Pisa, Tuscany and Florence - possible in one day?

[KingsDude]

, we booked a Wine Tasting Tour with Alessandro Cammili (see http://www.alessandrocammilli.com ; alecamma@hotmail.com ; +39 339 6441133). This tour with Alessandro was probably the highlight of our trip. Alessandro was professional, kind, friendly, knowledgeable, funny, and easy to talk to. He picked us up at 8:30 in the morning from the ship and we were on our way to explore the Tuscan wine country. Initially, he asked if we wanted to go see Florence/Pisa on the way/way back from Tuscany, but since we have already seen these two cities, we decided to just enjoy Tuscany. It was about an hour drive from Livorno on an incredibly scenic route with a brief history and education on the wines from the region by Alessandro. Our first stop was a castle at the top of Tuscany where we enjoyed a tasting of traditional Chianti Classico wine. Then, our favorite stop, was at Fattoria Di Montagliari (http://www.montagliara.com) with Alessandro. We received an amazing private tour of the winery BY ALESSANDRO, met the winemaker himself, and learned about the history of the winery. Additionally, Alessandro was able to give us a tour AND taste of the oil and balsamic vinegar. Alessandro was the person that gave us the tasting, walked us around the property, and even poured us all of the wines in the tasting and he knew what he was talking about and knew the owners and workers at the winery. His involvement in the experience was welcomed by us and by the winery. We’ve visited many wineries and experienced plenty of tastings from Napa and Temecula, but we have never had such a memorable, behind the scenes experience like Alessandro was able to provide. I cannot recommend him enough. Even if you have never seen Florence/Pisa, I would advise hiring Alessandro to help plan your day. He can take you wherever you want to go and will ensure you have a great time.

[maidut]

Hello!

 

Seeing all three is possible in one day, but I suggest a private driver. We booked Alessandro Cammilli and it was a fantastic and action packed day. He picked us up at the ship and off we went. We visited Florence first. We stopped in cafe for coffee, strolled along the Ponte Vecchio for some shopping. He also took us to a scenic overlook where we got great photos of the Florence skyline. He also arranged tickets for us so we could make a quick stop to the the David.

 

Once we finished our stroll through Florence, we were off to Tuscany. The drive is all part of the adventure. We arrived at a wonderful winery to enjoy a scenic and delicious lunch outdoors and afterwards had a wine tasting and took photos.

 

Finally, we ended out journey for a quick stop in Pisa. We were not there for long, so only had time for a few photos before heading back to the cruise port.

 

It was a very busy, but fun day and Alessandro did a great job escorting us. It really gives you a sample of many different aspects of this region of Italy. It will surely inspire you to go back for several return visits!

 

here is his email alecamma@hotmail.com

Edited January 3, 2013 by maidut

[Loonbeam]

Add another vote to doable - if you go with a private tour.

 

We used Rome in Limo. Picked up at the ship, went to Pisa, spent 30 mins there (unless you are climbing the tower or going in the Duomo (cost for both) that's all you really need. Then we headed to Florence, where the guide took us to the Accademia and helped us skip the line (which was a HUGE time saver).

 

60 mins in the accademia or so (yea that could have been longer), then he dropped us off at a small, inexpensive and delicious trattoria (also quick)

 

From there we shopped for about 2 hours in the market and Pontevecchio (was more than enough time for us), then headed to a winery for tasting before back to the ship in plenty of time.

[maryann ns]

New York is one day is "doable" too if you only go to one place (Empire State Building) have a quick lunch and shop. However that is not experiencing New York at all.

 

I have spent five days in Florence so far and have barely scratched the surface.

[hazeleyez3]

We are using Tours By Locals in May and hitting all 3.

 

• We'll have 30-45 minutes in Pisa (didn't want to climb the stairs)
  
• 2 hour walking tour in Florence and then lunch
  
• Wine tour in Chianti
  

As far as time, no European cruise will allot you enough time to truly see any city. Especially since some, like Rome, are so distant from the port. You just have to figure out what is more important to you.

 

For us, its getting a small taste of each area...and having an actual guide (not driver/guide)

[Hlitner]

New York is one day is "doable" too if you only go to one place (Empire State Building) have a quick lunch and shop. However that is not experiencing New York at all.

 

I have spent five days in Florence so far and have barely scratched the surface.

