In July, my finance and I will be leaving Florence early Thursday morning and plan on traveling to Sienna for the day and then on to Rome later in the evening. Have considered renting a car through Hertz and dropping it off in Chiusi, since it closes at 7pm, and then catching the train onwards to Rome. Hertz was offering a C-Class Benz for around $250 for the day. Can sorta drive a manual but it's been a while. Better off taking the bus to Siena and Chiusi for a few bucks or spending big and seeing Tuscany is a car. If we took the bus/train to Siena, is there anywhere to store our luggage?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16235 posts
$250 a day? Can't you find anything cheaper? Do you absolutely need a Mercedes Benz? I thought my 60 euro/day (including insurance) for a midsize was a lot already. If you want to visit Tuscany's countryside along the way is better to drive, but if all you want to see is Siena, do you really need a car? Siena's city center is forbidden to cars, so basically your car will stay parked at a parking lot. Although your concern about luggage might be valid, since I don't think there is luggage storage at Siena's station (if you use the train). How about doing Siena as a day trip from Florence the day before (back and forth by bus). Then Thursday from Florence you take the fast train to Rome (maybe at the end of the day, so that you can see more of Florence after you check out, the hotel will hold your luggage)
Posted by
Wichita
831 posts
Chris,
The bus is the better option Florence to Siena. You can store luggage at the bus station, right under where they drop you in Siena (piazza Gramsci)
Posted by
OP
St Petersburg, Florida, US
6 posts
@Roberto: Hertz was offering somewhere in the neighborhood the Benz for $250 I think because of the One-Way drop in Chiusi. Looking for an automatic since it's been a while since I've driven a stick. Don't want to have to re-learn in a foreign country. Can't really make it a day trip to Siena and back to Florence because we already have a half day wine tour with the Florence Wine School the day before. Was also thinking about stopping at a few winery's on the way from Siena to Chiusi if there's still time. @Henry. Thanks for the tip about the luggage storage at the bus station. Is it reasonably priced? Thinking we'll only have one carry on sized bag a piece.
Posted by
Portland, Oregon, United States
907 posts
Chris, let's be clear on your objective. See Siena, or see some of Tuscany and visit Siena. I love driving around Italy and particularly Siena. There are many towns to see around Siena, for example San Gimingano, Monteriggioni, etc. You could stop by those on your way to Siena. But, if you just want to get to Siena, do it some other way, train or bus. You can count on driving a stick shift with diesel power. $250/day is ridiculous, shop and get a VW, Alfa, or something else. I actually had a Chrysler one time. You don't need to spend $250/day to see Tuscany by car.
Posted by
OP
St Petersburg, Florida, US
6 posts
@Gordon, I guess my objective would be to see Tuscany with a short stop in Siena for maybe an early lunch and then stop at a few towns on the way to Chiusi. The more that I think about it, $250 for almost a 12 hour car rental is kinda absurd considering my monthly car payment for my Chevy Cruze is only $300 / month.