Tuscany Cruise Tours

Tour details

• Meeting time: 7:30am, back to the ship by around 5:00pm (we will adapt to your ship’s regulations)
• From Livorno Port: €850 for driver for the day and guide for 4 hours in Florence / €900 to also include a photo stop in Pisa
• From La Spezia Port: €990 for driver for the day and guide for 4 hours in Florence / €1,020 to also include a photo stop in Pisa
• Minivans can seat up to 6-7 people. If you have a larger group, please write for an accurate quote!

Tour description

Make your one day in Tuscany count with a full day shore excursion to Florence with a possible photo stop in Pisa to see the leaning tower!

Meet your guide in Florence for a half day tour that can include highlights of the city center like the Duomo, Signoria Square & Ponte Vecchio bridge or skip the line to visit one of Florence’s most famous museums like the Accademia Gallery or the Uffizi Gallery. Our tours are a blend of highlights, hidden gems, artisans and food stops that we can adapt to your interests and needs!

Spend the whole day in Florence or you can choose to stop in Pisa for a quick photo stop of the leaning tower on the way back to the cruise ship.

Tour Details

• Morning start time, about 4 hours
• Cost: €320 for 4 hours with a guide
• Tastings: plan to have about €25 per person for tastings at the market (will depend what we decide to get and your preferences)
• Cost for 1 hour cruise on the canals: €15 per person on a typical canal boat (open to public up to 30 people
• 1.5 hour cheese making class (2-3 people €50/person, 4-6 people: €35/person)
• 1 hour pasta making class in the central market itself with “The King of Pasta!” (€75 per person for 2-8 people)

Tour Description

Livorno was designed with the Renaissance concept of an “ideal city” with a great fortress built by the Medici that can still be seen today and canals for the merchant vessels known as “the Venice district.” For centuries it was a wealthy port city that replaced the Pisan port and was characterised by freedom: freedom of religion and shipping taxes! This fostered a unique community where locals, foreigners and a significant Jewish population lived, worked and worshipped side by side. 

We’ll hop onto a boat for a unique view of the city by water, past its famous grand palazzos, central market, and the Medici fortress into the harbor. Option for large public boat or private luxury boat available. You can also add a half day Tuscan coast boat cruise in the afternoon to have a full day in Livorno (see description below).

Then, we’ll experience the enormous 19th century central market (the largest and most grandiose in all of Tuscany) devoid of the tourist crowds you’ll find in Florence. Here you can try the best prosciutto, cheeses, and olive oil and experience the lively fish market. If you’re up for something stronger, you have to try the Livornese drink “Ponce” – a coffee & rum pick me up you won’t find anywhere else in Tuscany. Then follow in the footsteps of Stanley Tucci as you try the famous crispy chickpea flour sandwich known as “cinque & cinque.” 

Lastly, you can discover some of the history of Livorno and its role in contemporary artistic movements. The birthplace of the turn of the century composer Mascagni and artist Modigliani, Livorno also boasts a significant contemporary artistic scene, fostered by the gallery Uovo alla Pop and evident throughout the city in works by international street artists Clet, Blub, Lediesis, Merioone, Exit Enter, and more. Depending on your level of interest, we can point out some street art along the way or visit a few galleries or an artistic co-working space. 

If you have any room left, we’ll go for a stroll and a gelato on the Terrazza Mascagni’s checkerboard terrace overlooking the sea or drop you off for a seafood lunch.

Tour Details

• Morning start time, full day
• From Livorno Port: €940 for driver for the day / €700 for driver for the day and guide just in Livorno
• Costs of tastings and cooking additions in Livorno are additional (see above)

Tour Description

Livorno and Pisa are two Tuscan coast cities that have been rivals for centuries and on this tour you’ll get to know both of them. In Livorno, choose to visit in the morning to exploring the Venice district and medieval fortress of Livorno along with the historic central market where you’ll taste the best local foods or take a boat out for the afternoon along the coast. Then choose if you’d like to head to Pisa or Lucca in the afternoon (tour descriptions below).

Tour details

• Start time: Between 7:30-8:00am
• From Livorno Port: €940 for driver for the day and guide in both Pisa and Lucca / €700 for driver for the day and guide just in Pisa
• From La Spezia Port: €1,090 for driver for the day and guide in both Pisa and Lucca / €850 for driver for the day and guide just in Pisa

Tour Description Pisa

Begin with a stroll through the medieval streets where the contradictions begin: you’ll see a massive street art mural by Keith Haring, the delicate church “Santa Maria della Spina” perched on the banks of the Arno river and the house where Galileo was born not far from where he’d later perform his gravitational experiments. Medieval porticoes and churches contrast with the bustle of Pisans shopping at casual outdoor markets in the morning or heading for aperitivo with friends in the evening.

You’ll always find students in the Square of the Knights with its famous university founded by Napoleon and the tower of Count Ugolino, mentioned in the furthest reaches of hell in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Numerous Popes, Galileo, the 20th century physicist Enrico Fermi and even singer Andrea Bocelli received their educations in Pisa. This square speaks to the Academic tradition of thinkers and scholars that have made Pisa a center of innovation for centuries. 

No visit to Pisa is complete without a thorough exploration of the Square of Miracles. The grand cathedral is a magnificent example of the perfection and grandeur of Romanesque architecture. If we time our entry to the baptistry just right, you’ll hear the ethereal echo effect of singing voices before visiting the tomb of the great scientist Fibonacci in the monumental Camposanto cemetery full of beautiful statues and frescoes. (This is also the location of the famous swinging lamp that inspired Galileo’s experiments.) Last, but certainly not least, you’ll learn the secrets and circumstances behind how the tower of Pisa got its lean and how engineers have worked for centuries to maintain it before climbing its 297 steps for a spectacular view over the Square of Miracles.

Tour Description Lucca

Lucca is a city where silk trading and banking systems were a perfect match to develop one of the strongest Republics in Italy. Today its history is preserved in the mighty ring of walls that surround the city and the magnificent cathedral of San Martino. Thanks to its position on the pilgrimage route of the Francigena road and the influence of northern pilgrims and merchants in the Middle Ages, a unique Romanesque and Gothic style flourished in Lucca – evident in its church architecture. The result is a city resplendent in shining white marble church facades and refined artistic details hidden within their walls.

On this tour, we’ll stroll Lucca’s mighty Renaissance walls, visit a 17th century urban villa and its private garden, peek into some of the Romanesque churches, climb the medieval house tower that boasts a miniature forest at its height and see the piazza built over an ancient Roman amphitheater. Along the way, we’ll seek out the best gelato, coffee and pastries for a sweet refreshment.