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Travel tips
"My wife, three children and I holiday regularly in Tuscany, flying from Dublin, Ireland to Pisa. Each visit we discover something new about this wonderful part of Italy. The tips and recommendations on this website are based on research, personal experience and practical advice from the website owners, Gary & Claudia Upton who live in Tuscany permanently."
- Seamus Hannan, Webmaster, Tuscany Fine Rentals, July 2008
Flights to Tuscany
- Skyscanner
A search engine for cheap European flights, obtaining information from many airline websites.
- Kayak
Very popular US based flight search engine.
Flights to Pisa from UK & Ireland
- Ryanair
Europe's largest low fares carrier.
Flights to Pisa from London Stansted, Bournemouth, Liverpool, Doncaster (Sheffield), Glasgow (Prestwick), Dublin.
 To save money book well in advance. If flexible travel midweek.
Check for cheaper fares on days either side of your planned trip.
Ryanair check-in & bagage allowance
Pay for your checked in baggage in advance (when you book online), otherwise you will have to pay double the price for the first item of each individual's checked in baggage.
Ryanair's baggage allowance is strict, a max of 15kg for each checked in bag and 10kg for a single cabin (carry-on) bag.
Many people are being caught for a excess baggage weight fee (€15 per Kilo), particularly on the return flight from Pisa.
The advice is to travel as light as possible and weigh all bags prior to outgoing and return flights. Avoid placing heavy objects such as shoes, sandals or purchased gifts in the checked in baggage, instead place these in the cabin (carry-on) bag. Back-packs are useful as cabin (carry-on) bags because they can carry quite a bit of luggage.
- Thomsonfly
Popular UK based low cost airline. Flights to Pisa from Doncaster (Sheffield), Coventry and Bournemouth.
Flights to Florence from UK & Ireland
Flights to Italy from North America
Flights to Italy from Australia and New Zealand
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Car rentals
- Hertz, Avis car rental
Including the above, nine major car rental companies have offices in the arrivals area of
Pisa airport.
The car rental companies use a car park close to Pisa airport.
A shuttle bus ferries customers to and from the airport. When returning to Pisa airport make sure to allocate enough time to leave your car back in the car park and have it checked over by the car rental company mechanic. This procedure is mandatory.
When booking through the big car rental companies look out for "voucher" discounts. For instance Hertz offer a 10% discount if you are a member of the Automobile Association (AA) in the UK or Ireland, and quote your "CDP" number when booking online. Also check out the competition for prices.
Reservacar uses a car rentals search engine which finds and displays the cheapest price from a large number of competing car rental companies.
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Trains
- Trenitalia
The Italian public rail service.
The Italian rail network is comprehensive, efficient and good value for money. Day trips from Lucca and Pisa to Florence and Siena are excellent value and a relaxing way to travel.
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Travel resources
- Tuscany 360
Impressive website including Google maps of Tuscany's popular destinations, with 360 degree video panning of the attractions, which you can control yourself.
Lucca references
- Knowital website - Lucca
Concise tourist and accommodation information for Lucca.
- Lucca Virtual Walkthrough
Photos of many of Lucca's mediaeval streets, piazzas and historic buildings. The website is in Italian.
- Toscaneggiando - Tuscan Cooking Classes
Three Tuscan ladies have joined forces to set up this company offering Tuscan Cooking classes in a variety of locations.
The lessons can be organized in your vacation location. Another possibility is to take the lessons in
Il Convento dell'Angelo, the Convent of the Angel. This building is now an important musical Academy,
Montegral Academy,
set in a spectacular location in the Lucchesi hills, overlooking Ponte a Moriano.
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Pisa references
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Florence references
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Siena references
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