Exclusive Best of Florence and Pisa

We booked the tour on Aug 24 and group size was large 24 peoples. They have 1 tour guide met us after we landed at the port , we needed to take the port bus to another parking lot for our tour. They have 3 staffs to assist you to the coach. The tour guide lady is very organized to visit the Florence first and Pisa before taking us back to the cruise ship.

Stephanie was the best. Since this was our first stop on the cruise, she spoiled us as none of the guides that followed could ever come close to her performance. This was a quick overview of Florence and Pisa, and there was not enough time to walk to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but we knew that would be the case. I would like to find a tour that had reserved tickets so that when you arrived, you could proceed to the Tower and walk to the top. However, this was a very nice overview and definitely exceeded our expectations. I would highly recommend this tour and especially Stephanie.

Our tour guide Samantha (Sam) was amazing. Very knowledgable and obviously well educated about Pisa and Florence. We learned a lot on our first visit to this beautiful region of Italy. Had a wonderful day. Thank you Samantha 👍🏻

The highlight of our tour of these 2 impressive sites was our tour guide Chiara. Obviously the sites are world class, especially Florence. We had enough time in each place to enjoy the sites, while learning from our guide about noteworthy historical and cultural facts. Yet, Chiara "brought those places to life" as she tirelessly and cheerfully answered all questions and offered factual and, at times, humorous insights. If you only have a day to visit these 2 sites, I highly recommend this excursion with the Shore Excursions Group.

Fabulous tour guide who made this trip even more special!. We did not feel rushed in anyway, and really enjoyed the day.

This was our first trip to Europe and I am so glad we booked the excursions as we would have been lost without them. The guides were very friendly and informative. It was especially helpful that they would point out were restrooms were available as they seem to be scarce for the public in Europe.

Loved the tour guide, she was excellent, very informative, everything was well prepared and planned. loved everything.

I thought seeing Pisa was no big deal, it's a leaning building. I found out it's really something to see, it's a stunningly beautiful building and you really are in awe of how it can possibly be standing. Watch out for the pick-pocket gypsies, our guide actually chased a few of them off. Florence was an amazing place to visit, beautiful churches and the architecture is something to see. Check out the market, bought a leather bag for a great price. Our guide and driver were fantastic. Tour was well run and stayed on time.

I did not go on this but I saw the pictures. My husband loved this tour and his tour guide.

She did a great job showing us around.

Great smaller excursion in numbers which gave a great overview. Would definitely recommend Shore Excursions Group as the way to go!

Stephania was excellent. Great day in Pisa and Florence

Our tour guide was outstanding. Great humor and knowledge. Pisa was amazing, clean and well preserved. Almost looks like it was built 10 years ago! Florence is rich in history and deserves more time to explore. My wife's favorite tour in Italy.

Excellent tour of Florence. The best guide to be had during cruise. Very comprehensive guide in Florence, and a very knowledgeable guide on the bus. Pisa tour not worth more than a quick photo-op.

Great tour guides, especially Stephanie. Because of the small group, we were taken directly to Pisa to the Tower and to the square in Florence. Easy to find tour when disembarking ship. Highly recommend.

We loved the Tours, Tour Guide & Bus Driver. Everyone was so knowledgeable. We have told our friends how much we enjoyed your Staff and how proud everyone is of their area and Country.

I will always remember these 2 highlights when I hear the phrase, ""Mama Mia""! Our tour guide made this day very special with her knowledge of both places and of the area in general. She not only described the history/ architecture but also knew how to avoid the heavy crowds during the day. As extra bonus, she knew where to steer us for a wonderful lunch out of the way of all of the tourists to enjoy not only a delicious lunch but also a little less expensive than on the main routes. She was just a delight with her ""Mama Mia"" sentence endings all day. Great fun all day and learned so much.

The tour was great and the guide was wonderful. I would recommend to anyone.

Great walking tour with knowledgeable guide. Didn't realize there was no time or tickets to see David or the Duomo. Buildings only from outside. Compared to seeing the Vatican and the Coliseum from the inside in Rome, a bit disappointing for my wife. I had seen Florence before there were such lines.

