earthchick

I am finishing up my travel plans for my trip to Italy later this week and this is one of the things I haven't figured out - the best way to get from Siena to Rome.

I am flying out this Thursday, will get to Rome Friday morning and will take the train to Florence, where I will stay until Monday. Then I will take a bus to Siena, where I will stay for one night. I am to meet up with a group of friends in Rome on Tuesday night.

I have read that train travel from Siena to Rome can take 3-4 hours. So is it preferable to take the bus? Or would it make more sense to go back to Florence and then take the train back to Rome? I had some interest in renting a car to drive to Siena and then to Rome, but since my time is short I decided I didn't want to spend it picking up and dropping off a car. But if it would take less time to do that than the other options, perhaps I should reconsider.

This is my first solo trip out of the country, and I'd like to feel fairly confident about my travel arrangements once I'm there. I appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Steve_James

Hi Chick - You can find timetables and fares for the Siena-Rome bus service on:

http://tinyurl.com/y55uat

http://www.senabus.it/eng/activenews...st&layout=

For train timetables see:
www.trenitalia.com

Hope this helps ...

Steve

JeanneB

I haven't done this, but previous research encouraged taking the bus (3 hrs--5 euros). Here is a website I had saved:

SENA BUS
http://tinyurl.com/yjapdc

earthchick

Thank you, both of you, for your speedy replies. Looking at the links you provided, I can see that the bus is indeed a little faster than the train. (And I apologize if I asked a question that I should've researched more before posting. I really have done a lot of research, but there are still so many little details. And I value the advice and opinions of those who have more experience than I do.)

My current thinking is to travel after an early dinner, which means it will be dark when I get to Rome. Do any of you feel it is unwise/unsafe for a female solo traveler to arrive in Rome alone at night? I will need to get from the bus station to the place I'm staying by myself, which I assume I can do by taxi. I thought I'd go at night b/c I'd like to maximize my time in Siena (I will already have 10 days ahead of me in Rome, so no need to get there earlier than necessary). But I'd like to know if this seems safe to people who have been there.

JeanneB

Where is your Rome hotel?

earthchick

I am staying in a monastery one train stop west of the Vatican.

ellenem

You shouldn't be in any danger as long as you exercise the usual big-city caution. I'd take a taxi at that hour. Have you checked with the monastery about how late you may arrive? Some have odd curfews.

JeanneB

<i>one train stop west of the Vatican</i>

You mean the metro? I'd still be inclined to take a cab. It depends on how much luggage and what time you arrive. But after the bus trip, a cab would be worth it.

earthchick

Yes, I believe the nun who told me this meant the metro. I will be near Via Aurelia, just west of the Vatican. My understanding is that I can come in quite late, though I'm aiming to get there before midnight. Is it quite simple to get a cab from the bus station?

ellenem

I would really verify the exact time. I've often heard of 10 PM curfews . . .

willit

I've done Rome to Siena and back by the Sena bus - it was fine. As both my trips were on a weekend, the time was not an issue - less than 3 hours both ways.

To go Siena - Florence - Rome would, in my opinion, be no faster, as you would need to take the bus from Siena (75 minutes).

You could take a train from Siena to Rome - change at either Chiusi or Grossetto, but when I was looking at this it was both cheaper and faster to take the bus.

kybourbon

If you take the bus, you arrive at the Tiburtina station, not Termini. IMO, it's a much seedier station than Termini. It is on the metro line, so I guess you could take the metro the rest of the way (change lines at Termini) to your hotel.

Depending on exactly where you are staying, you might also take a local train from Tiburtina to Rome San Pietro station, which is quite near via Aurelia. This would still involve a change at Termini.

earthchick

Thanks so much for all your helpful posts. I'm beginning to realize there is more to figure out than I thought!

There is no curfew at the monastery I'm staying at. They do lock the gates, but someone will be there to open them as long as they know when I'm arriving.

Checking the map again, I see that the monastery is actually much further from the Vatican than I thought (so perhaps the nun actually did mean the train and not the metro). It is quite near the outer ring around Rome, on the far west.

I don't like the sound of seedy bus stations, don't like the idea of taking 4 hours by train for a trip that only would take 3 hours by bus, and don't like the idea of leaving Siena before dinner. Guess I'll have to get over at least one of these and just get on with it. Hmmm....

floydvic

I would suggest having a late lunch and consider that dinner, pack a late evening snack to munch on the bus and get into Rome quicker.

earthchick

Yeah, I think you're right. I'm starting to feel inclined to take the bus to Rome before dark and try to meet up with my friends in time for a late dinner there.

Thanks so much for all the help!

SeaUrchin

I have been to Tibertina in the middle of the day and it was seedy then, let alone at night and alone at that (how is that for a sentence?).

I agree, leave Siena earlier and get to Rome at dusk. There were not many taxis in the Tibertina area either, we had to call our hotel to have them send a taxi for us.

We found out later you have to walk near to the street to get any taxi in the area. Do you really have to stay in the outer ring of Rome? There are convents closer.

earthchick

Hi SeaUrchin. Unfortunately, yeah, I really do have to stay there. The Rome portion of my trip is part of a professional meeting, funded by a grant, and arranged by the grant-writers. I pretty much have to go along with what is planned for us once I get to Rome, and staying in this particular convent is part of that plan. I honestly had no idea until today how far from the center of the city it is!

I remain confused about how best to get there on my own, but at least I'm settled that I obviously don't need to be figuring it all out in the dark!

kybourbon

Where is your hotel? We might be more help if we knew the street or name. Does one train stop west of the Vatican actually mean train or metro? There are both, but advice would be different on how to reach each.

JeanneB

<i>I remain confused about how best to get there on my own...</i>

I don't know that area of Rome, but I do know this: DO NOT arrive in a city with any doubts about where you're going and how.

Perhaps you should start a new thread titled
&quot;Rome: Pls help w/ Tiburtina arrival&quot;. There are plenty of Fodorites who can tell you exactly what to do.

earthchick

I definitely plan to get this sorted out before I leave here. I just meant that for today I'm still confused! Thanks, Jeanne, for the suggested thread title - if I decide for sure that I'm taking the bus (hope to make that decision by tomorrow morning), I'll definitely post that thread.

kybourbon, the monastery I'm staying in is on Via Dei Bevilacqua (street number is 60). The name of the guesthouse I'm staying in is Casa Generalizia, run by the Benedictine Missionary Sisters of Tutzing.

The directions I have say to take the train that goes to Civitavecchia and get off at Stazione Aurelia. I assume this is the metro, and am uncertain how I get to the metro from either the train station or the bus station.