My friend and I are traveling to Italy in April of this year. We need to travel between Siena and Venice. In doing some research online it appears that there is an express bus from Siena to Florence and then an express train that goes between Florence and Venice. It sounds like the express train needs to be reserved in advance-generally months in advance! Can anyone give me additional details on this, particularly if you have recently traveled this way?
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17225 posts
It is not necessary to reserve train tickets on the express trains in advance, but it will get you a nice discount. I like to reserve our trains about 2 months in advance, assuming our itinerary is firm.
For Florence to Venice, you can use wither Trenitalia (the state company) or Italo (a private company). The latter is a little more user-friendly.
https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
You need to spell the cities in Italian for Trenitalia, and specify the correct stations. Those would be Firenze Santa Maria Novella (abbreviated on the website Firenze S.M. Novella) and Venezia Santa Lucia (Venezia S. Lucia.
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1027 posts
Lola is 100% correct about the fast trains. You basically trade flexibility for reduced prices by buying in advance.
To get from Siena to Florence SMN you can either take the bus or the train. The train station in Siena is at the bottom of the hill so catching a bus is probably closer to where you're staying in Siena. You can always also either walk or take a taxi or local bus to the train station and take the local regionale train which will drop you directly in the Florence train station itself.
No need to buy the regionale ticket ahead of time. Get the Trenitalia phone app for checking schedules, tracking trains and buying tickets. If you go with .Italo for fast train tickets you might also want their app as well.
All the tracks in the Florence train station are collected in one spot so transferring trains is a short walk between the tracks.
Just choose whichever way from Siena to Florence feels easier.
Have a great trip,
=Tod
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17225 posts
Here is an example of the savings achieved by booking ahead. I checked Italo for Firenze to Venezia.
Lowest price for a ticket bought now for Thursday, 18 January, is 53, 90€.
Lowest price for a ticket bought now for 25 March is 15,90€. This is a “Magic” Economy fare and those sell out quickly. The next step up, still a ticket with restrictions, is 24,90.
Posted by
Irving
3127 posts
Normally I suggest taking a direct bus from Siena to Florence because the bus picks you up outside the center so you can walk to it that’s 30m shorter than taking the train. The bus drops you off at the Florence bus station which means you can walk or take a taxi to Florence’s SM Novella train station. However, it helps to know which way to turn when leaving the bus station. I got lost doing this and had no sense of direction. To avoid this happening to you it might be best to catch a taxi in Siena to the Stazione di Siena train station and take a direct train from Siena to Florence SM Novella station so you won’t have to go through the hassle of changing stations.
Posted by
Citizen of the World
1747 posts
Trenitalia now has high-speed train tickets for sale online for the entire month of April, so once you’ve finalized the date of your Firenze ( Florence) to Venezia ( Venice) train journey— buy them!
The Siena to Florence Express bus takes 75 minutes. The fastest Florence to Venice high-speed trains take 2:05.
Have a great trip!