Livorno taxi's by the hour

[M2ice]

We don't see anything that is a must do in Livorno/Florence and were thinking of just hiring a taxi for a couple of hours to see the country side.

 

Does anyone have an idea of what the rate per hour might be to do this and just freelance the area?

[CathyCruises]

We don't see anything that is a must do in Livorno/Florence and were thinking of just hiring a taxi for a couple of hours to see the country side.

 

Does anyone have an idea of what the rate per hour might be to do this and just freelance the area?

 

There will be a host of cab drivers at the port just waiting for you! They are all looking for a full day tour, rather than just a hop into the Livorno train station. You can just negotiate with them for where you want to go.

 

Hard to believe there is nothing in Florence or Pisa that you want to see, unless you have been to the area before??? No Leaning Tower? No David? No Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Pitti Palace??

 

OTOH if you can get into Tuscany, the countryside is spectacular. A ride to San Gimignano, Siena and/or Volterra would be amazing. Among my favorite places on earth. . .

[Hlitner]

My goodness...so there is noting to see in Tuscany? Then why has DW and I spent months in that region....and still need many more months to begin to truly see the region? So, if we were to just alk about a few basic (and this is just scraping the surface) we could mention Lucca, San Gimignano, Siena, Colle val d'elsa, Volterra, the S222 road..etc etc. And that is just talking about a very small sub-region of Tuscany.

 

Hank

[M2ice]

Rather then see the standard sights we would prefer to see how the people live and shop in places that are not usually visited by tourists. I just don't understand how people lock in on one area and return year after year, there is so much to see worldwide why would you want to limit yourself. Also don't understand limiting yourself to history by visiting only ruins, getting to meet people (who work outside of the tourist industry) in everyday life is more interesting to us.

 

I did find on the Livorno taxi sight that waiting time is 20E an hour. From that I figure 5/hr for gas and wear and tear on the taxi and 25 an hour should be fair.

 

We want the ability to explore and if we see something that interests us be able to spend some time checking it out

[buggins0402]

Rather then see the standard sights we would prefer to see how the people live and shop in places that are not usually visited by tourists. I just don't understand how people lock in on one area and return year after year, there is so much to see worldwide why would you want to limit yourself. Also don't understand limiting yourself to history by visiting only ruins, getting to meet people (who work outside of the tourist industry) in everyday life is more interesting to us.

 

I did find on the Livorno taxi sight that waiting time is 20E an hour. From that I figure 5/hr for gas and wear and tear on the taxi and 25 an hour should be fair.

 

We want the ability to explore and if we see something that interests us be able to spend some time checking it out

 

It seems like if you don't want to rent a car (which would be the most logical, cheapest solution to what you want to do) so a train to Lucca might be a great alternative. It's Tuscan, not real touristy and big enough to get a real feel how people live. If it's your thing you could even rent bikes to ride the wall - http://lucca.ca/transportation/bikerental.html

[CathyCruises]

Rather then see the standard sights we would prefer to see how the people live and shop in places that are not usually visited by tourists. I just don't understand how people lock in on one area and return year after year, there is so much to see worldwide why would you want to limit yourself. Also don't understand limiting yourself to history by visiting only ruins, getting to meet people (who work outside of the tourist industry) in everyday life is more interesting to us.

 

I did find on the Livorno taxi sight that waiting time is 20E an hour. From that I figure 5/hr for gas and wear and tear on the taxi and 25 an hour should be fair.

 

We want the ability to explore and if we see something that interests us be able to spend some time checking it out

 

Well, if you want to see how people live and shop, in a place not visited by tourists, you are going to have a hard time in Tuscany. You will need to be in a city to see the first, and most of the cities there are tourist attractions! Maybe you should stay in Livorno. It's a port city and most people use it as a gateway to other places, rather than hanging out there.

 

Renting a car is another good idea and would be less than the taxi. You can rent right at the port.

 

We spent a month in San Gimignano, and it is really a spectacular setting and certainly worth a visit--but there will be tourists! Honestly, hard to find a spot without them. Oh! I've got it!! Hank, we should send him to Poggibonsi!!!

[cruisemom42]

Rather then see the standard sights we would prefer to see how the people live and shop in places that are not usually visited by tourists. I just don't understand how people lock in on one area and return year after year, there is so much to see worldwide why would you want to limit yourself. Also don't understand limiting yourself to history by visiting only ruins, getting to meet people (who work outside of the tourist industry) in everyday life is more interesting to us.

 

I did find on the Livorno taxi sight that waiting time is 20E an hour. From that I figure 5/hr for gas and wear and tear on the taxi and 25 an hour should be fair.

 

We want the ability to explore and if we see something that interests us be able to spend some time checking it out

 

While I certainly respect that everyone has different interests, I'm curious why you would choose cruising to experience the area, given your travel philosophy. It would seem to me that cruising is the most ill-suited way of travel to really experience the sort of serendipitous exploring that you are talking about. Unfortunately, because the time in port is so limited, most people find themselves checking their location and schedule against their watch quite frequently to ensure they get back to the ship on time.

 

I will also just say that while local culture is great, it is also a one-dimensional way of viewing an area. For me, there has to be a mix of history, art, culture, food, conversation, etc. For example, if you went into the Middle East with not much information and tried to understand the area just through interactions with locals, you'd never get much of a true picture. You have to understand the history of the area, the conflicts, the religions, and more.

 

And finally, let me just add that the top tourist attractions are highly visited for a reason. They represent, in total, some of the highest achievements of Man in art (e.g., the Renaissance, as exemplified by Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's Venus, etc.) and in architecture (e.g., Brunelleschi's dome at the Duomo), not to mention key influencers in politics (the Medicis), literature (Dante) and religion (St. Augustine, Savonarola, etc.).

[324hourtour]

Answer the ? without all the opinions

To each their own:)