rev579

My wife and I are flying into Florence and we plan on taking a rail(more interesting and scenic than a bus) to Manarola. We then will take a rail to Siena. After staying just South of Siena for a couple of days we plan on taking the rail to Rome.

What is the best way to do this? Also, we were thinking about stopping in Pisa on the way to CT or Siena. Suggestions?

I am aware there are a couple of different options for trains, passes and routes. Any help would be appreciated.

zoecat

You should just purchase point to point tickets at the stations. Stopping in Pisa should be no problem. You can leave your luggage in a locker at the train station.

The train station in Siena is located down the hill from the town, so you will need to take either a taxi or a local bus up to the town.

How are you planning on getting to your place south of Siena?

rev579

We were going to take a taxi. I was told it would be about 30 Euros.

with respect to the train. If I do point to point it would look like this:
Florence-Pisa-Manarola

Manarola-Siena

Siena-Rome

Right? I assume trenitalia is the train service to use.

An Italy Saverpass online at rick steves site goes for 209/person for 3 days.

This is totally new for me.

EI?
IC?

Help

jeff001

Trenitalia is the Italian national railway and is the only train service. On their website you can view the timetables and buy tickets. I did a quick check and the itinerary you describe works out to a total of E49 so point to point tickets would be better than the pass. The trains to/from Manarola change in Pisa so you could make a stopover there using your through ticket.

ellenem

For your routes there is no need for a rail pass of any kind. It will be much chepaer to just buy the individual tickets you need. You DO NOT need a pass.

I think your EI means ES, yes? ES = Eurostar, the fastest train, very few stops
IC = InterCity the next fastest, slightly more stops
R = slow train, even more stops

Florence-Pisa-Manarola: About €10-€14 on R trains

Manarola-Siena €16-€21 on !C and R trains

Siena-Rome €21-€26 on IC and R trains

For loads of info about trains see
http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/trains/index.htm

ira

Hi Rev,

For Siena to Rome, you might want to take the bus. 5E each way and you don;t have to schlep luggage.
http://www.senabus.it/

rev579

Ira, you have a pretty good handle on travel in Italy. i enjoyed your post about Florence. My question for you is this, what is the primary difference between travel by bus and train b/t my destination points?
We did the bus thing in Greece(one w/ A/C and one w/o). We also have used the train from K-town, Germany to Vienna, Austria. We had a nice private "6-8 seat cabin" with a fold-down table. So, understanding differences and similarities would be great.

ellenem

For most places in Italy, train travel is the best and perhaps only option. Bus travel is used more for travel between smaller, local towns. When we suggest bus travel here, it's usually because we know a detail that makes the bus better.

For example, the bus Ira suggests from Siena to Rome is the better option because it goes from the center of Siena directly to Rome. To take the train from Siena to Rome, you'd have to get to Siena's train station, which is outside of town and down the hill. Plus the train to Rome will require one change somewhere along the way. The bus is suggested as the way to reach Florence as well because of Siena's train station location.

I mentioned all train routes because that's what you asked for. Your other trips are definitely better by train to my knowledge. However, choose your train carefully since some of your routes have options for more or less changes depending on the time of day.

LucieV

Do be careful purchasing your tix to Manarola. It can be a bit confusing because, depending upon which train you take, the train stops at least once (Spezia), often twice (Pisa and Spezia); and I think you have to change trains at Spezia. I know last year when we did this, another couple traveling the same route ended up having to retrace part of their route, because they got off and on going in the wrong directions. It's not that big a deal if you do screw up, but it's a hassle you can avoid if you keep your eyes and ears wide open! In any case, it's worth it: Manarola is wonderful!

Sample routing:
http://orario.trenitalia.com/b2c/nppTravelSolutions.do

ira

Hi Rev,

>what is the primary difference between travel by bus and train b/t my destination points?<

Ellenem answered very well.

The Sena Bus goes to Rome Tiburtina station.

zoecat

I agree with Ira's suggestion of bus from Siena to Rome. It is very easy, cheap and direct. You can taxi from the Tiburtina station to your hotel in Rome.