La Spezia to Florence

[martyap]

Has anyone used a private tour company from the port in La Spezia to Florence (without Pisa?) Our go to company Rome Cabs is not doing that tour for lack of drivers in the area? Thanks

[CruiserBruce]

Rome in Limo operates in the area. We have used them out of Florence.

[euro cruiser]

La Spezia is not a good port from which to visit Florence, regardless of how hard cruise lines try to market it that way, unless you are overnighting at La Spezia and don't need to race back.

 

Livorno isn't great, but it's far better as a starting point for Florence.

 

By car from La Spezia it's two hours each way, more with traffic, and you'd be driving in with morning traffic (but thankfully returning before the end of day commute).

 

This may have changed, but it used to be that the port at La Spezia did not allow taxis or car service cars into the port, you were forced to use the port shuttle bus to the cruise terminal and be picked up there, taking away 15 - 30 minutes on the beginning and the end of your day.

[SharonK]

On 10/23/2023 at 8:01 AM, euro cruiser said:

La Spezia is not a good port from which to visit Florence, regardless of how hard cruise lines try to market it that way, unless you are overnighting at La Spezia and don't need to race back.

 

Livorno isn't great, but it's far better as a starting point for Florence.

 

By car from La Spezia it's two hours each way, more with traffic, and you'd be driving in with morning traffic (but thankfully returning before the end of day commute).

 

This may have changed, but it used to be that the port at La Spezia did not allow taxis or car service cars into the port, you were forced to use the port shuttle bus to the cruise terminal and be picked up there, taking away 15 - 30 minutes on the beginning and the end of your day.

do have any recommendations for other things to do?  We are doing Cinque Terra already so we need something else.

[martyap]

The last time we ported in LS we took a public bus to Porto Venere which is beautiful in itself. We ate lunch there and took the ferry to the Cinque Terre, then the train back to LS. Seeing the Cinque Terre villages from the ferry was amazing. The villages were very crowded and actually a turn off. 
This trip we will again head to Porto Venere for lunch and spend time walking around LS……r/t by the #100 bus

[SharonK]

3 hours ago, martyap said:

The last time we ported in LS we took a public bus to Porto Venere which is beautiful in itself. We ate lunch there and took the ferry to the Cinque Terre, then the train back to LS. Seeing the Cinque Terre villages from the ferry was amazing. The villages were very crowded and actually a turn off. 
This trip we will again head to Porto Venere for lunch and spend time walking around LS……r/t by the #100 bus

Thank you for the suggestion.  I’ll check that out.

[Over from NZ]

On 11/7/2023 at 9:29 AM, SharonK said:

do have any recommendations for other things to do?  We are doing Cinque Terra already so we need something else.

Presumably you've done Pisa? That's an easy train ride from La Spezia. Otherwise, I second the recommendation for Porto Venere. We had 4 nights in La Spezia in late May and went to all the CT villages, did the day trip to Pisa and went to Porto Venere and loved it! 

[AlFrank]

Getting off the ship in LS, is the train station near the port to get to Florence?

[edinburgher]

On 11/6/2023 at 8:29 PM, SharonK said:

do have any recommendations for other things to do?  We are doing Cinque Terra already so we need something else.

Reading this thread may give you several suggestions.  Ignore the reference to driving in the subject line as it quickly morphs into non-driving options, of which there are a number.

 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2911139-la-spezia-anything-to-do-within-a-short-drive/#comment-64723978

 

[edinburgher]

16 hours ago, AlFrank said:

Getting off the ship in LS, is the train station near the port to get to Florence?

.Referring you to the post above as LS is actually a good base for several scenic sightseeing options, just not ideal for Florence unless you are overnighting..  If you are determined to go to Florence, bear in mind that at least half (or even slightly more of a typical 8 hour day depending on train timings ) will be spent in transit and you would need to pre-book entry to some of the major sights in Florence which could be tricky to correctly time once you arrive in Florence.  Whilst there are some direct trains, others require a change in Pisa which could add to the travel time.

[AlFrank]

On 1/10/2024 at 10:40 AM, edinburgher said:

.Referring you to the post above as LS is actually a good base for several scenic sightseeing options, just not ideal for Florence unless you are overnighting..  If you are determined to go to Florence, bear in mind that at least half (or even slightly more of a typical 8 hour day depending on train timings ) will be spent in transit and you would need to pre-book entry to some of the major sights in Florence which could be tricky to correctly time once you arrive in Florence.  Whilst there are some direct trains, others require a change in Pisa which could add to the travel time.