Our tour guide was simply said SUPERB.

The tour of Pisa and Florence was very good. The tour guide (Stephanie) was excellent and we saw all that we wanted to see and were not rushed. Highly Recommend.

Best tour guide ever! She was very interesting and informative the entire time. Kept all of us entertained and engaged

The tour guide was very knowledgeable and helpful. She really know what she's talking about and very familiar of the place.

Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable, so we enjoyed an in-depth history lesson as we viewed Florence and Pisa. We had free time in both places, which was nice also. The walking tour of Florence covered every sight we'd hoped to see, and we enjoyed a stunning view of the entire city during our return ride to the ship. Leaving the ship and finding our guide was quite easy, thanks to the clear directions received with our tickets.

Our guide knew well history and the scenic view from the bus. She paid attention to all the members of this cruise and she be patient. We saw the most interesting things in Florence and explain also the Pise tour. Bravo for this ofshore excursion!

Nous avons eu un guide vraiment bien formÈe. Elle avait de grandes connaissances de l'histoire de Florence et de Pise ainsi que des monuments. Elle a ÈtÈ gÈnÈreuse de ses informations et trËs patiente avec tous les membres. Bravo! Our guide paid attention to all members of this excursion and be patient. She knew the history of Florence and Pise well and give us many informations of interest. Wow!

Stefania was our guide. We were in a group of 15. She new all of our names and where we were from within the first hour. We were travelers not tourists. She was knowledgeable, funny, and seemed to truly enjoy what she does. She told us where to shop to get the best prices and where to eat to get the best food. She even took us for gelato at a place that has been around for many decades!! The entire tour flew by and we were sad to go back to the ship. We highly recommend this one!!!

Piza is surprisingly only a small part of an amazing religious complex. Much history provided by the tour guide on the long bus ride into Florence. Saw great sites and had a couple hours to shop for leather or eat. We chose to eat and enjoyed every bite and sip. Cheers! There were a few heavy squalls pass through that made watching people scatter especially entertaining. :)

This was our first day off of the ship and we did not know what to expect. It turned out that we had almost a private driver. (My family of four and two others who became our friends) Our driver Gianmaria was excellent. Courteous, informative, patient, knowledgeable. This beat a tour bus any day. Would definitly recommend Shore Excursions and will be using them on my next trip for all site-seeing.

Would do it again.

Our guide was Stefania. Knowledgeable and energetic, she kept us moving right along, getting a decent feel for Tuscany and Florence. She took our group to a new and fabulous food court in the heart of the city, where tour participants independently lunched on authentic specialities of the region available from dozens of vendors.

The guide was very knowledgeable and explained everything in very good English. She answered every question asked.

The drive to Florence is long but the enjoyment of the countryside great. The guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable but the time in the city is short. One knows this when the ship only allows a short time but one could spend +++ time in Florence.

We had a wonderful guide. Stephanie was inteligent, knowledgeable and very friendly. If we return to florence we would look her up. She made the trip perfect.

Lack of French-speaking guide.

This was a great excursion. Well organized, and well executed. It was a super hot day and we were taken care of very well. Bring water and snacks for the bus. Our guide Stephania was super. Very good value and better than the tour offered by the ship.

We loved the history that the guide provided. She was very knowledgeable.She remembered all the people names.Ecellent excursion. Polecam wycieczke z pelnym zaufaniem.

So impressed with our guide, Stefania. She is obviously a local who keeps up-to-date with local events ... as well as those that happened a thousand years ago. She is personable and vivacious, as well as being professional. Without her, our fellow tourists would have been just ""window shoppers"". Thank her for me.

Guide did a great job of corralling otherwise drifty passengers.

I really enjoyed out knowledgable tour guide. Our visit to Pisa was perhaps too long even though we did not have time to climb the tower. Then on to Florence, where we could have spent a little more time. I did enjoy the excursion and would take it again if we had a more in depth stay in Florence.

overwhelming experience. Loved the bus tour scenary,visiting heritage sites and excellant tour guide knowledge sharing.

