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Florence to San gimangnano by bus?

My husband and I will be staying and Florence and would like to wake up early one morning to go visit San G. Before it’s gets crowded with tourist. I know the bus route we would need to take with one transfer but my question is how early does first bus leave and when we get to the bus transfer station how long do you typically have to wait to get on next bus to take you to San G.? We only plan to spend early morning there before it’s packed. How easy would it be to get back to Florence? Do buses run fairly often to get back to Florence? Any suggestions on taking a train or bus from San G to either Lucca, sienna, or Greve on our way back to Florence?

Posted by
7731 posts

This is earliest bus Florence to San G:
1 h 24 min 6:05 AM - 7:30 AM
6:10 AM from Busitalia SITA North Bus Station
6:05 AM Florence, Metropolitan City of Florence, Italy

Walk
0.2 mi (4 mins)
6:10 AM Busitalia SITA North Bus Station
131 towards Poggibonsi F.S.
7:00 AM
7:05 AM Piazza Mazzini
130 towards San Gimignano - Strada
7:30 AM Piazzale Montemaggio
(San Gimignano, 53037 Province of Siena, Italy)
You can research all the schedules on the bus at the company site:
http://www.tiemmespa.it/
This site should give you an idea on your options when leaving
https://wikitravel.org/en/San_Gimignano

Posted by
15043 posts

http://www.tiemmespa.it/index.php/Viaggia-con-noi/Orari-e-linee/Siena/Extraurbano

131 to Poggibonsi FS, then 130 from Poggibonsi to San Gimignano. Then reverse to return to Florence.

San Gimignano is a popular destination, however it will be nowhere as packed with tourists as the city center of Florence, therefore if you are escaping crowds, you are better off staying in San Gimignano, away from Florence, as long as you can.

Posted by
134 posts

What about waking up early for San gimangnano then leaving around lunch time to go to Siena. Would you do bus or train there and then how would you go back to florence?

There are 1/2 day type bus tours with wine from Siena to San Gimignano. Perhaps you will go to Siena and jump on one of these. A hotel desk clerk in Siena can help with this or tourist info. place. You can easily bus between Florence and Siena.

Posted by
930 posts

OR --- We loved our WALKABOUT FLORENCE BUS TOUR - THE BEST OF TUSCANY takes you to San G., Siena, Pisa, and a great organic lunch. Check our their website - it was a highlight of our 3 weeks in Italy. You can also read reviews and see pics on TripAdvisor, but if you book, do so directly on the WalkAboutFlorence website.

Posted by
16 posts

Chinalake, for what reason do you suggest only booking the best of Tuscany tour directly through walkabout Florence? Just asking because we booked it through viator. Will we have a problem redeeming our voucher? I hope not because it wasn't cheap. Thanks!

Posted by
930 posts

because it's always best to book directly thru the company. Viator is a 3rd party booking company. you are not always covered if something happens. Plus, 3rd party gets a cut. When you go on this tour, they will specifically thank you at the end, but they will even suggest to always book thru the actual company, not 3rd party booking companies. You'll have a great time, just next time never use 3rd party companies. You can 'search' for this in these forums too - lots of people talk about this. No need to give a 3rd party part of your money to book for you. It's super easy to book through the actual company. Plus, if you ever need to cancel, trip insurance can't always cover you if you used a 3rd party. Lots of info in these forums about this too.