We are disembarking in La Spezia and planning on going on to Florence where we are spending 3 days, have hotel reservations already.  Just was inquiring about the location of the Centrale train station from the cruise port.  Walking distance or a taxi?

[martyap]

To further complicate things I believe you must board a shuttle from the dock to the terminal in La Spezia…….and yes Florence is too far for just a port day

[edinburgher]

On 1/11/2024 at 8:21 PM, AlFrank said:

 

 

On 1/9/2024 at 10:26 PM, AlFrank said:

Getting off the ship in LS, is the train station near the port to get to Florence?

Thinking that you got misleading replies because,

1) you added you question to a thread about a day tour from LS to Florence without saying you were not looking for either a day trip or a tour,

and,

2) You didn't say you were actually disembarking, presumably with luggage.

 

Without the information for either #1 or #2 options, I think we all thought you were looking to get to Florence and back in a day with sightsdeeing in Florence in addition,  and as it isn't ideal, members were quite thoughtfully advising you of tha.

 

As it would be quite unusual to be ending an itinerary in L.S. ,Is this a private arrangement between you and the cruiseline or will everyone be leaving the ship there? I am thinking it must be a private arrangement due to the need to use the port shuttle bus between terminal and ship for all passengers and their luggage, and that would not be at all practical if it were a turnaround port rather than a port of call. I think that was '#3 reason for not thinking you were actually leaving the ship.

 

Regardless of the distance from the terminal building to the train station, if you are disembarking with luggage you will surely be looking for a taxi to take you to the train station?  Or perhaps a public bus? If you won't have any luggage you could presumably simply walk?

 

 

Edited January 13 by edinburgher

[cruisemom42]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:21 PM, AlFrank said:

We are disembarking in La Spezia and planning on going on to Florence where we are spending 3 days, have hotel reservations already.  Just was inquiring about the location of the Centrale train station from the cruise port.  Walking distance or a taxi?

It’s about a mile and a quarter from the port to the main train station (La Spezia Centrale). You must take a port shuttle from your ship to the terminal. After that you have the option of walking, a taxi or a local bus. If you’re light packers, I have read the walk is relatively pleasant. Taxis may be reluctant to take a short fare to the station, but you may be able to negotiate a fare.

 

Edited January 13 by cruisemom42

[AlFrank]

4 hours ago, edinburgher said:

 

Thinking that you got misleading replies because,

1) you added you question to a thread about a day tour from LS to Florence without saying you were not looking for either a day trip or a tour,

and,

2) You didn't say you were actually disembarking, presumably with luggage.

 

Without the information for either #1 or #2 options, I think we all thought you were looking to get to Florence and back in a day with sightsdeeing in Florence in addition,  and as it isn't ideal, members were quite thoughtfully advising you of tha.

 

As it would be quite unusual to be ending an itinerary in L.S. ,Is this a private arrangement between you and the cruiseline or will everyone be leaving the ship there? I am thinking it must be a private arrangement due to the need to use the port shuttle bus between terminal and ship for all passengers and their luggage, and that would not be at all practical if it were a turnaround port rather than a port of call. I think that was '#3 reason for not thinking you were actually leaving the ship.

 

Regardless of the distance from the terminal building to the train station, if you are disembarking with luggage you will surely be looking for a taxi to take you to the train station?  Or perhaps a public bus? If you won't have any luggage you could presumably simply walk?

 

 

Thank you for all your corrections on my questions

[AlFrank]

1 hour ago, cruisemom42 said:

It’s about a mile and a quarter from the port to the main train station (La Spezia Centrale). You must take a port shuttle from your ship to the terminal. After that you have the option of walking, a taxi or a local bus. If you’re light packers, I have read the walk is relatively pleasant. Taxis may be reluctant to take a short fare to the station, but you may be able to negotiate a fare.

 

Thank you for this information it’s exactly the information I needed to make our plans, very appreciated 

[edinburgher]

On 1/13/2024 at 7:05 PM, AlFrank said:

Thank you for all your corrections on my questions

They were not meant to be "corrections" only an explanation as to why you were given the replies you received.  Enjoy your stay  in Florence when the time comes.  A few days are better than a rushed few hours.