We've settled on a decent hotel near the Pantheon for our first-time September 2011 trip to Rome. We're not really sure whether 5, 6 or 7 nights will be our firm lodging choice, but we'll try to firm up that part of our itinerary in the next week.

Tentatively, we'd like to go on to Siena for at least 4 or 5 days. We'd be visiting a bit of the Tuscan wine country so our choice to travel by rail in Italy is not wholly crazy, we think (if we're going to partake of some of the fermented grape, we'd rather not be driving; we got along quite well in Scotland using local cabs and Shank's Mare to visit distilleries). We've had uncomfortable experiences in driving in Montreal, and we've done quite well on 5 previous Europe trips by using rail.

We think we'd like to go on from Siena to Milano, spend three days and fly out of there home to Seattle (we flew into Milano in 2000 but only just stayed overnight and on to Florence, so we dined, slept and saw little of Milano other than brief strolls through the Galleria and the Duomo (we didn't even make it to the roof because of time).

Looking at the Rick Steves rail map, it appears no trains travel to Siena so it looks like the alternative for us would be buses, and we're not so sure how well that does for travelers with bags if the buses are quite crowded, and the traveler does not speak Italian (we've traveled by rail in Italy and that has worked well in the past).

What are our the travel options from Rome to Siena? Is it true that to get to central Siena from the (bus) station, it's a half-mile uphill walk? Are there likely to be taxis at the station to carry us up to town (we're in our late 60s and early 70s)?

To get to central Siena from the train station is the uphill walk. The bus station is up the hill.

The bus to Siena leaves from the Tiburtina station in Rome and stops in the heart of Siena. It is more convenient than the train which has a connection in Chiusi. Both take near 3 hours.

An alternative is to take a fast train to Florence and either see as much of Florence as you like or directly change for one of the very frequent buses from Florence to Siena. The bus station is very near the train station. The bus is cheap and comfortable and will deposit you in central Siena just outside the wall next to a main gate. The bus trip from Florence is about an hour and 10 minutes.

If you do take the train to Siena, the bus to central Siena now leaves from the shopping mall just across from the train station. Buy your ticket in the train station. Bus goes right to the center - takes about 10 minutes.

The Sena bus operates multiple times per day from Rome to Siena and will drop you at the historic center (Piazza Gramsci). They also have a bus from Siena to Milan which used to take about the same time as training between Siena/Milan (4 hours), but with the addition of the high speed Milan/Florence this past year, that may no longer be the case. Advance purchase tickets between Siena/Milan can be bought for as little as 10€.

http://www.sena.it/

If you plan to day trip from Siena by public transportation, you would probably use the area bus system as trains don't run to most hill towns.
http://www.sienamobilita.it/mappe/Mappa_EXT.pdf

>>>it appears no trains travel to Siena so it looks like the alternative for us would be buses, and we're not so sure how well that does for travelers with bags if the buses are quite crowded,<<<

As others have pointed out, the train station is downhill from Siena and you would have to transfer to a bus or take a taxi to reach the center from the train station.

The Sena buses are like tour buses, not city buses. Your luggage goes under the bus in the storage area.

kybourbon,

>The Sena buses are like tour buses, not city buses. Your luggage goes under the bus in the storage area.

Are these the buses used to travel around and between the Tuscan hill towns or those from, say, Rome, to Siena and Siena to Milano, or both?

I haven't traveled to all hill towns, but if you were to take the bus from Siena to Montalcino, or Montepulciano/Pienza/Siena, your luggage would go under the bus as it would on the Rome/Siena, Siena/Milan. For some of the smaller hill towns, which don't have service as often, you might have a smaller bus. Schedules are on Siena Mobilita. There is less service on Sunday and you have to make sure of the last return bus to Siena when doing day trips. Buy a round trip ticket so you don't get stuck in a hill town overnight. There's a picture of one of the buses on the Siena Mobilita home page.
http://www.sienamobilita.it/EN/index.html

You can check schedules on Siena Mobilita for the Siena province of Tuscany (it includes a few buses into other Tuscan provinces). The pdf takes a minute to download as it's about 180 pages. You need to be able to read the legend keys also. Crossed hammers = work days, cross = Sunday/holiday, estivo = summer, etc. They don't list the legend explanation on the pdf, but I have an actual schedule book which does, so if you have any questions, just ask. Find the bus number you want on the map link I posted yesterday. Then flip through this pdf to find the schedule. Schedules may change for summer.
http://www.trainspa.it/train04/extraurbano.pdf

You also have to pay attention where the pickup is and whether the bus goes all the way to your destination. For example, some buses on the Siena/Montalcino schedule (bus 114A) only goes as far as Buonconvento. There are also multiple pickups in Siena with Siena FS being the train station and Piazza Gramsci the pickup at the center. Not all buses will pick up in the center and you will have to catch the local bus to the train station to get the bus you want.

We based in Siena for a week while DD was doing a semester there and used buses to take day trips to hill towns while she was in class. We used the bus station at Piazza Gramsci (the piazza is at one of the main gates to the walled city and near the Jolly Hotel). Although I not doubt some of the buses are of the type where the luggage goes underneath, the buses we took were of the regular city bus variety making local stops at towns along the way. None of the trips took long, the longest was to San Gimignano and that was under an hour - there were a lot of school kids on that bus - it was pleasant, giving a real slice of local life. The bus fares to the hill towns are very inexpensive.

Actually, I should have made my bus trips to the hill towns a separate question. I think we would base in Siena and take day trips from there to Moltepulciano, etc, so luggage storage itself would not be needed. The luggage storage issue we'd only have to adress on the Rome-Siena leg and on traveling from Siena to Milano or Torino if that's our pre-homegoing destination (some here have suggested Milano as a better choice between Milano and Torino; Torino's attraction was possible opportuinities to explore one or two of the Piedmont vineyards.

Most of the ticket sellers at the bus station do not speak English so if your Italian is not up to it, be sure to have a piece of paper with destination, travel times in 24 hour format, e.g., 1:00 PM = 13:00, and the phrase "Di andate e ritorno" to indicate that you need a roundtrip ticket. Need to keep those ticket lines moving.

One more thought. In Siena, you may with to consider staying at the Albergo Chiusarelli.

Pros: It is only a few hundred yards from the bus station (except fot the ticket sellers, the station is outdoors) making it very convenient for your day trips.

The rooms are quite nice - modern decor - as is the staff. The public places such as the lobby are beautiful - we loved just sitting there and meeting other guests.

The breakfast is plentiful and good.

The gate to the old city of Siena is just across the street so access is very easy.

You can usually get a good deal there.

Cons: Because it is on a busy street and near the bus station, there is a lot of traffic passing the front of the hotel making for a noisy night. The rooms in the back of the hotel however are quiet, so if staying there it is important to specify that.

Although the gate to the old city is just across the street, some folks prefer the ambience of being inside the walls.