Peggy

We are "senior" travelers and don't want to drive because we've heard some Tuscan road stories. We were thinking of taking a one day Grayline tour to Siena and San Gimignano from Florence. I'm wondering if there are any other one, two or three day tours of Tuscany or if it's possible for us to take a public bus or train from Florence to some of the towns nd see them on our own. I've seen Fodorites talk about Monticiano, Chianti,Montepulciano etc. I've also heard that Radda is very pretty. Basically, I'm asking can we get to some of these towns without driving ourselves or having a private driver which is a little beyond our means? Would there be a convenient town for us to stay in and do several day trips from there by bus or train?

Holly_uncasdewar

Although some will say you cannot properly see Tuscany without a car, you can actually get to quite a few places by train or bus. And you can certainly explore this area on your own without having to go on a tour bus. There are many places you can reach from Florence by train and/or bus. A lot of towns can be visited by bus from Siena, and you might want to make that your base. Bus schedules from Siena can be found at:
http://www.turismoverde.com/italia/trasport/bus.htm
and I'm sure there are other bus companies, as well. Have fun with your planning!

ira

Hi P,

Also check bus schedles at
http://www.senabus.it/
http://www.sangimignano.net/bus/
http://www.sita-on-line.it/
http://www.lazzi.it
www.trenitalia.com

When you are in florence, try to take the no. 7 bus from the SMN train station up to Fiesole to watch the sunset from the terrace of the Bar Blu (right at the bus stop).

You can also visit the Etruscan ruins.

tami01

I just returned from a trip to Florence and Tuscan countryside. I also had heard nightmare stories about driving in Italy, but I enjoyed the trip and driving wasn't too bad at all. Driving through the small villages was unbelievable! If you do decide to drive, I would recommend parking on the edge of town, as the streets within the towns tend to be very narrow and quite steep, which can be difficult to manage with a manual transmission! I stayed at a fantastic farm house called Casa Bolsinina for four days and used that as my home base to travel each day to nearby areas. I was very much looking forward to Siena and Montalpuciano, but I have to say, the small town of Montalcino was by far my favorite! Very charming and not overly touristy! Good luck with your trip and enjoy Italy!

Peggy

Thanks for the info. I'll go to the sites you suggested tomorrow and try to map out a schedule where we can stay maybe in Siena and take a bus to the surrounding towns for a day each. That's so much more to our liking than a big tour bus where we aren't given enough time to enjoy the towns. Don't know how I'd plan our trips w/o the site and all the helpful travelers willing to take the time to answer!

milliebest

when are you going---we're seniors too---maybe we could hook up? We're going first 3 wks in Oct. WE'RE DOING sIENA FROM rome by bus ---actually it's a travel day to FLORENCE BUT IT'S ON THE WAY AND GETTING FINALLY TO fLORENCE LATE THAT SAME DAY SHOULD'T BE TOO BAD. oNCEN IN fLORENCE WE'RE PLANNING A FULL DAY TRIP BY TRAIN TO pISA/lUCCA. iF i HAD ANOTHER DAY OR TWO i WOULD HEAD NW OF lUCCA--SO MAY BE THAT WOULD SUIT YOU. oUR VCACATION ENDS WITH vENICEBUT i DON'T THINK i WANT TO DO bologna causen arriving late in V might be troublesome. Contact me!