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Private transportation Livorno to/from Siena for 2-4 people

My wife and I will be on a cruise in April 2023 that stops at Livorno on a Monday. We want to spend some leisurely time in Siena rather than the typical tours out of Livorno which are Florence, Pisa and Cinque Terre [we've been to all three places on our own in years past]. We are senior, seniors [read that mid-70s to early 80s] but still fully mobile and self sufficient. However, we are uncomfortable relying on public transportation--buses and/or trains due to pre-set schedules--to make the journey from Livorno to Siena and back to Livorno that will fit with the ship's sailing schedule [arrival 11:00 am and departure 10:00 pm]. Sun set on the day we'll be there will be 8:12 pm and we'd like to take advantage of all the daylight available since we get a relatively late start.

I've looked into a "tour", but the cost is a bit beyond our reach; pushing US$700 for the two of us, and, importantly, the tour won't provide service outside their normal hours of operation which ends 5-6 hours before the ship sails. Moreover the tour has a canned itinerary.

So, my question is this: Has anyone on this Forum ever hired "private" transportation [for 2-4 people] from Livorno to/from Siena . . for less than US$ 350 pp? I understand costs are significantly greater than they were pre-covid, but I was taken aback by the $700 tariff for two of us, and the tour I looked into won't accept 4 people. Any suggestions would be helpful. I know transportation for 2-4 people isn't going to be cheap, and I'm anticipating a pp cost in the mid to upper US$100s. I am also aware that a rental car is an option, but our ages do not work to our advantage, and, Siena is not an automobile-kind-of-place.

By the way, I realize this post could have been placed on a generic "transportation" board; but I thought the circumstances unique enough to post here.
Jon

Posted by
506 posts

Have you looked into www.mydaytrip.com? I know others who have used and been very happy. A quick look for a booking Livorno to Sienna departing 11 am a random day in May for 4 people shows 369 Euro that direction. I think they are generally designed to move people just from one location to another with sightseeing on the way but may be an option for you.

Posted by
768 posts

Laurie Ann
Thanks for the nearly-instatnt reply. I'll look into it. I've also found a site gettransfer.com, However I know nothing about this and I would prefer to go with a service someone has had experience with. Thanks again

Posted by
2102 posts

I really can only suggest a possible solution. You might consider toursbylocals.com. I took a quick look and Livorno guides it seems offer trips to Siena and other destinations. One such tour I only glanced at goes from the port to San Gimignano and Siena, includes transportation and guided services. Not inexpensive but accommodates several people. On past cruises we have gathered groups together from fellow passengers to share the costs. The guides may customize the itinerary to your specifications which you can establish in email conversations. We did this once in St Petersburg and had an excellent time but that’s the extent of our experience. We have also just walked off the ship and negotiated with the waiting cab drivers but that leaves a lot more to chance and timing. Good luck. And safe travels.

Posted by
1897 posts

We use https://gettransfer.com/en quite often. Last trip was in Sicily from Taormina to Catania, that ran us $200 total for 2 of us. That was a trip of over an hour from hotel to airport. it was a last minute booking as we didn't want to hassle with finding the bus station and using public transport.

We used gettransfer in Spain and in main land Italy as well.

Think of this service as an Uber.... it's very easy to use.

You put in what you want and you will get different offers from drivers. We had to pick a larger van because we had our tandem bike cases with us as well as 2 pieces of luggage.

The drivers have been great, offered us water and in one case gave us a little information as we drove from one location to the next. Cars/vans very clean.

If you look early, you start to get better pricing from the drivers. We book a month or more in advance, and keep getting emails with offers for less $. Nice thing is, you can cancel at any time.

Posted by
768 posts

I’ve contacted the MyDayTrip people and, yes, they can provide transportation. However it is approximately US$ 500. Totally acceptable if there are 4 people, but we are only 2. I’ve attempted to find 2 additional people on our cruise ship, but to no avail. It seems all the ship passengers are interested in Florence, Pisa or the Cinque Terre.

Ellen: Thank you for the GetTransfer option. I went to their web site and, honestly, I read their “agreement” and it is was, admittedly in my opinion only, a lop-sided agreement in favor of the provider. But thank you for the suggestion.