Hello,
We are going for 2 week Italy trip and we will stay in Florence for 4 nights/5 days.
we plan to have day trip to Siena, and another to Pisa+Lucca. I wander if there are any direct buses to those places, or even excursions? maybe they are faster then local trains?
thank you.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
Many people posting here make these transportation choices for those 3 destinations:
Florence to Lucca: by train.
Florence to Pisa: by train to Pisa train station, then taxi or bus (some walk) to the Leaning Tower/Field of Miracles area.
Florence to Siena: Either direct bus, or train. The bus station is closer to the historic center.
Others, who have rental cars, drive to all 3 destinations--but having a rental car in Florence is probably more trouble than it's worth because of the infamous Florence ZTL's and because overnight parking in the Florence historic center is difficult to find.
Posted by
Florence
362 posts
Kent has given you solid info. If you want a real guided tour, there are many, many options - but they will all cost more than just taking the bus or train yourself - so it is sort of a budget choice. You can get some ideas of guided tours (bus tours, bike tours, hiking tours, etc.) here and here.
Posted by
Holliston, MA
11 posts
We took a guided tour arranged by Enoteca Ponte Vecchio; we had a handsome tour guide (Maximiliano) who drove us around for the day. We went to the American WWII cemetery just outside of Florence, to a gorgeous historic village on a hillside (I forget the name, can find it if you're interested), also to Chianti en Greve which has a wine and olive oil tasking set up like I've never seen before, you buy a "smart card" and go to town), and then to a beautiful vineyard. Our tour guide gave us history and pointed out areas of interest along the way. We had a great time, it was a full day! We were going to go to Siena, but it was an issue of "you can't get there from here", and we didn't want to drive with all the vino. Cinque Terre is about an hour from Pisa (you have to change trains), but worth the trip. Have fun!
Posted by
OP
silver spring, md, usa
18 posts
Thank you for all your replies, as always, very helpful. We looked through available excursions and Cinque Terra hiking trip looks attractive to us. Did somebody happen to take that trip? We just wonder if it would be too hot for hiking (we will be in Florence about Sep.6), seems like a lot of hiking. thank you for answering. In return, I promise to give full report on hotels we are staying and other stuff :-)
Posted by
Florence
362 posts
Lisa could you share the cost of your tour - and how many of you were on it? Sounds like it was great -