If you’re visiting Florence and want to explore a different Tuscan city during your stay, consider taking a day trip to Pisa. In Pisa, you’ll find a bunch of great things to see and do — Leaning Tower of Pisa, anyone? But what’s the best way to get from Florence to Pisa?
In this article, you’ll learn about all the different ways to get from Florence to Pisa. Whether you would prefer to take a train, drive a rental car, or take the bus, we’ve got you covered. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to decide on the best way to make the trip.
So without further adieu, let’s take a look at the different ways for you to get from Florence to Pisa.
Florence to Pisa by Train
Probably the most common way to make the trip from Florence to Pisa is via train. As the most popular public transportation method in Italy and throughout pretty much all of Europe, it should come as no surprise that there’s a train from Florence to Pisa. Popular tourist destination to popular tourist destination, there will almost always be a train going between the two!
Due to the popularity of the two cities and their relative nearness geographically, it’s a short trip to go from Florence to Pisa — and back if you want to — via train. Head to Firenze Santa Maria Novella Railway Station in downtown Florence and buy your ticket to Pisa. Hop on board and get comfortable. Although the trip isn’t very long, you will be making stops along the way.
Sometimes the train from Florence to Pisa will make up to seven stops or more for drop-offs and pick-ups, so make sure you get a comfortable seat if you can! The typical sequence will go as follows. From Firenze Santa Maria Novella, you’ll stop at Firenze Rifredi, followed by Signa, then Empoli Train Station, then San Miniato – Fucecchio, followed by S. Romano – S. Core, and the last stop will be at Pontedera – Casciana T. before finally arriving at Pisa Central Station.
That might sound like a lot of stops and that it will just take forever, but if you’ve ever traveled the high-speed trains of Europe, you’ll know that they work incredibly efficiently and get you from point A to point B quickly. The entire trip, including all stops, will only take you about 1 hour and 10 minutes, the fastest of the three options here. And you can expect to pay only around $10 – $12.
Florence to Pisa by Car
One of the best ways to travel around Italy — including going from Florence to Pisa — is by car. If you’re traveling, this more than likely means a rental car, but don’t let that deter you. Renting a car in Italy is shockingly cheaper than renting a car in many other places, including the United States.
You can find rental cars for as cheap as $6 – $10 per day in Italy, depending on when you go. That’s cheaper than taking a train from Florence to Pisa! And the beauty of having your own car to drive around and you please is that you don’t need to count on anyone else or make any extra stops. You just go where you please.
That said, getting from Florence is a super simple drive, taking less than an hour and a half to get there. Along the way, feel free to admire the views of the countryside and take it all in. It’s a beautiful drive! From Florence, head out onto Via Ghibellina and SS67 going towards Via Marco Polo. This leg of the trip is only about 2.5 – 3 miles and will take you around 10 minutes or so.
Once you get to A1/E35, keep your eyes out for the Pisa Nord Est exit soon after and take it. After about 55 miles, you’ll be coming up to the last portion of your trip. It’s just a series of taking a few different exits back to back, and you’ll be in the city center of Pisa.
Take Via San Pio da Pietrelcina, Via Monsignor Aristo Manghi, Via Ferruccio Giovannini, Via Giuseppe Moruzzi, and lastly, Via Statale 12 to Via Contessa Matilde. And that’s it, you’ll be smack dab in the middle of Pisa.
The total drive time is about 1 hour and 20 minutes, and the only extra cost, once you have the car rented, is the gas that you used. But getting from Florence to Pisa, and even heading back, will likely not even use a full tank!
Florence to Pisa by Bus
Taking buses from Florence to Pisa will typically require you to go from one bus to another a couple of times along the way, but the journey itself isn’t too bad. There are a few different bus routes that you could take to make the trip, including a route similar to the aforementioned way of getting there by car.
But for the sake of variety, we’ll also look at a different route that’s even more common for buses to take (if you want to get somewhere besides the airport!). There is a non-stop, straightforward bus route that will get you from Florence to Pisa in just about an hour flat. Simply grab your ticket and hop onto your bus at Piazza Stazione in Florence.
And following a fairly similar general route to Pisa as before, you’ll arrive at the Pisa Airport. The issue here, of course, is that you’re just at the airport. And to get to your actual final destination, you’ll need to hop on another bus or rideshare. This route costs about $14.
If you want to take a bit of a different route that will take you to Pisa’s city center, then start off at Busitalia SITA Nord Autostazione in Florence. Hop on board for a very short ride to Pierluigi da Palestrina (only about 3 minutes). Once there, switch buses and head to Viale Europa Fr. 736 — this is the meat of the trip and will take about an hour. From there, one last switch to the bus heading to Via Bonanno 113 in downtown Pisa. This will set you back about $22 in total.
As mentioned, the first route to the Pisa Airport will take just about an hour, and then you’ll need to add time to get to your final destination within Pisa. The second route will take a bit more time, about 1 hour and 50 minutes. But you’ll end up in a much more useful place in Pisa where you can get to attractions easier.
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