Dream July 2014

[biffybear]

Hi

 

Off to the med again in July on the Dream. Have done most of the ports but have never been to Florence. What would be your suggestions. Do we book an organised trip or do it on our own? Has anybody any experience of a private tour? We also liked the look of the winery tour but feel we would regret not spending the day in Florence. Any contributions welcome.

[Sailaway487]

Hi

 

Off to the med again in July on the Dream. Have done most of the ports but have never been to Florence. What would be your suggestions. Do we book an organised trip or do it on our own? Has anybody any experience of a private tour? We also liked the look of the winery tour but feel we would regret not spending the day in Florence. Any contributions welcome.

 

We've done the Florence On Your Own trip before with Thomson. As Florence is quite a drive from Livorno, we decided to do it this way, so then we didn't have to worry about running late returning to the ship.

 

We liked Florence as a city. Very Italian, and also not too big so you can get around it quite easily.

[biffybear]

Hi

 

Thanks for that. The Florence on your own excursion seems a long time. Is there enough to fill the time? Do you think it's best to do the half day Florence and then the leaning tower?

[Sailaway487]

Hi

 

Thanks for that. The Florence on your own excursion seems a long time. Is there enough to fill the time? Do you think it's best to do the half day Florence and then the leaning tower?

 

It's about 1 hour 15 - 1 hour 30 to get to Florence, so there and back there is 3 hours gone. So, for the 7 hour trip, in the end you get 4 hours in Florence itself. There is plenty to do to occupy yourself for those 4 hours (or 6 if you do the longer trip), especially when you factor in a leisurely lunch.

 

I'm not keen on Pisa myself, so that is why we avoided that one. :D

Edited February 15, 2014 by Sailaway487

[kruzseeka]

I would agree with Sailaway. Although we like DiY as far as possible, the logistics of getting there by train persuaded us to go with Thomson and also did the Florence on Your Own transfer. That way we felt we would get more time in the city but as it is very compact you can see a lot in a day and pull in all the main sites.

 

One or two tips: we've been twice and both times felt we'd been very close to being the victim of pick-pockets so just exercise great care. Also we got royally ripped of near the Uffizi (the square where the copy of the statue of David is located) when we bought two ice creams which cost us 20€. Make sure you ask about prices first! It is perhaps the place we most felt we needed to be on our guard as tourists.

 

If you want a nice place for light refreshments there is a department store La Rinascente on Piazza Repubblica which has a rooftop terrace with fab views across the city and is reasonably priced. They have toilets in the store too and they can be be hard to find!

 

But despite my warnings, it is a great city to visit. Enjoy! ;)

[happy v]

We did the Florence and Pisa trip, and I agree there isn't much in Pisa but for me the tower was enough. There are some things you just have to see for yourself and all the photos and films did not prepare me for the sight....it really does look as if it is about to fall over!:eek:

[biffybear]

Thanks for all the advice, really looking forward to visiting now.

[campolady]

<<We also liked the look of the winery tour but feel we would regret not spending the day in Florence>>

 

We did the half day Pisa and Winery tour (afternoon).

 

Really enjoyed it.

Edited February 16, 2014 by campolady

[Little Nell]

I'm with Sailaway on this one. I didn't like Pisa much either and loved Florence. We do most cities ourselves but I wouldn't recommend you do that with Florence. It is a distance away. The last time we were there some of the ship's tours were about an hour late back because of the traffic. Anyone caught up in a situation like that on an independent trip would be left behind, assuming the ship's tours were back on time. It does happen, we have seen it ourselves.

 

Only you can decide whether to do a city or a wine tour. You know what you can cope with. When we last went to the Med we were in Rome and Florence on consecutive days. I don't know what your itinerary is on this tour, but you will know your physical capabilities. The last time we were in Rome from the ship it was 40 degrees.

 

Happy planning and I hope you enjoy whatever it is you decide to do :)

[biffybear]

We have decided to spend the whole time in Florence this July. We will use the ships excursion to get there and back but will find our own way around when we get there. The wine tour can wait for another day. Thanks again for the advice.

[Little Nell]

Great choice, Biffybear.

 

I hope you let us know how you get on :)