I am trying to find a way to take a day trip from Florence to Volterra that is affordable and practical. The train and bus do not go directly there. I checked into renting a car for a day and found the cost to be prohibitive. Does anyone know of any car service I could hire that may be affordable? Any other ideas? (I will be there in November).

I'm really not sure if you can improve on the bus option, even if you have to switch buses. (Do you? Or does the bus only make a stop in Colle Val d'Elsa?)

I would think the bus trip, even with a bit of a layover, would take less than 90 minutes. Trains are likely to take you hours, and hiring a car is likely to run you into bigger bucks than a car rental.

If you do take the bus, pay very close attention to when the last bus leaves, and make sure you know if you are traveling on a working day (which usually includes Saturdays) or a festive day (which can be unpredictable).

Hi Basil - Zeppole's right - bus is the best option via Colle Val d'Elsa.

The Florence-Colle V.E service is run by Sita.
Colle V.E-Volterra is run by CPT.

This is run as a connecting service. It works best Mon-Fri.
(I'd avoid weekends...)

Dep. Florence (Mon-Fri):
- 08.40 (- arr. Volterra 10.35)

Dep. Volterra (Mon-Fri):
- 13.15 (- arr. Florence 15.15), OR
- 17.20 (- arr. Florence 19.15)


Ref:
http://www.sitabus.it/sita-toscana/Firenze-Siena08.pdf

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Basil, just to add that it is very common in Italy for buses that run between important towns to time their arrival for connections so you simply walk off one bus and right on to a waiting bus.

Also, it might be worth stopping by the tourist office in Firenze to double check the schedule, especially to check out what the schedule on Saturday is, but also to get updates or tips.

Did you know that Dante came from Volterra?