First time Italy trip and we will be in Florence from 31st May to 3rd June. On 2nd we want to see Pisa, Sienna and San Gimignano. We don't want to drive so looking for an affordable car rental with driver. Or should we take the bus and other transport? Also, if we take the car, are there any cheese farm/oil farm we can just walk in and see in this route? We are not wine drinkers so not that much interested in a winery tour.
Thanks in advance for any help you give.
That is to much to cover in one day. You will be in the car sprinting from one town to the next throughout western Tuscany.
You can do Sienna and San Gimignano in one day on a day trip from Florence, but it would be very hard to do Pisa as well.
Here is a tour if you don't want to rent a car.
https://www.viator.com/Florence-tourism/Siena-and-San-Gimignano-Tours-From-Florence/d519-t3335?mcid=33953&tsem=true&supci=-2146808555&supag=1230353511538917&supsc=kwd-76897094567192:loc-190&supai=76897095931173&supdv=c&supnt=o&supkw=is%20there%20a%20train%20from%20florence%20to%20siena%20italy&supti=kwd-76897094567192:loc-190&suplp=74909&supli=1892&msclkid=73e5b84f919b1f54d189e4917ef72a82
Viator has a 12 hour tour that includes all three. That is one long day.
https://www.viator.com/tours/Florence/Tuscany-in-One-Day-Sightseeing-Tour/d519-5070TUSCANY
This isn't really feasible in just one day, IMO. Looking at Google maps, the most efficient route would still involve close to 5 hours of driving time. And google maps consistently underestimates the usual driving times. That leaves very, very little time to actually see the sights you have travelled so far to see. Buses and/or trains would be even slower if trying to visit all 3 places on the same day. Better to pick one place and REALLY experience it, than just get a "drive by". JMO.
Siena itself deserves a full day or even better as an overnight
We took a wonderful tour through Walkabout Tours - Best of Tuscany. We met at the train station in Florence and took a bus to Siena, had a nice lunch at a vineyard (not a tour of the vineyard), visited San Gimignano and then Pisa. I highly recommend this tour. Siena was so interesting and every stop was enjoyable. We went in October so it was getting close to dark by the time we hit Pisa (around 4:30 pm) but we had enough time to pose holding up the tower. The tour guide was personable and told us things we would not have known if we had done it on our own. We met some very nice people which made the trip even more fun. It was also nice to have someone else driving on the winding hillside roads!
https://www.walksofitaly.com/florence-tours/
Maybe one of these will work for you. They have a MAY20 sale on now.
Walks of Italy Tours are highly recommend on this forum.
I have 2 tours booked with them in Rome, but have not been yet.
I'd spend 3 days in Florence (it's a wonderful city) and do a day trip to San G. Otherwise, you'll spend all your time getting places and barely any time being there. Of the 4 cities, Pisa is the one to skip. I prefer San G. to Sienna, but others might disagree. But it's small and easily consumed in a day (although an overnight would be nice). Sienna is bigger. Either way, slow down and smell the...basil?
Thanks everyone for your suggestion. That viator trip looks great. Has anyone taken it? My husband is apprehensive because he read somewhere that these tours leave tourists quite far from the cities and then one has to walk quite a distance to reach them. We don't mind a long day trip.
My husband is apprehensive because he read somewhere that these tours leave tourists quite far from the cities and then one has to walk quite a distance to reach them.<<
wut?
Do you think we can make an evening trip to Sienna and San gimignano if we leave Florence around 3 pm? There are trains from Poggibonsi for Florence till 10 PM, can anyone tell the how long does buses run between San gimignano and Poggibonsi? I am sure sunset from San Gimignano will be fantastic.
Can you do it? Probably - but what are you going to see? Florence to Siena is 75 minutes by bus. The only timetable I can find for Siena to SG suggests the journey is over an hour (There used to be direct buses, it now appears they take a more convaluted route).
Leaving at 3pm, even with the best possible connections means your travel time will be close to 3 hours before you have factored in seeing anything. If you have a private driver, you can probably cut that time significantly, but it is still going to be a minimum of 2 hours travel before returning to Florence.
Skip Pisa. Siena and San Gimignano work better together. Spend more time in Siena.
hey pimni
check out come&seeitaly.com they do have a tour to the places you want to see. if you plan to climb the tower in pisa, make sure you book it online at opapisa.it you will have to ask the company you go with and how long are you stops. it will be a long day. have fun and enjoy
aloha
Skip Pisa. It isn't worth the travel time. Its the tower in a field with the babtismal at the other end of the field. Tourist trap.
If I were to have only one day, I would choose San Gimi. Siena is overrun with tourists. San Gimi is authentic, with very interesting history.
Slow down. Piano. Piano. As Americans we try way too hard to cram too much into a single day and miss the entire ambiance of the place(s) we visit.
Thank you all for your suggestion. As for climbing Pisa out of question for me because I can't climb spiral staircases (I feel dizzy). May be others will climb. So we r planning Pisa on 31st and Sienna and San gimignano on 1st.
