Sorrento to Siena transportation

pellarc,

There are a few options you could consider.....

• Circumvesuviana from Sorrento to Napoli Centrale, high speed Freccia or Italo to Florence and then either bus or train to Siena (travel time from Florence to Siena is about the same between bus and train, but the bus drops passengers in the centre of town rather than the station which is at the bottom of the hill).
• Italo bus from Sorrento to Napoli Centrale and then Freccia or Italo high speed train to Florence and then either bus or train to Siena.
• Campania Express from Sorrento to Napoli Centrale and then either Freccia or Italo high speed train to Florence and then either bus or train to Siena.

I suppose your plan to take the train to Rome and then Flixbus would also work but would probably be slower as no bus can travel at 300 km/h! The bus is also going to make more intermediate stops.

Thanks so much for you most helpful reply Ken! I would not have thought of going to Florence first. I thought I'd see the countryside by bus but on further reflection realize that the bus probably doesn't take the scenic route! I am going to do as you suggest and book my train tickets so we travel to Siena via Florence. Thank you!

The main reason I suggested going via Florence is that the high speed trains don't usually stop at Siena. I've noticed that the rail websites usually route via Florence. I haven't checked all the solutions but going via Florence will likely be the quickest.

Pellarc, hopefully still on topic here but to repeat some previous advice to reduce your earlier itinerary (copy/pasted below):

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/is-this-itinerary-doable-and-tuscany-umbria-help

Rome - 3 nights,
Sorrento - 2,
Tuscany - 3 (renting a car for these days),
Florence - 3,
Udine - 2 (visiting my husband's cousins),
Venice - 2,
and back to Rome for final 3 nights.

2 nights only gives you 1 full day in Sorrento - not NEARLY enough time for the Sorrentine/ Amalfi Coast region - and you're going to eat a chunk of a day getting to Siena from there: 5.5 to 6 hours in transport alone, not including wait times in between. That's going to leave you just 2 full days for Siena and Tuscany, and you wanted to see Orvieto/Civita, Montepulciano, Pienza, Siena, Volterra, San Gimignano, and Lucca/Pisa in those 3 nights!

The advice, which I'd strongly echo, is to drop Sorrento if you can't give it more than 2 nights. Add that time to Tuscany if wanting to explore Siena +take advantage of more day trips than you can do in 2 full days and + some odd hours.