Coming from the United States, I was looking for the simplest and most hassle-free way on how to get to Tuscany. Several airlines run non-stop direct routes from select US cities, and you can get there with more than one method.
If you wish to arrive in Tuscany, most people from the US will take a direct flight to Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome due to the greater number of direct flights. Some of the cities that offer direct flights include Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey and New York. Once there, you can take a train, plane or rent a car to get to Tuscany.
If you’d like to learn more in-depth information about how to get to Tuscany, keep reading. We’ll cover which ones for getting to Tuscany are the easiest and how long the duration for each one is.
Getting to Tuscany by Air
First, I would say that the best airport to fly into from the US would be the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome. The biggest reason behind that is that you can buy tickets for direct flights from those cities to cut down on your flight time.
Important to note that you can get direct flights into Pisa or Florence, depending on where you live, but you must do this in the summer season, or the airlines don’t offer a direct flight. During the summer season, check Chicago, Washington, or New York City for a direct flight into those cities. That’s one of the most direct ways to get to Tuscany, but it’s only available during the summer months.
The other downside about direct flights into Florence is the higher cost than if you fly into Rome. However, Florence tends to cost more than flying into Pisa. You can buy a train ticket from Pisa to Florence for $10, and it takes about 49 minutes.
At the same time, you could fly into Rome to see a bit of the city and all it has to offer. It’s one of the finest in Europe and was once the cradle of the Holy Roman Empire.
You could also take a flight to Milan and ride a high-speed train to Florence. Now, Milan does sit farther away from Florence than Rome, but it tends to cost less because of multiple low-cost carriers that fly into Milan. Traveling to Tuscany from here will take longer, but you can travel more on a budget.
The Main Airports in Tuscany
The main airports in Tuscany include the Amerigo Vespucci Airport in Florence and the Gallileo Galilei Airport in Pisa. They sit 49 miles apart, but the Pisa airport is larger with two terminals, which is why you can get cheaper flights there. Florence only has one terminal and 10 gates, and they can’t build more terminals because of the proximity of the mountain. The proximity to the coast in Pisa, however, still makes Florence the more convenient airport. The budget airline Ryanair is one of the airlines that serve Pisa.
For anyone flying in from Europe, Pisa handles most European scheduled flights, so it may make more sense to fly into Pisa than Rome.
International and Domestic Airports in and Near Tuscany
Now, if you want to know how to get to Tuscany from an international level, Pisa and Florence offer the only two international airports in Tuscany. Other nearby airports would include Bologna (73 miles away) and Perugia (72 miles away).
Italy is well connected by trains, but in some cases, you can save time with a domestic flight. For those seeking cheap domestic flights into Tuscany, you have several carriers available, but none of them will give you a direct flight to Florence or Pisa.
You can also fly to the Tuscan island of Elba via the airline Silver Air, which was once the island where Napoleon Buonaparte had a brief 10-month exile from France. You would fly into the Marina Di Campo Airport, Elba. From there, you could take a ferry into mainland Tuscany.
This is also a great choice if you’d like to see the Tuscan island, but don’t want to take the ferry. However, this airport only has connections with Pisa and Florence, so you couldn’t fly in from outside of Tuscany. Mostly private airplanes and helicopters use it.
Airline Options and Average Flight Times from Various Locations
If you want to know how to get to Tuscany from the United States, I will show you a few different options with direct flights and the average flight time of each one. I’ll use Rome because it’s the most common flight path next to Milan.
- Atlanta: The nonstop flight from Atlanta to Rome takes 9 hours and 50 minutes. You can take seven direct flights between Atlanta and Rome every week.
- Boston: It requires an average of 8 hours and 10 minutes of flight time to get from Boston to Rome. Delta Airlines and Alitalia both offer flights from Boston to Rome.
- Chicago: The average flight time from Chicago to Rome is 10 hours and 5 minutes, and two different airlines offer the service.
- Los Angeles: Taking a direct flight from Los Angeles to Rome takes 12 hours and 50 minutes.
- Miami: Getting on the plane from Miami to Rome takes 10 hours and 5 minutes.
- Newark, New Jersey: The average flight time from Newark to Rome is 8 hours and 10 minutes.
- New York City: The average flight time from New York City to Rome is 8 hours and 35 minutes.
Arriving in Tuscany by Train
The main train stations in Tuscany include:
- Florence (Firenze Santa Maria Novella)
- Siena (Piazza Carlo Rosselli)
- Pisa (Pisa Centrale)
- Lucca (Lucca Railway Station)
You may struggle to reach the smaller villages due to the lack of train, but you could opt for the bus.
This highlights how to get to Tuscany via the train station. Most of Italy is well connected by trains. If you want the main terminal of the region, choose Firenze Santa Maria Novella since it sits along the route between Rome and Milan. You can also take high-speed trains from Naples, Bologna, Rome, and Milan to this station.
Taking a regionale train (slower but serving the region) will get you to all parts of Tuscany. Pisa is another one of the important railway stations. It has served an important role in the region since 1871, and it takes the train coming from Florence and the coastal train route. The coastal railway lines in Tuscany will connect you to some of the most beautiful beach resorts in Italy including seaside resorts in Carrara, Massa, Viareggio, and Pietrasanta.
Reaching Tuscany by Car
Keep in mind that in some locations of Italy, a car can be difficult because you struggle to find parking. A rental car, however, is a valid way of getting to Tuscany, and generally speaking, the roads throughout Tuscany are good. You can also reach the smaller towns more easily with a car.
Tuscany offers two main driving routes that you would go through. You can either drive through Via Cassia or Via Chiantigiana. If you want to know how to get to Tuscany in style, Via Chiantigiana is known for its winding road, extensive landscape views, and vineyards. This is one of the most beautiful routes in the whole country.
Via Cassia connects Florence and Siena to Rome through the Val d’Orcia. This road offers you some of the most beautiful landscapes in Tuscany with its wheat fields, isolated cypress trees, and deserted landscapes.
Ferry Services to Tuscany
Ideally, you would use the ferry services after you had already flown in from the US for traveling to Tuscany. The main ferry ports in Tuscany include:
- Porto Santo Stefano
- Piombino
- Livorno
Livorno is the largest port, and you can sail from a variety of destinations here including Olbia and Golfo Aranci. You can also sail from Palermo, the capital of Sicily to Livorno. You can also sail from Portoferraio to Piombino.
As a side note, Portoferraio is located on the island of Elba, so you could fly to Elba and take a ferry across into the main part of Tuscany.
Porto Santo Stefano can take you to two other islands in the same archipelago. You can either visit Giglio or Giannutri. Giglio is the larger of the two islands.
Getting around Tuscany
For exploring the Val d’Orcia, I would recommend a car because of how it gives you the freedom to explore the region at your will. You could also reach most major cities in Tuscany through the train system. For the smaller towns, I would recommend you travel via bus since it’s a cheap way of getting around. If you’d like to create a more intimate experience with a great deal of background about the region, I would recommend that you book a day tour since it will let you explore specific areas of Tuscany for the day. Hopefully, this shows you how to get to Tuscany.
