Cruisingalong2012 Posted January 22, 2015 #1 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Can anyone recommend a private driver or private tour, to show us the sites of Livorno/Florence/Pisa/Tuscany. We would just like to see some of the countryside, do some shopping, see the Leaning Tower, not really interested in seeing a lot of architecture. What would the cost be etc. Probably would need a driver for about 5 or 6 hours. We arrive in Livorno at 8am on Oceania Riveria on 1st August 2015 and leave around 8pm that evening. Also can anyone recommend woman clothing shop/outlets in Florence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhohea Posted January 22, 2015 #2 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Can anyone recommend a private driver or private tour, to show us the sites of Livorno/Florence/Pisa/Tuscany. We would just like to see some of the countryside, do some shopping, see the Leaning Tower, not really interested in seeing a lot of architecture.What would the cost be etc. Probably would need a driver for about 5 or 6 hours. We arrive in Livorno at 8am on Oceania Riveria on 1st August 2015 and leave around 8pm that evening. Also can anyone recommend woman clothing shop/outlets in Florence. Hi. We have email details of a tour with a private guide we used in 2011 & 2012 out of Livorno. She is great and took us both years to different places and different places for lunch etc. Please email me & I will send you the info. I can see you are from Brisbane. We live at Banora Point - just over the border. We will include our phone number/s in case you wish to call us to chat about this guide. rhohea23@yahoo.com.au Rhonda & Glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PY33 Posted January 22, 2015 #3 Share Posted January 22, 2015 In 2013 we took the transport from Riviera to Livorno town centre and just jumped in a taxi. He took us to Pisa, waited for around 2 hours whilst we visited the Leaning Tower and the other buildings in the Field of Miracles, then took us back to the ship. Cost was 120 Euros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orchestrapal Posted January 22, 2015 #4 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Can anyone recommend a private driver or private tour, to show us the sites of Livorno/Florence/Pisa/Tuscany. We would just like to see some of the countryside, do some shopping, see the Leaning Tower, not really interested in seeing a lot of architecture.What would the cost be etc. Probably would need a driver for about 5 or 6 hours. We arrive in Livorno at 8am on Oceania Riveria on 1st August 2015 and leave around 8pm that evening. Also can anyone recommend woman clothing shop/outlets in Florence. We have always taken a taxi from the pier for the day. They will take you anywhere you want and wait for you. Make sure you bargain ( should be 120-200 euros) with the drivers and if you need an English speaking one test a few in the line. We have always enjoyed our days in Tuscany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted January 22, 2015 #5 Share Posted January 22, 2015 We have always taken a taxi from the pier for the day. They will take you anywhere you want and wait for you. Make sure you bargain ( should be 120-200 euros) with the drivers and if you need an English speaking one test a few in the line. We have always enjoyed our days in Tuscany. The taxi driver's won't take you on short trips, like the train station. They are looking for longer fares or tours as mentioned here. You can take the train also into Pisa & Florence, but it is a bit of an adventure. If you're not comfortable with this definitely get a driver. Keep in mind driver's are not necessarily tour guides, so make sure that if you want a guide to specify that when looking for a tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulyBlonde Posted January 22, 2015 #6 Share Posted January 22, 2015 We have taken a taxi to Lucca, Pisa etc and quite reasonable. Also, used Guido's Tours for wine country, quite knowledgable, not cheap but worth it for a full day tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrainBonds Posted January 22, 2015 #7 Share Posted January 22, 2015 We have used romeinlimo for tours in Pisa, Florence, Rome and the Amalfi Coast with great success. Not the cheapest, but got us to the front of the lines in many places and let us basically design our own tours. Very friendly and professional - would use them again without hesitation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winters Gate Posted January 22, 2015 #8 Share Posted January 22, 2015 The taxi driver's won't take you on short trips, like the train station. They are looking for longer fares or tours as mentioned here. ?? We had no problem to take a taxi to the train station last summer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seasoned Posted January 22, 2015 #9 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I second rhohea (Rhonda & Glen( in Post #2. We've used this same guide twice and have had a wonderful time exploring the Tuscan countryside, including lunch at an agriturismo place with excellent homemade food, local wine, and a classic view of Tuscany. -Sukey- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambagahle Posted January 22, 2015 #10 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I do not think you can see all on your list in 6 hours. Better prune the list.. From Livorno it is easy to get to Pisa and Lucca in the time allotted. Forget Livorno which is a port town and not all that much to see. Lucca is amazing and you should go there. Walking the walls alone is worth an entire Mediterranean cruise. Florence is 90km+ inland and the traffic on the autostrada is fierce, especially around Florence. And then you cannot drive into the historic centre... Either one goes to Florence OR to Pisa and Lucca... If you want a good guide/taxi etc then a great place to post your request is on the Trip Adivisor Forums for Italy. Choose the town you want to see. You will get really good tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulyBlonde Posted January 22, 2015 #11 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I do not think you can see all on your list in 6 hours. Better prune the list.. From Livorno it is easy to get to Pisa and Lucca in the time allotted. Forget Livorno which is a port town and not all that much to see. Lucca is amazing and you should go there. Walking the walls alone is worth an entire Mediterranean cruise. Florence is 90km+ inland and the traffic on the autostrada is fierce, especially around Florence. And then you cannot drive into the historic centre... Either one goes to Florence OR to Pisa and Lucca... If you want a good guide/taxi etc then a great place to post your request is on the Trip Adivisor Forums for Italy. Choose the town you want to see. You will get really good tips. Agree, and that is how I found Guido Tours. Lucca is a must and we also walked the wall. Such a lovely town. Of