Would you goto Florence or Pisa first?

[San01]

Hi

 

We are a family of 4, going here in August from a cruise.

 

Is there any benefit of going to either of these first?

 

Any advice is welcome

 

Thanks

[John Bull]

Personal choice comes into it a lot.

 

Pisa is only about 20 mins from Livorno by train or 30 mins by car, Florence is much further.

And usual advice (with which I agree) is go to the furthest point first & work your way back. This way, if you get delayed at your furthest point you can give yourself wiggle-room by shortening or even abandoning later stops.

 

And certainly by train, Florence then Pisa has other advantages:

 

Trains from Pisa back to Livorno are more frequent than those from Florence. Broadly, trains from Florence to Livorno are hourly and include a stop at Pisa. But Pisa to Livorno is also served by local trains, giving you flexibility late in the day.

 

You can stop at Pisa for as little as an hour if you spend more time than planned in Florence - it's a 20/25 min walk from Pisa station to the Field of Miracles, ten or fifteen minutes there, then walk back. Or even save more time by using a taxi from & back to the station.

OK, it's doing little more than "ticking the box" ;)

 

If you make an early start & go to Pisa first, I'm none too sure whether places / facilities will be open when you get there.

Though others may say they will be, and that's the quietest time.

But it's also quiet mid-late afternoon, when you'd be there after Florence.

 

That's my opinion.:)

But others may have the opposite opinion.;)

 

JB :)

[San01]

Great thanks, that all makes perfect sense

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

Another view....

 

We wanted to climb the tower at Pisa, so our driver encouraged us to reserve the earliest tickets (9:00 I think?) that we could.

He picked us up at the pier around 8, got us to Pisa by 8:45, and walked us to the front of the line to get us into the Leaning Tower at 9.

This avoided the much longer lines layter in the day s the cruise ship busses start arriving.

 

We had about 90 minutes for for the tower, pictures, as snack, and solme souvneir shopping. We were on the road to Florence before the busses arrived!

 

We even stopped at the American Soldier Cemetary on the way to Florence and had plenty of time in Florence to see "The David" statue, the Duomo, the Baptistry, and shopping on the Ponte Vecchio.

 

We really fit a lot in by getting an early start and traveling in a small group.

This left us plenty of time to get back to the ship before 5.

[texancruzer]

The big difference in these two scenarios is that one is by train and one is by private driver.

 

Let me reiterate : The BIG difference in these two scena………..

 

With a private driver you can cover a lot more ground faster. You can control the day a lot better since you are not tied to train schedules. One is cheaper and one is more "your day"…..

 

Just sayin'

[sandinmyshoes]

If you want to climb the tower, go to Pisa first. We had a private tour & our guide took us there & got us in the first group up. Much easier climb & decent without the hordes of bus tour people doing it with you. Also, your pics are better as their are only a few people in them. Our tour left Pisa before any buses arrived.

Florence will be full of people no matter when you arrive, but Pisa won't because its more of a day-tripper town.

Either way, it is a remarkable day & you will have a ball.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Pisa before the crowds get there is a wonderful experience!!

[shemp2000]

We got off our cruise ship immediately and jumped in a rental car. When we arrived at Pisa there were very few people, so I would suggest that option to beat the crowds (This was in early June)

[puffy]

Our ship dock at la spezia, is it doable to do both florence and Pisa DIW? I read member says it is long walk to train station from port. Can someone give me advice how to do it effectively?

[Kiakaha1]

New2crusin,

Could you please share how you organised your taxi and tickets? We are going very soon and I'm very keen to copy your idea! Thanks for sharing it!

 

 

Another view....

 

We wanted to climb the tower at Pisa, so our driver encouraged us to reserve the earliest tickets (9:00 I think?) that we could.

He picked us up at the pier around 8, got us to Pisa by 8:45, and walked us to the front of the line to get us into the Leaning Tower at 9.

This avoided the much longer lines layter in the day s the cruise ship busses start arriving.

 

We had about 90 minutes for for the tower, pictures, as snack, and solme souvneir shopping. We were on the road to Florence before the busses arrived!

 

We even stopped at the American Soldier Cemetary on the way to Florence and had plenty of time in Florence to see "The David" statue, the Duomo, the Baptistry, and shopping on the Ponte Vecchio.

 

We really fit a lot in by getting an early start and traveling in a small group.

This left us plenty of time to get back to the ship before 5.