SUGGESTIONS TO ITALY TRIP THIS SPRING PLEASE
 

Our itinerary:
Land in Rome and spend 5 days there. We have spent a week in Rome previously, so we don't have to go like crazy people trying to get everything in. One of those days we wiil be going to Ostia Antica because I don't want to take the extra time to get to Pompeii on this trip.

On the 6th day we take the fast train to Florence early in the morning and spend the day there. We've been to Florence before, so we are seeing things we hadn't gotten to before.

Later that afternoon we take the bus from Florence to Siena where our home base will be for a week. We will see Siena for at least two days and then rent a car for 4 days so we can see different little towns and villages in Tuscany. I have SO many little towns/villages on our list and the more I research each of them, the more I want to see them all. Obviously, that's not going to happen. WHICH TOWNS/VILLAGES ARE YOUR MUST SEES? Return the car late afternoon on our last day in Siena……. OR…..drive the car to Florence and drop it off there. We were thinking of the latter, but from what I read it seems to be tricky driving into Florence and then having to find the car rental place might be even trickier.

If we drop the car off in Siena, our last day in Italy we take the bus from Siena to Florence early in the morning and spend the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon in Florence. Late afternoon we take the fast train back to Rome and spend our last night in Rome. Fly back home the next day.

Now, I have spent a LOT of time trying to hunt down the website for SITA bus, but every forum I go to that includes a link, I cannot, for the life of me find where I find the schedule (Firenze-Siena-Firenze). I found a few of them that people posted, but they're all at least a year old or older.

Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated.

scratch that link - I see what your problem is now!

you can pick up a rental car across the street from the train station; we used Hertz but I am sure there are others in the area as well. If you get a GPS or have your smart phone enabled, it is not terrible driving into or out of florence. As for small towns, we really like Montalcino and Sant Angelo in Colle.

I don't see the point of going to Florence twice and backtracking. Take the Sena bus from Rome to Siena (as fast as the train and doesn't involve changes like the train does). The Sena bus from Rome to Siena has about 10 departures per day. Cost it about 20€ one way. Luggage is stored under the bus.

http://www.sena.it/Home/78-1-en.html

The Sita bus between Florence/Siena (I would just do one day trip to Florence from Siena if it's a must) has their schedules on the transport website for the area. Right now it's likely winter schedules. You didn't mention when you were going. You want bus 131. The fast bus (doesn't stop in Poggibonsi) is on pages 63-68. The slower bus starts on page 59.

http://www.trainspa.it/train04/extraurbano.pdf

We rented a car in Sorrento a few years back and drove north, ultimately dropping it off at the airport in Florence, which was very easy and which I recommend doing.. From there took a taxi as I recall into Florence (we avoid driving in European cities as much as possible!). Loved Cortona, San Gimiano, Montepulciano, Monte Riggioni. Less crazy about Siena (I know, most people love it but we didn't) and Assissi (although not sorry we went there once but I'm not sure we'd return).

This is personal preference, but I wouldn't base all 6 days in Siena. I'd spend 2 days in Siena, then rent the car there and relocate to a smaller town for 4 days of exploring. I'd return the car in Chiusi or Orvieto and train to Rome.

Where that second base should be depends on the towns you want to see. Personal preference again, but I like the area of Montepulciano/Pienza/San Quirico/Montalcino (including the abbeys of Sant'Atimo and the Monte Oliveto Maggiore). Orvieto is also very interesting, and most of its sights can be seen in half a day.

If you choose to stay the entire 6 days in Siena, make sure you pick a hotel with easy ingress/egress for your daily destinations. (Palazzo Ravizza is southwest of the campo and has easy in/out.) If the hotel is within Siena's limited traffic zone (ZTL), make sure you understand precisely how you must drive in and out. Siena isn't the charming little town it once was. Anticipate traffic in the morning and late afternoon as you do your exploring.

f Montepulciano>

this smallish but not tiny hill town would also make a great base for the area Jean and I like - for something different check out Chianciano Terme - which is both an old hill town - Chianciano but also in the new town a thermal establishment that is one of Italy's finest - a whole different scene here from the proverbial ancient hill town - a park-like campus dotted with thermal establishments were people flock to take the waters for cures and health.

Treat yourself to one and feel ever so refreshed.


https://www.google.com/search?q=chia...=1600&bih=1074

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

In further researching driving to/from Siena to visit villages/towns during our stay in Siena, I am becoming more and more concerned about the parking situation in Siena. We have reservations at Albergo Bernini and it's a short walk from Via Vittorio Veneto which has free parking, but we cannot be assured that we will find the free parking spaces when we need them.

So now I am open to staying at an agriturismo very close to Siena (since we will be seeing the sights in Siena for 2 days and picking up the rental car there). I tried Agriturismo Marciano, but they're all booked up and I am wondering if anyone has any suggestions on a good agriturismo very close to Siena. Siena seems pretty centrally located to the places we want to visit: Montepulciano, Montalcino, San Gimignano, Volterra, Pienza. I would rather not pay more than 100 Euros a night.

Just back from 3 weeks of cycling in Italy.We landed at Fiumicino and stayed one night nearby so we could go to Ostia Antica . We went up the Etruscan coast to Tarquinia ( Etruscan tombs) and then enjoyed the amazing coastal beach towns and culture and seafood before heading inland from Pisa to Florence to Siena. We faced the same issues as you are, that is finding no direct train from Siena to Rome. Since we had already toured Florence, Greve, Castellina , we went from Siena to Radda, and caught a direct train from Montevarchi to Rome for 4 remaining nights. You could chose another place down the train line( Arezzo?) if a car drop off is possible instead of backtracking. Hope you have as much fun as we did.