Availability of cabs LIVORNO port

[4cats4me]

Hello,

I am traveling with an extended group next week, and most of us akready have reservations with various tour companies to take us to FLORENCE.

Many in the group have no plans and have announced that they will get off the ship and get a cab to FLORENCE. I have heard cabs are tremendously expensive unless you get an eight-passenger cab and split the cost.

 

Does anyone here know what options are truly available when porting in Livorno? I've also read that there is a shuttle bus which comes every hour or so which can take people to the town to catch a bus to the train station, but that seems like it would waste a lot of time.

 

input is greatly appreciated

Edited September 30, 2015 by 4cats4me

[Hlitner]

This is a topic oft discussed here over the years. There will be some (never enough) taxis waiting on the pier at Livorno. Most of these taxis will be looking for a half to full day fare and it is very common for folks to hire a taxi for the day. The cost is negotiable but expect to pay over 200€ with 300€ not being an unusual asking price. Most taxis can only hold 4 persons (there are a limited number of van taxis). If you do hire a taxi for the day they will happily drive you to Florence (1:15 - 1:30 one-way depending on traffic) and wait until you are ready to return (or go elsewhere).

 

If you truly want to hire a car/driver for the day we think you would do better to hire a private car/guide which you can book online. Most of the professional drivers/guides speak multiple languages and will be more helpful then a taxi driver who may only speak a few words of English.

 

Taking the train to and from Florence is easy, but getting from the port to the train station is not :(. Most taxis do not want to take the short haul fares to the Livorno train station (about 25€ for the fare). But if you are among the earliest off the ship you can usually find a taxi willing to do this short haul....but you often have to be a bit assertive and might have to wait until a taxi comes to the port willing to do the short haul. As to shuttle buses, this varies depending on the ship, day of the week, phases of the moon, etc. Most of the time there is no shuttle bus to the train station (although there are rumors of at least one cruise line who now provides this service). There is a shuttle bus (for which you have to pay) that runs from the port to a central place in town (which is still over a mile from the train station). If you take this bus you can then take another paid public bus to the train station. However, this particular shuttle bus (from the pier) does not usually start running until after 8:30 which is a real bummer since you would likely miss the train around 9 and then have to wait until after 10 to get a train to Florence. There are plenty of trains up until 9:12 after which there is usually only one train per hour.

 

Hank

[4cats4me]

Thank you very much, Hank. You are such an asset to the board. This is precisely what my group needs to know.

 

Dana

[Doughty3]

We were unable to find a taxi driver to take us to Livorno Centrale at 7:30, so we waited for the first shuttle into town leaving promptly at 8:00. We then took a bus to the station and were at the station by 8:35! There was no long ticket queue and we were on our (Florence) train to Lucca before 9:00.