Livorno to Florence- Train vs. Shared Minibus

[hobbess]

What are the pros and cons of traveling from Livorno to Florence by the train vs a shared minibus?

 

I know the train will be less expensive and only cost $24 round trip, but I just want to confirm if the price for a 8 seat minibus, after you split the cost 8 ways, is still going to cost around $65 per person round trip.

 

If I'm paying more for the minibus, will the 8 seat minibus be faster than the train train? Or, will Friday traffic on the road actually make the minibus slower?

 

How long will it take to get to Florence by train vs minibus?

 

Or, better yet, how much more time can I spend in Florence if I choose one transportation method instead of the other?

 

With the train, I also want to factor in the time I'll spend waiting for the train. How long does it take to get off the boat and get to the train station? With that information, I can see how much time I'm wasting waiting for the train vs leaving immediately by minibus.

 

My ship arrives at Livorno at 8AM, I won't make the Livorno train leaving at 8:12AM? But, could I make it the train that leaves at 8:29AM to Pisa and transfer to Florence? Or, should I skip that train and wait for the train that goes to directly to Florence at 9:06AM?

 

If the ship departs at 7PM, what time should a minibus leave Florence to make it onboard in time? I want to compare that to the train, where it seems like I'd need to leave Florence at 4:30PM in order to get back to Livorno by 5:50PM.

[euro cruiser]

You can't count on getting off your ship right at 8 AM, and it takes 10 - 15 minutes by cab to get to the train station, so you're right that the 9:06 is the earliest train you can count on making, which puts you in Florence at 10:30 AM.

 

For the return, if your ship departs at 7 PM the all-aboard will be 6:30. On the way back it may be more difficult to get a cab from the train station to the ship so you need to leave some extra time for that, as well as taking the next to the last train that would get you back in time (for pad). Therefore, I think the latest train you can safely take departs Florence at 3:28 PM, arriving in Livorno at 4:48 PM (leaving the 4:28 train, which arrives at 5:50, as your fallback option).

 

Your total cost, then, would be the 18 Euro (round trip) train fare plus approximately 50 Euro (round trip) taxi fare to and from the port and train station. The taxi fare can be shared among other cruisers (they can usually put up to six people in the van cabs in Livorno).

 

From a time standpoint, a car service that picks you up at the ship and departs by 8:15 AM would have you in Florence between 10:15 - 11 AM, depending on traffic. In other words, not a big time gain. If you get very lucky with traffic, maybe you'd get there by 10.

 

For the return, these services make their reputation on getting folks back to their ships on time, so they are not going to risk missing the ship. I cannot imagine that any of them are going to risk leaving Florence any later than 3:30 - 4 PM for a 6:30 all-aboard time; however, you can easily confirm this with an e-mail to the company you are considering. Tell them the time of your departure and ask what time they would need to leave Florence to get you back on time.

 

In the end, a car and driver might result in an additional 45 minutes to an hour or so in Florence, vs. the train.

Edited March 23, 2013 by euro cruiser

[dogs4fun]

We booked a shared minibus to Florence from Livorno in October. The price we were quoted for the 8 person van is 320 euros (40 euros per person). This works out to about 52 euros per person plus tip.

Yes, the train is less expensive but for about an additional 13 euros per person, we will be met at and returned to our pier and avoid the hassle of finding a taxi from the train station back to port (as well as gaining a little extra time in Florence). :)

[euro cruiser]

With a shared service, be sure you ask very specific questions about timing. You don't want to find out that you're sharing with someone who is on a ship that either arrives later or departs earlier than yours, which would shorten your day.

[dogs4fun]

With a shared service, be sure you ask very specific questions about timing. You don't want to find out that you're sharing with someone who is on a ship that either arrives later or departs earlier than yours, which would shorten your day.

 

Good point. Your Roll Call is the way to find your transfer shares IMHO.

[hobbess]

You can't count on getting off your ship right at 8 AM, and it takes 10 - 15 minutes by cab to get to the train station, so you're right that the 9:06 is the earliest train you can count on making, which puts you in Florence at 10:30 AM.

 

For the return, if your ship departs at 7 PM the all-aboard will be 6:30. On the way back it may be more difficult to get a cab from the train station to the ship so you need to leave some extra time for that, as well as taking the next to the last train that would get you back in time (for pad). Therefore, I think the latest train you can safely take departs Florence at 3:28 PM, arriving in Livorno at 4:48 PM (leaving the 4:28 train, which arrives at 5:50, as your fallback option).

 

Your total cost, then, would be the 18 Euro (round trip) train fare plus approximately 50 Euro (round trip) taxi fare to and from the port and train station. The taxi fare can be shared among other cruisers (they can usually put up to six people in the van cabs in Livorno).

 

From a time standpoint, a car service that picks you up at the ship and departs by 8:15 AM would have you in Florence between 10:15 - 11 AM, depending on traffic. In other words, not a big time gain. If you get very lucky with traffic, maybe you'd get there by 10.

