La Spezia Shore Excursion: Private Day Trip to Florence and Pisa

La Spezia, Italy

Head out on an independent shore excursion from the La Spezia port to the towns of Florence and Pisa, breathing in the magical atmosphere that only Tuscany can offer. Your private driver will take you first to the historic center of Florence, where you can explore and appreciate its artistic and cultural treasures at your leisure. Then head to Pisa to see the Field of Miracles and be enchanted by its world-famous landmark, the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Prefer to see Florence and Pisa with a guide? Upgrade to include a guide in addition to the driver, and receive a skip-the-line ticket to either the Uffizi Gallery, the Accademia Gallery or the Museum of Palazzo Vecchio in Florence!

After meeting your driver at the port in La Spezia, sit back and enjoy your drive into the Tuscan countryside toward Florence. Driving up Florence’s beautiful Viale dei Colli, you'll reach the marvelous terrace called Piazzale Michelangelo, named after the artist who sculpted one of the city’s most famous pieces of art – the original David statue. From the terrace, enjoy panoramic views of Florence and the Arno Valley.

Follow an uphill road until you reach Forte Belvedere, built around 1590 to control the Florentine population in case of internal riots. Then visit Pitti Palace, home to many galleries, or stroll through the magnificent Boboli Gardens – with this independent tour, the choice is yours!

Next head off to Piazza della Repubblica and admire its triumphal arch, known as the Arcone. During this time in Florence, you decide what to do next. Perhaps walk through the Piazza del Duomo to see its magnificent Baptistery and Giotto's Bell Tower (any entrance fees at own expense).

Your shore excursion then continues to Pisa, roughly 40 minutes away. Stop by the Field of Miracles and marvel at Pisa's famous landmark, the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Although it was designed to be perfectly vertical, it started to lean during construction. Your itinerary in Pisa is also flexible, so perhaps take a walk to Piazza dei Cavalieri, where you can admire the historic Scuola Normale, one of the most famous universities in Italy. After a wonderful day full of sightseeing, your driver will take you back to your ship in the La Spezia port.

Worry-free Shore Excursion:
We will ensure your timely return to the La Spezia port for this activity. In the rare event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of-call. If your ship is delayed and you are unable to attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details.

USD $134.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by:   Julia B,    October 2017
This tour was awesome. Our tour guide and driver Antonio was very knowledgable and answered all of our questions about Florence and Pisa. Thouroughly recommend it

Review by:   charleshoag3,    June 2017
Get a guide in order to have the best experience. Also, note you must take the bus to meet the guide. We had no idea, so we lost some trip time.

Review by:   William V,    June 2017
There is no better way to know and explore the history and beauty of a city such as Florence than with a local and that was our experience with Luigi Valerio, our driver. He was extremely responsible, respectful and very committed to his work, making our day memorable. By knowing the most beautiful places like no one else, we were able to enjoy the city at its greatest splendor. My recommendation, stay away from those large buses tours and coordinate a private tour as we did, you'll never regret it.

Review by:   David A,    May 2017
We had a very full, amazing day in Florence/ Pisa. Alessandro did a great job as our driver. He picked us up promptly at the cruise port and took us to Florence where we met with Marzia who gave us a fascinating walking tour of downtown Florence and the Accademia Gallery. She knew everything about the history of Florence and her knowledge of art was unbelievable. After our tour with Marzia, Alessandro picked us up again and took us to Pisa where we had time to walk and see the leaning tower and the surrounding buildings. He had us back to the cruise port perfectly on time! It was a great day!!

Review by:   Juan H,    August 2016
Excellent driver, Luigi was professional and extremely knowledgeable of Italy. He arrived on time, was very accomodating and the van was awesome. He truly made my families experience to Florence and Pisa amazing!!!

