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Bus Transportation Itinerary from Florence

Posted by (Edmonton, Canada) on

I have 3 weekdays devoted to daytrips while in Florence, but I'm going to have to rely only on public transportation. It sounds like bus is the best way for these destinations.

The four places I want to go to are: San Gimignano, Volterra, Siena and Lucca.

I was wondering whether it would be possible to do two of these on the same day. I'm guessing not Siena since that's a bigger city. I know San Gimignano is touristy but I want to see the medieval towers, so if I have to cut one, it would be Lucca.

Looking at the bus schedules, it just seems like it would be difficult to fit any two on one day from Florence. For example, if I went to San Gimignano plus Volterra, I would have to leave Florence at 7, and leave San Gimignano by 10 to get to Volterra or wait until 3pm, at which time it would be too little time in Volterra.

Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.

Posted by
6898 posts

CAF Tours (Grayline) has a one-day trip to San G. and Siena. 52Euro per person. You get one hour in San G. and 3-4 hours in Siena. The time in Siena includes a guided tour and admissions to some sites. You also have time for lunch. If you want more info on this, I can provide it.

For Volterra, there is a SITA bus from Florence. In fact, SITA has buses to Siena, San G. and Volterra. CLICK HERE to see the bus schedule. If you take the bus to Siena, there is good bus service from Siena to San G. using www.sangimignano.net buses.

Message back if you need more info.

Posted by
3112 posts

The easiest 2 places to combine are Siena and San Gimignano. You could leave early for San Gimignano and then take a bus from Poggibonsi to Siena rather than back to Florence. There are late afternoon and evening buses from Siena to Florence, so you could get in several hours of sightseeing. Train is better than bus to Lucca. If one of your daytrip days is Sunday, that would be the day to go to Lucca as bus schedules to the other 3 places are greatly reduced on Sunday.

Posted by
168 posts

Hi Jared,

I also recommend combining San Gimignano & Siena for one of your day trips. We did this and took the bus to Siena first. Then we went to San G. in the afternoon. It was wonderful and very easy to do. San G. actually wasn't too busy in the afternoon when we were there in May.

If possible, try to go on a Wednesday as Siena has a morning market that is fun to see (plus you can get tons of great/inexpensive gifts for your family/friends there).

Have a great trip!

Posted by
466 posts

don't cut out Lucca as it is beautiful!!!!

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