Livorno on a Sunday

[dannysporea]

Hello all,

 

We’ll be in Livorno on a Sunday. Was trying to find a rental car but it looks like all agencies are closed on Sunday and only the one at the airport in Pisa is open, so I’ll need to rethink the plan to use public transportation. We will probably just take the train or the bus to Pisa and back… but I am confused on how to get to the bus/train from the ship. I’ve read conflicting information that there is a complimentary shuttle to the port entrance, or a paid shuttle to the city center, or the cruise line will provide a shuttle, some paid, some free (we will be on Royal Caribbean)… which is the truth for our cruise line? And where exactly is the industrial port entrance where the shuttle takes us so I can see what is the closest bus stop from there and how to get to the train station?

 

Thank you.

Edited August 18, 2023 by dannysporea

[-Lew-]

Have you checked out Sifracar?  Whenever we have called on Livorno, Sifracar has had a rental desk in the terminal.  Email them to confirm...

[dannysporea]

1 hour ago, -Lew- said:

Have you checked out Sifracar?  Whenever we have called on Livorno, Sifracar has had a rental desk in the terminal.  Email them to confirm...

 

Yes, they answered my email and said are closed on Sunday...

[mapleleaves]

There will be a shuttle from the ship to Piazza Municipio in downtown Livorno.  Apparently some cruiselines charge for the shuttle and others don't.  This Piazza is where many tour companies, including Tuscany Bus meet their pax  

Livorno Centrale, the train station is 1 1/2 miles away from Piazza Municipio; walk or take a city bus. Doubtful that you'd find a taxi for such a small fare, but they'd be happy to drive you to Pisa since it's 30 minutes away.

When you get to Pisa Centrale, you can walk to the Leaning Tower in about 30 minutes, or take a cab. When I was there in May a cab was about 15E. 

[dannysporea]

I guess we will take LAM BLU to the train station and then the train to Pisa Centrale and walk from there, but I am still not clear on how to get to Piazza Municipio, if Royal has a shuttle or there is a port shuttle that gets us to the port entrance... cannot figure out where that is or what to take from there to Piazza Municipio if the shuttle leaves us at said port entrance.

[euro cruiser]

I've never heard of a shuttle at Livorno going to a port entrance, they all go to Piazza Municipio.

[CynBeth6]

We took a taxi to Pisa. They were there right when we got out of the terminal it was so easy. We arranged a price with the driver and a time for him to pick us back up.

[Girr]

7 hours ago, dannysporea said:

I guess we will take LAM BLU to the train station and then the train to Pisa Centrale and walk from there, but I am still not clear on how to get to Piazza Municipio, if Royal has a shuttle or there is a port shuttle that gets us to the port entrance... cannot figure out where that is or what to take from there to Piazza Municipio if the shuttle leaves us at said port entrance.

I'm not sure what LAM BLU is, but here's my experience from this July:

 

1.  A shuttle will be at your ship and takes you to Piazza Municipio.  As already mentioned, it may be paid for by your cruise ship.  If not, it's 7 euros per person round trip (offered by the city of Livorno and they take credit card or euros).  It's not allowed to walk thru the port at Livorno.

 

2.  Piazza Municipio is about 1.5 miles from the train station.  You have the option to walk or wait for the city bus (around the corner) to get to the train station.

 

3.  At Piazza Municipio there are bus excursion companies that will take you directly to Florence, Lucca, etc.

 

4.  Taxi.  Occasionally, and occasionally needs to be stressed, you can get a taxi to take you directly to Livorno's train station.  For the most part taxis don't want to do this short/cheap fare.  (Someone recently reported here they also couldn't get a taxi at the train station to the port late in the day.) They are looking to take you directly to Pisa.  It's my understanding the taxi fare to Pisa is between 60-75 euros one way.  Perhaps CynBeth6 can come back and give a better idea of the cost she negotiated for a round trip.

 

5, When I was there (it wasn't a Sunday) Avis was set up under a tent renting cars next to the ship.  You might see if they open just for cruise ships.  Keep in mind Italy does require an international driver's license, you need to know about ZTLs (trust me I've got my share of tickets), and you need to take out insurance.

 

6, Okay, this is strictly my opinion, and I don't like it because for the most part I always DIY.  But by the time you mess with the free/not free shuttle then make your way to the train station, you've already wasted the better part of an hour.  This will also be the case coming back.  If your plan is only to go to Pisa, no biggie.  However, if you're planning on going to Florence, I wouldn't waste the time.  Sometimes it's worth the cost of taking an excursion to save time.  Check to see if there's a roll call for your cruise and look to see if anyone is looking to share a private or small group excursion.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by Girr
Adding info.

[dannysporea]

Thanks! Yes, we only want to go to Pisa and trying to figure out the timing to purchase the tower timed tickets in advance. If the ship docks at 7am, based on all of the above, I think it is safe to assume we should be at the tower by noon, with all the transfers and walking, right? Thanks again!

[Girr]

Should be plenty of time.  Just make a best guess calculation to start your trip:

 

1. Go to EN - Trenitalia to look at train timetables.  I put in a random Sunday and saw five trains during the 9 o'clock hour, none for 10, and two for 11.  Train ride varies between 15 to 20 minutes.

 

2. Pisa Centrale is 1.1 miles from The Field of Miracles, so a 15-to-30-minute walk.

 

3. Calculate an estimated time to get off ship, wait for shuttle, walk 1.6 miles to train station.

 

With an early morning start you'll have time to walk around Pisa.  Just remember, you'll have walked almost three miles even before you start up the tower.  A nice warm up!

 

 

Edited August 19, 2023 by Girr
Adding info.

[Hlitner]

Agree with Girr on the DIY option to Pisa.  Not my favorite place, but some do enjoy.  For a long day at Pisa, we would probably plan a nice picnic.

 

Hank

[euro cruiser]

There is also a bus option, that eliminates the need to get from the shuttle bus drop off to the train station and back.  It's much more expensive than the train, however (19 euro round trip vs. 5,60 euro)

 

Transfer service to Pisa from Livorno (shore-experience.com)

 

There is also a public bus (CTT Nord line #10) but it only goes as far as the train station.  It's slower than the train, so only useful if there is no train service for some reason:  Linee extraurbane (cttnord.it)

[dannysporea]

For the public bus #10 from Piazza della Repubblica, where do you buy the tickets? Can you buy them from the bus driver? I don't think the regular urban bus tickets from the tobacco shops work on this line... Although a little slower than the train, will likely be less hassle than LAM BLU + train + waiting in between. On Sundays it looks like the #10 leaves every hour on top of the hour. We are arriving in Livorno at 7 AM, so there might be a chance we could catch the 8 AM bus to Pisa, and, if not, the 9 AM should be fine and should be there after an hour. Then walk to the tower, so I think a timed tower ticket after 11 AM should be safe? What do you guys think? Thanks again!