Review by:   Elizabeth H,    August 2016
We used several companies during our 10 day trip to Europe and this was by far the nicest vehicle. Leonardo was our driver. He was so polite, very prompt, and his his knowledge of of the sights was astounding! He was great. This was a very long excursion and it was nice to have such a large vehicle for our party of 6. When we got to the Academia, our private guide was Rosanna. She was very good. She also took us to the best Gelato place. Our only suggestion is that while Leonardo was explaining the sites, he kept turning his head, and that made my mother, very nervous. So she complained. Otherwise, it was excellent. But Leonardo is a professional in every way and I felt safe the entire time and his knowledge of the sites was simply amazing.

Review by:   dgcarr,    August 2016
If you have 1 day in port to visit Florence, this is the way to go. Our driver, Carlo, was marvelous. Very knowledgeable and engaging. Showed us a lot of sites to and from Florence and gave us a tour around the city. Our guide was Bridgett. Wonderful lady, very gracious and enjoyable. Showed us through the museums, basilica's and walked the center of Florence. Well worth the money.

Review by:   Brandie M,    August 2016
This WAS actually a private tour which was not always the case for tours we had booked for other shore excursions - only our family of five. Our driver, Giovanni: was awesome professional and friendly happy to share his knowledge and experiences. Excellent tour guide with an immaculate Mercedes Benz minivan and WIFI - which was great during the 2 hour drive to Florence! Once we arrived in Florence, he connected us directly to our walking tour guide, Gabriela, who was amazing. She shared her vast knowledge of art and history in a way that was interesting, even for our 16 and 13 year-old sons! We would not have seen a fraction of the treasures in Florence in the short time available without a guide and skip-the-line tickets. Excellent shore excursion - worth the expense - highly recommend!!

Review by:   Barbara S,    October 2015
Leonardo did a superb job on our tour to Pisa and Florence. He drives a really nice MB Luxury van. Safe driver and very professional. Nice guy.

Review by:   Donald N,    October 2015
Judy was a wonderful tour guide. We did the half day tour and were very pleased with the content. Pick up and drop off from the port was convenient and comfortable. Highly recommend.

Review by:   sburruss,    September 2015
One of our best tours! We only had 1 day from our ship and we received the best! The company, Prestige Rent provides superb service. Our driver, Francesco, was excellent. He gave us great information as we rode through the countryside! It made our ride very enjoyable. We then met our walking tour guide, Emilio. WOW! He was an impressive young man and we learned so much about Florence in a short period of time! We definitely saw the best of Florence. His knowledge and communication was great! We went right past the lines into the Accademia Museum. Francesco met us promptly after our tour and took us to Michelangelo Square for the views of the city and then on to Pisa. An excellent driver and guide! We were back to our ship in plenty of time. Highly recommend!

Review by:   Barbara W,    July 2015
Excellent experience

Review by:   ARACHELI G,    July 2015
We had an amazing experience with this tour. Our driver Leonardo is local and very knowledgeable about the place. He was like a tour guide to us too, very informative . He showed us around the beautiful and popular places of Florence . We had lunch in Florence and did a little of shopping. Then headed to Pisa. He dropped us close to the tower. We are very thankful to Leonardo because he was able to fit a lot of sights in a short amount of time. I definitely recommend this tour and request for Leonardo as a tour driver.

Review by:   Shauna S,    July 2014
Our guide was awesome! He was very friendly and knowledgeable!

Review by:   Bruce Z,    June 2014
Everything was top rate 1st class! Both our driver and guide were extremely knowledgeable and professional! We saw many highlights, had great food and a fantastic time! Both the guide and driver were flexible and got us back to the ship on time. I will use Viator for all future excursions! Fantastic company !

Review by:   Penny H,    June 2014
This tour is too short to accomplish if you are coming into port from La Spezia. The drive is beautiful but takes to long to leave any time to enjoy Florence. Our driver did his best to keep us moving and out of traffic so we didn't loose any time in traffic. He was very friendly and arrived on time

Review by:   Karen G,    January 2014
This was the third tour on our trip. How convenient it is to be picked up at your port and taken privately to the placed you want to see. Our guide was very friendly and was informative.

Review by:   Martie E,    November 2013
Our tour guide was great - we did not go to pisa, but drove by and walked the streets. There were 9_br/_ of us in a private tour and we felt the day was very informative and special.

All Traveler Reviews...