Getting to Florence from Livorno Cruise Port—
Best Guide for 2025

Updated: July 2025

Written by: Martina, a former cruise line employee

The best ways of getting to Florence from Livorno cruise port include taking a special tourist bus, one of the shore excursions, or a train. This page helps you decide what means of transportation to take to suit your time-frame and your budget.

How to get to Florence from the port of Livorno?

Travelling from the Livorno cruise port to Florence is easier than you might think, even though Livorno doesn’t drop you within walking distance of Florence’s iconic sights. In fact, it's about 90 km away—and without a good transportation plan, you’ll spend more time traveling than exploring!

Whether you choose

• a dedicated shuttle bus, 
• a regional train, 
• a private transfer, 
• or a cruise-approved tour,

...you can reach Florence in about 75–90 minutes and enjoy several hours of sightseeing.

Keep reading to discover each option’s travel time, costs, pick-up locations, and booking tips—especially helpful if you’re a cruise guest exploring Tuscany on a tight schedule.

But before you start, look at my Florence map that shows you the distance between Livorno, Florence, and other attractive destinations in the area.

What is the best way of getting to Florence from Livorno cruise port?

In this article, I will focus on different kinds of transportation when it comes to getting to Florence. There are a few, and choosing the best one for you will depend on a few factors:

• How much money would you like to spend?
• How much time in port do you have? Are you staying for an overnight?
• Would you like to focus on Florence only, or do you also want to experience Pisa, Lucca, or maybe even some wineries in Tuscany?
• Are you able to walk all day?
• How much stress can you handle when your schedule is tight and unexpected delays pop up?

In this article, I will only focus on visiting Florence, only, without any other Tuscan destinations!

So let me give you an overview of the best Florence transportation options from the cruise dock of Livorno, Italy:

Getting from Livorno to Florence is a must! The only question is 'how do we get there?'

What are the best private Florence tours?

Private tours are the best way of getting to Florence for those who love

• individual attention, 
• comfort, 
• flexibility, 
• and direct interaction with tour guides. 

Also, if you travel with family or a bigger party, this can be the best way to accommodate a larger group of people.

When booking a private independent tour, make sure you are clear about whether you have:

• an official and qualified tour guide
• or just a tour driver that will drop you off at certain points.

That matters a great deal in Florence—especially if your main goal is to dig into its history and attractions.

If you’re simply interested in soaking up the atmosphere and learning from your book guide, being dropped off by a driver to explore on your own will be just fine.

Here are some of our suggestions for the best-rated private Florence shore excursions...

How to take a group shore excursion from Livorno to Florence?

Taking a shared shore excursion or day trip from Livorno to Florence is easy and can be done two ways:

• You can book a shore excursion through your cruise line—the problem is cruise lines can order only a certain number of buses from the local tour operators, so the number of seats they offer by the time you get on board is very limited, and the tours sell out very quickly. In other words, you run the risk of missing out on the tour of your choice. 
• Booking your Florence tours or shore excursions in advance online gives you access to a much wider selection of experiences—often at lower prices (no markup!) than booking through your cruise line. So it pays to compare your options before committing.

If you would like to research your online options catering to cruisers specifically (getting you back in time), you can start exploring some of the bestsellers I posted for you below:

Getting from Livorno to Florence by train

Can you get from Livorno to Florence by train on your own? Yes, you can!

If you travel a lot, you know that it is always possible to get from point A to point B independently. 

If you don’t like to stay stuck on a tour bus with the same people you’ve been sharing the ship with for days, have your own idea of what you’d like to see in the port of call, or simply want to save some money… You can get from the Livorno ship dock to the Livorno Centrale train station and walk into Florence from there.

We have prepared a detailed set of instructions in our article Travel to Florence by Train, or you can go directly to the Trenitalia site to check the timetables. 

 Can you get to Florence by a shuttle bus?

If you glanced at our Livorno map and thought taking the train to Florence might be too much hassle, today's your win—instead, we’ll show you the simplest way to get there without breaking the bank!

There is actually a no-brainer shuttle bus service that takes a lot of stress out of your Livorno-Florence independent travel planning.

And it's super affordable, too!

It offers direct, air-conditioned transport from central Livorno straight into Florence’s historic center, guaranteeing return before ship departure—crucial factor for us cruisers!

Read all about it on our Livorno to Florence by Bus page, or make a quick booking for this transfer service right here; it sells out quickly with 4-5 ships in port on the same day!

Can you get to Florence by taxi?

As you get off your cruise ship onto the pier surrounded by containers and nothing much else around, you will see several taxi drivers offering one-way or round trips to Florence, Pisa Italy, or Tuscany.

They will have some kind of posters/boards advertising their itineraries. These taxi drivers will not be willing to take you to Livorno train station only.

If you are interested in getting to Livorno Centrale train station in a taxi, you can find more information in our article Travel to Florence by train.

Depending on their level of proficiency in English, these drivers will often act as your impromptu guides, especially if you’re taking a trip around Tuscany.

They love to show you the little hidden gems, restaurants that only the locals know about, and small wineries. However, you cannot expect them to walk you around Florence explaining how the Renaissance was born here.

In Florence, they will simply wait for you and meet you at a pre-arranged time to take you back to the ship.

For the whole day tour, expect to pay from at least €550.

Most drivers will have smaller vehicles for up to 4 people. If you travel with a larger group and need a minivan, book one of the tours ahead of time online to make your getting to Florence stress-free.

Is taking a Florence car rental a good option?

If you like to be completely independent and take things into your own hands, you might consider going with car hire when it comes to getting to Florence.

When booking your car online have in mind one thing: not all the companies can deliver the car straight to the ship.

To our knowledge, it is only Hertz and Avis that are certified to do this.

Before making a final decision, keep a few things in mind: finding a car park in Florence is not the easiest thing.

Once in Florence, you will not need a car at all. Florence is perfectly walkable and the whole center is one big pedestrian-only area. So even if you wanted, you wouldn’t be able to use the car. Honestly, taking a car rental might be a better option when wanting to do a little tour around Tuscany!