Bologna-Siena-Florence by train and bus.

The bus company’s name has changed, but the bus you’re looking for is still the R131

Jed,

it looks like the best way for us to get from Bologna to Siena will be via train to Florence, and then probably bus to Siena?

The bus is preferable when traveling to Siena because it’s closer to the historic center, however, it looks like your hotel is quite a ways from the historic center, and probably downhill from it. So… I’d suggest taking the train ( one change in Florence), and then a taxi to your hotel.

Thank you! 2 other quick questions I forgot to ask. Look on Trenitalia for options, and no need to book in advance as no savings? Stations are Bologna Centrale and Siena. :-)

Agree with Priscilla
I believe the bus drops you at Piazza Gramsci- opposite side of historic center
Train and taxi makes more sense

Hotel Athena is walking distance to center/Campo though
(We stayed at hotel right next to Athena-both have fabulous views-enjoy!)

The train from Florence to Siena is regional-no need to purchase in advance but I’d at least get tix when I left Bologna ( purchase the whole journey)
Or use the app

Be sure to validate tix if you buy at station

There are fast trains from Bologna to Florence as well as regional
Your choice as to which and when to purchase
Fast train in advance will have discounts

Thanks, looks like the fast train saves about an hour, give or take. See fast train for 35 Euros with change in Firenza Santa Maria Novella. About 10-12 Euro more p/p and is a good time for us. If we pre-purchase, we can use the Trenitalia app to show our tickets digitally? Or how does that work?

Thanks for all the advice!

When is your trip?
I’d choose the freccia/ Regionale combination with a travel time of around 2.5 hours.

I’d definitely book in advance to take advantage of discounted tickets.

Make sure you choose the train route with one change ( Florence) not 2.

Train stations:

• Bologna Centrale
  • Siena

When departing Siena, the train station for Florence is:

• Firenze S. M. Novella

Yes you show your tix on app
Or if you purchase before you leave home you can print them
( I do this just because I’m old school and like having paper copies just in case phone decides to not work)

Also since the second leg is regional if you miss connection your tix allow you to take any later same regional in next 4 hours

Thanks Priscilla and ChristineH. This will be about 3-4 weeks from now. I'll go ahead and book in advance and use the app AND bring paper tix as back up! :-)

As ChristineH mentioned, make sure you book the whole journey; Bologna Centrale to Siena.

If we pre-purchase, we can use the Trenitalia app to show our tickets digitally?

Yes, or you may also print them, if you choose.

When you book the whole trip, you’ll get one ticket for the Frecciarossa (fast train) from Bologna to Florence, and the Regionale ticket for Florence to Siena.
No need to validate ( date/stamp) tickets ordered online.

Edited to add…
Hahaha! ChristineH beat me in answering!
While looking at the train schedules, I began to
daydream about returning to Beautiful Siena…

Ha! And I'm daydreaming about visiting for the first time! We'll plan to buy our tickets from Siena to Florence day of departure at the station.

All booked and downloaded the app, but it can't find the ticket. I'll give it a few hours or check tomorrow to see if it will show. Thanks for the help!

Jed,
Is this your first trip to Italy?

What’s your itinerary?
Do you plan to visit other places in Italy?

BTW, I included my Siena trip report on my previous reply.

We'll plan to buy our tickets from Siena to Florence day of departure at the station.

You can always book those tickets online too.

If you buy them at the station, make sure you validate (date/time stamp) prior to boarding the train, to avoid an expensive fine!

Enjoy your trip!

Did you set up account on Trenitalia site when you booked tickets?
If you did they should show on app under
“My journeys”

I didn't beforehand, was just trying to retrieve the ticket. I'll try again tomorrow and see. If not, we'll have our paper tickets.

Hello Jed. If you scroll down on the confirmation of your purchase, you should see "check-in" and "manage." That is where you will find your ticket. If you click the "manage" section, you will be able to open your ticket in a PDF form. We were having the same concern while there and ask one of the representatives at the train station for help. We just returned from staying six weeks in lovely Siena. Enjoy your visit.

I'm late to this thread, but will comment just in case anyone else is interested in this itinerary.

We recently made the same trip, but in reverse, from Siena to Bologna. We took Flixbus, direct (no changes), under €10 per person. Our bus left from the train station to train station, although there were some other choices that used bus stations in Siena. The trip took about 2 1/2 hours. (The schedule showed almost 3, but we arrived in Bologna about 30 minutes early!)

I do recommend paying a bit extra (€1.49) to reserve a seat, since the bus filled up pretty quickly.

Thanks everyone, all set! Although I may just go ahead and buy the Siena to Florence ticket now, one less thing to worry about.

Priscilla, this is our 2nd trip to Italy, though first for the Tuscany area. We spent a week total in Cinque Terre and Varenna in 2015. We are three nights Bologna, 4 in Siena and 2 in Florence. We then fly up to Ireland to meet family and continue our adventures in Ireland, England, and finally Paris for my wife and I.

We have a tour booked one day in Bologna to go to Modena and Parma and a cheese factory, and 2 full days of guided wine tour out of Siena. Florence will be really short, but I'm looking at it as just getting a taste of the city and some recon for a future trip....We'll be back! I'm thinking of finding a 1/2 day walking (or bike, if that works!) tour on our full day there. We don't have plans to hop into a bunch of churches or museums, just relax and see the city.....and as someone said, plenty of Aperol spritz times in the plazas in all the towns. :-) Our previous two trips to Europe were pretty full daily itineraries, so this one we'll go with the flow a bit more.

Thanks again everyone for the info and I'll definitely check out your trip report!

How was your trip?

Wondering minds want to know if you’ll be sharing a trip report?

Ciao!