Tell me about taking the train from Pisa's airport to Florence....
Sep 18th, 2007, 06:57 AM
#1
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Tell me about taking the train from Pisa's airport to Florence....
Hello Fodorites,
My friend and I are tweaking our itinerary for a week to Italy in November. We're using ff miles on American: DFW-LGW-FCO with a return Bologna-LGW-DFW. On this trip, we're not interested in Rome but would rather concentrate on time split between Florence and southern Tuscany (Pienza/Montepulciano/Montalcino area). Flying out of Bologna was the only option using ff miles and we only want to spend the last night there. So...
Here's a possible arrival itinerary:
depart DFW 7:00pm
arrive LGW 10:00am
wait around LGW 4 hours (which we have to do no matter where into Italy we fly)
depart LGW 2:00pm
arrive Pisa 5:30pm
airport train to Florence
taxi to hotel
dinner/bed - awake ready to tackle Florence
Thoughts? Convenience of airport train to Florence? Does train leave from the airport? Is Pisa's airport small such that retrieving luggage/customs would be a relatively quick affair?
Many thanks for opinions.
My friend and I are tweaking our itinerary for a week to Italy in November. We're using ff miles on American: DFW-LGW-FCO with a return Bologna-LGW-DFW. On this trip, we're not interested in Rome but would rather concentrate on time split between Florence and southern Tuscany (Pienza/Montepulciano/Montalcino area). Flying out of Bologna was the only option using ff miles and we only want to spend the last night there. So...
Here's a possible arrival itinerary:
depart DFW 7:00pm
arrive LGW 10:00am
wait around LGW 4 hours (which we have to do no matter where into Italy we fly)
depart LGW 2:00pm
arrive Pisa 5:30pm
airport train to Florence
taxi to hotel
dinner/bed - awake ready to tackle Florence
Thoughts? Convenience of airport train to Florence? Does train leave from the airport? Is Pisa's airport small such that retrieving luggage/customs would be a relatively quick affair?
Many thanks for opinions.
Sep 18th, 2007, 07:16 AM
#2
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Hi Dork - Few trains from Pisa airport are direct.
With your arrival time you will (- unless you can make the 17.53 train) - have to change train at Pisa Centrale.
You have a train from the airport at
18.35 and 19.05.
Journey time to Florence is approx. 1.5 hrs.
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
An alternative plan would be to use the Airport Shuttle bus direct to Florence.
Here's the link:
http://www.terravision.eu/italiano/florence_pisa.html
Hope this helps ...
Steve
With your arrival time you will (- unless you can make the 17.53 train) - have to change train at Pisa Centrale.
You have a train from the airport at
18.35 and 19.05.
Journey time to Florence is approx. 1.5 hrs.
http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html
An alternative plan would be to use the Airport Shuttle bus direct to Florence.
Here's the link:
http://www.terravision.eu/italiano/florence_pisa.html
Hope this helps ...
Steve
Sep 18th, 2007, 07:21 AM
#3
There is a train station at the airport (Pisa Aeroporto or Pisa AE) and most trains (not all) will involve a change at Pisa Centrale. Pisa Centrale is a five minute train ride from the airport. Travel time is about 1 1/2 hours.
Sep 18th, 2007, 07:46 AM
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Hi there -
Yes, the Pisa airport is surprisingly small. You should have no problem getting your luggage and getting out relatively quickly.
We have arrived at the Pisa airport twice with a final destination of Florence. We have taken both the Terravision bus and the train. We took the bus our last visit as we arrived quite late at night and it was dark. We felt the bus at night would be somewhat safer than the train and traffic would not be an issue.
We took the train in 2004 as we arrived in the afternoon (similar to your itinerary) and felt that traffic on the roads could be heavy. In fact, we took the train (very easy to find as you leave the airport) switched at Pisa Centrale and arrived in Florence with no problems at all.
We enjoyed the train - little or no passengers (we had the cabin to ourselves), we just watched the countryside roll by. Had our first espresso at Centrale and then had an easy ride into the Florence train station.
I can't comment on the duration of transport compared to one another. Perhaps the bus may be better if you have lots of luggage. We tend to travel lightly so pulling along a small suitcase and carryon between trains is no big deal.
Have a great trip!
Yes, the Pisa airport is surprisingly small. You should have no problem getting your luggage and getting out relatively quickly.
We have arrived at the Pisa airport twice with a final destination of Florence. We have taken both the Terravision bus and the train. We took the bus our last visit as we arrived quite late at night and it was dark. We felt the bus at night would be somewhat safer than the train and traffic would not be an issue.
We took the train in 2004 as we arrived in the afternoon (similar to your itinerary) and felt that traffic on the roads could be heavy. In fact, we took the train (very easy to find as you leave the airport) switched at Pisa Centrale and arrived in Florence with no problems at all.
We enjoyed the train - little or no passengers (we had the cabin to ourselves), we just watched the countryside roll by. Had our first espresso at Centrale and then had an easy ride into the Florence train station.
I can't comment on the duration of transport compared to one another. Perhaps the bus may be better if you have lots of luggage. We tend to travel lightly so pulling along a small suitcase and carryon between trains is no big deal.
Have a great trip!
Sep 18th, 2007, 08:01 AM
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Very helpful information, all. Pisa's airport is small, train is easy with a change in Pisa, bus schedule indicates that, arriving late in the day, we'd have a 2 hour wait, we're flying BA from LGW. I would imagine it would be dark at about 6:00pm then? Great info for me to ponder...