 

LOL Maryann. You are wasting your breath and keystrokes. There are many who just want to say "they were there." We call it the "If its Tuesday, it must be Belgium" syndrome. Wonder how many remember that movie?

 

Hank

[maryann ns]

I know, I know! But this question has to be one of the funniest ever (and there has been lots of competition)!

 

I did not see the movie, but remember hearing about it.

[midwestchick]

We have spent a lot of time driving around Tuscany on lengthy trips and would never consider stopping in Pisa unless we had others with us who insisted on seeing the place ( the reason for our last visit). It is unlikely we would ever be near Florence without visiting (and usually spending a couple of nights) as we do not like to miss visiting San Gimignano, Volterra, the Chianti wine area (S222), etc. When it comes to leaning towers, you can find them all over Italy :)

 

Hank

 

That also seems like a lot to me too. On our recent cruise, we chose a shore excursion...we saw the Tuscan countryside..(gorgeous), visited Volterra and absolutely loved it. Then we had a delicious lunch at a farm where they made wine (Fattoria San Donato) and then we went to Pisa. While I wouldn't have done this trip without seeing Pisa, I would not do Pisa again. We did not do Florence because we had seen that years ago when we went to Europe for my husband's job. I'm wondering if San Gimignano was another village we saw in the Tuscan hillside...one women on our tour mentioned a village we should have seen. I can say we were exhausted after that excursion...it was a long day but I in hindsight, I wish we'd had more time in Volterra. I loved the shops and wanted to spend more time looking at the alabaster jewlery and other things shops offered. I would love to see Lucca one day.

[lovtotravel]

Hello!

 

Seeing all three is possible in one day, but I suggest a private driver. We booked Alessandro Cammilli and it was a fantastic and action packed day. He picked us up at the ship and off we went. We visited Florence first. We stopped in cafe for coffee, strolled along the Ponte Vecchio for some shopping. He also took us to a scenic overlook where we got great photos of the Florence skyline. He also arranged tickets for us so we could make a quick stop to the the David.

 

Once we finished our stroll through Florence, we were off to Tuscany. The drive is all part of the adventure. We arrived at a wonderful winery to enjoy a scenic and delicious lunch outdoors and afterwards had a wine tasting and took photos.

 

Finally, we ended out journey for a quick stop in Pisa. We were not there for long, so only had time for a few photos before heading back to the cruise port.

 

It was a very busy, but fun day and Alessandro did a great job escorting us. It really gives you a sample of many different aspects of this region of Italy. It will surely inspire you to go back for several return visits!

 

here is his email alecamma@hotmail.com

It is certainly doable and worth it!We hired a driver, Alessandro Cammilli in 2004, happy to read that he is still around

[sedrake]

We actually hired a private driver who knew the area very well, a local who used to be a police officer. I found him thru Trip Advisor and he was great. Alessandro met us promptly at the ship and drove us around for the day.

 

We had our 8 year old daughter with us so making it interesting for her was important to us.

 

I am the type I can look on the internet and have an idea what I want to do and Alessandro also offered some suggestions and knew lots of little out of way places. He is a driver, he does not walk you thru museums but he is very informative during the drive and he answered my questions well. We made a friend that day.

 

We visited Florence just briefly as we like little villages, small wineries, picturesque places that are not so crowded. We have been to Florence and honestly if you have traveled alot and you are not into art gallerys or you have see one too many cathedrals, doing a quick stop in Florence is not bad. There is so much to see in the Tuscany region. It will depend on your goals. Our goal was to experience the charm of Italy, not the rush.

 

Also we chose to skip Pisa because there is NOTHING to see in PIsa other than the Tower. We had been there before and were horribly disappointed at that time. The only thing to do in Pisa is see the tower, take a few silly pictures and see the small cathedral. Its almost as if they built Pisa in the middle of the countryside and decided not to build much of a village to go with it. Google Earth it and you will see.

 

Alessandro knew exactly where the big tours would start so we started in the opposite direction and hit the most charming mid-evil town of

San Gimignano. This town is inside a fortess with little shops, charming views, they had an open air market that day that was fun to visit. One of the highlights of our travels. One of the museums there has a treasure hunt if you have teenagers, they can run around the village with clues.

