To Florence by plane

Arriving in Florence by plane and how to get between downtown Florence and the Florence and Pisa airports

There are actually two airports to discuss for Florence.

1. The Amerigo Vespucci Airport in Florence itself is pretty tiny and receives mostly domestic flights and a few from European capitals. It takes about half an hour to get to downtown Florence. » more
   
   
2. Most flights to "Florence" (including international ones) actually land at the larger Galileo Galilei Airport in nearby Pisa. It takes about an hour and a half to get to downtown Florence. » more
   
   

Here's what you need to know about each, and how to get bretween the airports and central Florence:

Florence's Amerigo Vespucci Airport (FLR)

Though the Florence airport is still second banana to the larger airport in Pisa, several major European airlines are now servicing Florence's expanded Aeroporto Amerigo Vespucci (tel. +39-055-306-1300; www.aeroporto.firenze.it), also called Peretola, just 5km (3 miles) northwest of town.

There are no direct flights to/from the United States, but you can make easy connections through London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and so on.

How to get to central Florence from the Florence airport

• By bus (€6): ATAF's regularly scheduled Vola in Bus shuttle connects the airport with Piazza della Stazione downtown in 25 minutes. It costs €6 and departs the airport every 30 minutes on the hour and the half-hour from 5:30am to 8pm, then hourly until 11pm.
  
  You can buy your ticket inside the airport at the airport bar or the Giunti shop, but you can also get it from the driver onboard at no extra charge (tel. 800-424-500 in Italy, www.ataf.net).
• By taxi (€20–€26): Metered taxis line up outside the airport's arrival terminal and charge an official fixed rate of €20 ($27) to hotels in the city center, plus €1 for each bag (the cost rises to €23.30 between 10pm and 6pm, and €22 on Sundays and holidays). Taxi companies: Socota.it, 4390.it
• By shared transfer (€8–€15): If you have four of five people you can pre-arrange a shared transfer for less than the cost of a taxi.
  
  Actually, you can arrange it even for just one person, but this will cost more than a taxi since it is figured on a sliding scale. With two to three people in the car, the per-person charge is around €15 ($20); with sevem or eight, it drops to $11 per person. The break-even point is around four people—which might be worth it, since a private car lets you avoid the taxi line.
  • Shared Arrival Transfer: Florence Airport to Florence Hotels (from $11)
  • Shared Departure Transfer: Florence Hotels to Florence Airport (from $11)
• By private car (€13–€35): If you have at least five people you can pre-arrange a private car service for less than the cost of a taxi.
  
  Again, you can arrange this even for just one person, but this will cost more. Two people pay around €33 ($45) per person; with eight, it drops to $17 per person. The break-even point is around four people—which might be worth it, since a private car lets you avoid the taxi line.
  • Florence Airport Private Arrival Transfer (from $17)
  • Florence Airport Private Departure Transfer (from $17)

Pisa's Galileo Galilei Airport (PSA)

The closest international airport to Florence is Pisa's Aeroporto Galileo Galilei (tel. +39-050-849-111 or 050-849-300; www.pisa-airport.com), 80km (50 miles) west of Florence. This is the airport that no-frills airline Ryanair uses.

How to get to downtown Florence from the Pisa airport

• By bus (€5): There are one to four buses per hour from Pisa's airport direct to Florence's central train station, Firenze-SMN (Santa Maria Novella). tney are run by run by Terravision (www.terravision.eu) and Autostradale (www.airportbusexpress.it). The ride takes 70 min., and costs €5.
• By bus (€36–€106): Rather pricier—but tailored to your own schedule—would be to take a Florence to Pisa Airport private car service. Depending on traffic, this takes 60–90 minutes. Depending on how many are booking (up to eight; the more in the car, the cheaper it is per person), it costs about €36–€106 ($49–$145).
• By public transport (€9–€19): You can also, obviously, get into downtown Pisa and its train station from the airport—a ten-minute ride—by grabbing a red LAM bus (€1.20, www.cpt.pisa.it) or taxi (€6.30–€10 plus €1 per bag; add €2.55 on Sundays or holidays and at night; www.cotapi.it). (They are actually building a new peole-mover tram that will run between the station and the airport every 10 minutes, but its isn't slated to be finished until the end of 2015—a date which is, frankly, amibitious.) A train from Pisa to Florence takes 70–100 minutes and costs €7.90.
• By taxi (from €160): Do not take a taxi (www.cotapi.it) from the Pisa airport to Florence—unless you like spending €162 on a 70-minute, 50-mile ride.

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