Cinque Terre or Siena from Florence?

We have friends that took the train from Florence to LaSpezia, transferred and took a the train into the Cinque Terra, I think Vernaza. Very doable in a day trip from Florence. For Siena and Sam Gim, you would take the Sitka bus. You pick it up near the Santa Maria Novello Train Station. Not sure if you would want to do both Siena and San Gim the same day. If I was to do this, I would buy a ticket to Siena and see how your time is, then buy tickets to get to San Gim. I do know the bus goes from Siena thru Colle Val D'Elsa and Poggibonsi and back to Florence. I would think there is a link to San Gim. San Gim is very nice but Siena is awesome. As far as Lucca is concerned. Easy Day trip from Florence. In fact you can stop by Pisa and seen the Tower and grounds and proceed to Lucca.
Actually our friends that did the day trip to Cinque Terra stopped in Pisa first before proceeding to LaSpezia. They wern't in a rush and had plenty of time in Vernaza and other villages.

All doable as day trip from Florence. The Cinque Terre is a little longer (2.5 hours each way) because you need to change trains twice (in Pisa and La spezia).

Just returned from Italy. I was in Firenze for 12 days and would hate to lose any of those. I think Cinque Terre is too beautiful to be rushed in a day. I spent 6 days there. I love Siena but did not visit there this trip. There is SO much missed in a city when you hop in and do not experience the evening and night. I would maybe consider a Vespa tour of the countryside from Florence. I know florencetown tours does one. You are right that seeing the beautiful countryside should not be missed.
I spent a night in Chiusi which is picturesque and would fit the bill.

As a day trip, definitely Siena - for several reasons. First, it's closer. Why drive further to La Spezia so you can wait for a train, then do the same again to get back? Second, Siena has sights worth seeing. CT isn't about sights, it's about relaxing and a day trip won't let you enjoy that aspect at all. Third, you can park in Siena then walk from there to see the square, cathedral and surrounding area. If you go to CT, you have to pick one of the small towns (which, while nice, don't offer any sights of particular interest) and train to it from La Spezia, each added town will require another train ride. I'd do three days in Florence with one day trip. Florence is chock full of sights.

Seina, Lucca or San Gimi would all be great day trips and all are easily doable in one day. The Cinque Terre would be a rough day trip as previous poster pointed out the train time is longer. To really enjoy the CT, you need to stay two nights which gives you a full day to hike and enjoy the towns. I would say you could do Florence in two days easy. If it were me, I would split my four days up with two in Florence and two day trips. One to Lucca and one to Sienna. Enjoy your trip!!

I agree. CT will take too much travel time and allow you too little time to enjoy it. If you want to see the countryside, look for a tour. You really don't see much from the train/bus.

We did CT the first time as a daytrip and were so disappointed that we couldn't stay and it was very rushed. We went back a few years later and spent 4 nights. Siena makes for a great daytrip enjoy.

Mary, Check out the site walkaboutflorence.com. They have a fantastic day trip to the CT from Florence. I did it in May and can highly recommend it. The web site has all the details as well as pictures and reviews. Off course, it would be nice to stay longer than 1 day, but you get a good view for perhaps future travel.