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Sneaking in Siena... between Florence and Rome

We leave Florence Jul 25 to go to Rome - 2 adults, 2 teens.

Having been there and loved it, I'd like to stop in Siena for a few hours. BUT, train/bus... it's not going to be easy. To make it more complicated, we have a tour in Rome in the early afternoon, so timing matters. Can you please share any intelligence about your experience or tell me to ditch any of these options?

1) Rental car (have one from Hertz set to pick up in Florence and return in Rome. Price is Siena->Roma (drawbacks: lots of switching, luggage)
3) Train/bus Fir->Siena->Roma (drawbacks: lots of time, luggage)
4) Private car/tour (Very expensive - any ideas?)
5) skip Siena and take a direct trail (drawback: miss Siena)

Posted by
7229 posts

Welcome to the forum!
I’d say 5

What time is your tour in Rome?
You will need time to get from train station to hotel, drop luggage, have lunch…

Posted by
23642 posts

Vote for 5. You simply do not have the time. Save it for the next trip.

Posted by
11948 posts

we have a tour in Rome in the early afternoon,

This dictates #5 as the only (rational) choice

Posted by
1593 posts

How many nights do you have in Rome? If you are really longing to see Siena again, it's not 100% silly to take a Flixbus from Rome to Siena, 2 hours and 45 minutes each way. I have not done it as a day trip, but have taken that bus to Siena and back. I just wanted to give you one more option.

Posted by
1722 posts

Transportation to/from Siena is slow, be it by car or train or whatever but an helicopter. Setting a task in Rome in early afternoon, you have locked yourself out of any option other than moving forward from Florence to Rome by the fastest possible choice, i.e. fast train.

Even driving directly the highway between Florence to Rome - driving is slower than train as you can't drive faster than 130 km/h (80 miles/hour) - could be too long for a tour in early afternoon.

Posted by
16618 posts

Another vote for 5. IMHO, it's the only sane choice given you must be present and accounted for in Rome by tour time, luggage checked either at your hotel or elsewhere.

Save a return trip to Siena when you don't have to worry about tight time constraints and any segment of a transport plan falling apart. .