It appears I am beginning my research on tours in No. Italy too late as I am waitlisted for several during a September departure time. I am now thinking of choosing a home base - maybe Florence from where I can travel to Cinque Terre, Volterra, Siena, san Gimignano, Orvieto them to Assisi ( not necessarily in that order) .
I welcome thoughts on this topic.
Thank you.
Posted by
Irving
3023 posts
It appears I am beginning my research on tours in No.
Did you mean to say Nov?
The Cinque Terre is not a day trip from Florence. Not only are there no direct trains between Florence and the Cinque Terre, it also takes more than two hours (2h) to reach. The same with Volterra.
I took a day trip from Florence to San Gimignano by bus that involved a transfer. The connection was late making it a long day.
Assisi doesn’t work either. The fast train is later in the day and it still takes 2h 30m.
Siena, yes since there’s a direct bus taking 1h 15m that drops you off outside the old town. Do not take the train that not only takes longer, but you must take a taxi or bus from the station to the old town.
Orvieto is doable but get an early start. The train is direct from Florence’s (Firenze S.M. Novella station) to Orvieto: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html taking 2h 15m. When you arrive in Orvieto you must take the funicular to the top to reach the historic center.
It’s best to base yourself in Siena when touring the Tuscan countryside and renting a car is a must.
Posted by
Chicago
7981 posts
Do some of it yourself.
For Umbria stay in Perugia. You can easily get to both Orvieto and Assisi from there.
For Tuscany stay in Florence and take day trips to Siena and San Gimignano ( though this is town is so small and only looks good from the road or in photos and is touristy on the inside no place you want eat or spend a lot a time at but you have to wait for the bus to get out of there).
Take to train from Florence to Monterosso and stay there to tour Cinque Terre.