Tony

I will be docking at the Port of Livorno on May 7th and will be renting a 9 passenger van to drive the gang to Pisa, Florence and hopefully Siena. Will I have time for all this? Or, should I tell my travelling companions to take the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line excursion. We debark at 8:00a.m. and have to be back on the ship by 7:00 p.m. Don't forget we have to count the time it takes to take a taxi (just me) in the morning to rent the van from Hertz in the City of Livorno and again I will have to drop everyone off at the ship and then take the van back and catch another cab back to the ship! Am I crazy? Please reply. Thank you. Tony in Pittsburgh (1st time Fodorite user this morning) Go USA!

donna

"Am I crazy?" In a word, yes. I'm afraid you need to realize that a cruise is a cruise, not a way to see Europe. Trying to cover Pisa, Florence, and Sienna in a day is at best impossible. But having to worry about such deadlines as the boat leaving and doing a van rental and return does indeed make you "crazy". The only safe thing to do is to take whatever excursion the ship offers. You won't see a lot of Italy, but let's face it. If that was your goal, you shouldn't be taking a cruise. Enjoy your cruise for what it is. Then next time if you want to really see Italy -- go and do that.

Surlok

Tony,<BR><BR>You won't. Besides, there's so much to see in Florence, besides the problems to park the car there. <BR><BR>Choose: or whether go to Florence, and just Florence, either with the ships's tour or by train, or go to Siena and Pisa. The parking lot in Siena is outside the city walls, so, the car will be a problem there, too, not a solution. <BR><BR>I wouldn't rent the car anyway: use taxies, or hire a private tour, or take the train. Italy is a bureaucratic country, and you don't have any time to loose. Otherwise, what you'll loose will be the ship!<BR><BR>Regards,<BR><BR>Surlok

tom

This is like the questions posted here frequently "We have a 5 hour layover at _______(enter any airport in Europe) and want to do a city excursion, eat a good meal and take in a show" <BR><BR>In a word: can't be done. As suggested just take an excursion from the ship.

jahoulih

Renting a van, as everyone else has pointed out, does not seem like a good idea. But if you don't feel like taking the ship's tour, then I think Surlok's suggestion of taking the train is a good one. You could probably squeeze in about six hours in Florence, or if you really want to see Pisa, then a couple of hours in Pisa and about four hours in Florence. (Forget Siena.)<BR><BR>For train schedules, see <BR><BR>www.trenitalia.com

Tony

Point well taken! Grazie, Tony

Cheryl Z.

Would strongly recommend taking any ship excursion. The trains are great but you'd still have to deal with getting around to do sightseeing, getting back to station in time etc.<BR>Absolutely forget renting a vehicle - if only to avoid parking/driving in Florence!

BB

Tony: I have done (twice) the Livorno to Florence trip and, yes, you ARE nuts to try and do what you're proposing. Florence alone will take the whole time allotment...Pisa and Siena can wait until next trip. Take the cruise ship's bus to Florence, find out where and when you need to be back and take off on your own. There's so much to see and lines at the "big attractions" are often long and will eat up much of your time. As someone else said, parking in Florence is a "p.i.a." so take the bus. Florence is so clean now I almost didn't recognize it this last summer. Enjoy and have a great trip!

BB

Tony...me again. I just read suggestions to take the train in lieu of the ship's bus. People on our cruise last summer did only to find there was a strike going on... they finally got to Florence, but had to hire a taxi to drive the 2 hrs back to ship. $$ ouch! Take the ship's bus.