Renting a car for six days in Siena

I’ve been to all your destinations by train & bus and that’s what I would recommend. From Siena, It’s one-hour to San Gimignano by bus; 1:15 to Florence by express bus; 2 to 2.5 hours by train or bus to Pisa.

Because of the layout of these cities and the ZTL’s where you will get a traffic citation if you drive into them, a car will only get you so far to where you want to go. The trains and buses will get you closer to where you want to go. You won’t be stressed from trying to avoid the ZTL’s and you won’t waste time hunting for paid parking.

Finally, your accommodation in Siena is located smack dab in the middle of Siena’s labyrinthine streets near the Campo— no where anyone except a delivery driver would want to drive into and out of ( and it’s doubtful the delivery drivers want to drive there either)!

Have a great trip!

I would limit the car rental to the time you actually need it. Siena deserves a couple of days on its own so I would put off the expense and hassle of the car until you are ready to do some day trips.

Florence can be easily done by bus (or second choice by train) and unless you need to stay later or arrive earlier than these allow you shouldn't try to drive in Florence. Pisa is right on the edge - train and drive time are probably very close and whether to train or drive is up to you. I've driven in Pisa and while it is small compared to Florence or Rome if you're not used to driving in Italy it could still be as much as you want to handle.

San Gimignano and other small hilltowns, look at nearby Volterra, are best done with a car and these are days you should rent and car for and explore the area.

Be sure to explore ZTLs and what they imply for where you want to do for the cities you wan to visit. The ZTL restrictions in Florence are probably enough argument not to drive in the city. Be sure you have International Driver Permits (IDPs) for all drivers before you go. Add at least 25% drive times to Google estimated drive times for rural travel.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

I would do train and bus only. Driving was way more stressful than anticipated. Trains way less.

We will arrive in Siena via train from Orvieto.

There is no direct train- you will change in Chiusi. Journey is about 3 hours.

one day trip to San Gimignano and Pisa. Is it too much to do both in
one day? Would we be better off driving to Florence or just taking the
train to SMN?

Trying to fit both Pisa and SG in one day by train will be difficult.
It's a 2 hour train ride Siena to Pisa.
From Pisa to SG requires multiple changes so will take a few hours. Train doesn't go all the way to SG.
If you must fit both on same day I would drive- 2 hours to Pisa- a few hours there then drive to SG- about 90 min- park outside the walls and spend a few short hours in SG. Drive back to Siena- about an hour. It will be a long day.
RS guidebook has parking info for Pisa

Driving from Siena to Florence is not recommended- you can't drive into the city so you would be parking on the outskirts somewhere.. Just take the bus from Siena center or the train (bottom of hill)- bus is quicker but if you are not staying near center train is probably easier. Not sure if you can park at station there.

Rent a car only for the days you need it.
Make sure you book your timed entries to Accademia, Duomo sites, Uffizi.

I agree with the others. Don't drive more than you have to. Driving in Florence was perhaps the worst day of my 10 week trip years ago (we drove from Rome to Florence because we had a car). You definitely don't want a car in Como. Take the train.

A possible alternative for Florence is driving to the parking area of Villa Costanza, just near an A1 exit, leave the car there (maximum daily parking fee eur 7, so much cheaper than any paid parking in the city) and take the T1 tram to SMN station (20 minutes). Probably a little faster than taking a train or a bus and you are not bound to their timetables.

I would not do Pisa and SG in the same day. Tuscan hills are entertaing to drive around for an hour, after the second hour driving they are exhausting.

Forget the car, too many negatives.
I suggest checking the internet for tours from Siena.
The trains are regional and slow and train stations not close to city centers.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187902-Activities-c42-Siena_Tuscany.html
https://www.tuscanescapes.com/day-trips

https://www.discovertuscany.com/siena/what-to-do/day-trips-from-siena.html

Don't drive in Florence! We kept receiving traffic tickets from there for months after we returned home- over $600 worth.

5 nights = 4 full days + a partial day on the day of arrival

• 1 full day will be needed for Siena
• 1 full day will be needed for Florence (assuming you take one day trip only to Florence)
• 1 full day I would devote to Pisa only, primarily because from Siena it will take 1h50min to drive there (via Poggibonsi-Castelfiorentino-Empoli). On the way back, if you have time, you could visit Certaldo (Giovanni Boccaccio's birthplace), which is along the way.
• 1 full day I would devote to San Gimignano (about 45 min from Siena), plus something closer than Pisa, which you should have visited separately (see above). I would consider visiting something else close to San Gimignano, like Monteriggioni (which is sort of on the way from Siena to San Gimignano, about half way) and maybe even Colle Val D'Elsa (also next to Monteriggioni). Volterra could be another choice that you could pair with San Gimignano. So you could do a loop Siena to San Gimignano (50 min), then San Gimignano to Volterra (50 min), and finally return to Siena from Volterra (1 hour).

In Florence I would park at Porta Romana (see link below)
https://maps.app.goo.gl/27aJovt5YugWEh4NA
From the lot you can walk to the sights and you would need to pass through Ponte Vecchio.
Follow the navigator and pay attention to the bus lane going there (you must turn right on Via del Gelsomino).

In Pisa I would park here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/F7PetCLctyUdJ5pX7
5 min walk to the Piazza Duomo (leaning tower)

If you have a chance to rent a car before Orvieto, I would consider driving from Orvieto to Siena. The train takes forever while if you drive, from Orvieto to Siena it will take you only 1h30min

You might consider returning the car in Florence instead, and take the train from Florence. Too many changes from Siena. you could also drive all the way from Siena to Como, but it's up to you. The advantage of a car is that you don't need to worry about hauling luggage on and off trains. The disadvantage is that the drive will be long and boring (especially for the person doing the driving), albeit it is all freeway.

Another thing to consider is to arrange to have advance reservations for the galleries, and tourist spots in order to get a head in the line. The Uffizi line can take hours if you don't have advance reservations.