Day Trip to Siena from Florence?
 

So I have been tweaking my Italy tour quite a bit since I booked the trip a few days ago. The idea was to "roadtrip" through Italy to really get an authentic feel of it all. Needless to say, I have completed changed the trip to involve more train and way less car.

I have gotten much needed feedback here on Fodors as to how I should go about my trip and most importantly how to avoid driving in the larger cities (Florence, Rome, Naples and Amalfi Coast). So for the most part we have decided to go by train into those cities. However, we were also planning a trip into the Tuscana Region or perhaps Umbria to get a feel of the Italian country side, which I have yet to do.

My questions is, should I just make a day trip out into Siena, Lucca or Orvieto from Florence by train and avoid a car all together? Or will it be more enjoyable renting a car outside of Florence, and driving through those regions for a few days, returning the car before we get into Rome? Again, I would really like to see the country side and even stay two nights in one of those provinces. Just not sure if it's actually worth it. Would a day trip suffice?

Also! Any wine/cooking class tours that can be recommended for these areas?

Thoughts?

Siena, Lucca, and Orvieto are towns, and pretty much subject to the same parking restrictions as everywhere else, or at least limited options.

I would make a daytrip to Siena, on the bus. I'd stop in Orvieto and drop the car off there on the way back to Rome, visit for at least half a day, then take the train into Rome. Haven't been to Lucca for years, so can't help much with that.

But how many days will you have this car, and what are you planning to do with it in Tuscany and Umbria?

It would be for 3 days, if we do end up actually renting the car and driving through those towns. The idea was to drive through either Tuscany or Umbria and stop wherever we saw fit. But if most of the trip is already by train, I feel that it would be better to just stick with the train or bus and make day trips out of those towns, or at least one of the towns.

Do you recommend one over the other (Siena vs. Orvieto)? I was hoping to get a wine tour scheduled just not sure in which town...

OK, I must be a bit dense today, but are those 3 days devoted to seeing Siena, Lucca, and Orvieto, because apart from what's inbetween them, that's not a roam around the Tuscan/Umbrian countryside really. Not to say they're not worth it or not fairly rural, but they're not villages either. Of course it depends on what you want.

No, I don't recommend one over the other. I've been to both many times, and they are distinctly different and I love them both.

Not sure what you mean by a wine "tour." Those would normally take place in the actual countryside, at farms/vineyards. If you want to taste wine, though, there should be ample opportunity.

The 3 days does not have to be devoted to all three towns I mentioned, I am planning on only visiting one or 2 towns within those days so that there is no rush. I really just wanted to visit the countryside, pass by a few vineyards and perhaps experience a wine tour in one of the vinyards. The idea is to see a little of the countryside since I will be stopping by the larger cities a majority of my trip.

What would be recommened for a trip around Tuscany or Umbria where I could experience all of those things?

>>>It would be for 3 days<<<

Do you want to change hotels every night? Is that 3 hotel nights or two?

I don't care for Lucca so I would drop it. Get a three day rental car (one day rentals cost as much as three day) either picking up at the airport in Florence or picking up in Siena. Visit Siena, Montalcino, Piena, Montepulciano (whichever towns interest you) and drop the car in Orvieto. You can take the train from Orvieto on to Rome or Naples.

You can wine taste in Montalcino at the Fortezza or at one of the many enotecas in Montalcino (I like Osticcio for the views - click on visit).

http://www.enotecalafortezza.com/

http://www.osticcio.it/

Montepulciano has similar wine tasting facilities (no fortezza though).

Orvieto has a wine consortium with tasting (I prefer the Montalcino Brunellos over Orvieto wines), but you have to schedule an appointment.

Stop in Pienza to sample the many cheeses (and wine!).

kybourbon THANK YOU! That is exactly what I wanted to know...

Great advice from kybourbon.
I think you'll really like Orvieto. We found we liked it as much if not more than some of the more visited Tuscan hot spots (not that Orvieto isn't touristy, it is, but seemed a bit less overrun).

You could take the bus to Siena, spend a night and pick up your car the next day. Visit Montalcino, the Abbey of Sant'Antimo, spend the night in Pienza. Visit Montepulciano, spend the night in Orvieto. Drive to Amalfi coast, drop car in Sorrento.

knel, you might also consider just hiring a private guide for a day out into the country.

We hired Luca Garrapa (www.Hillsandroads.com) (highly recommended here at TripAdvisor) to pick us up in Siena one morning. (We made the calamitous mistake of taking the train from Florence instead of the bus. We took the bus home- much better...and faster!)

We had a lot of flexibility with what we wanted to do, including wine tour, two different abbeys (amazing!), etc. We went to Pienza and had a fabulous lunch and a walk through the center of the old town. We saw fields of sheep and the abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore was just incredible (http://www.monte-oliveto.com/).

It's nice because he does all the driving and knows the area so well (born and raised there), so you tell him what kind of sites you'd like to see and off you go. So relaxing! We've been twice with him and would go again in a heartbeat!

Buon viaggio!

knel, you might also consider just hiring a private guide for a day out into the country.

We hired Luca Garrapa (www.Hillsandroads.com) (highly recommended here at TripAdvisor) to pick us up in Siena one morning. (We made the calamitous mistake of taking the train from Florence instead of the bus. We took the bus home- much better...and faster!)

We had a lot of flexibility with what we wanted to do, including wine tour, two different abbeys (amazing!), etc. We went to Pienza and had a fabulous lunch and a walk through the center of the old town. We saw fields of sheep and the abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore was just incredible (http://www.monte-oliveto.com/).

It's nice because he does all the driving and knows the area so well (born and raised there), so you tell him what kind of sites you'd like to see and off you go. So relaxing! We've been twice with him and would go again in a heartbeat!

Buon viaggio!

knel, there is another possibility.

We hired a private tour guide in Tuscany. He came highly recommended here and we've used him twice; he's terrific. Luca Garrapa (www.hillsandroads.com).

It's so relaxing to let someone else do the driving, and who knows the history and ins/outs of all the little towns, abbeys, etc. He will let you decide what you want to get into the day, including wine tours, olive oil tastings, lunch, etc.

If you go, don't miss the Abbey at Monte Oliveto Maggiore. It is simply beautiful. www.monte-oliveto.com

Luca will pick you up and drop you wherever you need to be- i.e. Florence, Siena or Orvieto. We took the bus from Florence to Siena and had him pick us up and return us there.

Buon viaggio!