Sienna in May of 2027 as a Home Base

Posted by daveR (East Coast USA) on 06/07/26 11:12 PM

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 Pat

San Diego, California

06/08/26 12:17 AM

7179 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 josh

socal

06/08/26 07:16 AM

48 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.

Posted by hiredman

San Diego, California, USA

06/09/26 05:29 PM

2129 posts

I second that no small, outlying town like Lucca or Siena is the best choice as a transportation hub. They can both be great places to stay and may support the occasional day trip but they are not hubs and for most places you will end up going into Florence for public transit access and that adds an hour+ to your trip.

Unless you're headed to a nearby town on the train - like Certaldo for Siena or Pisa for Lucca - the hub and spoke system will send you into Florence to catch the train back out to an area unless you're lucky enough to have a local bus on a schedule that works for you. Now if you are willing to have a car for some of those days - or book specific car tours - this opens up the rural, small town Tuscan countryside which can be a great visit but does not depend on local transportation.

So you need to decide if your priority to local exploration, longer day trips or really exploring the town you're in and adjust accordingly. If you want the convenience of Florence but without the city you might look into Fiesole - small village just outside Florence connected by bus or someplace like Prato - which is 20 minutes by train. Prato is on the line to Lucca which leads to the coast at Viareggio.

Have a great trip,
=Tod