 

For the return, these services make their reputation on getting folks back to their ships on time, so they are not going to risk missing the ship. I cannot imagine that any of them are going to risk leaving Florence any later than 3:30 - 4 PM for a 6:30 all-aboard time; however, you can easily confirm this with an e-mail to the company you are considering. Tell them the time of your departure and ask what time they would need to leave Florence to get you back on time.

 

In the end, a car and driver might result in an additional 45 minutes to an hour or so in Florence, vs. the train.

 

Thank you so much for all your help and all this information. I would have totally overestimated how much time I could have saved with a car and driver vs a train.

 

I'll take the 3:28 train departing from Florence to Livorno, but I'm curious why the that 4:30 train wouldn't be guaranteed to get you back on the ship on time. You mentioned trouble getting a taxi, but it seems like there's enough leeway, about 25 minutes-30 minutes, to get a taxi. Even if I missed the first taxi, isn't that enough time for that taxi to drop a passenger and return to the train station to pick up another passenger? And, if the taxi drivers know that there's going to be a lot of passengers returning to Livorno train station, wouldn't there be a lot of taxis waiting for passengers around that time?

 

Do the Italian trains have trouble running on time? When the schedule says that the train returns to Livorno at 5:50, is that pretty accurate or is it expected that the trains will really arrive at 6 or something?

 

Finally, do I have to worry about not getting a seat on the train if I arrive before the train departs? If I showed up at 4:25PM for the 4:30PM train, is there the possibility that all the seats might be sold out? How much earlier should I get to the train station?

 

Thanks again for all your help.

[euro cruiser]

I suggest the next-to-the-last train that will get you there in time as a safety measure. The odds are that if you took the 4:28 train you'd be fine, but there's no margin for error if the train is late, or if you somehow miss it. If you shoot for the earlier train and something goes wrong, you still have a fallback option, the 4:28 train.

 

In my experience the trains are generally within five minutes or so of their scheduled time, but when you have a hard deadline like a sailing ship ... the consequences of that being the odd day when things run much later than usual are too great.

 

As for seats, these are regional trains and there are no seat assignments. Therefore, you are not guaranteed a seat. You can still get on the train but you might have to stand for all or part of the trip.

[hobbess]

You can't count on getting off your ship right at 8 AM, and it takes 10 - 15 minutes by cab to get to the train station, so you're right that the 9:06 is the earliest train you can count on making, which puts you in Florence at 10:30 AM.

 

For the return, if your ship departs at 7 PM the all-aboard will be 6:30. On the way back it may be more difficult to get a cab from the train station to the ship so you need to leave some extra time for that

 

How far away is the ship from the train station, and how long would it take to walk to the train station from the ship?

 

If I take the taxi, the earliest train I can take is the 9:06. But, could I also reach the train by that time if I walked?

[euro cruiser]

The train station in Livorno is at Piazza Dante, about two miles from the port.

 

There are two issues with the walking plan. First, Livorno is a large, industrial port and they don't allow passengers to walk from the ship; you are forced to either use the shuttle bus (at a fee, which varies by cruise line), rent a car shipside, or take a taxi.

 

If you take the shuttle bus, it drops you off at Piazza Grande which is still a mile and a half from the train station. You could walk from here; most people who go this route use the public bus. The problem with this plan is all the time you lose waiting for the shuttle bus to fill, and then the time either walking to the train station, or buying a local bus ticket, waiting for the public bus, etc.

 

From a time standpoint, unless the public bus happens to arrive just as you get to the bus stop (or within a minute or two), you probably can walk to the train station just as fast.

[funfun100]

We booked a shared minibus to Florence from Livorno in October. The price we were quoted for the 8 person van is 320 euros (40 euros per person). This works out to about 52 euros per person plus tip.

Yes, the train is less expensive but for about an additional 13 euros per person, we will be met at and returned to our pier and avoid the hassle of finding a taxi from the train station back to port (as well as gaining a little extra time in Florence). :)

 

Hi, can you tell me the name of this minibus company? we will be in Livorno this September, and are looking for transportation to Florence.

[little_st]

I also arrive Forence on Oct, would you please advise the company name? Thanks.

[Hlitner]

We agree (as usual) with Euro Cruiser's assessment. Given the situation of just getting to and from the train station in Livorno we think the mini-bus idea makes a lot of sense. Keep in mind that although the train is cheaper (and often faster) the complication of getting a taxi (most port taxis will refuse the train station business) to and from the Livorno Centrale Station makes me favor the mini-bus.

 

Hank

[cberge]

This original post is 2 years old...you may want to make a new post for the name of the company.

[RNRcruisers]

We did this in January and used AP Tours. It was 8 of us in a Mercedes van for 50 euros each. The driver picked us up right at the ship port, we stopped for a photo op in Michaelangelo Square (I've since seen many photos from this spot so I think they all do this-fabulous view) and then into town and dropped us right in the middle of town. I think the van drivers can get closer to the center than the buses. We then had about 5 hours to wander around Florence and met the driver at the same spot where he dropped us off. It was a great way to see the city on our own.

[little_st]

I am thinking to take a train by ourself and we are group of 4.

 

Does anyone know it is workable to manage the time based on train schedule?

 

Thank you for your comments.