From Siena, visiting Montalcino and Montepulciano

One of the two required a taxi or bus ride into town...assuming there are taxis waiting there, or a phone number posted. We wanted to visit both of these towns from Siena without a car, too, but the logistics (train schedules, etc.) made it more stressful than we wanted. Maybe next time...with a car ;-) Doing it in one day may increase your stress quotient...I'll be eagerly awaiting any more useful (!) suggestions from The Gallery!

This is similar to trying to visit Volterra and San Gimignano on the same day out of Siena. Yes, you can do it over a long day with multiple bus changes. The real answer is that these wonderful towns and villages really need a whole day to visit to tour, wine taste and dine. A night in the area between the two and with a rental car would be ideal. Doing it all in one day lessens the experience but many travelers make the attempt. You can get to Montepulciano in two ways from Siena. First, the train. This trip takes just over an hour. 2) The bus. The trip from Siena to Montepulicano takes about 1hr45min on www.trainspa.it You want bus 112R. Next, there is no train station in Montalcino. Bus routes that I see want to take you back to Siena first. I don't see buses directly between the two towns. But, I do see a possibility to reduce the backtracking. Take the bus from Montepulciano back to Siena but get off at Buonconvento (about 50 minutes). The Trainspa bus #114/A going from Siena to Montalcino stops there as well. Change buses at Buonconvento and proceed to Montalcino. This will save you about 90 minutes of backtracking to Siena. Check the bus schedules carefully. Make sure that you have a bus ride back to Siena. As Eileen has suggested, you could take a taxi between the two towns to save an hour or so.

Lauren, The train station in Montepulciano is quite a ways from the old town and I don't think the bus from there is frequent.
Using buses see http://www.trainspa.it/train04/extraurbano.pdf Neither town has a real taxi but there are car a drivers that you can reserve.

I would go by bus from Siena to see Pienza along the route then Montepulciano. Or bus it to San Gimi as a alternate for Montalcino. leave it for another trip to Tuscany or Umbria when you can rent a car.

No, this is why I mentioned a taxi: " The train station in Montepulciano is quite a ways from the old town..."

I agree with the previous poster: see Pienza on the way to Montepulciano, or vice versa. IMO, Montalcino was not worth the stop. Many wine shops if that interests you.

We recently stayed in Siena two nights and toured two two Montalcino wineries one afternoon. Van picked us up & dropped us off at our hotel. We had 45 minutes in Montalcino in addition to the wineries, about 5 hours total. Not a full day, but enjoyable. It was a bit of a ride.

Thank you to all (Larry , Eileen, Henry, JS, Denise and Maureen) for your very helpful responses. Saving Montalcino for another visit cleary seems like the better alternative.