course, everyone needs to see the Leaning Tower once. Florence is tough to cover in one day as driving time is lengthy. Yes, forget Livorno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Softball20 Posted January 22, 2015 #12 Share Posted January 22, 2015 We have taken a taxi to Lucca, Pisa etc and quite reasonable. Also, used Guido's Tours for wine country, quite knowledgable, not cheap but worth it for a full day tour. Guido is amazing! We've toured with him twice and he's taken several friends on tours, too. He is so knowledgeable about wine and such a nice guy! He did do a tour for some friends of ours a couple years ago that did include Pisa and other sites without any wineries. Can't hurt to contact him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madams Posted January 23, 2015 #13 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Can anyone recommend a private driver or private tour, to show us the sites of Livorno/Florence/Pisa/Tuscany. We would just like to see some of the countryside, do some shopping, see the Leaning Tower, not really interested in seeing a lot of architecture.What would the cost be etc. Probably would need a driver for about 5 or 6 hours. We arrive in Livorno at 8am on Oceania Riveria on 1st August 2015 and leave around 8pm that evening. Also can anyone recommend woman clothing shop/outlets in Florence. We were in Livorno aboard Regatta in 2008 and used Giovanni from Sunflower Tours. He took us to Lucca and Pisa. We were very pleased with the service he provided. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted January 23, 2015 #14 Share Posted January 23, 2015 ?? We had no problem to take a taxi to the train station last summer! Interesting, they told us to take the shuttle, they didn't do short trips. Perhaps it varies. To the OP, no one has mentioned cost other than Orchestrapal. I would think the 150-200 euro they quoted would be the low end. Expect to pay 350-600 euros for a private car secured ahead of time on the type of tours others are mentioning. You can also get with others on your Roll Call and do a shared tour to lower cost. Of course there's always a downside to that. FWIW, did Florence & Pisa easily in one day the first time we were there. Didn't see much of the countryside but doing these two together is no issue. They are packaged together on pretty much every ship's tour I've seen in this port also. I've also gone to Sienna & San Gimignano from Livorno. You get to see quite a bit of the Tuscany region touring these areas. We went to Lucca by train. Easily & economically done. As others have said it's also fantastic. I would recommend checking out your Roll Call and seeing what others are doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunding Posted January 23, 2015 #15 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I do not think you can see all on your list in 6 hours. Better prune the list.. From Livorno it is easy to get to Pisa and Lucca in the time allotted. Forget Livorno which is a port town and not all that much to see. Lucca is amazing and you should go there. Walking the walls alone is worth an entire Mediterranean cruise. Florence is 90km+ inland and the traffic on the autostrada is fierce, especially around Florence. And then you cannot drive into the historic centre... Either one goes to Florence OR to Pisa and Lucca... If you want a good guide/taxi etc then a great place to post your request is on the Trip Adivisor Forums for Italy. Choose the town you want to see. You will get really good tips. I completely agree with Hambagahle and portofinoitaly -- save Florence for another trip. You can 'build' a wonderful, memorable day around Lucca and Pisa. And I would add Torre del Lago, Puccini's villa, as well, especially if you care about/for opera. We were part of a group of 12, in a van with driver and extraordinary guide, in late October, 2013. Our first stop was Torre del Lago (lovely lake, surprisingly modest cottage/villa for a world-famous composer), then we were off to Lucca -- had a terrific guided walking tour of the ancient city (inside the walls), then a couple of hours of free time to walk the walls, have lunch, whatever. Our final stop was Pisa, where we not only were guided inside the Baptistry and the cathedral, but had time either to climb the Tower, or -- as we did -- join a local guide for a jaunt through the city to the neighborhoods surrounding the university, thence to the Arno. After about 10 hours we were back on the ship, about 6 PM. The tour was arranged by Regent (we were on the Voyager, and I believe the tariff was about $109 per person -- the best value, dollar for dollar, I can ever remember! Have a wonderful day, wherever you choose to visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airheadfan Posted January 23, 2015 #16 Share Posted January 23, 2015 We were in Livorno in October on the Marina and we took the train to Lucca. Very inexpensive compared to some of the costs mentioned and the train station is very very close to the main gate through the walls. Very efficient and comfortable. We took the shuttle into Livorno, then a bus to the train station. Take the train to Pisa station and transfer to the train that goes to Lucca. Our first time with trains in Italy and locals responded to our occasional bewildered looks and guided us to the right train. We actually stopped in Liverno twice (it was a B2B) and joined a group who hired a van to Florence and back. Personally, although Forence is an amazing place, my preference is Lucca - but I try to avoid crowds and I am not that interested in Church art. Oddly, several people I spoke with who went to Pisa found it disappointing, other to have your picture taken near the tower - not sure they explored sufficiently but many thought it was a waste of their time. In our case, we did not stop but continued on to Lucca and this was one of the highlights of our 30 days in Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawski Posted January 28, 2015 #17 Share Posted January 28, 2015 We were in Livorno aboard Regatta in 2008 and used Giovanni from Sunflower Tours.He took us to Lucca and Pisa. We were very pleased with the service he provided. I second the recommendation. We have used Giovanni twice when we were docked in Livorno. Very professional and very knowledgeable about the area. We used him the first time to go to San Gimignano (sp?) and Tuscany. The second time we went to Pisa and Lucca. He drove us all around to some great out of the way places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChatKat in Ca. Posted January 28, 2015 #18 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I used Claudio's Limo in Rome for all three ports in Italy. I had a group of 6-8 each day per van with two vans from my Roll Call. Drivers cannot legally guide you but they did very well. They actually had a licensed guide for us from Livorno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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