On this excursion, it was only my wife and I, along with a friendly family of five. Even though it rained in Florence, we had a great experience walking through town and learning of all the different buildings along with their history. My wife especially loved seeing a vendor who put on a marionette show in the town piazza! Pisa was also a nice place to visit. We had ample time to walk around the Leaning Tower of Pisa and take lots of photos!

Great English speaking guide, very knowledgeable, Florence and Pisa were beautiful!

Wonderful experience. Our guide Stephanie, a native Florencetine was so kind and knowledgeable We loved every minute. We saw classic as well as her Florence and it so added to our overall experience

This was a fantastic tour, bus ride was a bit long but Stephanie the tour guide was very entertaining and always had amazing information to share. She was funny and very knowledgable. She made sure we stopped at Pisa early enough to beat the large crowds and her walking tour in Florence was spectacular! the only thing was wasn't up to par was the earphones/speaker system but that's not her fault. She made a point to show places off the beaten path that we asked about, new us by name very quickly and even suggested a cute little non tourist place for lunch. I would recommend this tour to anyone!

I fell in love with Florence, with all of the history, statues and artwork. Pisa is fun, to actually see the leaning tower in person. Our guide was very knowledgeable and you could understand her English.

Guide was very knowledgeable but we missed most of the information because the microphones didn't work. With almost 8 hours of walking we needed longer and more frequent rest times. Not enough time to get food and drink. However this was a very busy schedule of sights to see and this was understandable. We would like to have been told in advance to bring lots of snacks and water.

Don't hesitate for a moment to book your land excursions with Shore Excursions Group. We booked a 7-city package with them on a Barcelona - Venice cruise in May, 2014, and were thrilled with each tour. The individual radios allow you to hear the guide. We had Stephanie (Stefania) as a guide for Florence/Pisa. She was very knowledgeable and personable. Like all of our guides, her English was excellent. She gave an informative commentary on the bus -- but not excessive -- and her explanations of each site were detailed and interesting. The time in Pisa was about 1 1/2 hours, but that's sufficient. Florence has so much more to see. Excellent tour in every way. We are recommending Shore Excursions Group to our friends and family.

Bernadetta a new guide is extremely competent. She kept us all interested, has a wonderful knowledge of the area history. Lead a full bus all day and never left anyone behind. Made sure we all got up close and personal with all sights. A wonderful Day for myself and my granddaughter. Highly recommend.

Florence and Pisa are wonderful places to visit. They offer wonderful cultures and rich histories. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and walked us through many historical locations. Since everything was within an easy walking distance the free time could be well spent by doing a specific location a little more in depth by yourself after it was explained by the tour guide (personally I picked the Basilica of Santa Croce). Pisa was also wonderful. Although it turned out to be impossible to go into either the Baptistry, Cathedral, or the leaning tower due to the fact that tickets had to be purchased for particular time slots and upon arrival all the time slots were taken during the scheduled free time (even for the cathedral which is free to enter). If at all possible the tour company should try to acquire these tickets prior to our arrival. Overall, Florence and Pisa were wonderful places to visit and the tour was very informative. The only caution is that it does involve a good deal of walking.

Stephanie was a wonderful guide, and we had a great day. She was knowledgeable and personable. Our tour ran on schedule and was a small group of only 11 people. We toured in a small van which was very comfortable. I would highly recommend this tour.

Best part of our tour

awesome!!!

The shore excursions to Florence and Pisa was well organized and executed. Even though, our ship's shuttle bus was 50 minutes late getting us to the outside of the ship terminal in Livorna, we were able to visit and see all of the point of interest without rushing. The guide even directed us to a wonderful restaurant at the center square.

We only had 7 people in our van so it was easy to be organized. Francesca Ermini was a wonderful guide; full of energy, humour, and historical knowledge. She was very focused on providing a top quality tour. Also our driver David was terrific, took us to optional locations and provided a lot of humour and history along the way to Florence and Pisa. It was a great day.

