Livorno to Florence

[dallas16]

We dock in Livorno at 8am on 16th September on Norwegian Spirit, what is the earliest train we would be able to get , there is one at 9.12 or one at 10.12 and what is the latest train we would be able to get back from Florence, would it be the 15.28 or the 16.28 train? The ship offers a shuttle bus to the train station, should we take that or a taxi?

[CoralReef]

We docked at 7:00 and made the 7:30 train, so hopefully you will be in plenty of time for the 9:12.

 

Our ship was cleared immediately because we were coming from another Italian port, we were waiting at the gangplank, and we took a taxi directly to the train station. Just in case this doesn't all come together for you, I wouldn't buy tickets in advance. Just get to the train station as fast as you can and buy tickets on the next train.

 

What time does the ship sail? I would not be aiming for the last possible train, but rather the second to last or earlier, to allow for any problems. For example, we found no taxis waiting at the Livorno train station when we returned from Florence. We had to take a bus to a place where we could catch the ship shuttle, so you might want to research possible bus routes.

 

That said, we had a great day in Florence and the train worked well for us.

[dallas16]

We docked at 7:00 and made the 7:30 train, so hopefully you will be in plenty of time for the 9:12.

 

 

 

Our ship was cleared immediately because we were coming from another Italian port, we were waiting at the gangplank, and we took a taxi directly to the train station. Just in case this doesn't all come together for you, I wouldn't buy tickets in advance. Just get to the train station as fast as you can and buy tickets on the next train.

 

 

 

What time does the ship sail? I would not be aiming for the last possible train, but rather the second to last or earlier, to allow for any problems. For example, we found no taxis waiting at the Livorno train station when we returned from Florence. We had to take a bus to a place where we could catch the ship shuttle, so you might want to research possible bus routes.

 

 

 

That said, we had a great day in Florence and the train worked well for us.

 

 

Thanks coralreef, hopefully we will get the 9.12 train to get us to Florence for 10.30, although the ports schedule has us docking at 6am in Livorno now but it says 8 on our itinerary, hopefully it will be earlier for us, how much does a taxi cost from Livorno port to the train station?we sail at 7pm and the last ships shuttle leaves from the train station at 6pm so we will probably get the 15.28 train to get us back to Livorno just before 5pm and hopefully then there will be either a ships shuttle or a taxi waiting for us, hopefully we should be able to get five hours in Florence to see a few sites, do the open top bus tour and have time for a nice lunch too :) thanks for your help

[maggie3]

Thanks coralreef, hopefully we will get the 9.12 train to get us to Florence for 10.30, although the ports schedule has us docking at 6am in Livorno now but it says 8 on our itinerary, hopefully it will be earlier for us, how much does a taxi cost from Livorno port to the train station?we sail at 7pm and the last ships shuttle leaves from the train station at 6pm so we will probably get the 15.28 train to get us back to Livorno just before 5pm and hopefully then there will be either a ships shuttle or a taxi waiting for us, hopefully we should be able to get five hours in Florence to see a few sites, do the open top bus tour and have time for a nice lunch too :) thanks for your help

Others may correct me, dallas 16, but I know from previous visits that most of what you'd want to see in Florence is in a pedestrianized zone. The open top bus tour might not do you much good. I remember Florence as a pretty compact place for walking and exploring the sights. Find a good self-directed walking tour in Rick Steves' Italy or other guidebook. That will help you get priorities organized for exploring.

[dallas16]

Others may correct me, dallas 16, but I know from previous visits that most of what you'd want to see in Florence is in a pedestrianized zone. The open top bus tour might not do you much good. I remember Florence as a pretty compact place for walking and exploring the sights. Find a good self-directed walking tour in Rick Steves' Italy or other guidebook. That will help you get priorities organized for exploring.

 

 

Thanks Maggie, I have done Florence previously and it is true that most of the sights are in the pedestrianised old town, my parents are interested in doing the hop on off bus tour however as it visits a few other areas of the city such as the piazzale Michelangelo where the best views are, we will likely do the shorter route which takes one hour I believe and then have a walk around the old town where the duomo and the ponto vecchio is, we will have a read of the Rick Steves guide as we have a copy of this book and see what is recommended in the book. I would love to have more than five hours in Florence as it is a beautiful city

[maggie3]

Thanks Maggie, I have done Florence previously and it is true that most of the sights are in the pedestrianised old town, my parents are interested in doing the hop on off bus tour however as it visits a few other areas of the city such as the piazzale Michelangelo where the best views are, we will likely do the shorter route which takes one hour I believe and then have a walk around the old town where the duomo and the ponto vecchio is, we will have a read of the Rick Steves guide as we have a copy of this book and see what is recommended in the book. I would love to have more than five hours in Florence as it is a beautiful city

 

That makes sense, dallas16. That walk up and down for Piazzale Michelangelo would be taxing for older folks. Sounds like a good plan.

[dallas16]

Am looking forward to it, hoping the weather stays nice and sunny but not as warm as it is now in Europe, Florence is such a beautiful city and I'm sure my parents will love it too :)