After leaving Florence in the morning I would like to spend the day in Siena on my way to Rome. Any suggestions on how to efficiently achieve my goal? I've been told it is best to travel from Florence to Siena by Bus. After my day in Siena should I continue using the bus to Rome? Or should I take a train to Rome? Are the Siena bus and train stations close to each other? To complicate matters, what in heck should I do with my suitcase for the day? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

I can't comment on the bus question, but I can tell you that I took a train from Florence to Siena and it was fairly easy. I did have to change trains en route, but with a bit of help from the train station attendant, I was prepared for the stop and made the change easily. (I think the trip took a total of 2 hours...the smaller train made a few stops in tiny town along the way so it took longer.) Siena is truly wonderful and worth the effort, so I hope your plans work out. I would not take a bus from Siena to Rome as the trains are so much faster. I took a Eurostar train from Siena to Rome in about 1.5-2 hours.

As a side note, some of the train stations (not all) have lockers that you can use, but check ahead of time if your stop does, and what size they are, etc...Lugging a suitcase through Siena's cobbled streets would NOT be fun!

Good luck!

bredo,
The bus from Florence to Siena is better (faster, cheaper, more convenient). Both the bus and train from Siena to Rome take about three hours. The train requires a change in Chuisi and goes to Termini. The bus goes to Tiburtina.

I would agree with Henry. The bus is better. I actually just did this. The bus wound up only taking 45 minutes from Florence to Siena and it drops you off conveniently near the center. The bus to Rome took a little over three hours and requires you to take a subway to the Termini station in order to get into the main area of Rome. Not sure if we didn't stay on bus long enough or not, however our hotel did tell us we'd have to take a subway, so it seemed right. As far as your suitcase you may be able to check it at the station. I saw people handing in luggage as I was getting my ticket in Siena. Perhaps you could look into that.

Hi bredo,

At worst, you can leave your luggage at the SMN train station Florence, take the bus to Siena from Via Santa Caterina da Siena (abt 1 blk from SMN) and return to Florence before taking the train to Rome TE.

It will add about an hour to your trip.

Thank you all for your help!!