The verdict in two lines
If you speak Spanish, Civitatis is probably the most convenient platform for planning Florence and the surrounding area: a catalogue in Spanish, Spanish-speaking guides and very popular free tours. If you don't, it is still a serious company, but the same day trips cost less elsewhere, and for entry tickets the official site is the better buy.
Who Civitatis is
The company is Civitatis Tours S.L., based at Gran Vía 39 in Madrid (tax code CIF B-86899440). According to press reports it was founded in 2008 by Alberto Gutiérrez. It grew by selling guided tours and day trips in Spanish all over the world, and that focus is still obvious: in Florence the Spanish version of the site lists 83 activities, the English version 78.
Like the other big platforms, Civitatis doesn't run the day trips itself. It sells them on behalf of local operators, who provide the coaches and the guides.
The Tuscan catalogue, price by price
At our last check, besides Florence, Civitatis listed 19 activities in Pisa, 18 in Lucca and 12 in Siena. These are the day trips from Florence on the Spanish site:
| Day trip from Florence | Civitatis price |
|---|---|
| Pisa, San Gimignano and Siena | €65 |
| San Gimignano, Siena and Chianti | €65 |
| Lucca and Pisa | €65 |
| Cinque Terre | €59 |
| Pisa with the Tower climb | €39 |
For comparison, on GetYourGuide the Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano day trip with lunch starts from €49, and the half day in Pisa with the Tower from €39. So on the three-town day trip Civitatis costs more; on the Pisa half day it is in line.
The Lucca and Pisa day trip at €65 is worth comparing with doing it yourself. By train, Florence–Pisa costs €9.80 and takes about an hour; Pisa–Lucca costs €4.10 and takes 27–35 minutes, with trains roughly every half hour. The direct regional train from Lucca back to Florence costs €8.90 and takes about 1 hour 20 minutes: €22.80 in total, a third of the price of the day trip, on your own timetable. The organised trip makes sense if you want a guide or don't want to think about connections.
The classic day trip: what's in and what's missing
The classic day trip covers Pisa, San Gimignano and Siena. The meeting point is the newsstand in Piazzale Montelungo, next to Santa Maria Novella station, where many coach trips leave from: get there a little early, because at that hour the square is crowded with different groups. At our last check the rating on Civitatis, which uses a scale from 1 to 10, was 8.9 from about 7,500 reviews.
Two details to know before you book:
- The Tower of Pisa is not included. In Pisa you see the Piazza dei Miracoli from the outside. If you want to climb, buy a slot on the official site that fits the time of the stop, or pick a different day trip.
- Free cancellation ends 48 hours before, not 24. If the weather or your plans change at the last minute, you have one day less than usual.
Tower of Pisa: €29 against €20
Civitatis sells entry to the Tower with an audio guide for €29. The Opera della Primaziale Pisana sells the Tower and the Duomo for €20 on its own site, with the option to change the time or cancel up to 2 hours before. The €9 difference pays for the audio guide and the commission. It only makes sense if the official slots are sold out or the Opera isn't selling online. Rules on age, bags and times are in our guide to Pisa.
The Florence free tours
The real strength of Civitatis in Tuscany is its free tours: walking tours in Spanish, pay what you like, bookable for free. The Florence one was rated 9.4 from about 54,000 reviews at our last check. There is no Civitatis free tour in Pisa or Siena.
The idea is simple: you reserve a place, do the walk, and at the end you give the guide whatever you think is fair. It isn't free in the strict sense, but it is a good way to get your bearings on your first day. If you also want to go into the museums, tickets have to be bought separately: see our page on Florence.
Civitatis reviews: what customers say
At our last check Civitatis had an average of 4.5 on Trustpilot from about 194,000 reviews, with 77% five-star ratings and only 5% one-star. The company replied to 98% of negative reviews: among the big day-trip platforms we review, no other combines such a high average with so few very bad ratings.
There are two recurring complaints:
- it is hard to reach a person when something goes wrong;
- tours are cancelled when no guide is available for the language booked.
The customer support phone number is +34 91 078 05 07, the email reservas@civitatis.com.
Who we recommend it to
Yes if you travel in Spanish, if you want a free tour in Florence or if you need a ready-made combination such as Lucca and Pisa from Florence.
No if you are looking for the lowest price on the classic day trip, if you need cancellation up to the day before or if you only want an entry ticket: for the Tower and for the Duomo in Siena the official channel costs less.
The 4 out of 5 is the same score as GetYourGuide, and for a similar reason: a clear cancellation rule across the whole classic day trip, customer support by phone and email, and the most solid reputation among the big day-trip platforms. It doesn't reach 5 because it costs more than the alternatives and because, if you don't speak Spanish, it loses much of its advantage.
Where to look instead
For day trips from Florence, the natural comparison is with GetYourGuide, which usually refunds up to 24 hours before, and with Viator, which has the widest choice of operators. For single tickets on your phone there is Tiqets; for a licensed Italian agency, Musement. Below, for comparison, are three day trips on Tiqets and GetYourGuide: prices change, and we check them regularly.
Pisa, Siena & San Gimignano: Day Trip from Florence + Wine Tasting
(18 reviews) from €64
Book on Tiqets
Florence: Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano Day Trip with Lunch
(11,722 reviews) from €49
Book on GetYourGuide
To work out which day trip suits you, read the page on day trips; for Lucca, our guide to Lucca.