Hi - If my husband and I fully utilize public transportation from Venice to Montalcino, do you think we'll be ok relying on taxis while we're staying in Montalcino for 3 days? I don't have any idea how much taxis cost there. But renting an automatic car for 3 days costs $620 USD pretty much no matter where we pick up or drop off from. Manuals cost about $200 USD but my husband and I don't know how to drive a manual.

Thank you.

Forgot to mention our route: 2 nights in Venice, 3 nights in Montalcino, then last 3 nights in Florence.

Unless you are going to visit something outside Montalcino you don't need a taxi. Montalcino is very small. If your visiting outside the town I don't know the cost but arranging taxis to and from could be frustrating. There's not a whole lot of taxis in Montalcino. If you hired a driver your better off with a rental car.

dtph,
There are no taxi in Montalcino so you will need to use a car and driver or bus.

Do you think it's easier to:
1. pick up a rental car in venice, drive from venice to montalcino, stay there for 3 days and do day trips with our rental car, then drive to florence and drop off the car.
2. train from venice to a closer spot and pick up a rental car there for our time in montalcino and then drop off and train to florence?

Maybe you could take a bike tour or something like that to get a taste of the countryside without a car.
Also, this book has some hikes from Montalcino, and most are accessible with public transportation:
http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Eating.../dp/0141009004
The authors' website has reviews of their recommendations:
http://walkingandeating.com/?page_id=48
Finally, the tourist office has information on drivers for hire.

Oh well I guess you will rent a car after all, in which case surely option 2 is better.

yorkshire - I'm still not sure about renting a car. i'd really rather not, but i feel like everyone is recommending that we need one if we want to make day trips and have the most control over our time. have you stayed in montalcino without a car? how was your experience?

You don't need any transportation in Montalcino, but if you want to visit other hill towns nearby, then you would need it. There are buses to and from Siena and a few other towns.
http://www.sienamobilita.it/EN/index.html

Here's the link for taxis and cars from the Montalcino tourist website.
http://www.prolocomontalcino.it/inde...id=112&lang=en

Also in nearby Pienza there is a company called Il Postalino della Val D'Orcia. Click on service and tourism.
http://www.portalepienza.it/

dtph,
If you want to avoid driving alot, train to Chiusi and rent a car there.
Here are some ideas on where you can go http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm

Seeing and walking Montalcino is easily done in one day. If you want to see the sites or explore , you will definetly need to plan to visit outside Montalcino to the vineyards, farms, towns and sites in the countryside. You will need transportation out. There are not enough sites in Montalcino to see over a 3 day period without transportation.

However if you are going to just relax for 3 days. Then Montalcino is a fine town to relax in with no need for transportation. If you enjoy wine you can spend plenty of time tasting and learning all about Brunello there are plenty of wine stores. Montalcino also has some scenic photo ops, good food and other relaxing items.

I have stayed there for 3 or 4 days and never ventured outside the town. Other trips I used Montalcino as a central point to explore the countryside.

If your just going to relax and immerse in Montalcino, no car needed. If you are going to see the sites, then get a car.

I have not been, but I did a lot of research for an upcoming trip, and I am one to avoid renting a car. It all depends on what you want to do and your travel style. If you know you could be happy chilling out in Montalcino, no worries. If you like to hike or bike and are willing to hire a company to facilitate that (if need be), then there is that option. If you find figuring out bus schedules satisfying and riding with the locals fun people-watching, then it sounds like you can definitely do some day trips--especially with kybourbon's links.
If on the other hand you require the independence and want to do scenic drives yourself, then you'll have to rent a car.
Good luck!

Henry - the slow travel link was amazing. very detailed - which is exactly how i like it!

also - can i train from venice directly to chiusi?

and then at the end of our stay in montalcino, is it better to drop the car back off in chiusi and then train from chiusi to florence? or should we drive from montalcino to florence?

It might be faster/easier to train to Siena and pick up the car.

everyone - thanks for the info. my travel style - outside of the US, i have always always relied on public transportation. this is the first time i'm feeling like we'll need to rent a car in order to make day trips efficient and cost effective. i have reached out to drivers and their quotes are very expensive. the hotel vecchia oliviera said that taxis are readily available but i dont know how much they'll cost. the car is going to cost over $600 so i want to make sure i'm making the right decision. if there are buses to assist in day trips to places like siena, san gimignano, and montepulciano, then i wouldn't mind taking those instead of renting a car.

kybourbon - is there a direct train from venice to siena? i have looked on trenitalia and can see direct train from venice to siena as well as venice to chiusi. but another thread said that venice doesn't go direct to siena.

dtph,
When you look at the trains schedules look at the top where it says change station, if there is nothing listed it is a direct train.
There are direct trains (IC) from Venice to Chiusi but not from Venice to Siena.

Thanks Henry.