we are arriving in san gimingnano from florence by bus. staying for 2 days and then going by train or bus to montepeciano for 3 nights. am i making a big mistake by not renting a car.

It depends on what kind of vacation you want.

We had a wonderful family trip to Italy and never rented a car. We took the train to Florence, and found walking to be the best way to get around in florence. We spent 3 nights in Florence, then I had booked a private licensed tour guide to drive us from florence to siena via the scenic route through the Chianto region. We LOVED not having to worry about getting lost and enjoyed hearing the views and interesting sense of humor of our local guide from Siena. He took us to a great place to eat full of locals, where everyone spoke Italian.

Siena is also a great place to walk and in fact the historical area is pedestrian-only.

I had avoided renting a car on this trip because I wanted a relaxing trip where there wasn't any arguing about where we should stop, something that always happens when our family rents a car!

Good luck with your decision.

Depends upon what you want to see. We stayed in Tuscany for 4 days and were very happy to have the car. Each day we ventured to a different town, parked the car and just wandered from shop to shop and all the other sites. We really covered alot of the smaller towns that way and got a great feel of the land.
Next trip we plan to visit Milan-Venice-Verona but without a car. For such big cities, walking or buses will do better than trying to navigate a car. Plus, no cars in Venice anyways.
Lisa S

Hi mont,

Have you checked the bus schedules from your hotel base?

My husband and I will be renting a small house in the Maremma area(Civitlla Marittima). The owner of our rental highly suggested we rent a car. Perhaps it depends on what you want to do for travel, or the location you will be visiting. We will be in a very small village . Good luck to you on your travel.

yes. You can train with the larger cities but exploring the glorious countryside and visiting the small towns (though the 2 you are going to are my 2 favorites actuallY) are done by car. I'd rent one. Driving is not difficult.

No, I wouldn't say you are at all wrong.

But this is definitely wrong!

http://www.petoffice.co.jp/catprin/english/

Wherever did you find that website? Those poor cats! I wonder how many people were bitten/clawed trying to take those pictures...?

I like the flexibility of having a car.