Florence to Pisa to London
Jul 6th, 2007, 05:23 PM
#1
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Florence to Pisa to London
I know this may be crazy but I am heading to Florence for 2 nights- Aug. 6 -8.. Have to back to Hthrow on August 9 for evening flight. And I want to see the Leaning Tower in the meantime. Question: Should I just do a RT on August 7 to Pisa? Should I just pack up, go to Pisa (on the 8th) and fly from Pisa? (How hard will it be to store luggage, get from train to tower to plane??) Cheaper flights are from Pisa to Gatwick, but would that cost more in the long run to have to transfer to Hthrow the next morning??
Please advise...
Please advise...
Jul 6th, 2007, 06:29 PM
#2
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Clarification: The cost of flying from PISA to GTW instead of HTHROW would save us about 102. USD total. Not a whole lot considering we'd have to transfer to HTHROW in the morning. How do hotel rates compare at GTW and HTHROW?
Thanks...
Thanks...
Jul 6th, 2007, 08:18 PM
#3
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Two nights in Florence sure isn't alot. I suggest you stay in Florence and just take the train to Pisa-it's not far. And, in my opinion, Florence is more attractive than Pisa. If I remember well the trains run hourly or so between Florence and Pisa, and fares are really inexpensive around ten euro roundtrip something like that.
Jul 6th, 2007, 08:56 PM
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Thanks for the reply. I am staying in Florence two nights and only going to day trip to Pisa to see the Tower.
Latest update- I think I will have to fly into Gatwick b/c the flight (121.00) was actually an OVERNIGHT flight to Heathrow.
SO my lastest thought is to fly into Gatwick, take the expess to Victoria- spend the night in Central London and then take the express the next morning to Heathrow. (My flight leaves 13:30)..Is this a good plan?
Latest update- I think I will have to fly into Gatwick b/c the flight (121.00) was actually an OVERNIGHT flight to Heathrow.
SO my lastest thought is to fly into Gatwick, take the expess to Victoria- spend the night in Central London and then take the express the next morning to Heathrow. (My flight leaves 13:30)..Is this a good plan?
Jul 6th, 2007, 11:11 PM
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There are no flights from Florence to Heathrow, and the overwhelming majority of Londoners flying home from Florence would always use Pisa as the airport anyway
I don't know if there's a left luggage facility at Pisa's railway stations: there most certainly is at Pisa airport, which is a hop step and jump from the town's historic core.
Get the train from Florence to Pisa airport. Leave your bags there, then get the bus (10 mins, 5 times an hour most of the day, about €1) to Piazza dei Miracoli.
It's very generous of you to go out of your way to patronise the most expensive airport transport in London. But don't
Get the Southern train to central London, and the tube out to the airport.
I don't know if there's a left luggage facility at Pisa's railway stations: there most certainly is at Pisa airport, which is a hop step and jump from the town's historic core.
Get the train from Florence to Pisa airport. Leave your bags there, then get the bus (10 mins, 5 times an hour most of the day, about €1) to Piazza dei Miracoli.
It's very generous of you to go out of your way to patronise the most expensive airport transport in London. But don't
Get the Southern train to central London, and the tube out to the airport.
Jul 6th, 2007, 11:46 PM
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There is a left luggage in the Pisa station if you need it - it is to the far right of the station if you are looking from the platforms. I don't know if all trains from Florence to Pisa airport stop in central Pisa but they just may, and if so you can leave your luggage there. Trains from Pisa station to airport leave about every half hour as I recall and take maybe 5 minutes. I agree that Florence is a much more interesting and beautiful city than Pisa.
Jul 7th, 2007, 12:38 AM
#7
As stated, yes, there is a left luggage store at Pisa airport. Trains from Pisa Central to the airport run every 30 minutes.
The only note of caution I would add, is that the platform from which trains depart to the airport is right at the other end of the station from the left luggage department.
From Pisa Central station, the walk to the tower is probably 25-30 minutes. It is not as scenic as Florence (but very few places in the world are). Alternatively the bus takes 10 minutes and is cheap.
I see Ryanair is currently offering a €0.01 flight from Pisa to Stansted on the 9th of August - it works out as €19.50 with taxes and should arrive in London Stansted at 11:30am, then the bus to heathrow should take 90 mintes at a cost of £20
I am not sure I would recommend this way (as Ryanair , although fairly punctual is not "user friendly" if things go wrong), but it would give you an evening in Pisa if needed.
