme late in the evening while driving and photographing the lovely countryside.. It was after seven and my wife was anxious about where we would sleep. A nice lady at the Agip station offered us her rooms over the garage, but we declined. When I saw the Terme sign I knew there had to be lots of hotels there - and we were not disappointed. The town was bustling with German tourists - all seemed to be suffering from arthritis! The smell of sulphur from the hot springs was amazing.