Just got back from 3 weeks in Italy--heavily researched....
Have to say, one of the main reasons we chose to stay in Siena was Rick Steves' info on bus connections from Siena to hill towns, based on his 2015 guide book. Major error by someone--proofreading, or what? After we checked in to our B&B, the absolutely wonderful and helpful hosts looked up bus connections online for us; to Montepulciano, our first choice--what a surprise to find out that there are only 2--two--daily buses that leave from Siena, not the frequency we read about in his guide book--not even close. The first bus was pre-breakfast, the second after noon, not exactly convenient for people without a car and wanting to make day trips from Siena. That was a huge disappointment, no trip to Montepulciano, but the trips to San Gimignano and Montalcino were nearly also aborted.
We were able to visit them-just. The schedules were so much less than stated in his guidebook that we were able to just bus in, grab a quick lunch, and bus out, or miss the bus entirely. I don't know who is going to 'fess up to this gross misinformation, but thought it would be helpful for people who are making similar plans to know what is really going on with the buses. Would that I had written down the web site our host used.....we could never access that info from the US, so relied, unfortunately, on Rick's guidebook info. I do know that the company SITA runs those buses--good luck.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8371 posts
Travel through Tuscany is best done by rental car. The roads are crooked but well paved, and navigating from place to place is very easy.
We just prefer to travel on our schedule--not dealing with buses or trains whenever possible.
Our favorite city of all was Volterra. We found Siena to be very congested with apartment complexes and people--but parking is extremely difficult.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
You should also post this to the guidebook feedback, here: http://www.ricksteves.com/forms/guidebook-feedback-form
Posted by
US
605 posts
Here is a link to page for Siena Mobilita where you can research bus schedules in Tuscany. I used it a few years ago and it still looks operational:
http://www.busfox.com/timetable/ Hope it works and is accurate!
Posted by
Chicago
8703 posts
You pretty much can't visit hill towns in Tuscany without a car. The bus schedule is set up for local school kids and laborers; it is incredibly inconvenient for tourists.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Looking at the link that Christine provided, I see bus departures this Thursday from Siena-Ferrovia (train station) to Montepulciano at 7:07, 10:45, 13:52, 14:07, 15:15, 16:45, and 17:45, fitting the book description of 6-8 departures/day. It's not a particularly easy web site to use, so I'd want to check schedules in another format, too. Viewing a printed timetable at the train station/bus stop might be easier. I also haven't tried the direct contact option, but it could work for other travelers or hoteliers: [email protected] or tel 0577-204-111. If starting from Montepulciano, the Tourist Info Office in that town is said to be more proactive in providing bus schedules, than the one in Siena.
Posted by
OP
Clayton
18 posts
FYI, for those who insist that the only way to travel is to use a car, there are a couple of reasons we chose not to; 1. the expense--after tallying up all our reserved train tix, bus, & taxi fares for 3 weeks, it came to LESS than the price of a 1 week car rental in Tuscany (not including gas, parking,, etc)--money much better spent on food & lodging 2. we heard from several who had rented cars, & would not do so again, due to the aggressive behavior of the Italian drivers; we have rented cars in France & England, (& Boston!) with no problems
Posted by
Toledo, Ohio, US
11613 posts
I've been to at least twenty hill towns in Tuscany and Umbria without a car, it's fine as long as you aren't trying to stop along the wine roads.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
I loved driving through Tuscany. Being able to stop where we wanted, eat anywhere we wanted and not have to be on a schedule would be worth any extra cost associated with renting a car. You could offset the cost by staying outside of hill towns where accommodations could be much less. Food in Tuscany was inexpensive and we ate well. You don't need to have the rental for the entire time so that offsets the cost when you do your budget.
As for Italian drivers...they do seem to be in a hurry to get to their two hour lunch but it's all relative. Coming from Los Angeles I wasn't intimidated knowing that road rage probably wouldn't lead to me getting shot at like it can here. Maybe for someone from a small town it might seem like a big deal so it's all a matter of perspective.
I wouldn't plan a trip to an area like Tuscany without considering a car rental.