Florence Tours and Wine Windows

[YankeeMama2017]

First time in Italy this fall and am struggling to find a tour from the Livorno Port, since I'm not crazy about the tours offered by NCL.  I want to see the Florence highlights, but I'm not a huge museum or architecture fan, so exterior photo ops for some places are good enough for me.  I absolutely want enough free time to walk around and find a restaurant with a Wine Window! 😄 Has anyone taken a tour from other companies from the Livorno Port that they could recommend?  I guess my only concern there is how confusing it might be to get off the ship and find my way to the parking area to find the right tour bus.  

[CruiserBruce]

Rome in Limo is a wonderful company and has a huge thread just down the board full of recommendations. They will customize to your desires, if at all possible.

[-Lew-]

It appears your requirements are pretty basic.  A quick search resulted in an NCL tour titled, Florence on Your Own, offering transfer to and from Florence with five hours on your own in the city.  Florence is very walkable...you'll have plenty of time to get the photos you want and a nice lunch.

 

Locating your tour bus will not be an issue.  There will be crew available to guide you to the correct bus.

[YankeeMama2017]

Thank you Lew!  "Florence on Your Own" isn't listed under excursions for the day we will be in Livorno, but I will call NCL when they are open to ask about it.  There is a Hop On-Hop Off Option though, so I guess I can look into that.  

[edinburgher]

27 minutes ago, YankeeMama2017 said:

There is a Hop On-Hop Off Option though, so I guess I can look into that.  

A HOHO which runs from Livorno to Florence and back?  Are you sure about this, or, unlikely as it sounds,  is it something completely new for this season and/or  is more of a transfer arrangement?

[euro cruiser]

The historic center of Florence is a pedestrian zone, a HOHO bus would be a complete waste of time and money.  And, for what it's worth, the distance between the Accademia and the Ponte Vecchio, the two furthest points that most first time visitors get to, is only a little over one kilometer (three quarters of a mile).  You would walk far further getting out of the center to a bus stop and from a bus stop back into the center each time you used the bus.

[YankeeMama2017]

Ed - What I meant by HOHO is that NCL offers an excursion where they would transport you by bus to Florence, then give you a bus pass to use on your own.  Thanks for asking!

 

Euro Cruiser - Thank you for your take on the HOHO bus.  Definitely sounds like a bad idea to do that one based on your feedback.  

 

We have two days in port, and on the first day we are doing a "Gourmet Wine Tasting & Lunch at San Miniato" through NCL, so I would like to explore some of Florence on the second day.  I appreciate all the info.

[euro cruiser]

With an overnight I would seriously consider going to Florence on the first afternoon/evening, after your lunch excursion.  It's a shame to give this amazing city the short shrift of a port day visit when you've got more time to put towards it.  It's easy to take the train on your own, you'll only need a few things in a small bag for a one night stay.  That way you could wake up in Florence and have a good walk around before the hordes of day trippers show up.

[YankeeMama2017]

Euro Cruiser - What a great idea!  I honestly never gave a thought to spending the night in Florence, but I will absolutely consider that.  Thank you for the suggestion!

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, YankeeMama2017 said:

What I meant by HOHO is that NCL offers an excursion where they would transport you by bus to Florence, then give you a bus pass to use on your own.  Thanks for asking!

That makes a lot more sense.

 

It is a version of the typical "Florence on your own" shorex which most lines offer,as mentioned in post #3,  but with the addition of a fairly useless HOHO pass.