Has anyone taken the train from Livorno to Florence and then Florence to Pisa and then back to Livorno. Is this doable and how much time would we have avaiable to spend in Florence. Are trains regular between the three cities. Trying to figure if I should take the ship tour of Florence and Pisa or on my own

We did this. Went to Florence first and then to Pisa on the return trip. The trip from Pisa to Livorno is only 10 to 15 mins. So save it for last so you can better judge them time.

You might consider a taxi from the train station to the Tower in Pisa to save time. Also, in Florence if you have a known place you want to visit. It will save you some time. We walked in both places so that is possible but we were exhausted when we got back to the ship.
See the "train travel in Italy" post for more information.

I know that Jim was pointing to my post, whcih can be found here:

Ooops, snafu somewhere.

Correct link is:Italian Trains for Cruise Ship Passengers

Also the first post under Mediterranean Ports.

Wow, impressive information on trains in italy. You have done all the research. I will start reading as I leave for italy and my cruise in 2.5 weeks.

Take a taxi from the port to the train station Livorno Centrale, cost about € 20.
Or
Take the shuttle bus offered by NCL for €1 round trip ticket. It will leave you at the center of Livorno ( close to Trainstation ), exit the bus cross the street to the cigarette shop purchase a train round trip ticket from Livorno to Florence.
The train from Livorno to Florence is very easy and on time. Cost about € 17 p.p. round trip.

Train from Livorno to Florence

Departure station Arrival station Date Train no.
Livorno Centrale 09:11 h Firenze S. M. Novella 10:33 h 1/8/2008 3108
Livorno Centrale 10:11 h Firenze S. M. Novella 11:33 h 1/8/2008 3114
Livorno Centrale 11:11 h Firenze S. M. Novella 12:33 h 1/8/2008 3110

Train from Florence to Livorno

Departure station Arrival station Date Train no.
Firenze S. M. Novella 16:27 h Livorno Centrale 17:49 h 1/8/2008 3141
Firenze S. M. Novella 17:27 h Livorno Centrale 18:50 h 1/8/2008 11727

Don’t forget to validate the ticket by inserting it into the little yellow validation box located on the track that the train leaves from. You must also validate it on the return trip from Florence.
NOTE: If you are caught with an unvalidated ticket, the fine is 40 euro on-the-spot!

Since the train originates in Livorno and terminates in Florence simply stay on the train until it stops in both directions. Be aware that the train does make intermediate stops. However, once you arrive in Florence, the train station is only a few blocks from the epicenter of Florence tourism. When you leave the front exit of the train station look for the cathedral spire across the square. The road that will lead you to the Duomo is right on its left. You can't miss it. Be sure to get back on time to Livorno and get on the ship. There will be taxis waiting at the train station in Livorno.

Tip: take in the citties “Open Bus Tours” you can see everything and is cheaper then a taxi.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Cruise Fanatic,

quote:

Originally posted by ftroute:
Correct link is:Italian Trains for Cruise Ship Passengers

Also the first post under Mediterranean Ports.

Very impressed! Congratulations for this link.
Uwe

If I buy a return ticket Livorno-Florence can I break the journey at Pisa on the way back using the same ticket?

Hi Everyone,
After reading all the advice, I decided to visit Florence while I was in Rome instead. We rented a car in Rome and took off to Florence - what a lovely city. We spent the entire day there, saw all the sights. And after all my queries about trains, we did not even go to Pisa. My 11 year old was just too tired. We did come across quite a few people however who had taken the train from Livorno to Florence. The train station is really very convenient for visiting all the sites. Given the possibility of train strikes at a moment's notice in Italy, give yourselves lots of time to return to Livorno. Cheers.

When you went from Livorno-Pisa-Florence did you take the train? We are considering a taxi service to visit the same areas in Sept 09. Would like someone's advice who has recently been there.

Thank you,

Freddie

Freddie.. taxi service to Florence from Livorno would not come cheaply.. If you booked a "tour guide" to drive you around for the day, you probably are looking at $300 to $400...

We took the train, went to Florence first and stopped at Pisa on the way back to Livorno. The only thing of interest is the tower in Pisa, so if you do it in this order you can determine if you have enough time after seeing Florence. You will have to pick and choose a couple of major things to see in Florence and there is no way to do the whole place justice in 1 day.

Jim has it right and might actually be underestimating the cost of a taxi. On our most recent visit to Livorno (April of this year) the taxis were asking for 350 Euros for a full day hire (this would be a little more than $400). If we plan on going to more than just Florence we personally prefer to rent a car and drive ourselves. The local Hertz franchiser will deliver cars right to the pier for about $150 a day and some of the other local rental dealers charge substantially less, but can be a problem since they cannot always deliver to the pier. For simply going from Livorno to Florence I recommend using a train from port to Livorno train station and the train to Florence. The cost of doing this would be less than 25 Euros per person (this includes the cost of a taxi) if you have 4 for the taxi. If you are only two, it is usually easy to find another couple to share a taxi from port to train station. If you do not have another couple, the taxi drivers will usually help find another couple on the pier. As to using the shuttle bus to get into town (and eventually to the train station) we strongly recommend not using this method since it wastes a lot of valuable time (often as much as 2 hours) just waiting for a shuttle bus to depart the pier (they often do not even run until after 8 am) and than you still need to use a local bus or taxi (or a long walk) to get from the drop point to the station. A very important part of going to Florence on your own is getting a very early start and trying to get a train by 8 am. Keep in mind that it takes more than an hour each way on the train or by car or bus.

Hank

Hi pink845,
we did it in the early june this year. We learned from the tipps from froute and nedstar. The tipps are all correct. We payed about 20 Euro for the taxi from the pier to the railway station in Livorno. That ist more better than to take the shuttle an than the bus to the trainstation. It is very easy to go to Florence by this way - and cheaper than the offers from the shipcompanies.
Regards
Uwe