Only 1 Day in Naples, Rome, and Livorno - What Would You Do?
 

My wife and a couple of friends are on a cruise mid September with stops in the locations noted in the subject line. We understand that our time is limited and we won't get to see all the wonderful things that exist in or from those locations, but that's what we signed-up for on a cruise. We know that it'll be a rush-job trying to squeeze in the essentials, and believe that hiring a tour guide will make best use of our time. So....can you please recommend your must-see sites, specific guides/excursions, restaurants for one day each at Naples, Rome, and Livorno. Having researched a bit, we're thinking the following as a very rough itinerary: Naples: Amalfi Coast/Positano; Rome: Top attractions there; Livorno: Cinque Terra, and another place - vineyard in Tuscany(?), maybe a quick stop at Pisa. To give you an idea as to our druthers, We're more in this to experience (for only one day :)) people/culture more than touring museums. In previous ventures, we've found that the right guide can make or break a visit, so if you have a favorite, with contact info, please let me know. Thanks so much!

Bruce

You might look for a copy of this: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/...n-cruise-ports

It will tell you what you can realistically see from each port.

You may also find some info at https://www.cruisecritic.com/

If you are arriving in Livorno on a day when the central food market will be open, it is really worth a looksee if that interests you. It is possible to go to the market in the morning and then head to Pisa by train. In Pisa, have a lunch and then head off to the Leaning Tower. It is extremely packed with tourists and awful tourist hoo-hah, but if you can look past that, and enter the cathedral and the bapistery, you will some of the most beauitful and amazing architecture of the Renaissance in all of Europe. It might be possible to go to Pisa first and then return to see the market in the afternoon. If so, doing it that way might make everything more relaxing -- but in that case, I definitely recommend you come back to Livorno to each lunch. The food is fabulous there.

Were it me, I would arrange for a guide to take you for a morning walking tour of Napoli, and to hook you up with a great place to eat lunch, preferably in the upper part of Napoli, in Vomero. After lunch, walk around the Castle for great views and gelato before heading back to the ship. Somewhere during the day, grab a pizza to share.

I realize how tempting it is to want to hurl yourselves at the major sights of Rome in one day, but personally I would stick to the sights of Roman antiquity, and arrange for a guide to walk me around in the morning to make it efficient and get the most out of it. I would do the sights of antiquity in the morning, and then have a lovely lunch. The cruise ship port of Rome is distant from the city, so your hours of sightseeing will end up limited.

If you want to see vinyards, there are probably people who meet the cruise ships and whisk you out to them. The best place to do that would be Livorno (arrange to go to Bolgheri for a half -day tour, and then the Livorno market on your own for the other half of the day). However, you can probably find a wine tasting tour out of Civitavecchia (Rome port) that will take you to vinyards, but you will not see the most famous Tuscan vinyard scenery from there unless you book a tour that drives you for 90 or minutes or more into that part of inland Tuscany.