Florence 3 nights stay first time for our family

Purchase your skip the line tickets here.

http://www.accademia-tickets.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI34v30_XQ3gIVGIrICh3_ow7vEAAYBCAAEgIEUfD_BwE

For a visit to Pisa take a 1 hour train ride from Florence. Then take the Lam Rosso bus €1. 10 minutes to Piazza dei Miracoli.

Purchase train tickets at

http://www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en

Using Firenze SMN to Pisa Centrale.

Edit. There's a regional velocity #3113 at 9:28.
Takes 1 hour. No changes, but a direct train.

If you want to climb the tower, book your tickets as soon as you decide the date. Space and times are often unavailable.

http://www.towerofpisa.org/tickets/

You and your family can easily see both the Accademia and Pisa on your own. A tour could enhance the significance of the non-David art in the Accademia, but it might be overload for your children depending on their ages and interest in art. There's a good chance the Accademia won't be terribly crowded in mid-November. The trains between Florence and Pisa are primarily regional trains (maybe a few Intercity trains during the day), so it's best to buy your train tickets once in Florence. Regional train tickets are good for any regional train on the date stated on the ticket, so you're not locked into a pre-purchased time window. IMPORTANT: Make sure to validate your regional train tickets before boarding the train or risk a stiff fine. If you buy return tickets at the same time as your Florence to Pisa tickets, don't validate the return tickets until you're at the Pisa train station to catch the train back. One last thing, the half hour walk between the Pisa train station and the Field of Miracles is interesting, but only you can judge whether the walk (to or from only) or the bus is the better option for your family.

EDIT: Regional (R) trains stop at every stop between Florence and Pisa while Regional Veloce (RV) trains skip a few stops and are about 15 minutes faster. There are currently no Intercity (IC) or Freccia trains running between Firenze SMN and Pisa Centrale.

3 nights are not much for Florence. I would do Pisa on another trip.

You can see it on your own, and I have done that. On my recent trip I kind of made a transition in my attitude from wanting to figure out how to see it on my own and save a little money to wanting to have a good experience. Yes, it's true I must be somewhat mentally challenged, but for the life of me I cannot figure out how to get on the train that does not make every stop between Florence and Pisa. Once there, I was not sure what I was looking at. (Yes, I did figure out the big leaning tower.)

On a tour, you get to just follow the guide and you don't have to worry about any details. The train ride to Pisa is not expensive, but there is an expense. The tour will transport you as part of the cost. Also on a tour you will meet other English speakers and its fun to make new friends, which I find hard to do when I show up to a site by myself.

I am a novice and regarding travel in Italy I will always be a novice. The expert travelers may tell you differently, but I think a tour is the way to go to maximize your time and you only have 4 days. The Leaning Tower is iconic Italy, so for your kids I can understand why you want to go.

Here is a 6 hour tour. Maybe there are better ones, but you can read reviews on Viator... https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Pisa-and-the-Leaning-Tower-Half-Day-Trip-from-Florence/d519-24284GROUP

I would definitely prebook your timed entry tickets to the Accademia. I was in Florence in late November a couple of years ago, and there were long lines to get in to see David. The folks with timed entry tickets walked right in, including walking past those of us in the separate long line just for Firenze Pass holders.

3 nights are not much for Florence. I would do Pisa on another trip.

I'll say the same. Looking at your other posts, you're flying into Rome on 11/13, transferring to Florence on 11/16 and on to Venice on 11/ 19, flying on from there on 11/22. So, you only have 2.5 days for Florence or less, depending on when you get there on 11/16. There's quite a lot to see in Florence beside "David" but I don't know what you're interested in?

But if determined to see Pisa, I would take a train. As you'll already have come from Rome on one, I'll assume you've gotten a bit of a handle on how Italian trains work? And yes, I'd pre-purchase your tickets for the Accademia, and the belltower in Pisa as well, if you wish to climb it.

We just returned, six weeks ago, from our first trip to Italy where we spent 2.5 days and 3 nights at the Park Palace Hotel. I would not pay for a guided tour to see David. You will be in and out of the Academia in 90 minutes tops. Having taken a train through Pisa from the Cinque Terre, I'd skip that day trip and focus on Florence. Your kids may enjoy romping around the Forte di Belvedere south of the Ponte Vecchio bridge. It is a neat old fort with commanding views of the Tuscan countryside and Florence proper with a nice walk through a park like area back down to the bridge. A daytime, and a night time, stop at the Piazza Michelangelo is a must. The views are incredible. The Pitti Palace and gardens are very nice and often missed by many travelers. If the kids have moments of boredom just keep promising, and providing, gelato! Have a great visit~

We just came back from Florence a week ago and had skip the line tickets for David. We bypassed everyone and were even allowed to enter an hour before our reservation time. The museum is small and we were out of there in an hour or so. I do not think a tour is necessary for David.
Since we were in Florence on free museum Sunday and a holiday (All Saints Day), Florence was very crowded on Saturday and Sunday. To get away from the crowds, we took a bus tour Sunday through Walkabout Tours and went to Sienna, had lunch at a winery, visited San Gimignano and went to Pisa to hold up the leaning tower! It was such a fun day and nice to get away from the museums for a while. Here is their website - We took the Best of Tuscany Tour. https://www.walkaboutflorence.com/tours/best-tuscany-tour.

I hope you have a wonderful time in Italy!

I think you can see David on your own. I went late in the day, about 2 hours before it closed. I hear it is a better time to go the crowds start to thin. I went in October. Not on the free Sunday.