My wife and I with two other couples will be on a Med. cruise in Sept that docks in Levornia (?sp) Italy. Although the ship can arrange tours to Florence, I would like to make my own arrangements for a driver/tour guide or tour guide added with a vehicle for six passengers to travel to Florence for the day. Can someone tell me a tour guide to contact that knows Florence very well and that can help make these arrangements?
Posted by
San Diego, CA, United States
864 posts
According to the Rick Steves' Mediterranean cruise port book a taxi to Florence from the port is 250 Euros one way. Round trip 320 Euro. Some cabs can fit up to 8 people bringing your costs way down. The train is o/a 7 Euros each way leaving o/a 10 minutes after the hour and taking o/a the same time as a cab. Upon arrival by train you can easily catch a cab to say the Uffizi. I can hear the outrage on the board already but if this was my decision I'd buy round trip train tickets on Rail Europe for this. I've seen the train station mobbed by cruise passengers early in the morning (remember yours will not be the only ship in port - probably). Also if this is your one chance to see Michelangelo's David you will need advance tickets - ditto the Uffizi. These sites may already be sold out at this late date. Sometimes that expensive cruise ship excursion is the way to go (much distress here). The cruise tours buy up blocks of tickets so there you have it more or less. If you decide on this option buy your excursion tickets pronto as they also sell out, frequently before the ship even sails. P.S. There's a U-Tube video on how to get to the train station from the port.
Posted by
San Jose, CA
1994 posts
I'd strongly recommend looking at teh website of Context Florence. I've used them in Florence and other major cities and the experience has always been amazing. They do walking tours of Florence, I know also do some programs that involve transport.