Siena to Paris--best method?
 

Would the best way to get from Siena Italy to Paris be to fly from Pisa on Easyjet? We're just looking for one way. I found a decent price the only thing is, there's one flight and it departs at night. I figure it would take about 12 hours by train. I checked both Pisa and Florence airports for options. Although there are options out of Florence, they're very expensive. Before I pull the trigger and buy our tickets, I just wanted to ask if there were any other suggestions. We'll be in Siena for the Palio and then we're planning on ending our trip in Paris so I was trying to figure out how to get there the best way possible without spending a fortune.

Hi Luv - Easyjet from Pisa would be your best option, I think.

The alternative - if not Florence - would be Rome (- or Bologna).

See:
www.whichbudget.com

Hope this helps ...

Steve

MyAir.com has a flight out of Genoa. It leaves at 12:15, arrives 13:45 but it's into CDG rather than Orly. Also looks to run only Tues, Thurs and Saturday.

I haven't looked at the map or train schedule. But I don't think it would take that much longer to get to Genoa rather than Pisa.

Doesn't Ryanair also fly out of Pisa to Paris? But probably not to a close-in airport.

There is an overnight train with sleeping cars and a restaurant car from Firenze to Paris. Daytime trains would involve a train to Milano then a TGV to Paris.

Hi I,

www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html has a SmartPrice of 60E pp in a T4 couchette from Florence to Paris.

Have you checked www.whichbudget.com from Pisa, Florence, Bologna, Venice and Rome?

((I))

Ryanair flies into Paris-Beauvais, out in northeast nowhere. Easyjet, OTOH, flies into Paris-Orly.

Thank you all for your great advise. No, I hadn't tried WhichBudget so that was terrific info.

I read some really bad reviews on Ryanair so I think EasyJet may be a better option even though the flight time is definitely not preferred. If anyone reading this has first hand experience using Easyjet I'd love to hear about your experience.

Today I was looking at Air France out of Pisa. Their rate for a one way ticket is very expensive at $768EU per person but, a round trip ticket is only $175EU per person. Has anyone purchased a round trip ticket and only used the outgoing portion? A friend of mine who was a former flight attendant, said that many US carriers would charge the credit card on file with the full one way fare if a person didn't use both segments. I'm curious if European carriers do the same. Has anyone here purchased a round trip and only used the outgoing portion? I just don't understand why carriers charge SO much more for one way fares. It just doesn't make sense.

Did you look at the MyAir flight, Bologna BLQ to Paris CDG?

The drive isn't much longer than to Pisa and it would put you in Paris mid-afternoon.

Hi Jeanne,

No I hadn't really considered it but, perhaps I should since you're the second person who's mentioned it. Again, this was a last minute change and we've never flown on any of these low-cost European airlines. I assume they're similar to Spirit Airlines which is here in the US?? I don't know why I'm skiddish about it. Have people here reported good experiences with them? They are certainly reasonable and they fly to CDG so I can't ask for more than that!

I wouldn't worry overmuch about Ryanair's bad press either. The biggest problem on this flight would be the distance of the airport to the city.

I have used Ryanair several times, and providing you know exactly what you are booking, and stick exactly to the rules, you should not have a problem.

Where Ryanair does fall down is customer service should anything go wrong.

ILP:

I've flown MyAir from Venice to Paris. It was a full size plane similar to a Boeing 757. No complaints here. Watch your baggage weight limits on any of these flights.

I mentioned the Bologna option because the Easyjet arrives in Paris so late (10:30pm), though it does go into Orly, which is convenient. But even going into CDG on MyAir, you could be at your hotel in Paris by mid afternoon.

If we do choose to fly one of the low cost airlines how far in advance do we need to arrive at the airport prior to the flight? I read a few comments, specifically in regard to Ryanair but, the process seems extremely time consuming to get checked in, bags checked and a boarding pass. The description seemed much more time consuming than Air France or other carriers. Just trying to figure out if we have enough time to do this. We won't have a car but we could rent one. If we went to Bologna would be it be easier to take the train or rent a car and drive directly to the airport?

I was so excited being able to get to Paris on this trip and now I'm just trying to figure out how to make it happen without too much hassle. I appreciate everything you have all told me so I know what I'm in for before I get there!

Thank you Jeanne, those were my thoughts exactly. I didn't really want to be getting to our hotel at midnight.

As an aside we found a beautiful looking hotel for a great deal thanks to WillTravel. In case this is of help to anyone we're staying at the
http://www.keppler-paris hotel.com/en/

$288 USD per night and 3rd night was free! Hard to beat!

