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Sienna in May of 2027 as a Home Base

My wife and I are active adults in our mid 60's celebrating our 45th anniversary next year. We have friends that have visited this part of Italy and used Sienna as a base of operations for two weeks. This appeals to us as we are capable of using public transportation and typically stay in AirBnB's. I have read that Lucca is an equal choice to use as a base.

We enjoy hiking, architecture, some history, wine, and the countryside. Morning coffee at local shops is fabulous. At this point, I think I wish to find out if this is reasonable plan and what are some of the regions we can easily get to for day trips from Sienna. We also hope to possible get to the coast for a night or two if that works.

Looking for broad ideas now that we can tighten down.

Posted by
7078 posts

https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=Sienna+day+trips&utf8=%E2%9C%93

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/tuscan-wine-tour-suggestions-in

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy-reviews/italian-days-tours-by-roberto

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/italy-in-may-with-the-best-laid-plans-or-why-we-almost-came-home-after-three-days

Why don't you start with your friends' itinerary and revise from that, influenced by your specific interests?

There are many more useful posts here on the Forum, along with Trip Reports, so a search will produce much helpful info.
Public transportation can be limited in the area , so a car is ideal. We didn't rent a car last year on our trip, and I wished we had. Day tripping can get old.
Ps
Sienna is a Toyota car; Siena is a charming town in Italy. This may help your Searches.

Have fun planning!

Posted by
47 posts

If you're only going to rely on public transportation, then Florence would be the better home base than Siena because Florence is more well connected.

From Florence, you can take the regular train to Lucca, Pisa, Siena(although the bus from Florence to Siena is the better option). And, Florence is a central hub on the high speed network so you can do daytrips to Bologna in under an hour, daytrip to Rome, etc..

From Siena, you can take the bus or train to Florence. But, then other daytrips are more limited since you'll probably need to rent a car.