Hi, we will be travelling by train from Venice via Florence to Siena at the end of September and will be spending a couple of days there. I understand that the best way to get to Siena from Florence is to take a bus. I'm having trouble finding a bus schedule (well, the one I find is in Italian...). My questions are, what is the name of the bus company, and do we need to make a reservation or do we just go to the bus station and purchase it there and wait. I understand they run every hour, so I want to coordinate with my train arrival from Venice, walk from train station to bus station and hopefully not having to wait too long for bus connection. Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6244 posts
The train might be more convenient depending on where you are staying in Siena and how much baggage you have
Since you are traveling by train to Florence it’s just a transfer- then a cab to your Siena lodgings
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15269 posts
Since Nov. 2021 the entire bus transportation system is Tuscany has been taken over by the new company called AUTOLINEE TOSCANE (Tuscan Bus Lines).
For the Florence-Siena timetable go to the webpage below and click on 131R. That is the Rapid Bus (the one that goes through the freeway without intermediate stops. The 131 without the R makes stops). Download the PDF timetable and you have all the runs.
https://www.at-bus.it/en/timetables.html#modTimetables_collapseExtraUrbanLine
It's in Italian, but numbers are numbers. All you need to know is that Europeans use military time (24h clock), so for example 1pm = 13:00 hours.
Effective days legend:
E=weekdays (Mon-Sat)
E -6= weekdays minus Saturday (=Mon-Fri only)
E6= Saturday only
E7=Sunday only
The Autostazione (bus station) in Florence is across from the Santa Maria Novella train station, on the Bar Deanna side. (the bus station is just past that Bar).
Bar Deanna is across the station on the southwest side, but Florentines don't talk East/West/North/South, they use landmarks and Bar Deanna, a gelateria/pastry shop, has been a landmark on the Piazza Stazione for as long as I've been alive. If one day that Bar closes or changes names there will be thousands of lost Florentines wandering in the streets unable to find their way.
The bus has the advantage of putting you downtown Siena (on top of the hill) while the Siena train station is down the hill. The 131R bus is also 15/20 minutes faster than the train (the train has to go around the Elsa valley as the more direct way (the freeway way) is hilly. It's not a big deal of a difference in time, so it is up to you considering you are coming by train anyhow. Just check the time schedule on www.trenitalia.com, compare it with the bus timetable above and decide if the bus or train options works best for you. No need to purchase tickets in advance. You can buy them at the bus station in Florence when you get there.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
5735 posts
We took the bus from Florence to Siena. We were there in October and the buses ran frequently, every hour at least. We just went to the bus station and bought tickets to the next bus. As you face the train station main entrance, the bus station is on the left. A small street or drive separates the two. Couldn't be easier. In general, our preference is train, but the bus to Siena was much more convenient to the historic city center than the train station.
Posted by
OP
41 posts
Thank you for your replies and suggestions.