 

Alessandro then took us to a homegrown winery that was over 300 years. They have a restaurant there in an old building, very charming. We saw how wine was made, some historical winery equipment including the type on I love Lucy episode where they tromp the grapes, we saw vintage wine made the year we were born, tasted some wine and Tapenade and visited with Frey the resident dog. While we were there the resident cat snagged a bird which made for an interesting response from our daughter and some photo ops. Even my little girl enjoyed this stop. Very interesting.

 

 

Then we stopped for lunch in another village and met the Mad Butcher from TV and ate at his restaurant. We headed out to Florence, stopping along the way at vineyards and overlooks for pictures and then we went to Florence and walked around a couple hours.

 

 

We did not feel rushed or anything and we missed most of the rush of people so it felt like we really experienced the charm of Italy.

 

 

It was Awesome and Alessandro was imformative, funny and knew the area very well. :)

 

 

 

I saw mixed reviews on Alessandro but I the tour business in Italy is very competitive and licenses are hard to come by. Based on my experience it was an amazing trip so don't believe the negative as I can't imagine the person providing it was a reasonable person or perhaps they were a competitor. I almost forgot his email alecamma@hotmail.com

Edited January 26, 2013 by sedrake
Forgot to add info

[Scarlet and grey]

Hello!

 

Seeing all three is possible in one day, but I suggest a private driver. We booked Alessandro Cammilli and it was a fantastic and action packed day. He picked us up at the ship and off we went. We visited Florence first. We stopped in cafe for coffee, strolled along the Ponte Vecchio for some shopping. He also took us to a scenic overlook where we got great photos of the Florence skyline. He also arranged tickets for us so we could make a quick stop to the the David.

 

Once we finished our stroll through Florence, we were off to Tuscany. The drive is all part of the adventure. We arrived at a wonderful winery to enjoy a scenic and delicious lunch outdoors and afterwards had a wine tasting and took photos.

 

Finally, we ended out journey for a quick stop in Pisa. We were not there for long, so only had time for a few photos before heading back to the cruise port.

 

It was a very busy, but fun day and Alessandro did a great job escorting us. It really gives you a sample of many different aspects of this region of Italy. It will surely inspire you to go back for several return visits!

 

here is his email alecamma@hotmail.com

 

Where were the wineries? Between Livorno and Florence, or towards San Gimignano in Chianti wine country?

 

Thanks!

[Hlitner]

I will just post a simple thought! Sometimes, less is better! Over the years we have coined a term we call the "It its Tuesday it Must be Belgium" Syndrome and perhaps it applies to this thread.

 

Hank

P.S. If you have no clue about this post go rent the movie by the same name

[maidut]

Where were the wineries? Between Livorno and Florence, or towards San Gimignano in Chianti wine country?

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

The wine region we visited was the Chianti Classico between Florence and San Gimignano, it was really beautiful. And although we did a lot in one day, I never felt rushed.

[Ctaycruiser]

Pisa and Florence in 1 day is doable....but more than that you'd be rushing and not really see anything. Also be careful in Pisa, there are a lot of pickpockets there. Seeing Florence and maybe something else like a winery or something in the countryside would be ideal IMO. We found Pisa to be too overrated and too touristy and we could've done without the visit there.

[midwestchick]

Pisa and Florence in 1 day is doable....but more than that you'd be rushing and not really see anything. Also be careful in Pisa, there are a lot of pickpockets there. Seeing Florence and maybe something else like a winery or something in the countryside would be ideal IMO. We found Pisa to be too overrated and too touristy and we could've done without the visit there.

 

 

Not only pickpockets but we were also warned by our tour guide about there being a lot of the little "gypsy kids" that steal purses, etc. We got there much later in the day and did not see any that day....thank goodness. And it was loaded with tourists and other tour buses.

[Robcruiseman]

We took a tour while cruising on the Serenade of the Seas in May 2013. We used Alessandro Cammilli tours. Ales picked us up at the cruise port in Livorno and drove us to Pisa for a picture stop and then to Florence. The first stop was a panoramic view of Florence from a hillside park. Then in Florence he toured us around. He stopped and gave us a map for an hour walking tour on our own. This was great! We were able to shop, grab some gelato and see some famous buildings. Their was a light rain and he had umbrellas for all of us. The rain stopped after we started walking. After the walking tour, we then headed for Tuscany and a lunch at a very good meat shop. Then we went on a tour of a winery that makes Chianti wine and balsamic vinegar. We sampled the products and made purchases that were shipped for us. He stopped at an American cemetery outside of Florence when WWII soldiers are buried. We were amazed at this cemetery--we did not know about it. We then had to head back to the ship, but wanted to see more. We just ran out of time.

