The Livorno Centrale station is about 3-12 kilometers (1.8-7.2 miles) from the port area, more or less, depending upon where your ship docks. If you are planning to go to Florence, Pisa or elsewhere on your own, walking to the station is not an option.

The image on the left shows the cruise terminal area and the alternate docking locations. A recent visit (7,8 Oct 2008) confirmed that most of the possible docking locations are within the working, industrial port. Walking is not an option! Options are the cruise shuttle, taxi, or a pre-arranged private tour. Taxis were charginging a flat fee of 5 euro per person (minimum 6) for a trip to the train station.

The cruise shuttle should drop you in the Piazza Grande area on Via Grande. The bus to Livorno Centrale follows the red line clearly shown on Via Grande in the image on the bottom left. The station is the last stop for the bus prior to its return to the port area. Bus tickets are about 1 euro and can be purchased at a tobacco or newstand, or on the bus for slightly more. Buses are very frequent (10-12 minutes) so your wait won't be long. There is a validation machine on the bus so be certain to get your ticket stamped. Travel time should be less than 10 minutes depending upon traffic.

Crowded buses (like trains) are a prime spot for pickpockets. Be on guard and watch your valuables.

The schedule at the right shows direct (no changing trains) trains from Livorno Centrale to Firenze SMN. Firenze has three train stations. Firenze SMN (Santa Maria Novella) is the second station that you will come to. It is distinguished by the fact that it is a terminal (trains dead-end at the station) rather than a pass-thru station. Getting off at the wrong station will add considerable walking to your day.

Not all trains for a day are shown. There are trains earlier/later than those shown. Trains requiring a change in Pisa are not shown. All trains will stop briefly in Pisa. Be certain to verify your train times with the Trenitalia Schedules prior to your trip and upon arrival at any train station.

The aerial image on the left is to give you an overall view of where things are in relationship to the train station, Firenze SMN. A majority of the streets between the Duomo and Ponte Vechio are pedestrian only.

In the image below you see an enlarged area directly around the front of the station. Inside the station (from the platform area), with the tracks to your back, go left side exit of the station (past where McDonalds is.)On your right you will see an escalator and stairs going down. Take either. At the bottom, keep going straight. You are in an underground shopping area. Keep going straight and up the stairs at the end. You will be near the front of the church of Santa Maria Novella. (Eliminates dodging traffic and the endless construction of the Firenze Tram.) Continue straight and you are but a few short blocks to the Duomo.

The streets around the Central Market and between it and the Church of San Lorenzo area worth noting. If this is where you wish to go, take a left in the underground, just prior to reaching the stairs. This will eliminate another street crossing. The street can be recognized by the small white 'dots' along the streets which, in realty, are tented vender stands. If you are looking for souveniers, this is the place to go. Beware of 'knock-off', name brand, leather goods. Those who buy, as well as those who sell, can be heavily fined. Be certain to haggle on the price 'a lot.'

The schedule on the left shows the afternoon and evening trains for your return to Livorno Centrale. Trains prior to noon are not shown. Allow a minimum of 30 minutes for travel time to the port (ship) from Livorno Centrale. Leave one train earlier than you think that you need to.

Be certain to verify your train times with the Trenitalia Schedules prior to your trip and upon arrival at any train station.

Ticket Cost:

1 classe – 9.50 Euro per person (one way) (children 4-10 about 50% less)

2 classe – 6.30 Euro per person (one way) (children 4-10 about 50% less)

Schedule Verification:

Before departing for Italy, verify train schedule times at http://www.ferroviedellostato.it/homepage_en.html. Upon arrival at the first station, verify schedule times. Make note of the train number as your destination may/may not show on the schedule board. Use the train number to find your track (binario.)

The departure board is in Firenze SMN. This is the old style board with mechanical letters and numbers. The newer boards are 100% digital. The column to the left of the times is the train type/train number. (On the day this was taken, we were waiting for the Eurostar to Roma Termini at 13:20.)

In most cases, the time that you have available to get on/off a train is very limited – 2 minutes! No, that is not a typo. Yes, there are exceptions (but not many.) It is for this reason that you will find people moving from car to car long after the train has left the station. Get on board and find your car/seats afterwards.

At the other end of your train ride, know about when your train is due to arrive (they are actually quite punctual.) A few minutes prior to the anticipated arrival time, move towards the doorway. When the train stops, move quickly to get off. (This gets to be a challenge (with luggage) which I address in depth at Italian Trains FCO_ROM_CIV

Ticket Validation:

After you purchase your ticket, and prior to boarding the train, you must get your ticket validated (time-stamped.) Located on most platforms are yellow machines such as the one in the photograph. You slip your ticket in and it will be stamped. (Note: if it doesn’t stamp after a couple of tries, move to another machine. These machines do break down.)

Traveling with a ticket that has not been validated is the same as traveling without a ticket at all. Fines are heavy! The validation scheme applies to tickets on buses also. For buses, the validation machines are located on-board at the front and rear of the bus.

Be it on a train or on a bus, you may be approached by a conductor who will check your ticket. Conductors on buses are the hop-on, hop-off types. You may or may not even see them. During the course of 6 train rides in June ’07, we never had a ticket checked. In fact, on numerous bus rides in Roma and Firenze, we never had a ticket checked. Oct '08 update - during the course of 20 train rides, our tickets were checked all but two times. On a bus in Siena, three bus company inspectors came onboard our bus (one through each door) and caught/fined a local for traveling without a ticket.

Sample Train Ticket:

Read our review on our 6/2007 med cruise: Click here

Need specific information about this or other Med Cruise related subjects?

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