Cycling Pisa highlights & hidden treasures - half day tour

My family came to Pisa for a half day tour of the cathedral and belltower (leaning tower) with Martina. She was excellent in terms of communication before the trip and even recommended a good place for us to have lunch beforehand. She was very prompt and communicative in our planning and met us right on schedule. You wouldn't think you could spend 3 hours touring a couple of buildings but we did and it flew by. Most people just come to see the tower which of course is a wonder and fun, but we actually learned alot more from Martina about Pisa, the church, and the burial grounds which we found much more interesting. Martina was very patient with all of our pictures we wanted and was very informative answering all of our questions. She let us do the tour on our own pace and even called a taxi for us to catch an express train to Rome. Great experience and highly recommend!

While in Florence, I found Martina in a Rick Steves guidebook, looked up her website & sent a message to see if she would happen to be available in a few days for a day trip into Tuscany. My daughter & I only had one day that we could do this & wanted to do just one village instead of 3 or more offered by most tour companies. I was surprised & delighted when Martina responded that she was available! After a few emails we decided on a full day tour of Pisa. She instructed us on how to take the train to Pisa which was very easy, then a taxi to . She met us at the gates of Piazza del Duomo. From there we toured the baptistery, cathedral & the iconic tower. We are lunch at a local restaurant in the village, then spent the afternoon discovering all of the treasures of Pisa. We finished with a visit to a local gelateria, then delivered us to the train station. We were back in Florence with time for dinner. Martina was extremely knowledgeable about art & history. We thoroughly enjoyed her company & kindness. I also appreciated her advice & recommendations for the rest of our travels through Italy. I will definitely use her again when planning our next trip to Italy. She has so many offerings to choose from & is willing to tailor experience to her clients.

We recently toured Volterra for a half day, and Pisa for a full day with Martina. We found her not only to be infinitely knowledgeable on all sights and artifacts, but also to be a warm, friendly, caring individual. We traded stories and perspectives on our lives from both sides of the Atlantic, during welcomed rest breaks. We took the train from Lucca to Pisa, and would return to Pisa from a different train station. At the end of our day, Martina personally walked us to the train station, helped us buy the tickets, and then escorted us to the train door, ensuring we got on the right train at the right rack. We hope to return to visit Cinque Terre in the future and we will seek her out when we do. Don’t miss an opportunity to not just get maximum value from her as your guide, but to feel warmly welcomed as her friend.