Trains & Buses in Italy

The bus pick up is right at the airport. I thought the bus was closer to 30 minutes but don't remember.

I believe taxis are a flat 22 euro from the airport to central Florence. It takes about 20 minutes. The bus is 6 euro per person and takes about 20 to 30 minutes and s you off at the central train station. Both are dependent on traffic of course and of course you may have to wait for the bus. Here's a link to the schedule and the route: http://www.ataf.net/en/timetables-and-routes/timetables-and-routes/line-volainbus.aspx?idC=180&idO=0&Linea=VolaInBus&LN=en-US And a map of the bus stop at the airport: http://www.ataf.net/tp/navigator.aspx?lvid=146&id_mtram=357908&cart=_&sts=AEROPORTO VESPUCCI&eds=STAZIONE GALLERIA&sl=VolaInBus&lvdr=Di&dt=4&cmd=3# The bus stops right at the airport. There have been changes at the airport since I was last there in Sept 2012, but the last time I was there you exited the terminal in the same direction as the taxi stand, crossed a couple of lanes of traffic (not busy) to the bus stop which is right at the airport. This bus goes as I said, to the main train station in town, Santa Maria Novella. You can buy tickets on the bus from the driver. I personally would prefer to take a taxi right from the airport to the door of my destination, but the bus is pretty convenient. However, if you have a trek from the train station to where you are staying you might want to consider a taxi.

Megan, The information that shirley listed should provide all the details you need. The airport is not actually that far outside the city, so it won't take an hour. You could take the Volo Bus (~30M, ~€6) from the airport to the SITA bus station, which is a short distance from Firenze SMN rail station. You can easily walk from the Bus station to the rail station (if that's the direction you're headed). You could also take a Taxi (~30M, ~€22) from the airport to Firenze SMN. If you take the Taxi right to your hotel, the cost will vary of course. It would help to know which hotel you'll be using? Is it close to Firenze SMN? When is this trip taking place? I'll also be arriving at FLR in about a month, so will have more current information to offer then. Cheers!

Thank you all for your help!! Our hotel is about 1.5k from Firenze SMN, so would possibly be walk-able. Are taxis fairly easy to come by - will be arriving on a Thursday evening. Also, I am getting confused on one point - it appears that you can take the bus to "Stazione Galleria" which is not Firenze SMN, correct? Is that the SITA bus location? Thank you all very much for your assistance and clarification! Much appreciated!!

The "Galleria" just refers to the area of the train station where the bus stops. It stops just by the area where the taxis pick up passengers at the main train station. Taxis are very easy to come by at the Florence airport and they are very used to tourists who only speak English. If you decide to take a taxi, just bring the address you are going to printed out on a piece of paper and show that to the driver. The flat rate is great because of the limited traffic zone in Florence which seems to get bigger every year. Because of this, the cars and buses can seem to be taking convoluted routes. This is normal due to the one way streets and the limited traffic zone.