Bus and train take about the same time, but the bus is much cheaper. The Italian train website is www.trenitalia.com

For the bus:
http://www.sena.it/index_e.htm

The bus would be easier. It appears all the trains require a change.

Dear Kybourbon,

Can you please tell me which stop to get off at Sienna (for nearest tourist place) if we are going by Sena Bus from Tiburtina, Roma. Are tourist places near to the bus stop? My exprience on Rome buses is very bad. When we were going to Tivoli by Cotral bus, there was no mention of any stops at the bus stop. We had to follow the crowd to get off at Villa d' Este. I hope it is better than contral bus. Please clarity.

You will need the Piazza Gramsci stop, normally the stop after Siena railway station. It is where the vast majority of people will disembark, but you will know when you are there by the large number of buses parked up. It is no more than 5-10 minutes walk from the bus stop to the main Campo and the "tourist places".

I have made this trip several times and it is easy - the only "tricky" place was at Tiburtina.

Any train journey from Siena to Rome is going to mean a change - normally at Chiusi or at Grosseto. The additional problem is getting from central Siena down to the train station which is a mile away from the town centre down a steep hill.

Hi,

I hope the OP forgives me for "latching" onto their thread.

willit (or anybody else that knows),

I am planning to use the bus from Rome to Siena. Why is Tiburtina "tricky"? Also, do you remember/ know if there are taxis at Piazza Gramsci?

Thank you!

Tiburtina was tricky for a couple of reasons:

The first time I used it, I didn't know where the bus station was in relation to the railway station (it was not obviously visible)

Secondly, it was very busy - many buses - so it took me a while to find the right place to board

The third think was a large group of women and children in Gypsy clothing milling around on the footpath between the bus and railway stations. They were begging, but generally being distracting and it looked to me as though they were deliberately "targetting" those heavily burdened with luggage or the elderly. This group or similar groups have been there each time I have passed through.

I am a middle aged, large guy, but on one occassion I had a heavy backpack and two other bags. It seemed that some of the kids were deliberately trying to get in my way.

Yes, Tiburtina is a bit seedy, but you can handle it although I wouldn't use it at night if I were traveling alone. It's a major train/metro/bus hub for Rome which includes lots of city buses and private buses companies such as Sena, Marozzi, Curreri, etc. It's also used at the boarding point for some of the overnight trains.

The reason many people take the Sena bus to Siena instead of the train is it drops you in the center of Siena (you want Piazza Gramsci which is really another bus hub area not a cute Piazza). The Siena train station is at the edge of town and requires catching a bus (underneath mall across the street for most city buses). The bus is also a bit faster because the train involves a change.

Here's the bus stops:
Roma Staz. Tiburtina (Autostazione TIBUS) S N 12.30
Roma Salaria (Lato opposto Lancia) S N 12.35
Roma Salaria - RAI (lato opp. Mot. Civ) S N 12.38
Bettolle Casello Autostradale N S 14.40
Siena Viale Toselli - di fronte al Penny N S 15.15
Siena Stazione FS (F.ta SENA per Roma) N S 15.19
Siena Antiporto Camollia N S 15.23
Siena Piazza Gramsci N S 15.27
Siena Colonna San Marco - lato SMA- N S 15.35

Dear Kybourbon and Willit,

Thank you very much for the information.
Can you please tell me if I have to come to the same bus stop on the opposite side to travel back to Rome from Sienna. How far is the stop of backward journey from that of outward journey? The sena bus website is showing the price of ticket as Euro 5 for one way journey. Is it that cheaper? of course the transaction and administrative charges will be included in this. How much is the total price? Should I purchase the ticket online or I can purchase it at Tiburtina train station. Please guide as the website is in Italian.

The bus stop is the same, Piazza Gramsci. The buses stop in the same place whether coming or going (the destination is on a board at the front of the bus).

€5 one way is an excellent price (based on previous experience it usually means an admin charge of around €3 on top of that). The normal price is around €20 (or so I seem to remember) When I last bought tickets this way, I registered, paid by credit card, then was Emailed my tickets which I printed out and gave to the bus driver.

Parts of the website are in English. It's my understanding you must purchase a Sena Card to get the 5€ rate. Here's a link to the info and an 800 number.
http://www.sena.it/ENG/activenews.asp?idcat=&idart=3228&azione=detail&layout=

And some info about tickets.
http://www.sena.it/ENG/activenews.asp?idcat=28902&idart=53137&azione=list&layout=standard&cid=A201L205L220090424051851WUOYTPWCSSM02342994

Kybourbon

In your reply you listed two other sena bus stops in Rome for the Siena to Rome route:
Roma Salaria (Lato opposto Lancia)
Roma Salaria - RAI (lato opp. Mot. Civ)

I can not figure out where these are located in Rome. Could be they would be closer to my destination. Can you help?? Thanks..

bookmarking

Salaria is a quartiere (suburb/section) of Rome. You will need to catch the bus at Rome Tiburtina train/bus hub unless your staying on the outskirts of the city. If you have a Rome map, Salaria is a past Villa Borghese and Villa Ada.

We walked...