Siena to Venice-Bus vs. Train

Where are you getting your bus information? I found two buses/day from Siena to Venice with the ride taking 5 1/2 hours. You do not have to take a bus to Florence. You can take a regional train from Siena to Florence and a high-speed train from there to Venice. The total trip will take around 4 hours and you'll be able to choose from several departure times.

Maybe my original post is confusing. I do know I can take a bus straight from Siena to Venice, but what I am wondering is if it is worth taking a train (out of Florence) vs. the bus (straight from Siena). Taking the train to Venice does require going to Florence first (by bus), and I wonder if it is really worth doing that just to take the train, rather than just catching the bus straight to Venice.
Thanks...

As Tim said above, the regionale train works well from Siena to Firenze - you don't have to use a bus. The train from Firenze to Venezia goes at up to 180 mph and only slows down to make 2 station stops. The bus won't go quite that fast. I'm skeptical that the bus is as fast, overall.

Ah, now I see what Tim was saying! I guess I am not worried too much about speed/time getting from Siena to Venice since it seems to be give/take an hour or so. I guess I am thinking of ease. Do I really want to change trains (which would mean figuring out 2 tickets and lugging luggage (although not much) from one spot to another) or just get on the bus and stay on the bus?
THANKS either way...Really appreciate you taking time to coach me! :) Liz

Florence is not a bad place to change trains. You pull head-in to the terminus. The platforms are great. Changing trains is very easy. Same with Venice. For me, I'd like that extra hour in Venice. A couple of notes about the bus from Siena to Venice. 1) There is only one run a day. The train provides numerous runs. 2) There is one bus change along the way. There is one train change at Florence. 3) The bus arrives at the Venice Tronchetto (large parking lot). You have to take the people mover to the Piazzale Roma to catch the vaporetto (or you can catch the vaporetto at the Tronchetto. The train takes you to within 250' of the Grand Canal.

I don't want to drop a dead donkey but I hadn't realized that you could get on a bus in Siena and several hours later get off the same bus in Venezia. So I looked ... You can!!! So, I see two connections from Siena to Venezia, Trochetto people mover. The first one, takes 5 hours 20 minutes, you have to change buses in Bologna, at the Bologna bus station about 200 metres from the train station. It goes: SIENA - VENEZIA Vettore = BALTOUR-EUROLINES-SENA 24/07/2013 08:20 - SIENA (Colonna San Marco (fermata Sena)) 24/07/2013 08:28 - SIENA (Piazza Gramsci (fermata Sena)) 24/07/2013 08:38 - SIENA (Pza Stazione FS-Fta SENA) 24/07/2013 08:43 - SIENA (Stellino fermata Sena) 24/07/2013 09:05 - POGGIBONSI (Distributore Esso Salceto (fermata Sena)) 24/07/2013 09:30 - FIRENZE (Uscita A1 Impruneta (fermata Sena)) 24/07/2013 10:50 - BOLOGNA (TERMINAL BUS 200 MT DA STAZIONE FS) cambio Vettore = BALTOUR-EUROLINES-SENA 24/07/2013 11:10 - BOLOGNA (TERMINAL BUS 200 MT DA STAZIONE FS) 24/07/2013 11:55 - FERRARA (Casello A13 davanti Mediaworld) 24/07/2013 12:15 - ROVIGO (Casello A13) 24/07/2013 12:55 - PADOVA (AUTOSTAZIONE VIA DELLA PACE, STALLO 12) 24/07/2013 13:30 - VENEZIA/MESTRE (Viale Stazione1- EUROLINES)
24/07/2013 13:40 - VENEZIA (VENEZIA - Tronchetto stazione people mover) It certainly takes the scenic route, and I guess that if you wanted to glimpse various cities as you drive into and out of them it could be rewarding. The one non-change bus is at 14:50, arriving Venezia 20:25. 5 hours 35 minutes. The fare for both is €32. ... more

... more ... The train is frequent, takes from 3:38 to 4:17 and only has one easy 25 minutes to 40 minutes change at Firenze. There's lots to do in the station at Firenze and that is loads of time to make a connection. If you took train at the same time you'd be 90 minutes sooner enjoying Venice, the most beautiful place. To each his/her own.

Actually, I'd like to change my description of the "scenic route". I glimpsed at the towns the bus went past and thought that it wouldn't be so bad after all. I've just gone back and looked in more detail at the route and I'm disappointed to say that almost all the stops are not in the city centres but rather on the Autostrada - the (not free)way. Not so scenic after all. In detail: SIENA (Colonna San Marco (fermata Sena)) - fermata means bus stop, in town SIENA (Piazza Gramsci (fermata Sena)) - in town SIENA (Pza Stazione FS-Fta SENA) - the Siena train station SIENA (Stellino fermata Sena) - don't know where that is POGGIBONSI (Distributore Esso Salceto (fermata Sena)) - at the Esso gas station FIRENZE (Uscita A1 Impruneta (fermata Sena)) - A1 Autostrada exit BOLOGNA (TERMINAL BUS 200 MT DA STAZIONE FS) change at the bus station around the corner from the train station, depending on the route into and out of Bologna you may glimpse the Twin Towers, but I would not expect that that would happen FERRARA (Casello A13 davanti Mediaworld) - near the toll booth near an electronics superstore ROVIGO (Casello A13) - by the toll booth PADOVA (AUTOSTAZIONE VIA DELLA PACE, STALLO 12) - the bus station in the town VENEZIA/MESTRE (Viale Stazione1- EUROLINES) - next to the train station
VENEZIA (VENEZIA - Tronchetto stazione people mover) - a remote area near the car park, see the previous post. Sorry I led you to believe it would take you through the towns.

Nigel, I just love the "drop a dead donkey" idiom. I have to learn how to use it properly.

LOL! 'Drop the Dead Donkey' was a hilarious British topical sitcom that aired from 1990 to 1998, starring Stephen Tompkinson as reporter Damian Day. It won a BAFTA for Best Comedy in 1994. You can find several delightful clips and even some full episodes by searching YouTube for 'Drop the Dead Donkey'. There's also an excellent Wikipedia article about it that explains the context.