Adequate time in Florence, but would have liked another hour +/- in Pisa.

Guide was well informed and showed concern for the group. Gave fun and interesting facts from the heart, not from script.

Our guide, Eliza, was amazing. So knowledgeable and such a friendly demeanour. We really enjoyed this excursion as it was well organised and covered all the best Florence and Pisa sites.

Florence is the gem of this trip. Thankfully most of our time was there. Pisa short and OK.

My husband and I took a cruise for our honeymoon. We decided to go with Shore Excursions Group rather than booking our excursions through our cruise ships. We were so glad that we did! We got a better quality tour for a fraction of the cost! The tours were exhausting; LOTS of walking, but how else would you get to see everything, especially in a city where you only have a few hours!!! We really feel that we got our money's worth! The only reason I didn't give 5 stars was that the tours kept getting held up by people who wanted pictures or didn't use their visit time wisely. Either allow extra time for it, or leave them to fend for themselves!

Seeing Roman history and the leaning tower of Pisa was very exciting.

We were picked up from our ship and had a wonderful informative day. The group was smaller than the cruise ship trips and more personalized. We had a nice balance of touring and yet some free time also. She also provided some tips where we went.

There was no lunch included and not much time to explore on your own.

I LOVED our guide Stephanie, she was a JOY!!! She was super knowledgable and incredibly accomodating. Lots to see in Florence tour. Drive thru Tuscany was beautiful and scenic. It was nice having the long drives between port and cities so were able to have little rest in between. Would def recommend!

We really enjoyed this tour. Would recommend it to others.

You will never find a better tour operator in all of Florence! The very best driver and our tour guide was so much fun to be with and so informative. We were able to do exactly what we wanted, when we wanted to. This tour was very accommodating!

This is a great tour.

Very good value. Great guide.

Eliza our guide was not only charming but very knowledgeable. The use of ear phones was perfect so even though they might be a distance between the guide and you, you never missed any information.

This is a well run tour. One downside, you will not see the real ""David"". Our guide was extremely knowledgable and we were in a small group. It is fast paced to see all of the sites. Only downside was not enough time for shopping. Be prepared for a lot of walking, but the sites are beautiful. The churches are incredible.

guide was amazing

Great guide. She was one hour late and we were all upset. She had waited for one the passengers that wasn't ready (from another ship). Even still, I have to give this excursion an ourstanding rating. She knew her way around Florence. She combined her knowledge of history with her storytelling ability to interestingly describe statues, paintings and buildings. Her little ancedotes were the best. We saw where Michealangelo made a tiny sculpture on a building without looking, his hands behind him. She related for the sake of the New Yorkers, that Verazzano was from Florence and his descendents were still making wine that we could purchase. She told us the best way to choose any good restaurant. For the rest of our trip, I followed her advice and she was right on.

Street maps would have been helpful in Florence

People don't realize just how far away Florence is from the port-we had a good opportunity for a nap. Florence is amazing and we wish we had more time to explore. The gypsies were REALLY annoying and you must guard your personal belongings with care and just turn your back on them. (The pregnancy pads they use didn't work for us-don't be fooled!) We had just enough time for a run thru Pisa-but there's really nothing else to see here. Not an excursion for slow walkers...an elderly couple had to drop out

Over-all rating for this excursion is Very Good! Although the guide arrived a little late, we all had a great time in Florence & Pisa generally. It would have been better if we stayed a little longer in Pisa because the 30 mins time given to us to check out the area was way too short, and we had a hard time catching up with the limited time.

Ricardo was amazing. We were in a van with only 4 of us and he was able to customize our experience. We went to an olive oil producer/winery with an unbelievable view of Tuscany. We happened into a road rally with 500 fiats- which made the traffic crazy but was really fun.

Because the vehicle was small ( 9 persons ) we got in places were the big busses could not go. Thus, we had little to walk and enjoy the sights more. For me, problem with walking, it was super and I will do this over and over again!!