What date will you be traveling?

There is a direct bus from Siena to Bologna airport, but it only runs twice daily at 7:20 (arriving 9:50) and at 14:50 (arriving 17:20).
www.sena.it

This would not be too long a wait for the 12:20 Myair flight.

The alternative would be bus or train to Florence, then train to Bologna, then bus to the airport.

Wow! That works perfectly as long as they aren't going on the one day the flight leaves earlier.

ILP:
If I recall correctly, they do not assign seats until check in. That's why they want people to be there 2 hrs b/4 departure.

Really, there's a bus that runs from Siena to Bologna airport? You are a lifesaver! We leave Siena on July 3rd for Paris. I know the flight leaves at 12:15 so the bus would be the perfect solution! On the website I noticed it says Bologna Centro and under that it says Bologna Aeroporto. Does that mean there's two stops?

I can't thank you enough for this info. We normally travel by car everywhere so when I'm faced with trains and buses, I'm out of my comfort zone! We start off with a car but then drop it on our way to Florence which is prior to going to Siena. I was contemplating renting another one to drive from Siena but the bus sounds like an even better solution!

The bus from Siena to Bologna stops at the airport at 9:35 - and then goes on to the city centre. The bus can cost as little as €8 if you book on the internet. I have not been able to find an available ticket for July, but I presume that it is still too early.

I would try Emailing them directly at
[email protected] asking about your dates. I have written to them in English before and received a reply.

The only other thing to add is that the bus in Siena appears to travel from Porta Pispini then onto the railway station. In between it stops at the bottom of the escalator that runs down from the city to Via Peruzzi. Depending on where you are staying in Siena you might be able to walk down and take the escalator, or take a bus from Piazza di Sale, or a taxi down to the station.

Oh my gosh, thank you so much. I will email them as you suggested. We're staying at the Grand Hotel Continental if that helps. You seem to know Siena very well. I've been to Siena before but, we've never stayed there. I don't remember seeing the bus station but I wasn't looking for it either. Is it near the train station? We have driven to Siena in the past and seem to enter at different areas depending on where we can find parking. We'll be arriving in Siena on July 1 by train coming from Florence so if it's near the bus station, that would help me with my bearings. The hotel suggested we take a taxi from the train station so I assume it's a bit too far to walk (and lots of hills which isn't fun with a big suitcase in the summer when it feels like 100 degrees outside!)

The main bus departure point is Piazza Gramsci/Via Tozzi which is no more than a quarter of a mile from your hotel. The Railway station is at the bottom of the hill about a mile from the city centre.

Upon arrival by train you would certainly want to take a taxi unless you were really economising - then it would be a €1.20 bus ticket (I am going to assume you are taking a taxi).

If you decide to take the Siena - Bologna bus, you will need to either take a taxi down to station, or to walk the half mile or so down to the church of San Francesco, then take the escalators down to via Peruzzi to catch the bus, as it does not use the main station.

Further to the above, I have modified a map to show you the various locations. It can be seen at
http://www.microbes.plus.com/sienamap.jpg

Should I be concerned tha MYAIR appears to be going on strike on May 9th? :)

I'm hoping Willit or someone else on this forum can answer a question re: the SENA bus from Siena to Bologna airport.

I purchased 2 tickets back in May on the website for a one way trip from Siena to Bologna Airport on July 3rd. I received a confirmation when I purchased the tickets (in the form of a pop-up which I printed out) and it includes the total cost of the order, an order number, authorization code for the charge and the date of the transaction. I never received a voucher per se so I'm confused about what we're supposed to present in order to board the bus. I emailed the bus company and have not heard back. We leave this Thursday for our trip so I wanted to resolve this before we leave. Everything on the website seems to convert from English to Italian as soon as you go to purchase.

I'm hoping someone may have done this trip before and therefore can shed some light.

Thanks so much!

ILP

As well as the confirmation Email, I seem to remember that I received a link to print out 2 sheets of a4 paper - one labelled for the passenger and one "for the driver".

If you don't have these, or they wern't sent as attachments, then I would go to the SENA office when I got to Siena and seek their help - they have always been very helpful when I have been there.

The Sena office is in the underpass in Piazza Gramsci. Stand with your back to the buses, and the steps are just in front of the large bar/cafe.

The office is well marked with SENA, but is to the left of the local bus company offices and the left luggage.

THANK YOU Willit!!!!