Hi everyone!
My husband and I have a flight out of Florence Airport in the early morning (6AM). Is there an easy way to get from Lucca to Florence at that time? I know there are buses but I wasn't sure how early/late the buses run. Is it best to get to Florence the night before maybe?
Thanks for all the help!
No mass transit options would be available that early. The only option would be a private car transfer or taxi.
You need to be at at airport at least one hour prior to departure, and from Lucca to the Florence airport it's almost one hour drive. The cost of a private car transfer should be in the 120€ ballpark.
I generally like to have the city of departure as the last destination of my itinerary, because I like to be within 20-30 min from the airport for an early departure.
My research found that the earliest train leaves at 505AM and is a more than an hour trip
The bus I found from Lucca to Florence runs at 9AM or later.
Staying the night before in Florence looks like the best idea
We see so many people flying out of Italy on those 6:00 a.m. flights. For those flying to North America, it's difficult enough having a 9 or 10 hour flight. But when you have to get up at 3:00 a.m. to get to the airport, it's even more difficult of a voyage.
But those 6:00 a.m. flights just deposit you in another European gateway airport until the main departure leaves around mid-day.
I try to schedule all outgoing flights after 10:00 a.m. to avoid lengthy transfers in other European cities. Unfortunately, direct nonstop flights to North America are not available from every mid-size city and surprisingly few go out of major cities even.
For a flight that early, I'd definitely stay in Florence versus Lucca the night before. You'll still be getting up at o'dark-thirty but not as bad as you would be in Lucca, and eliminate the need to for a pricey private transfer. Additionally, the closer you are to your point of departure, the lower the risk that some unforeseen snag might cause you to miss the flight.
Thanks for all the tips & information everyone! I think we'll end up going to Florence the evening before.
Dear David, your plan to book flights straight to North America may work if such flights exist.
There is only United that flies non stop from Italy to D.C., but one would need to be vacationing in Rome, rather than Tuscany.
