Getting to Tuscany Advice

Do You Know What's the Best Way
to Get to Tuscany from Anywhere in the World?

Tuscany is one of the major Italian regions, and its central geographical location makes getting to Tuscany very easy.

Whether you prefer flying, traveling by sea or by land there are plenty of options to choose from. Your way of getting to Tuscany mostly depends on your preferred transport and on the location where you want to be.

"Focus on the journey, not the destination.
Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it."
- Greg Anderson

Getting to Tuscany by Plane

Getting to Tuscany If you want to get to Tuscany quick, with no waiting in the traffic jams as if you went by car or by bus (traffic jams in Italy are a common thing, especially if you are traveling in the high season) and you don't have a fear to fly, then here is some info for you. Tuscany has 6 airports so you have all the freedom to choose where you want to fly to, as well as the airline company and the airfare.

Even in high season (from April to September) you can score a Ryanair flight to Pisa airport almost at no cost. Of course, you should make sure to book your trip early because low fare airlines may have certain restrictions.

A friend of mine has managed flying his whole family over to Tuscany for holidays for just about 130 Euro. Ryanair flights from UK and Ireland sometimes can have amazing rates when you have the patience to find your travel offer.

Another low fare airline operating in the Florence airport is Meridiana. It offers flights to many European cities like London, Amsterdam, Moscow, Nice, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and much more, and also flying intercontinental (New York).

Something else to keep in mind when you are flying low-cost: forget about quality service. Basic seats, no meal onboard included in the price and standard delays on arrival.

VIP Flying

Getting to Tuscany - Private jet flights What's more? Flying to Tuscany is also easy for the V.I.P. travelers: there are numerous airports in Tuscany offering private jet flights and services.

Airports offer a wide choice of car rentals, as well as they are conveniently connected with the city by local bus or by train.

Travel to Tuscany TipBox

If you are staying in Rome and would like to visit Florence during your stay in Italy take
A Day in Florence - Tour from Rome.

Airports in Tuscany

Travel Tips to Italy

Travel to Italy Insurance

Best Hotels

Getting to Tuscany by Sea - Ports in Tuscany

Tuscany has plenty of small ports having mostly regional and interregional interests, but the main tourist ports you might be interested in are:

Port of Livorno
Port of Piombino
Port of Portoferraio (Elba)

Port of Livorno is the first option that comes to my mind. It is a big commercial port that takes care of transporting cargo and counts up to 300 regular lines of passenger traffic.

There are various cruisers with destination Livorno, as well as many regular ferry lines. You can check for the available destinations of the port of Livorno.

However, traveling to Tuscany by sea is not my preferred option. There are just not enough international regular lines (most of the existing routes just connect Livorno with various islands), and if there were it is just not the quickest way of getting to Tuscany.

Getting to Tuscany by Car

Traveling to Tuscany by land can be either by your own car or by train.

There are three highways in Tuscany that connect it to the other Italian regions and to Europe.

When you travel by car from northern or central Europe A1 Milano-Napoli would be the easiest route for you. This highway connects Tuscany from north to south.

A12 Genova-Livorno is the best route when you are getting to Tuscany from France or Spain. A12 highway follows the Tyrrhenian cost and will lead you directly to Rome.

Tuscany Road Map

Highway A11 connects Firenze with Pisa and Livorno and open doors to many other towns and cities of Tuscany. A11(subject to toll pay!) runs parallel to the provincial road FI-PI-LI, which is a toll-free road for traveling between Tuscan towns. From my personal experience, it's almost quicker to get from Livorno to Firenze by FI-PI-LI than by the A1 highway.

You can view road maps route planner and check the real time highway traffic in Tuscany by visiting the official Italian highway organization.

For car rental information and driving in Tuscany tips please visit our rental page.

Getting to Tuscany by Train

There is also a chance you will decide to fly first to Rome or to Milan (if you find a better airfare to the big international airports) and then take a train to Tuscany. Luckily, train network here (making a part of train service in Italy in general) is set up very good which makes traveling by train in Italy easy and convenient.

Check for your route in the table below. You'll find the available options for your trip, train schedules and cheap train fares.

The main Tuscany train station is Santa Maria Novella in Florence. There is a direct train route from Rome to Florence which makes it easy getting from Rome to Tuscany, and another train route connects Genoa and Rome passing through such Italian towns as Massa, Viareggio, Pisa, Livorno and Grosseto.

Travel to Tuscany TipBox

All the train tickets in Italy must be stamped on the station before getting onboard.

You can get penalized if you buy a ticket and just forget to stamp it.

The train ticket in Italy is not so expensive in general, and a tourist has an option to choose whether to buy cheaper tickets of Trenitalia or pay a bit more for the comfort and the speed of Eurostar.

It takes you about one hour and a half to get from Florence to Livorno by train, and about ten minutes to get from Livorno to Pisa.

Train tickets can be bought in many travel agencies, right on the train station or online.

You can also get Italy train pass for traveling by train through Italy or entire Europe - if you are planning to visit more countries - cheap.

And here you can find a great resource with Rail Map of Italy, including all train stations in Tuscany.

Read about Bus Travel in Italy