Day trips from Florence, and Rome-Spring 2017

Hi, Karen. How many days do you have? There are plenty of places that are easily reached by bus or train.

From Firenze: Fiesole, just up the hill; Siena, Arezzo, Lucca, Pisa, Anghiari, Sanselpocro, Pienza, Montecatini, many others.

From Roma: Ostia Antica (very close); Orvieto, Castelgandolfo, Bolsena, Tivoli (the town), many others. A long long daytrip would be to Pompeii.

Florence:

I was there a couple weeks ago and I did the most incredible Viator food and wine tour! It was a LONG day (about 12 hours), but the super nice coach bus took us from Florence all throughout Val d'Orcia (Montalcino, Pienza, and Montepulciano). We had wine and/or cheese tastings in each town, then the bus returned to Florence that night. Very convenient for those who cannot pick which hill towns to visit and don't plan on renting a car. Keep in mind though that after each wine tasting, we only got about an hour and a half to explore each town individually.

Rome:

TIVOLI. It's about a 45 minute bus ride from Rome, and the town is quaint and wonderful. The big attraction is Villa D'Este and it was literally one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

We took 2 tours from Florence with Walkabout Florence - you can read and research about them on TripAdvisor -but if you decide to book, go to their website and book with them, don't use a 3rd party booking company. Our favorite was the BEST OF TUSCANY. Feel free to PM me with any other questions, but their TripAdvisor page has lots of great photos and reviews. We absolutely loved the towns we visited with them.

http://www.walkaboutflorence.com/tours

We didn't have as much time in Rome to leave the city - way too much to see there to leave - but we did do a Walking/Eating Tour there which was fantastic with EATING ITALY. If we would have had an extra day - we would have taken the bus from Rome to Orvieto - there is lots of info on that here on these forums. Be sure and see the Pantheon, Colosseum, Forum, Vatican/St. Peters/Sistine Chapel before you leave Rome.

We took a tour bus from Florence which took us to Pisa, Siena, sangimignano and tuscany region. Next day we did cinque tierre.

A very easy couple hour trip from Florence is just up the hill in Fiesole. Quick bus ride from San Marco area and beautiful view of Florence. Fun to walk through the small town and there are a few things to see. We also took a day trip with train to Pisa and then bus to Lucca and train back from Lucca. Enjoyed both. Loved the view of Pisa and so incredible to see. Lucca is just beautiful and so nice to walk/bike the entire wall.

Rome- I like Ostia Antica. Been there twice with minimal crowds and enjoyed wandering through it. Lots of off the beaten path little towns/villages. You'll have no problem finding wonderful day trips.

Thank you to all who replied, you have given me much to think about and research! Thanks so much!
Karen

One of my most wonderful and memorable travel days ever was seeing Lucca and Pisa from Florence. I did it in that order, and highly recommend this. By getting to Pisa in the afternoon, the souvenir vendors around the Field of Miracles (where the Leaning Tower is) were literally packing up, the largest crowds were gone, and the marble looked lovely in the afternoon light.

From Florence to Lucca, I took a bus; from Lucca to Pisa, I took a bus; and from Pisa to Florence, I took the train. However, there are both trains and buses on all of these legs. The advantage of using the bus to and from Lucca is that the bus stop is closer to the city walls than the train stop is.

For Lucca, rent a bike and go on top of the city walls, in addition to walking around the town.

I too suggest a train ride to Tivoli to visit Villa d'Este. Absolutely amazing. Depending on the time of year the gardens and greenery are so beautiful. We visited this villa in late October and it was still lush and green. I think some of the roses were finished blooming though. The water flows through many different fountains, waterways down a hill through lush gardens. Very dramatic. Very historic.

I second the recommendation for Walk About Florence and the Best of Tuscany tour. The bus is comfortable, lots of walking and you hit three major towns and have lunch at an Organic Vineyard. Such a memorable day. Great use of your time and money.

Don't know how long you will be in Rome, but there is so much to do there. There are companies that will take you to Pompeii, Cinque Terre and the Amalfi Coast, but most of the time will be spent in transit because they are so far away. But Your trip, your time just know what your getting into and weigh the cost vs the time.

Day trip by bus to Sienna was beautiful, affordable and easy! We went on our own. Also, day trip to Tuscany info@slow-days.com. Simon was great. Our Vw van was fun! Great food in small town, wonderful day trip, highly recommend!

Hi Karen,
Every time we are in Florence, we take the fast bus to Siena. It's really easy and the bus drops you off at the perfect location. The bus station is right next to the train station so it's easy to find. Also, we usually book a small group (4-8 people) wine tour through either Tuscan Trails or Italy and Wine. They both meet at a central location in Florence and include 2 different vineyards, lunch and your designated driver/guide. I've also taken the train to Lucca for the day which was fast and fun.

Outside of Rome, I like to take the train to orvieto. So pretty there!

Hi Karen,

I did a great day trip from Florence with the company "I Just Drive" who partnered with my hotel (the hotel was the Davanzati...it was my favorite stay in all of Italy- highly recommend!). The tour was called "Chianti Best." It is capped at 8 people max and on the day we went it was just us and another couple. They picked us up right at our hotel and we got to visit Siena, San Gimagno, Monteriggioni, and then ended at a lovely vineyard with tasting of wine, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar and snacks included. I highly recommend doing a tour like this to be able to see a lot without the stress of driving. It was wonderful!

Besides all the other places others have mentioned, I would highly recommend a trip to Assisi from Rome. If you've never been to Assisi it is a not to miss place IMO. It's a long day because it's a 2 hour train ride each way but so very much worth the time and effort. Just be sure to get the Regionale Veloce tix, otherwise an extra 30 or more minutes. Train ride takes you through beautiful Umbria countryside. Rick's guidebook has excellent advice for places to walk and sights to see. IMO, just to go there to see St. Francis Basilica and Santa Maria degli Angeli church with Porziuncola is worth the trip.