Our Italy cruise stops are in Portofino and Livorno, please help

[cpl100]

Have stopped on Livorno once in the past and have never been to Portofino. Would like to spend a couple hours free in Florence, skip Pisa and see another town. Has anyone done this and how did you arrange it.

 

Not a clue about Portofino except it does look gorgeous. Past the time of our life when we could hike the Cinque Terre so that’s out. What great things did you all do and what did you do that you wish you had skipped?

 

All information helpful.

[WonderMan3]

Portofino is very small and can be walked in about 30 minutes or less unless you take the short hike up the hill overlooking the town for some wonderful views. You could take a ferry from Portofino over to Santa Margherita which is another lovely seaside town with more shopping and restaurants to offer. I’m sure the cruise ship must be offering excursions I would assume to the Cinque Terre (you would visit the villages by either train or ferry not hiking) or Genoa (that would offer the most historical sites). Cinque Terre villages are beautiful but have become overrun with tourists during the day. Haven’t been to Genoa before.

 

As for Livorno, you really can’t see much of Florence in a couple hours. I spent 5 days there a few years back and didn’t see everything. And you definitely should not combine it with something else. If you must visit Florence then just focus on that. Find a tour that hits a couple of the big highlights that interest you the most (Duomo, The David, Uffizi Museum, Pitti Palace, etc.) and includes a walking tour portion around the city and have a nice lunch. I’m sure the cruise line offers a tour like that or you could find a private tour operator that will take you and tailor to your needs. RomeInLimo is excellent for stuff like that. Check the sites you want to visit based on the day of the week you will visit to make sure they are not closed before deciding on your itinerary.

 

 

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[cpl100]

Portofino is very small and can be walked in about 30 minutes or less unless you take the short hike up the hill overlooking the town for some wonderful views. You could take a ferry from Portofino over to Santa Margherita which is another lovely seaside town with more shopping and restaurants to offer. I’m sure the cruise ship must be offering excursions I would assume to the Cinque Terre (you would visit the villages by either train or ferry not hiking) or Genoa (that would offer the most historical sites). Cinque Terre villages are beautiful but have become overrun with tourists during the day. Haven’t been to Genoa before.

 

As for Livorno, you really can’t see much of Florence in a couple hours. I spent 5 days there a few years back and didn’t see everything. And you definitely should not combine it with something else. If you must visit Florence then just focus on that. Find a tour that hits a couple of the big highlights that interest you the most (Duomo, The David, Uffizi Museum, Pitti Palace, etc.) and includes a walking tour portion around the city and have a nice lunch. I’m sure the cruise line offers a tour like that or you could find a private tour operator that will take you and tailor to your needs. RomeInLimo is excellent for stuff like that. Check the sites you want to visit based on the day of the week you will visit to make sure they are not closed before deciding on your itinerary.

 

 

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Thank you for your reply. I will look into your suggestions.

 

Have a great day!

[tomatospice]

If you decide not to go to Florence, Lucca is a beautiful city with its own wall around it. You can walk on the wall or rent bicycles (regular or multiple person). It is a beautiful 2.5 mile walk if you go all the way around the wall, but there are several places to come down off the wall if you don't want to walk to whole thing. It makes for a very relaxing day when so many ports stops are so hectic.

[ollienbertsmum]

If you decide not to go to Florence, Lucca is a beautiful city with its own wall around it. You can walk on the wall or rent bicycles (regular or multiple person). It is a beautiful 2.5 mile walk if you go all the way around the wall, but there are several places to come down off the wall if you don't want to walk to whole thing. It makes for a very relaxing day when so many ports stops are so hectic.

 

Another vote for Lucca. I am going back next time we stop in Livorno.

[Captain Canuck]

we stayed in Santa Margherita pre cuise out of Genoa. Shopping town for the area. we walked to Portofino on a really nice pathway..was about 5 kilometers. took a bus back..so if you get bored with Portofino you could do the reverse trip by bus (or town may be full with your shipmates)...there is also a ferry service that I think runs ever hour in the summer.

 

 

 

we did the train to Florence and Pisa in that order from Livorno. took the train before the last one from Pisa back to Livorno to make the ship in time. just in case something went wrong. walk to the leaning tower was further than we thought and could not find a cab to get back to the train station so ended up running the last few hundred yards to make that train.

 

 

 

so I suggest you have a plan A then a plan B in case everything goes sideways.

[Cruisin_Vol_Fan]

Lucca!! We spent a few hours there on an excursion from Livorno and we are all (10 people, ages 10 to 70) wanting to go back! We rented bikes and biked the "wall" which was amazing. My parents rented a surrey bike (as my mom does not typically like to ride) and had a fabulous time. We then walked and biked through the rest of the town which is just perfect. Great places to eat, beautiful buildings/churches/plazas, cute shops...a great place to spend the day. We followed Lucca up with a wine tasting which was wonderful!

We did make a quick stop at Pisa to climb the tower and take some photos. Definitely worth it if you have never seen it...I had no idea it truly leaned so far. Climbing to the top and back was one of the highlights of our trip. In all we were there just over an hour. I definitely recommend using a tour company that has smaller vans that drop you right at the tower. We used ItalyTours.EU for this excursion day and they were great to work with and it was a wonderful day!

[cpl100]

If you decide not to go to Florence, Lucca is a beautiful city with its own wall around it. You can walk on the wall or rent bicycles (regular or multiple person). It is a beautiful 2.5 mile walk if you go all the way around the wall, but there are several places to come down off the wall if you don't want to walk to whole thing. It makes for a very relaxing day when so many ports stops are so hectic.

 

Thank you. Florence is firm but I will consider Lucca if I am in the area in the future.

 

Appreciate your time responding.