Private Transportation in Tuscany, area west of Florence

What is your departure point? If it's Florence, you might send an e-mail to a few of the NCC drivers in that city and inquire about rates. The expensive part is that the driver would have to wait for you during the concert, and drive you back.

Did you look up the buses from your departure point to the concert town?

You can also take a train to Pontedera (along the Pisa-Florence railway) and a bus from there. There are tons of buses from Pontedera to Lajatico. What time is the concert? I think it’s in the evening. The problem might be coming back if the concert ends late after buses stop running. Maybe you can make arrangements only for the return portion so that the driver doesn’t have to sit there for hours and wait for you.

I never attended a Bocelli concert in the public, but I worked in a few of them (this meaning reserved parking area near the stage and access permission for my private or business cars, things mostly not available to the general public). You either find some form of private transportation or you join a tour or a reserved bus. I remember some people in this forum managing in the past to find a private driver and sharing the expense with other people. Do not try with public transportation, because Lajatico is a tiny village that usually see few people on the move and the Bocelli events are completely out of scale with the village and its ordinary services.

Thanks for the advice. I have contacted a number of NCC drivers and they are all booked for that day. Obviously, tour companies have already reserved them. I will keep trying to find a company or someone who can help us as the price is significantly higher to buy 2 tickets and transportation through a tour company.

As for the train and bus. It would be much more reasonable, but I don't know if I can trust public transit to get us home. The last time we went it took forever to get away from the venue and back to our hotel even with a private driver.

We will have a rental car but I think the private drivers and tours get the closest parking lots. The others are quite a distance away. I guess in this case you get what you pay for. It is a popular event. I just need to bite the bullet and book a tour if I want the convenience.

One other question, we would rather stay in a small town rather than Florence. Last time we stayed in San Miniato which was tiny and lovely with great restaurants. Any suggestions of a similar town within 50km or so of Lajatico?

If you have a rental car, then I would drive. There might be lots of cars and maybe you would find parking quite a walk away from the venue, but that is the best and cheaper solution.

Volterra, San Gimignano, Colle Val D’Elsa, Monteriggioni, are all viable locations in the core of Tuscany, and all within 30-45 min drive from Lajatico.

Lajatico is not only famous for being Bocelli’s birthplace, but also because it is the second richest municipality (based on median income per capita) in all of Italy, at least according to the Italian Revenue Service. Only Portofino is richer.

As far as I remember, private cars are to be parked in a large area down the valley at La Sterza and there are shuttles to concert venue (still some walking from the bus stop). There should also be a closer parking but you should better reserve well in advance. Please confirm with an indipendent source as I have never done so in person. This Italian page has a map of parking areas (at least as it was in the past): https://citysoundmilano.com/info-utili-per-il-teatro-del-silenzio/

Thanks so much for the advice. I was hesitant about driving, but as it has been suggested in the forum and as my husband feels we can do it, we will drive. Now on to purchasing tickets.