Tours from Livorno to Florence

Has anyone used ItalyXP tours out of Livorno port. If so what comments do you have about them

We used ItalyTours and they were fantastic! This was my very favorite tour taken on a recent Western Medcruise. We were picked up promptly atthe ship, it was a semi private tour - only 5 people - for less than the costof a cruise ship excursion on a bus with 50 people. Our guide in Florence - Valentina - was veryknowledgeable and our driver - Graziano - was exceptional. He took the time to drive us through thebeautiful Tuscan countryside and stopped at several different scenic points toallow us time to just enjoy the beauty of the gorgeous scenery. This company will definitely be my firstchoice for future tours in this area.

We used ItalyTours and they were fantastic! This was my very favorite tour taken on a recent Western Medcruise. We were picked up promptly atthe ship, it was a semi private tour - only 5 people - for less than the costof a cruise ship excursion on a bus with 50 people. Our guide in Florence - Valentina - was veryknowledgeable and our driver - Graziano - was exceptional. He took the time to drive us through thebeautiful Tuscan countryside and stopped at several different scenic points toallow us time to just enjoy the beauty of the gorgeous scenery. This company will definitely be my firstchoice for future tours in this area.

Hubby and I are doing the Western Med. next July and are looking at tours. Which ItalyXP did you choose? Did it include lunch with locals? Thanks

We too will be in Livorno for 12 hours with our cruise. HAL wants 209 pp for a tour of Florence. That does include lunch and entrance to two museums, one being the Accademia. How does Italy XP compare. My concern is that is is a 9 hr excursion and what if they run late? With HAL, you are guaranteed to make the cruise.

We used http://www.driverinrome.com for Rome from Chivitaveccia, and for Florence/Pisa.

Wonderful tours.

It was in small vans about 100 € pp, plus tickets.

We did a 12 day Europe cruise last year, best shore excursion by far ( maybe best ever- have done over 60 cruises) was Papillion , we had 8 people, brand new Mercedes van , great driver tour guide, started in Pisa for about 90 mins then Florence some of us did museum with David and they pre-bought tickets and skipped the line, final stop was a organic vineyard with a free wine tasting then back to the ship

We did a 12 day Europe cruise last year, best shore excursion by far ( maybe best ever- have done over 60 cruises) was Papillion , we had 8 people, brand new Mercedes van , great driver tour guide, started in Pisa for about 90 mins then Florence some of us did museum with David and they pre-bought tickets and skipped the line, final stop was a organic vineyard with a free wine tasting then back to the ship

What tour company did you use?

Papillion is the name, again they were great to deal with

We did a 12 day Europe cruise last year, best shore excursion by far ( maybe best ever- have done over 60 cruises) was Papillion , we had 8 people, brand new Mercedes van , great driver tour guide, started in Pisa for about 90 mins then Florence some of us did museum with David and they pre-bought tickets and skipped the line, final stop was a organic vineyard with a free wine tasting then back to the ship

We also used Papillon Tours in Livorno on October 29th of this year. We had an amazing tour with Sabrina into the Tuscan countryside. They are ranked #1 on TripAdvisor (a sister company to Cruise Critic) for tour guides in Livorno. They have many options for shore excursions throughout Italy. They will customize your tour to your requirements.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187897-d2423131-Reviews-Papillon_Service-Livorno_Province_of_Livorno_Tuscany.html

I have had multiple e-mails with this company but I consistently get back auto computer generated responses that don't address my questions. I did have specific requests as they advertise customized tours. That one e-mail resulted in a person generated response that steered me back to their standard tour, because my request was not best use of time. I appreciated the advice but I still can't get an accurate 2018 quote for the tour, perhaps it is due to the Holidays and they have not yet adjusted pricing?

I don't get the feel that they really customize a tour.

I have had multiple e-mails with this company but I consistently get back auto computer generated responses that don't address my questions. I did have specific requests as they advertise customized tours. That one e-mail resulted in a person generated response that steered me back to their standard tour, because my request was not best use of time. I appreciated the advice but I still can't get an accurate 2018 quote for the tour, perhaps it is due to the Holidays and they have not yet adjusted pricing?

I don't get the feel that they really customize a tour.

Disagree. I sent them an e-mail yesterday asking for a bit of a modification and I got a very detailed response including pricing and options for the change I had requested. I received a response in less than 24 hours. I heard from Sharon and can't understand why you would have continued problems.

Glad you had prompt and detailed response. My reply was from Sabrina. Declined my winery request saying they did not make their own wine and so they did not use them. This winery came from CC reviews, albeit not from people who used Papillon tours. So indeed this may not be a great winery, I am open to other options. I would just appreciate more details and options to plan. They gave me pricing for 2017 not 2018. Happy to take 2017 pricing but when I inquired about the price I got a computer generated response with 2017 pricing in Jan 2018. Not sure if they were being kind and gave me 2017 price even though it did not meet their printed requirements. I am still unclear about price and why the winery I selected could not be visited. I will follow up as they have great reviews. I just feel that I am asking for a reasonable "custom" itinerary and not getting a response that is detailed or flexible. Makes me wonder about planned arrangements with particular wineries.

Hi gma rae,

Have you booked a tour to Florence?

I know you were talking about one with Papillion in my thread.

Are you having issues with them now?

LM

I have reserved a tour with them and specified it for 6 people. I decided not to do a winery in addition to San Gimignano and Florence, there is just not enough time and I would rather have more time in Florence. They have great reviews, Once we get closer and I know who in my family is coming I will finalize details with them. I am not really sure why my e-mails with them left me with more questions and feeling unclear. They replied promptly.

Gam rae

What cruise are you on?