I am in Florence and ready to tour to Tuscan towns. Everything I find sends me to a page in Italian which I can't understand. I found this page with timetables Florence to Siena http://www.amoitaly.com/siena/access.html. I need the same for San Gimignano, for Florence to Lucca, Florence to Volterra, etc.
Thanks!
Cindi
Perhaps you could actually go to a TI in Florence and talk to a person. They might have copies of the schedules there.
I keep getting pages like this http://www.sitabus.it/en/siena-san-gimignano-by-bus/ but when you click there's no actual timetable there. Pages seem to send you off to other pages run by third parties that don't work... It's crazy.
Cindi, best way to Lucca is by train, about hour and 20 minutes on the regional trains, these are slower since they make stops at towns along the way, but are cheaper. There's an RO train leaving Florence every day around 9am. Various schedules during the day. Check Trenitalia website in English to see all your options. Volterra is a bit complicated from Florence, hard to do without an overnight due to travel time there and back. Siena very easy, about 75 minutes by bus. You need SITA bus, corse rapide tickets, number 131R bus. I think company is now called Bus Italia Nord. San Gimignano not bad, similar to Siena but you need 2 buses. Take SITA 131R to Poggibonsi then change to 130 to reach S. Gim. A lot if this info is in Rick's books, excellent resource if you don't have already.
It is relatively easy to figure out trains. Go to the Trenitalia website and insert date, time, and station names in Italian, choosing the exact name from the drop-down menu appearing as you digit the name.
It is much more difficult, even for locals, to figure out bus services as the different providers are constantly merging and separating, in order to get subsides from local authorities.
So: for Lucca, check the train. There is also a bus service - once it was on Lazzi, but now is much more difficult to figure.
For San Giminiano, you must first get to Poggibonsi, either by train or by a bus on the Florence-Siena itinerary, then switch to a local bus. Times of the local buses Poggibonsi-S.G.
http://www.tiemmespa.it/var/ezdemo_site/storage/original/application/52c3f8890b2682792e8696203037e1b7.pdf
or: http://www.comune.sangimignano.si.it/it/turismo-cultura/turismo/come-arrivare-a-san-gimignano/orari-extraurbano-poggibonsi-san-gimignano-1/view
You may need to understand some Italian. Buses may run on festive days only (may be marked with a cross), or Mon-Sat (marked with two crossed hammers), on Saturday (SAB), Mon-Fri (A in a circle), Summer (estivo), Winter (invernale), only when schools are open (scolastico). Difficult? You bet.
For Volterra, first train to Pontedera, then local bus (line 500 at http://www.pisa.cttnord.it/Linee_e_Orari/Linee_Extraurbane/L/134 )
I clicked on the SITA link you sent in your reply and I got this down on the page:
1) Direct line San Gimignano Siena
Click on the light blue link below that "bus 130A" and you went to this:
Tiemme 130 A: Siena – Poggibonsi – San Gimignano – Strada
That was the title page in bold at the top of the page. Below it was the identical phrase in light blue. Click on that and you will get a pdf of the schedule for the 130A bus which is Siena to Poggibonsi to San Gimignano.
Search here your bus options from FIRENZE (Florence) to SAN GIMIGNANO or VOLTERRA.
You will need to change buses at Poggibonsi to go to San Gimignano.
For Volterra you will need yo change buses at Colle Val D'Elsa.
http://www.busfox.com/timetable/
Another option for Volterra is the train to Pontedera (between Florence and Pisa) then a bus from Pontedera to Volterra.
Train schedules are in www.trenitalia.com
Buses from Pontedera to Volterra are in the link below. Click on line 500 and download the PDF timetable.
http://www.pisa.cttnord.it/Linee_e_Orari/Linee_Extraurbane_(Dal_01_09)/L/134
Bus Timetables are in Italian because in Italy they speak Italian. In America the Greyhound bus timetables are in English and not in Italian because in America the language is English. Fortunately numbers look the same in both languages. Think if the Italians had stuck to the Roman numerals and calendar. You would need to look for the kalends or the ides of the month, then start counting the hours from the VI hour. That would really mess you up.
You can also get info at the bus station. Plan to get an early start, since even the more frequent bus routes tend to have a gap around lunch time. Many buses don't run on Sundays, but trains do.
There's an excellent TI in Firenze right across the street from the Santa Maria Novella train station. The employees speak excellent English, and were very helpful whenever I couldn't figure something out. I never had to wait long, either!
There's an excellent TI in Firenze right across the street from the Santa Maria Novella train station. The employees speak excellent English, and were very helpful whenever I couldn't figure something out. I never had to wait long, either!
