Portofino & Pisa on our own?

[fllchick]

Is it possible to do Portofino and Pisa on our own? Not sure how easy it is to get from the ship in Livorno to Pisa, then from Pisa to Portofino and then back to the ship. We'd like to climb to the top of the leaning tower, and the Celebrity excursions that do both cities don't allow any time to go inside.

 

thanks for any assistance!

[GSPLover]

Is it possible to do Portofino and Pisa on our own? Not sure how easy it is to get from the ship in Livorno to Pisa, then from Pisa to Portofino and then back to the ship. We'd like to climb to the top of the leaning tower, and the Celebrity excursions that do both cities don't allow any time to go inside.

 

thanks for any assistance!

 

I would skip Portofino from Livorno. It is a long trip and you'll spend most of your time on a bus (or train). Pisa is 15 minutes from Livorno by train.

[fllchick]

I meant Florence and Pisa!

[GSPLover]

I meant Florence and Pisa!

 

Yes, you can do both but I would recommend Florence over Pisa - hands down! Then again, I'm very partial to Florence - been there over 50 times.

[Keith1010]

I would do Florence and not Pisa. While you could see both I don't recommend trying to do both because you will be running from one to the other.

 

Keith

[ludocdoc]

We did a last minute Med cruise that included Livorno. We didn't have time to pre-book tickets to the Florence Museums (a must), so we did Pisa on our own. Required NO preplanning, but if you want to attempt both in one day, you'll have to be preplanned and tight.

 

We got off the ship and took the port bus to Livorno, then you need a city bus to the train station, then a train to Pisa. The train is 15 minutes and runs every 20 - 30 minutes. Super easy. We had time; if you want to be fast then dont do the bus fiesta -- take a cab form the ship to the train station, train to Pisa, cab to Field of Miracles. Have purchased your ticket to climb on the internet -- you must book at least 2 weeks in advance. If you do this, you could easily be climbing at 9 or 9:30am. Your climb is a 30 minute deal, and you're out by 10am without rushing. If you want to see the basilica it's 2 euros to get in, the baptistry is part of various combo tickets that include the cemetery, museum, etc. I think the Basilica was beautiful, so I'd do it, plus the tower, and then take a cab back to the train station for your ride to Florence, where you've already pre-booked a ticket to either the Adademia or Uffitzi galleries. Book a long time in advance. I haven't seen either (I must return) but for you, I'd do Academia and return to the ship. Uffitzi is huge and amazing, from what I read, so come back another time for it.

 

I think Florence takes more than a day, so if you've never been to this part of Italy, I'd see Pisa and touch Florence. Our plan was actually Pisa and Lucca, doable in a day, but we wasted so much time fooling around with buses in Livorno and Pisa that we didnt feel Lucca was worth it. If you have the time to book a Florence Museum in advance, then its probably worth it. I think though that you cant do Uffitzi and Academia in one day, and even if you could you'll see them partially and nothing else. So If you accept you'll be in Florence again sometime, do Pisa and maybe Academia for David. Pisa was pretty -- the Basilica is glorious and white, and stands out on this enormous field of green grass, unlike many other sites that are crammed in between other buildings.