Venice to Siena?

I see several options at Trenitalia.com with only one change of trains Depart Venice S.L @ 8:32 on a Frecciaargento; Arrive Firenze SMN @ 10:40. Change to Regionale depart FSMN @ 11:10; Arrive Siena @ 12:38. Total 4h:06m Repeats at 9:32, 10:32, 12:57, 13:32, etc. If you take a bus, you to through Firenze as well, and change busses there.

Normally, its only 1 train change at Florence on the run from Venice to Siena. The high-speed has only 3-4 stops and no train changes between Venice and Florence. I see that runs before the 8:32am run do require a train change at Mestre. Once at Florence, you will change to a Regionale train to get to Siena. There is a bus run from Venice to Siena. The run takes 5hrs 50min and requires a bus change. The bus cannot beat the 155mph train from Venice to Florence. Also, the bus only runs once a day. Trenitalia has 26 high-speed runs each day between Venice and Florence.

The SITA bus station is about 800 feet from the train station. You can almost throw a rock to it. But, you can't see it from the train station. You just have to know its there. It's not the large bus station adjacent to train station. Those are local city buses. If you have the RS Florence/Tuscany book, its shown on a map in the book. From the Track #1 side of the train station, walk out to Via Luigi Alamanni boulevard. Cross at the crosswalk with the traffic light. You are now within 300 feet of the SITA bus station. Bear left to the nearest side street and then right down to the entrance to the bus station. I've done this transition to the bus station. You can also see the SITA bus terminal on Google Maps. Just Google autostazione sita, firenze, italy. The SITA bus is a very nice way to travel to Siena. It gets you closer into the city of Siena than does the train. Once at the ticket window, as for the Corse Rapida bus. This is the non-stop express.

Thanks for the information. Maybe I was looking in the wrong websites.
Can you tell me how difficult it would be to take the train to Florence SMN and then change to the bus to Siena (which I think may be a better way to arrive than train)? I remember trying to find the bus station near SMN one time and getting really lost. How far is it from SMN?

Sherry, This may help http://www.florence-journal.com/florence/2009/10/sita_bus_statio.html
Don't worry about the non-stop bus just take the next bus to Siena.

Thanks all! This is really helpful. And thanks for making me feel better about not finding the bus station. I know the train station quite well, so I felt stupid not finding the bus station. I probably just was looking for too big/formal a bus station.

Sherry, The route that I'd use is the one you mentioned. Travel by Freccia (fast) train from Venezia S.L. to Firenze S.M.N. and then transfer to the Bus for the short ride to Siena. Note that there are Corse Rapide (express) and Corse Ordinarie Buses, but the time difference between them isn't huge. The big advantage of travel by Bus on that route is that you'll be dropped at Piazza Gramsci, which is right in the main part of town. It's relatively easy to walk from there to many of the Hotels. If you arrive by train, you'll have to take a Taxi or Bus from the station up to the town. Have you got any idea where you'll be staying in Siena? A few other points to mention. As I recall, you'll need to validate your Bus ticket prior to boarding the SITA Bus. Also, as you'll likely be leaving Siena by train, ask your Hotel to arrange a Taxi to the station. That's the method I normally use. Happy travels!