Florence: SITA bus

When we took the SITA bus to Florence last year we were told to buy tickets ahead of time. You can purchase them at the bus terminal in Florence and probably some other places in town. In the smaller towns throughout Tuscany it can be a bit more tricky to find a place that sells them. I had to ask at the local tourist office and got a bit of a run-around.

Are you using SITA for daytrips like Siena, Volterra and San Gimiglano? You buy tickets at the ticket counter at the main bus station, which is across the street from the main train station. Some Tabacchi (tobacco) shops sell tickets too, but we just went to the main ticket counters.

We bought the tickets the morning of, and there was no problem. When you get to Florence, go to the bus station first (or at Tourist Info) and ask for a schedule for the places you want to go, so you can plan ahead. Usually, there's just a bus or two per hour.

If using the bus within Florence or to go to Fiesole, it's best to purchase tickets before boarding. Look for a news stand or tabaccio (sign with T) near the bus stop that sells tickets. Be sure to validate your ticket.

We are planning on taking the bus from Volterra to Florence. For anyone out there who has done it, where would we purchase those tickets?

There's a cafe on Piazza Martini (far end from the bus stop) that sells tickets. You can buy them on your way to catch the bus or the day before (which is what I did). Because the trip involves 2 different bus companies, I had to buy one ticket to Colle Val d'Elsa and a second ticket in Colle Val d'Esla. If that happens to you, there's a square metal news stand adjacent to the Colle Val d'Elsa bus stop where you can purchase your tickets to Florence.

Just returned from Italy the end of July and while there we spent 2 nights in Volterra. We purchased the bus ticket at the bus station in Florence just before boarding in the morning, and it covered both to Col d val E and then to Volterra. When we returned on a Sunday ( last bus was at 5:20 pm) we purchased the ticket which again covered both lines in a tobacca shop there. It worked quite well. No problems!

Hi we are trying to go to the outlet-The Mall outside of Florence by the SITA bus. We will be arriving Florence at 8:30am in the morning and want to try to catch the 9am bus that leaves from the Florence center. Has anyone taken this bus to the outlet before? Do we need to book the bus tickets in advance? since we will be arriving and going on the same morning, would it be too late to buy the tickets when we arrive? Thanks!