Scooter/vespa rental: Florence or Siena?

Posted by lkashi on 04/03/14 05:37 PM

We'll be staying in Florence for several days, and we'd like to rent 125cc scooters to adventure around Tuscany for one day. We don't have a rigid schedule - just want to check out Siena and a couple small towns and do some wine tasting.

Should we rent scooters in Florence, ride to Siena and some other nearby towns, or would it be better to take a train to Siena, explore Siena for a couple hours, then rent scooters to ride around the region for the rest of the day? I understand it would take a couple hours to drive from Florence to Siena by vespa, which is fine - we're not in a hurry - but is a scenic route? Are there back roads from Florence to Siena to avoid the autostrada?

Does anyone have any recommended routes for riding around Siena? I've read that Gracciano, Montepulciano, and Pienza are worth checking out, but I would love some insider scoop!

Posted by Nundrum

Baltimore, MD

04/03/14 06:12 PM

9 posts

You need at least a 150 to ride on the Autostrada. And if you're spending that much time on it, I would get the biggest one you can handle. There are provincial highways, but it will be a circuitous route. Also, as you're planning your route, consider that roads in Italy are marked most clearly with the name of the town you're travelling towards, not necessarily the route number. So plan to get from Florence to Impruneta, Impruneta to Greve in Chianti, etc.

I would recommend the idea of training between the two towns, and then renting a scooter from there. You'll have much more control over how far you go in a given day, and you won't be forced into less scenic parts just because you're trying to get from A to B.

The advantage of a scooter in Florence is that you can get to the abbey at San Minato and the Piazzale Michelangelo, which are a bit far and uphill if you were to try to walk there. Also I hear Fiesole is nice though I've never been. And of course you could head west toward Pisa and Lucca.

But between the two, I'd much rather do Siena for a base of operations. Riding down into the Val D'Orcia is breathtaking. Definitely go to Pienza. Montalcino is wonderful if you like wine, but of course a scooter is not the best idea for wine tasting. If you do end up in the Val D'Orcia, the other place you should get to is Bagno Vignoni. Happy trails!

Posted by Anita

Long Beach, California, USA

04/04/14 04:38 AM

3398 posts

I can't speak to the renting of the scooters (which sounds incredibly fun to me!) but I can say that Montepulciano and Pienza are great little places in which to spend time! We also enjoyed San Gimignano with it's very odd looking towers that families built to guard their wealth from their neighbors. It's unique and quaint - well touristed but worth seeing I think.

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

04/04/14 06:08 AM

16240 posts

A 125cc is not allowed on a freeway (autostrada or Superstrada), that includes the Raccordo FIRENZE-Siena.
I can talk to you from experience that riding a Vespa from Florence to Siena or Lucca is a long way if you can't ride on the freeway.
But the most important question is whether you have experience riding a motorcycle or not. If the answer is not, I'm not sure Italy is the place to learn.
Also renting a Vespa 125cc costs from €50 to €60 a day. If it's more than 2 of you, that is €100 a day. For that price you can rent a compact car and have plenty of money left for gas, tolls and parking.
Maybe a regular car may not be as fun, but it sure makes a lot of practical sense to me. And this is coming from someone who's been riding in Tuscany with Vespa or motorcycle under his culo every single day from the age of 14 until I moved to the US at 27.