Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra - Need Lodging Recommendations

It’s not wise to drive after an overnight flight- if that’s what you are doing.
Take the train to Florence or Siena and rent your car there

There are dozens of threads here about renting cars and driving in Italy- do some searches and do your homework.

Uber doesn’t exist as we know it in Italy

Booking .com is a good place to start looking for lodging
Use the filters to narrow down options

In Siena, we stayed at Alle due Porte. We loved it. Wonderful and helpful staff, nice breakfast, nice big room. It is in the old town however.

I'd recommend taking a train or bus to Siena. (for Siena, I thought bus was more convenient). Visit Siena and pick up your car prior to heading off into the Tuscan Villages. You don't need car for Siena and why have the hassles and pay for days you don't need.

It's not outside of town with a pool or spa, but Hotel La Locanda in Volterra is lovely. I stayed there several years ago and the location is perfect, inside the town, with a good breakfast. However, the hotel is just a couple of blocks walk from a public parking area, just outside a main city gate, and they will give you directions for how to park there.

Welcome to the forum!

We did drive from Rome FCO to Tuscany the same day. Luckily we had enough SkyMiles to be able to fly first class so we arrived well rested. Still, I agree with others that traveling to Siena by bus or train would be a better option. You won't need a car in Siena and you can save some money waiting a couple of days to rent. The drive from Rome is nice, but mostly Autostrada so you won't miss much.

We stayed in an agriturismo just outside Greve and had a wonderful time exploring. I suggest you look for an agriturismo outside Volterra and if you can't find one you like, then check San Gimignano. They are only about a 1/2 hour from each other.

Volterra is smaller, but more appealing to me. San Gimignano is a little busier. There's plenty of countryside to explore in that area.

Be sure to pick up an international driving permit from AAA. It's cheap and many rental companies require it. Study up on the rules of the road and signage. There are two big rules. First, there's zero tolerance for speeding. You won't see many police, but there are automatic cameras everywhere, even in rural areas. Secondly, learn the signs for ZTLs and obey. We found it easy to spot the ZTLs. Assume anywhere within the walls of a town is ZTL. That's true for San Gimignano and Volterra. They are well marked and easily avoided. Each infraction will cost around $70.00 plus an admin fee for the rental company.

With all that said, we had a great time driving around Tuscany and had absolutely no problems.

Thanks, everyone. We haven't finalized everything, but we've decided to train from Rome to Florence on Saturday when we arrive and spend 2-3 nights in Florence, then take a bus to Siena and will likely use Siena as our base for 3 nights, making day trips out to hike in the countryside, rent bikes, visit nearby towns, visit vinyards, etc, but also spending time in Siena proper. If that were your approach, would you:

1) Stay in an agritourismo someplace near, but outside of Siena so that you could keep a car available for those side trips
2) Stay in Siena proper and rent a car only on the days we actually need it (if so, is this pretty easy to do and are there typically strict pickup/return times).

On Friday, we have to get back to Rome for our flight out on Saturday morning, so if we still have a vehicle, will probably return in Siena on Thursday evening and take a bus/train combo back to Rome from Siena.

Thoughts?

Unless we can't avoid it, these days we always stay in an apartment in the historic center of a town, but right on the edge, rather than in a B&B or agriturismo on the outskirts or in the countryside. Lots of reasons, but the one that may apply to you for doing day trips is that it is almost impossible to get an early start in the morning if your hosts are feeding you breakfast. We are ready to get out and GO somewhere at 6:00am, and waiting for someone else's breakfast time (no matter how wonderful the food is) and then eating it means you are stuck until 9:00am or even 10:00am. If you are in a town, you can go out early and walk around the town. and then in the evening, if you are in a town, you can just stroll "home" after dinner instead of getting into a car. Just seems nicer.

On our first trip to Siena many years ago, we also stayed at B&B Alle Due Porte and also loved it AND there's a parking garage very near by and not all the way down the hill.

Rome to Siena you can take the Flixbus from the Tibertina Station, about 2.5 hours. The train requires changing in Florence.

A couple of years ago we stayed at Villa il Castagno Wine Resort & Restaurant outside Siena. It was lovely, beautiful rooms and grounds. Close to Siena and convenient to many villages and towns.

it is almost impossible to get an early start in the morning if your hosts are feeding you breakfast

Nancy makes a great point and you should take this into consideration.

The last time we were in Tuscany, we stayed in an agriturismo. It was in December. Breakfast was optional and we opted for it when we made our reservation. For most of the week, we were the only guests. They still laid out a wonderful breakfast every morning, but service didn't start until 8:00. We could have wolfed down our breakfast and bolted out the door, but Marco, our server, took such pride in his work that it seemed impolite. Instead, we re-adjusted our expectations and ended up having a wonderful experience.

Each morning, Marco would practice his English with us. In exchange, he helped us with our almost non-existent Italian. Through this exchange, we became fast friends instead of him just being waiter at breakfast. In contrast, we rented an apartment in downtown Loches, France. We'd get up early and while Deb fixed coffee and scramble eggs, I'd walk down to the nearby boulangerie and pick up breakfast goodie. We'd be on the road by 7:30.

We enjoyed both experiences. Think about what appeals to you.