Pisa gets a lot of negative critisism, but I think the architecture of the Campo dei Miracoli remains one of the great sights in Italy, and would be so even if the tower were straight.
The only note of caution I would add, is that the platform from which trains depart to the airport is right at the other end of the station from the left luggage department.
From Pisa Central station, the walk to the tower is probably 25-30 minutes. It is not as scenic as Florence (but very few places in the world are). Alternatively the bus takes 10 minutes and is cheap.
I see Ryanair is currently offering a €0.01 flight from Pisa to Stansted on the 9th of August - it works out as €19.50 with taxes and should arrive in London Stansted at 11:30am, then the bus to heathrow should take 90 mintes at a cost of £20
I am not sure I would recommend this way (as Ryanair , although fairly punctual is not "user friendly" if things go wrong), but it would give you an evening in Pisa if needed.
Pisa gets a lot of negative critisism, but I think the architecture of the Campo dei Miracoli remains one of the great sights in Italy, and would be so even if the tower were straight.
Jul 7th, 2007, 01:14 AM
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Hi,
You could look at http://www.thomsonfly.com/
They fly to Pisa from the UK - very cheap - we went from Bournemouth to Pisa for £40 a few years back.
To get to Heathrow from Bournemouth, catch the train to Woking & get the train bus to the airport - takes about 2 hours? Or fly into Gatwick with them.
Mark
You could look at http://www.thomsonfly.com/
They fly to Pisa from the UK - very cheap - we went from Bournemouth to Pisa for £40 a few years back.
To get to Heathrow from Bournemouth, catch the train to Woking & get the train bus to the airport - takes about 2 hours? Or fly into Gatwick with them.
Mark
Jul 7th, 2007, 02:30 AM
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Great information! Thank you. And so it is that Ryanair has the fare for 1 Euro on August 9. One flight departs around 0600 and arrive in Stansted around 0800. Would that be a safe bet for me to get back to Hthrow in time to check in for my flight at 13:30? What is the easier way to get from Stansted to Hthrow?
Thanks for all the great info...
Thanks for all the great info...
Jul 7th, 2007, 05:17 AM
#11
How lucky do you feel?
If the Ryanair flight is on time, then it woulad arrive in the UK around 8am, leaving plenty of time to get to Heathrow (their are several national expresses ay 9:25 and 10:10 that will get you there by 11:30).
Ryanair morning flights, in my experience, tend to leave on time. The problem is that they take no responsibility if things go wrong. If the flight is delayed, or cancelled, they will put you on the next available flight - and if that is in 4 days time then tough.
If the Ryanair flight is on time, then it woulad arrive in the UK around 8am, leaving plenty of time to get to Heathrow (their are several national expresses ay 9:25 and 10:10 that will get you there by 11:30).
Ryanair morning flights, in my experience, tend to leave on time. The problem is that they take no responsibility if things go wrong. If the flight is delayed, or cancelled, they will put you on the next available flight - and if that is in 4 days time then tough.
Jul 7th, 2007, 08:19 AM
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Even though today is 7/7/07...I am not sure I feel lucky enough to chance being stuck in Pisa and missing my flight back to the US. I have read some horror stories about ryanair, but most seem to agree punctuality is not the big problem. Even still...I may feel better returning to London the day before (8/8) instead of (8/9)...Oh decisions...
Jul 7th, 2007, 01:07 PM
#13
I think that is sensible. I am quite happy to use Ryanair from my home in the UK when on vacation. The low fares have made it possible for me to travel quite a bit over the past 5 years or so.
I wouldn't risk using them if I needed to make a connection.
I wouldn't risk using them if I needed to make a connection.
Jul 7th, 2007, 02:31 PM
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I fully agree with willit. I've flown with Ryanair several times and they are OK and more often than not, on time, but I wouldn't risk myself to do a connection, better safe than sorry, fly the day before 
Jul 7th, 2007, 06:05 PM
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Thanks for all of the great recommendations! So I now I am back to flying in to Gatwick with one night to spare before my flight out of Heathrow the next day. Any suggestions on where to spend the night...Gatwick, Heathrow or in between?
Jul 9th, 2007, 09:26 AM
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After having the same thought (how do you go to italy without seeing the Tower of Pisa!!!) I would say skip Pisa.... Florence has so much more worth seeing. Pisa was a bit of a letdown compared ro the rest of Italy.
