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2015 Christmas Season Train/Bus Travel

Hi All,

I'll be arriving in Rome on December 20th and staying in Italy for 2.5 weeks, leaving from Milan. We plan on taking the train & bus everywhere. I've done some searching online and all I could find is that the Trenitalia Christmas season schedule won't be updated till mid December.

I'm just trying to ensure that we'll be able to get from Rome to Siena, Siena to San Gimignano, San Gimignano to Lucca, Lucca to Pisa/Florence, Florence to Venice, and Venice to Milan using public travel. I assume there will be travel between big cities, I'm more concerned about the Tuscan towns we plan on visiting.

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

Posted by
154 posts

The only place I could see you having the hardest time connecting with is San Gimignano since it is not on a rail line. Buses will be running in late December but they could be on a very limited schedule meaning one bus a day. Official bus schedules can be hard to find in advance and you could get a better idea on how it will work by checking with your hotels. As for the locations on the rail lines I don't expect you to have any issues other than if you traveled on December 25th. You can use www.bahn.com to get an idea on how some destinations connect even if you don't use dates as far out as December.

Posted by
15043 posts

You can check the schedules this week and the ones in December won't change much.
Buses schedules are already out for the winter, but there are several companies depending on the province you are. In any case, buses are available during the Xmas holidays. Just be aware that on Sundays and Holidays bus service is very very infrequent (and sometimes not operating at all in some minor lines). Therefore if you travel to locations where a bus is necessary, it's a good idea not to go on Sundays and Holidays. Train schedules are more or less the same every day, including Sunday and holidays.
The following days are holidays:
Dec. 25 (Xmas day)
Dec. 26 (St. Steven day, which is a Saturday this year)
Jan. 1 (New Year's day)
Jan. 6 (Epifany)
Avoid bus travel on the above days and on Sundays. Saturdays are ok, although Mon-Fri have the most service. Schools are closed from Dec. 24 to Jan 6, during this period some bus runs specifically designed for students, are cancelled as well.

Based on the locations you mentioned, the following is the most logical itinerary sequence (all by high speed train):
ROME
FLORENCE
VENICE
MILAN

Since you are relying on public transport, I recommend you use Florence as the base to visit Siena (75 min by bus or train), San Gimignano (75 min by bus), Pisa (48 min by train), Lucca (very close to Pisa).
If you want to spend a couple of nights in the above towns, you can. Maybe 2 nights in Lucca (not Pisa which has little to offer, you can visit Pisa on the way to Lucca in 1 hr) and/or 2+ nights in Siena.
San Gimignano is equidistant from both Florence and Siena, so you can visit it from either. Go to San Gimignano on a weekday.

Posted by
11247 posts

I have already booked Frecciarossa tickets for Dec 16 and 30. You should be able to buy now.

Posted by
2 posts

Thank you all for the replies!

I'm going to try and book trains for the major trips now and I'll book the shorter trips as we go. It seems like it will be very difficult to get to and from San Gimignano on Saturday and Sunday, the 26th and 27th. We originally wanted to go to Lucca from San Gimignano but we may have to rethink the route.

Posted by
11613 posts

I have also bought tickets for December 15, schedules are up now.