Train or Rental Car in Livorno

[jen1206]

I have been considering renting a car in Livorno. My husband and I want to drive to Florence and park outside the city and do my sightseeing on foot. We would also like to stop in Pisa on the way back for a quick picture. My main reason for considering renting is I am afraid if we take the train we will lose a lot of time taking taxi or bus to train station and being limited by train schedule.

 

Would like advice from someone who has tried this.

[euro cruiser]

I haven't done this from a cruise stop, but I have driven in Florence and Pisa. The most difficult part of your plan is avoiding the ZLT zones in Florence. As long as you know where they are, and park outside of them, you'll be fine.

 

Odds are you won't gain much, if any, time in Florence by driving, due to the traffic as you approach the city. You will have greater flexibility, as you point out, and you will gain time on the return by not having to juggle train schedules into and out of Pisa.

 

You can probably cover about a third of your rental cost by offering to drive another couple to Florence - I'm sure going one way by car will be worthwhile to at least a few of your fellow passengers.

[Doeymeister]

We took the train into Florence from the port. Taxis were readily available at the port, and it was maybe a ten minute ride to the Central train station as I recall. It's been a few years, but I don't think we had to wait long for a train. I do know that you can print out a train schedule before you go so you'll know how often they run and when. The train ride into Florence was very scenic. On the way back, we got off in Pisa and walked to the Leaning Tower. It's an uphill walk through town of about 1/2- 3/4 mile (but downhill on the way back!). Because we spent so much time in Florence, we didn't have but about 15 minutes to visit the Tower, although I'm not sure what there is to do there beyond the obligatory pictures.

 

There were three ships in port at the same time, so taxis at the Livorno station, while plentiful, were tough to get since everyone was arriving on the train at the same time, and the taxi drivers were filling up with 4 to a cab going to a larger ship than ours. It's the only time in many, many on-your-own excursions that we were a little apprehensive about making it back to the ship on time.

[Hlitner]

Great post and questions. It sounds like you have done your homework and have an excellent understanding to the pros and cons. We do a lot of driving in Italy (well over 10,000 miles) and have also rented cars at cruise ports including Livorno. You need to be very cognizant that both Florence and Pisa have ZTL zones that cover the most popular tourist areas. These ZTLs are not well marked (you need to spot the small signs) and if you happen to venture into these areas you will find a nasty charge on your credit card statement (this might not happen for months). If you are trying to save time with a rental car you also need to be careful that you can get your car at the pier...but this is always a bit iffy with Livorno since the port keeps changing security rules. But, Hertz does seem to have a good track record delivering to the pier (the local Hertz franchise is sifracar.com). If you can arrange to get a car at the pier then it will save you some time..assuming you have a game plan for the routes and parking. Otherwise, the train will save you money and you can avoid the parking hassle. Also keep in mind that driving into Florence on a weekday morning does involve substantial rush-hour traffic as you near the city.

 

Hank