Florence Day Trip From Rome: Two Tours Compared

Both tours leave from Rome and bring you back there at night: you sleep in Rome, and the driver does the long road. Already staying in Florence? Skip these two and see our main list, where every trip starts in the city itself.

At $178 per person, the coach trip is the Florence day trip from Rome with the most reviews here: 2,505, at 4.6. You ride an air-conditioned coach, and on the way the guide talks about Tuscany, its landscapes and its history.

In Pisa you get about 1.5 hours on Piazza dei Miracoli: the Romanesque cathedral, the classic photo with the Leaning Tower, a coffee. In Florence the guide gives a short introduction past Piazza del Duomo, the Mercato Nuovo and the Ponte Vecchio, and then about 2.5 hours are yours. Would rather not wander blind? Add the audio-guided walking route when you book. This is a Rome to Florence day trip for people who like their own pace.

The second listing is a day tour from Rome to Florence for people who want to be walked through it. At $323 per person it is the pricier choice and the better rated: 4.8 from 394 reviews. Pickup is in Rome, and you travel in an air-conditioned minivan, 6 or 7 per van and at most 12 per guide, with a tour assistant all day.

In Pisa, about 1.5 hours with a guided visit to the Baptistery and the cathedral beside the Leaning Tower. At 12:00 the group leaves for Florence and stops for lunch. At 2:30 PM a guide starts the walk: Santa Maria del Fiore and Brunelleschi’s dome, the Baptistery, Giotto’s bell tower. The itinerary includes 45 minutes in the Accademia Gallery for Michelangelo’s David and ends with 15 minutes at Piazzale Michelangelo, over the Ponte Vecchio and the Arno. Guides speak English, Portuguese, Spanish and French.

Neither listing is a Rome to Pisa tour on its own: both carry on to Florence the same day. Treat each as a Rome to Pisa day tour with Florence added, and about 1.5 hours is enough for the square, the cathedral and the photo. Neither listing mentions a climb up the tower, so do not count on going up.

Book the coach trip. At $178 per person it is the Florence day trip from Rome with the most reviews here, 2,505 at 4.6, and it gives you 2.5 hours of Florence on your own.

Want a guide in both cities and the David? The small-group tour at $323 per person is rated 4.8, with at most 12 people per guide.

If your base is Florence rather than Rome, compare the trips on our main list. Our top pick is the Cinque Terre and Pisa trip at $100 per person, with the train along the coast and the Leaning Tower in one day. The one with the most reviews, 11,897, is Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano at $55 per person.