Tuscany: Modes of Transport
Dear Friends,
Today, I am writing a short article about which are the main ports, trains, airports and motorways in order to arrive in Tuscany.
Airports
Tuscany has two international airports in Pisa and Florence, connected to the main cities in Europe. However, if you are planning your journey from a non-European country you should take a flight that lands to Rome or Milan. Rome is without a doubt the better option as it is much closer to Tuscany than Milan.
Ports
For the tourist that come from Spain and who wish to travel with their own car, the best option is to travel by boat with Grimaldi or Grandi Navi Veloci, which leave from Barcelona and arrive at Livorno. As an alternative if you can't make it to this port, you still have the possibility to arrive in Civitavecchia (which is at the north of Rome and a little bit more than an hour and half drive to reach the south of Tuscany) or Genoa (situated at a two hour's drive from the north part of Tuscany. If you are travelling with your pet, I would advise you to travel to Genoa so you can have your pet in your room. Nevertheless, don't forget to check with the boat company that conditions have not change concerning pets.
Trains
Italy enjoys a very modern system of trains that connect all the main Italian cities. The train are new and very comfortable. They can be quite expensive in case of long distance travel where as the local trains are older but still in good condition and there prices are much cheaper. You need to be aware that the tickets are way more expensive if you buy them directly in the train station, so I would advise you to buy in advance on the website provided by the company (www.trenitalia.com). If you purchase your ticket in the train station, do not forget to validate it in the machine otherwise you will pay extra fees. Florence is connected to Rome and Milan by fast trains and from Florence you can easily access to the cities in Tuscany but not to many of its villages.
City buses
All the cities have their own public network of buses. Unlike what exists in most European capitals where you can't buy the ticket on the bus, well this situation is even worse than the trains because the alternative is not to buy a more expensive ticket but directly a pack with many tickets. They can be bought in tobacco shops and must be validate in the machine at the entrance of the bus.
Buses between Towns
From Florence, you can reach by bus the majority of the villages and town in Tuscany. The frequency of the bus depends on the place you want to go. As most of the different companies are private, you should check the itinerary on Google for each journey you make by bus. The prices of the tickets are fairly affordable.
Taxi
There is not a lot of taxis and they are often non-existent in most of the villages of Tuscany because of the strong protectionism of the government for that category. In Tuscany there are very few taxis and they are very expensive. Most of the time, you have to give them a call to get one. Today, companies like UBER or BlaBlaCar among others are revolutionizing the area of taxis and open up the sector to competition as the government can't do much about it. So in case you need a cab at a more affordable price, you can book it with one of those companies.
Car rental
As in all the places in the world, there are some international and local car rental companies in Tuscany like Avis or Hertz. These are located in the airport, the cities and touristic locations. The price of a rental car is more expensive in Italy than anywhere else in the world due to the important amount of taxes that the governments imposes to the company in Italy. The companies with more affordable prices are MAGGIORE or SICILY by CAR, however, this market constantly evolves that's why we would advise you to use websites that compares the prices so you can find the least expensive company.
Roads
The main road in Tuscany is the A1 which is a highway that connects Milan to Rome through Florence and it is the only road where you have to pay. The others principal roads are the one that goes through Florence-Pisa-Livorno or the Siena-Perugia, these are quick and free roads. If you take the A1, you have to be very careful with the lorries because this highway is very used by the transportation companies since this road links the north of the country to the south.
As always I hope this information has provided useful information for your trip and if you consider this valuable information you can help by clicking on the Blog Google +1 button located at the end of this article. With this small gesture, Google will know that this information is valuable and it will help the blog to have more visitors. You can also share this blog on Facebook or Twitter.
Sincerely
Giorgio
Airports
Tuscany has two international airports in Pisa and Florence, connected to the main cities in Europe. However, if you are planning your journey from a non-European country you should take a flight that lands to Rome or Milan. Rome is without a doubt the better option as it is much closer to Tuscany than Milan.
Ports
For the tourist that come from Spain and who wish to travel with their own car, the best option is to travel by boat with Grimaldi or Grandi Navi Veloci, which leave from Barcelona and arrive at Livorno. As an alternative if you can't make it to this port, you still have the possibility to arrive in Civitavecchia (which is at the north of Rome and a little bit more than an hour and half drive to reach the south of Tuscany) or Genoa (situated at a two hour's drive from the north part of Tuscany. If you are travelling with your pet, I would advise you to travel to Genoa so you can have your pet in your room. Nevertheless, don't forget to check with the boat company that conditions have not change concerning pets.
Trains
Italy enjoys a very modern system of trains that connect all the main Italian cities. The train are new and very comfortable. They can be quite expensive in case of long distance travel where as the local trains are older but still in good condition and there prices are much cheaper. You need to be aware that the tickets are way more expensive if you buy them directly in the train station, so I would advise you to buy in advance on the website provided by the company (www.trenitalia.com). If you purchase your ticket in the train station, do not forget to validate it in the machine otherwise you will pay extra fees. Florence is connected to Rome and Milan by fast trains and from Florence you can easily access to the cities in Tuscany but not to many of its villages.
City buses
All the cities have their own public network of buses. Unlike what exists in most European capitals where you can't buy the ticket on the bus, well this situation is even worse than the trains because the alternative is not to buy a more expensive ticket but directly a pack with many tickets. They can be bought in tobacco shops and must be validate in the machine at the entrance of the bus.
Buses between Towns
From Florence, you can reach by bus the majority of the villages and town in Tuscany. The frequency of the bus depends on the place you want to go. As most of the different companies are private, you should check the itinerary on Google for each journey you make by bus. The prices of the tickets are fairly affordable.
Taxi
There is not a lot of taxis and they are often non-existent in most of the villages of Tuscany because of the strong protectionism of the government for that category. In Tuscany there are very few taxis and they are very expensive. Most of the time, you have to give them a call to get one. Today, companies like UBER or BlaBlaCar among others are revolutionizing the area of taxis and open up the sector to competition as the government can't do much about it. So in case you need a cab at a more affordable price, you can book it with one of those companies.
Car rental
As in all the places in the world, there are some international and local car rental companies in Tuscany like Avis or Hertz. These are located in the airport, the cities and touristic locations. The price of a rental car is more expensive in Italy than anywhere else in the world due to the important amount of taxes that the governments imposes to the company in Italy. The companies with more affordable prices are MAGGIORE or SICILY by CAR, however, this market constantly evolves that's why we would advise you to use websites that compares the prices so you can find the least expensive company.
Roads
The main road in Tuscany is the A1 which is a highway that connects Milan to Rome through Florence and it is the only road where you have to pay. The others principal roads are the one that goes through Florence-Pisa-Livorno or the Siena-Perugia, these are quick and free roads. If you take the A1, you have to be very careful with the lorries because this highway is very used by the transportation companies since this road links the north of the country to the south.
As always I hope this information has provided useful information for your trip and if you consider this valuable information you can help by clicking on the Blog Google +1 button located at the end of this article. With this small gesture, Google will know that this information is valuable and it will help the blog to have more visitors. You can also share this blog on Facebook or Twitter.
Sincerely
Giorgio
Comments
Post a Comment