Tuscany travel north to south
 

We have only one day to spend driving through Tuscany. We will be coming from the Cinque Terre and driving as far south as we can get in order to catch a train the next morning headed for Pompeii. What towns do you recommend visiting as we head south. We are "quick" travelers, meaning we will walk through towns for a short trip and then on to another. Can we cover Siena, San Gim, and some other small towns? Is it worth going to Pisa to view, not necessarily spend any length of time? We just want to end up close to a train station for the next day. We would like to drive on some of the scenic roads through Tuscany.

lcove

where are you going to catch the train?

Why not spend the nite in Orvieto and drive to Pompeii the next day? Otherwise, you are talking about 2 train lines and 3 changes.
I would drive to Siena and be there by 10:00 and stay thru lunch. Then , south on S-2 to San Quirico and take the drive on S-146 west via Pienza and Montepulciano---you may have time to see one of those. Enter Siena via the Porta Tufi gate and watch for a large parking garage--a :10 walk into Il Campo.

You may be "quick" travelers, but the driving is slower and walking into the towns from parking areas takes time so I would prioritize what you want to see.

I can't tell you if Pisa would interest you more than another town, but I will say that San Gimignano was more interesting to us when viewed from a distance than actually being in the town. I could very easily spend an entire day in Siena, and I've already been there.

I agree with Bob about keeping the car for the drive to Pompeii.

We can catch the train anywhere, wherever we should decide to stop. The only problem with having a car is a travel agent told us that we had to rent a car for 3 days minimum if we picked it up in one spot and delivered it to another spot and we aren't sure if we want it for 3 days. Don't think we need it in the Cinque Terre or in the Amalfi Coast. We were also looking into the possibility of hiring a car with driver for our day trip in Tuscany.

You need to find a place you can drop off the car AND catch the train. There are a limited number of such locations in southern Tuscany. Some possibilities are Chiusi, Arezzo, and Orvieto (actually in Umbria). It depends on who you're renting the car from.

So for maximum flexibility and probably maximum convenience, hire a driver for that one day. S/he could drop you at a train station of your choice.

I agree with Bob and Jean's comments.

The 3-day rental minimum, I would guess, is a reference to pricing. The rental price may go down for a 3-day rental vs. one for fewer days. Call some rental companies and get the exact information. We've used Auto Europe for all of our travels in Europe, as have quite a few others on Fodors.

from Cinque Terre we'd recommend Lucca, and Orvieto.
There is a direct train from Orvieto to Rome and on to Naples for Pompeii.

It may be free--would that change your mind?
Train tickets will cost too.

I appreciate all the input. I will talk with my traveling companion and we will go from there.