Pisa day trips from Florence
A Florence day trip to Pisa can be a 6-hour coach run to the Leaning Tower or a 12-hour day that adds the Cinque Terre. Below are the four tours worth booking, at $44, $46, $73 and $100 per person: what each price covers, how the tower climb works, and which one to pick.
Quick answer
The short answer. For a Pisa day trip from Florence built around the Leaning Tower, book the half-day tour at $44 per person: 6 hours, rated 4.5 from 2,197 reviews, with the climb as an option. Want a guide on the square? The guided tour at $46 per person is rated 4.6 from 1,293 reviews. On a Florence day trip to Pisa the climb is never in the base price.
The half-day tour
The lowest price of any Florence day trip to Pisa on this page.
The $44 per person listing is the cheapest Pisa half day tour from Florence on this page, rated 4.5 from 2,197 reviews. It leaves from Piazzale Montelungo and takes about 1.5 hours by coach each way, with about an hour in Pisa itself.
You see the Piazza dei Miracoli, the cathedral and the Monumental Cemetery. Two things are options, not part of the base fare: a guide inside the cathedral and the climb up the Leaning Tower, 294 steps. Children under 8 cannot go up.
As a Pisa day tour from Florence, it is the shortest and simplest here: a coach both ways, the square, and the tower if you add it.
Four tours, side by side
Prices are per person. On a Florence day trip to Pisa the price and the tower climb are separate questions, so each has its own column.
| Trip | Price | What the price covers | Tower climb | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half-day Pisa tour | $44 per person | Coach both ways and the Piazza dei Miracoli | An option, 294 steps; not under 8 | 6 hours |
| Guided half day in Pisa | $46 per person | Coach both ways and a guide for the cathedral, the Baptistery and the Camposanto | An upgrade | 6 hours |
| Pisa and Lucca | $73 per person | Coach, Pisa with a cathedral ticket, Lucca and a Buccellato tasting; guides by option | Only with the option that includes it | 9 hours |
| Cinque Terre and Pisa | $100 per person | Coach, a local train, Vernazza, Monterosso, then Pisa | Not listed | 12 - 12.5 hours |
The guided tour
The Florence day trip to Pisa with a guide on the square.
For $46 per person, the second listing adds what the first sells as an extra: a Pisa guided tour of the Piazza dei Miracoli, through the cathedral, the Baptistery and the Camposanto. It is rated 4.6 from 1,293 reviews, starts at Piazzale Montelungo and takes 6 hours, with about 1.5 hours by coach each way.
The name says “with Leaning Tower”, but the climb itself is an upgrade you add when you book, so read the option before you pay. The tour is not suitable for wheelchair users.
For a proper tour of Pisa in half a day, with someone explaining what you see, this is the one.
The tower climb
On a Florence day trip to Pisa the climb is never automatic. This is how each of the four tours handles it.
Add it when you book: 294 steps. Children under 8 are not allowed to climb.
The guided walk covers the square; the climb costs extra on top of the base price.
The listing names a cathedral ticket in Pisa; tower entrance comes only with the option that includes it.
About 1.5 hours on your own on the square, no climb listed, and the shuttle from the coach park to the tower is not included.
Pisa and Lucca
The Florence day trip to Pisa that adds a second Tuscan town.
The $73 per person listing is the Pisa and Lucca tour from Florence on this page: 9 hours, rated 4.5 from 371 reviews. From Montelungo it drives about 1.5 hours to Pisa for a guided visit with a cathedral ticket, then 45 minutes on to Lucca.
In Lucca a guide walks you through the old town inside its walls, past the Anfiteatro square, the Guinigi Tower and San Martino Cathedral, and the day ends with a taste of Buccellato, the local cake. Guides speak English, Spanish or French.
Check your option: the low-cost one leaves out the local guides. As a Lucca day trip from Florence, it is the one listing here that adds a second town without a 12-hour day.
In pictures
Four frames from the stops on these tours: two in Pisa, one inside the tower, one in Lucca.
Battlements, a tiled roof over the arch, stalls beyond.
The round marble Baptistery seen from a doorway across the square.
Worn marble steps between stone walls: 294 of them on the climb.
Marble arches and a brick bell tower; San Martino Cathedral is on the Lucca walk.
Cinque Terre and Pisa
Our top pick for the whole site also stops in Pisa. The $100 per person day is rated 4.7 from 3,327 reviews and lasts 12 to 12.5 hours: a coach to La Spezia, a local train, about 1.5 hours in Vernazza and 2.5 hours in Monterosso, lunch at your own cost.
Then about 1.5 hours on your own on the Piazza dei Miracoli before the drive back, with an English-speaking guide. The shuttle from the coach park to the tower is not included.
It is the longest day trip from Florence to Pisa here, and the only one with a train ride. If the climb matters, pick a half-day tour.
Before you go
Small print from the listings, worth reading before any Florence day trip to Pisa.
All four start at Piazzale Montelungo. On the Pisa and Lucca tour, the meeting point may vary by option.
Travellers on both half-day tours mention a walk of 12 to 15 minutes from the coach.
No climb under 8 on the half-day tour. The guided tour is not suitable for wheelchair users.
The listed price can be the simplest option. A guide in the cathedral or the climb may cost more.
Our verdict
Book the half-day tour. For most people, the best Florence day trip to Pisa is the shortest one: at $44 per person it is the cheapest tour from Florence to Pisa here, and the climb is an option you can add. Want a guide on the square? Pay $46 per person for the guided tour.
Want more than Pisa? Add Lucca for $73 per person and 9 hours, or take our top pick, the Cinque Terre and Pisa day at $100 per person, if a 12-hour day suits you.
Book direct
Our top pick first, then the two half-day tours and the Lucca day. Every price here is per person.
★ 4.7 · 3,327 reviews
★ 4.5 · 2,197 reviews
★ 4.6 · 1,293 reviews
★ 4.5 · 371 reviews
Compare with the other day trips
Pisa is one of four day trips this site covers, next to the Cinque Terre, Siena and San Gimignano, and Chianti. Our top pick is the Cinque Terre and Pisa day at $100 per person: the villages by train, then Pisa. Compare it with every trip in our list of day trips.
Common questions
The two half-day tours take 6 hours, with about 1.5 hours by coach each way. The Pisa and Lucca tour takes 9 hours, the Cinque Terre and Pisa day 12 to 12.5 hours.
Yes, if you choose it: it is an option on the half-day tour, an upgrade on the guided tour and part of one option on the Pisa and Lucca tour. No climb is listed on the Cinque Terre and Pisa day.
Not under 8. The half-day listing says children under 8 years old cannot climb the tower. For child prices, check the listing of the tour you pick.
All four start at Piazzale Montelungo in Florence. On the Pisa and Lucca tour, the meeting point may vary with the option you book, so check the details of your option.
Per person: $44 for the half-day tour, $46 for the guided half day, $73 with Lucca and $100 with the Cinque Terre. The tower climb and some guides depend on the option you choose.
Go deeper
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From Florence: Cinque Terre & Pisa Day Trip
★ 4.7 · 3,327 reviews · 12 - 12.5 hours