Car rental/Train to Sienna

You can take the Sena bus to Siena, it's a pleasant trip and the Sena busses are quite comfortable. Rent your car in Siena (I'm assuming you want the car for travel around Tuscany.) Return the car in Siena, then take a Sita bus or the train to Florence and catch the train to Venice. Keep in mind that if you're staying in the historic center of Siena you will have to park outside the area and either walk or take a taxi. Hopefully you'll budget at least a few hours to see Florence before heading on to Venice. A car in Italy is a double eged sword, conveninet but also a pain at times. Many cities in Italy have limited traffic zones that carry hefty fines for the unwary--- and parking is not always convenient.

We avoid driving in Italy if at all possible. The traffic is nerveracking and the Italians drive like maniacs. If you're going to take in the countryside, then your only option is a car. But if you're just trying to get from one location to the next, stick with the trains/buses. Siena is stunning, by the way. Do spend at least a day or two there. And be sure to check out the Santa Maria della Scalla museum, a frequently missed site yet one of the more interesting things you can see in Siena (as all the locals will tell you). Be sure to go down to all the lower levels - it gets more and more beautiful the farther you go down.

Max,
Are the trains from Florence to Siena (and around the Tuscan region... say to San Gimignano) covered by a Railpass? I was thinking about renting a car in Tuscany because I thought it would be nice to go at our own pace, but I am open to the trains... just not sure which routes are "covered" by a Railpass - I have heard Italy's trains are different than other countries in terms of being covered - extra reservations, etc. Learning the Railpass system has been daunting - not sure whether to buy one or not. We leave in about a week. Any input is appreciated!

You could easily do this without a car at all, and with far fewer headaches. The only place a car would be really useful might be for a couple of days in Siena for day trips in the countryside. You certainly don't want a car in Rome or Venice, and traveling by train to and from Siena makes good sense.

Kim, You don't need a car for the routes you'll be travelling, as they're well covered by public transit. Travel by train will be faster, more efficient and more relaxing. For the trip from Rome to Siena, you can travel either via Bus or train. One advantage of Bus is that you'll be dropped in the centre of town, rather than the station which is at the bottom of the hill. If you go by train, you'd have to take a Taxi from the station to the town. That's not really a big deal and not expensive. It may be advantageous to rent a car for a day or two when in Siena, IF you plan on visiting some of the neighboring hill towns. The public transportation to some of the smaller towns is a bit more "challenging". For the trip from Siena to Venice, again you could either use Bus or Train. The Bus departs from Piazza Gramsci in the centre of town, and arrives in Florence in an hour or so. From there you could transfer to the Freccia train to Venice. If you travel by train, there will likely be a change at Firenze SMN anyway. My choice would be train. Ask your Hotel in Siena to arrange a Taxi to take you to the station on the morning of departure. In my experience, the Taxi will be there at the appointed time and it will be a quick trip. I'd suggest buying your tickets in advance, since I've experienced long queues at the Siena rail station ticket office (my last experience involves a LONG story!). The train to Florence will likely be a Regionale, so DON'T forget to validate! Note that your destination in Florence will be Firenze SMN and in Venice it will be Venezia S. Lucia. You'll need to know that when buying tickets. Happy travels!

Thanks Everyone. I should have stated that we are staying at a farmhouse about 10 miles north of Sienna. A car is an absolute necessity. We are looking forward to the road trip aspect and had planned to pick up the car outside of Rome to avoid driving in a major city. We are not worried about traffic as we are use to driving/parking in NY, but I want to avoid accidentally driving in the pedestrian only zones and the accompanying fines. I have been to Florence before so we had no plans to go there on this trip, but my husband wants to take a train at some point (just for the experience) so I'm just trying to figure out the best way to incorporate that into our trip.

On our current trip, we rented a car in Rome, drove to tuscany, drove to CT, drove to Verona, and then train to Venice. We needed a car for Tuscany but with five in our group, it ended up being more economical than train tickets. We borrowed a garmin from aunt that helped us navigate. Italy driving no big deal. We'll see how many tickets I get in the mail-HA!

After your visit to Rome, you could take a one hour train ride to Orvieto and rent your car at the train station. You may even want to spend a day, or an overnight, in this quaint, lovely hilltown. From there, drive to your accommodations outside of Siena. Rick Steves' tour book has great directions for driving to Siena and where to park in Siena. If you want to do more trains than just that one trip, then drop the car off at the airport in Florence. DO NOT drop it off in the city or even close to downtown. You WILL incur fines for crossing into the dreaded ZTL zones. Then, you can take public transport into Florence and then the train to Venice. Or, you could stay on the outskirts of Florence, with the car, take public transport in to see Florence, drive to Venice and drop the car off there. Of course, there would be added rental car days. This would work if you want to stop somewhere along the way. Just some ideas. I use AutoEurope or Kemwel for my car rentals. You can check their prices online. Then go to your local AAA office and get an International Drivers Permit. No test is required, just 2 passport type photos (which they can take there), and $15. Have a great trip!

Be careful of "the tail wagging the dog." In other words, don't restructure your whole trip just to take a train. If you've planned a car-based trip, there's no reason to take a train just for its own sake. With only 10 days, you only have time to make a "detour" if there's a place you actually want to go. I'd agree that if you're looking for logical places to incorporate a train, using one from Rome to Orvieto before you pick up your car makes sense. Another would be to drop your car in Verona or Padova, spend part of day seeing the city, then taking a train into Venice. Carefully investigate ZTL's in Verona and Padova before making this plan, so you can figure out a car drop-off that won't cause trouble. If you want to drop off your car in Florence before taking a train to Venice, you have to be VERY careful of ZTL's. There are several posts here about people who thought they had avoided them, but were wrong. Basically, because the Florence ZTL's are numerous and complicated, and cover a large area, the advice boils down to "pick up and drop off all Florence cars at the airport, or risk the consequences." Disclaimer: I have not driven in Italy since the institution of ZTL's, so I only know what I read on-line.