Florence taxi service

All Florentines are honest people. If we weren't honest, they would call us Neapolitans. Joking aside, from the airport to the historical center the City of Florence imposes on taxis a 20 euro flat rate (22 euro on Sundays and holidays). To that you need to add 1 euro per bag. I doubt you will incur a night surcharge, applicable from 10pm to 6am (a little over 3 euro), since all arrivals in Florence are between 8am and 10:30pm. If they charge you more than that, you have the right to file a complaint.

Exactly the info I was in search of. Thank you so much!!

Roberto - I am confused. We are a party of five arriving in Florence and I thought I read that it's about 80Euros? We have a van meeting us and taking us from airport to the hotel near Ponte Vechio. It's 60 Euro with our bags - are we being ripped off? Clarify - is the 20 Euro rate a flat fee for all airport transfers? Thank you.

If you are being charged 80 euro for one car to take you from the airport in Florence to the Ponte Vecchio, yes, you are being ripped off. From my house, which is on the opposite side of town from the airport, to the airport, I have never paid more than 28 euro. To Ponte Vecchio, which is in the city center, about 4 miles from the airport, the taxi fare is mandatorily 20 euro (22 euro on Sundays), + 1 euro per bag fee. If you travel between 10pm and 6am there is a night surcharge but it's about 3-4 euro extra (about 6 more on a Sunday). Therefore if someone wants 80 euro from me to take me from the airport to Ponte Vecchio, they'd better pick me up with 3 Ferrari or at least take me for a visit to the Chianti wineries first.

Marie, who arrange the van pickup for you? Was it your hotel? It's amazing how many hotels run this sort of quasi-scam where they "arrange" for a car/van to pick up a party for way more than they would pay if they just took a taxi from the taxi stand at the airport.

The issue is simple. Taxi service is regulated by the cities. Most cities impose flat fees on pre-determined segments (such as from/to airports). Private Transfers, which in Italian is called "Noleggio Con Conducente (or NCC)", which means Car Hire with Driver, are not regulated by the city and can charge as much as they want. The price is generally agreed previously with the customer, but the city does not impose a specific charge. That doesn't mean that an NCC is necessarily more expensive than a taxi, especially for long distances, but one needs to shop around.

Lauren I think the confusion stems from something that happens constantly to travelers in Italy with taxis. They charge 20 euro per person, not for the car. I have heard this several times, so make sure you negotiate a rate before you get in the taxi. I never ride in taxis in Italy, as their public transportation system is fabulous. We just returned from our 5th trip there and this time, not one taxi and no car, just walking, bus and trains. From Florence airport, check out the buses. We rode in several buses and never felt afraid, no matter the time of day.

Just as a lark, I tried a couple dummy reservations on a couple Florence Airport Transfer services online. For 5 adult passengers with 5 'medium' pieces of baggage traveling during the day from the Florence Airport to central Florence, one service quoted €42,70 and the other quoted €70,00. Roberto's advice is good - shop around, get quotes, read reviews if you can find them, choose the low bid or the one that feels right. I remember the transfer from the Florence airport to my hotel just around the corner from the Ponte Vecchio being quick and trouble-free, and I never had a thought of being scammed in any way. The price was reasonable for the length of the trip and the good service I received. I don't know why people are so quick to think they're automatically being cheated. If the price seems excessive, comparison shop with comparable services and see how the cookie crumbles.

It is not true that the 20 euro taxi flat fee from Florence airport to the city center is per person. The 20 euro taxi fare is PER CAR. Otherwise for me and my wife would be over 40 euro each time. Never paid over 28 euro. Less than 2 years ago I took the taxi from my cousin's house (who lives ON top of the Ponte Vecchio on Borgo San Jacopo) to the airport, with my wife and a couple of bags, at 4:30 am. The fare was less then 28 euro for sure. I paid 28 euro because I left a generous tip of about one euro (leaving tips to taxi drivers in Italy is against my religion, therefore I was very generous). Just tested from the airport to a hotel in the city center for 5 people with 5 bags. The calculated price was 25 euro. But you can check for yourself in the website of one of the two taxi companies in Florence. http://www.florenceintaxi.it/prenota/it/

As always, Roberto makes an important distinction - my little test was with 'airport transfer services' (what I guess in the U.S. we would call 'airport shuttle services'). Roberto's example was with standard taxi services. There's no doubt a difference. I used the Airport transfer services to test because I had doubts that 5 adults with 5 suitcases could fit in a 'taxi', but then again, in Rome the taxi service my hotel provided for me was a larger Mercedes minivan-type vehicle.

Does it matter that we are a party of five with luggage? On other trips to Italy we have had a hard time finding one taxi for all of us. The hotel is actually charging 60 - including all luggage. Rip off? Here is some context: Honestly, I never sleep on the way over to Europe. This is the first time I have arranged transport through the hotel and it's attractive because When I deplane all bleary eyed, it's enough to keep the kids and husband in tow to pick up luggage; love the idea of someone waiting for us - I don't have to flag a cab and negotiate anything when I am barely awake.

Roberto is as always, correct. There is a flat rate of 20 euro from the airport into central Florence - this is not a per person charge! There is an extra charge per suitcase if put into the trunk. There are many private car services which can charge whatever they want and it sounds as if that's what the situation is with the van service. It would be cheaper for you to split into two groups and take two taxis than use an 80 euro van service. For a group of 6, it is cost effective to take 2 taxis especially to the location you mention. The airport bus goes to the Santa Maria Novella train station and from there you would still need other transportation to your hotel. The official bus fare is 6 euro per person to or from the airport, so that's already 36 euro for 6 people and you still aren't at your hotel.

The taxi fare is 20 euro per car + 1 euro per bag (slightly more for Sundays or nights). Five people may require 2 taxis, but not necessarily. Some taxis are minivans that can accommodate 5 passengers (for example the super ugly Fiat Multipla, which is a 6 seater). Just inquire at the taxi stand, there is always a long line of taxi at Florence airport. You might have to wait a little longer until a minivan taxi shows up, but if you don't mind the extra wait, you might be able to get away with one taxi only. In any case 2 taxis are not going to be more than 25 euro each, including bags. 50 euro is still a better deal than 1 NCC for 80 euro.