 

He was very reasonable and speaks English very well. His website is: http://www.alessandocammilli.com You can also find him on facebook as: Alessando Cammilli Wine Tours

 

His email is: alecamma@hotmail.com He will design a tour for what you want to see and do, or if it is your first time he will take you to see the highlights. I highly recommend him. The four of us had a blast. His car is new and very clean.

[maidut]

I agree with the last post. I am a travel agent and when I have clients port in Livorno, I recommend they book Alessandro Cammilli for a private shore excursion. I've personally taken this day trip with him and cannot recommend it enough. It is an excellent way to get the flavor of the region and a wonderful way to spend your limited time in Tuscany.

 

Alessandro will pick you up at the cruise port, and customize your itinerary for you. My clients will typically see some scenic vistas in Florence, enjoy some free time walking around Florence, even visit the statue of David in the Accademia. They will then venture off to Tuscany for some wine tasting and lunch, and on the way back to the cruise port they will typically stop and Pisa for photos.

 

When I talk to my clients about their cruise, they often mention the day spent with Alessandro was the highlight of their entire trip.

 

So yes, it is possible to see all three (Florence, Pisa and Tuscan wineries) in one day. And it will definitely whet your appetite for wanting to come back for another (longer) visit.

 

Here is his info:

alecamma@hotmail.com

http://www.alessandrocammilli.com

 

Buon Viaggio!

[slidergirl]

Two hours in Florence will get you absolutely nothing but the ability to check the "visit Florence" box on your life list. You definitely will not get into the Accademia with that little time. No time to really "see" anything nor do anything. People can spend an hour just looking at all the storefronts on the Ponte Vecchio. I spend 2 hours just in the Mercato Centrale….

 

From the port to Pisa takes about 30-45 minutes. Pisa to Florence takes about 1.5 hours. Florence to that fattoria takes an hour of driving. From the fattoria back to port takes about 1.5 hours. You're going to be spending quite a bit of time in that vehicle and precious little time at your stops. I honestly wouldn't trust anyone who says you won't be rushed with this itinerary and you will be able to sight see those places. Sounds more like a "drive by" to me.

[Hlitner]

We agree with Slidergirl. Florence is an amazing city deserving of more then a quick whistle stop! We have personally spent several full cruise days and many nights (while on lengthy driving trips in Italy) in the city and would return in a heartbeat. Tuscany is a wonderful part of Italy (there are many other wonderful regions), but trying to see too much in a single port day does not leave one with much time to "smell the roses." We always recommend that a first time visitor to the port of Livorno..simply consider spending their entire day in Florence with possibly a quick visit to Pisa (we are not fans of Pisa but understand the attraction of the Tower).

 

As to Tuscany in general, it is worthy of many weeks of one's time.

 

Hank

Edited December 18, 2015 by Hlitner

[Flatbush Flyer]

I'm sure this has been asked before and I'm trying to research on the threads, but since ships stop in Livorno for just a day typically, is it possible to do all these things within the time in port? I'd love to do all three but wondering how realistic it is and how fast paced it will be, and whether things will be missed.

 

 

 

For Pisa, would one have enough time to climb up the tower? For Tuscany, stop and take photos?

 

 

Florence in a day? No. In a week? Maybe.

[Hlitner]

Guess we should have added more to our post. Climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa requires tickets which are normally obtained via advance reservation although it is sometimes possible to get a last minute ticket by waiting in a long queue. As to taking photos of Tuscany, the region is over 8,800 Square Miles. You can take a photo from the ship and it will be part of Tuscany. You could also be take a photo of Tuscany in Grossetto which is about 80 miles from Livorno (and that is just in one direction). To put it in simple terms, Tuscany is about the same size as the State of New Jersey.

 

Hank

[Turtles06]

I honestly wouldn't trust anyone who says you won't be rushed with this itinerary and you will be able to sight see those places. Sounds more like a "drive by" to me.

 

Note that the poster resurrected a thread that is 2 and a half years old to make the sales pitch. :rolleyes: