Train or bus access from Siena to Civita di Bagnoregio

According to rome2rio.com, you still have to go through Orvieto. Take a look at this website, it gives alternative types of transportation.

I'm just guessing, because I have made this mistake myself, thinking that because two cities are relatively close together, public transportation is easy. If the cities are in different regions, it can be challenging.

Lynne,

Travel from Siena to Civita will actually be worse than from Rome. Instead of dealing with an easy one hour trip from Rome to Orvieto, you'll be faced with a two or three hour trip with one change at Chiusi-Chianciano Terme. Once you arrive in Orvieto, you'll still have the Bus trip to Bagnoregio and the Shuttle to Civita (and back), and then the longer trip back to Siena.

That wouldn't be my choice for an "ideal" day trip.

I considered posting this when I read your first question and decided against posting my opinion but this might be the time. We spent 4 nights in Orvieto and took the bus to Civita di Bagnoregio one morning. When we visited there we were underwhelmed. It is very pretty from afar but walking through the village we felt it was not any more special than the many other towns we visited and probably less so. Yes, it is almost abandoned and it is slowly falling down, while most other towns are occupied and mostly still standing, but Civita is mostly just a tourist stop. But in my opinion you would get a much better return on your time invested in reaching Civita by visiting another nearby town. From Siena we visited San Gimignano by bus. This is also a walled village, also a tourist stop but with some interesting historical features and you can get there with a lot less effort. When we were in Orvieto, the owner of our B&B mentioned that her American visitors always asked about Civita and if short on time prefer to visit there than to explore the many historical sites in Orvieto. She was always surprised as those who live in the area and most travelers from other countries. I mention this because we're often caught up in the hype of a certain place and think we have to see it and are sometimes disappointed. You sound as if you're willing to make a great effort to get there and it just might not be worth it.

Like Carol, I hesitated about posting my opinion when I first saw your question; but now I'll jump in. I don't think that Civita in any way merits the effort you would have to expend to get there. We went because we were staying nearby and had a car. It was, also, perhaps our 10th trip to Italy. In retrospect, I'm not sure it was worth the effort, even in those circumstances. There are many attractive small towns that you can get to from Rome or Siena, like Orvieto or Pienza. My advice is don't waste your time on Civita.

Ok. Me too. I agree with Carol and Rosalyn. I went from Orvieto as part of an RS Village Italy tour. It's practically deserted except for tourists and feral cats. A huge disappointment. Looks better on the cover of the RS Tour book! In retrospect time would have been better spent elsewhere.

Rosalyn and Pam - thanks for the validation. Just re-read my post and realized there is a sentence fragment in it. I meant to say that the owner of the B&B was surprised that so many Americans thought Civita was a must see when those who live there and many people from other European countries feel there is no merit in that opinion. As we were spending four days exploring Orvieto we had a few hours to spare. We're glad we did but would not recommend going to great effort to get there or passing up more worthwhile towns for it.

If you are staying in Orvieto, then Civita makes a nice side trip. Orvieto is the higher priority destination.

I loved my visit to Civita and just relaxing and enjoying lunch. I decided to not try the public transporation from Orvieto and I found a local guide that I used as a day trip from Rome. We meet in Orte and did a day visiting Bolsena, Civita, Viterbo and Vetrella.

I've been to Italy too many times to count and never stopped in Civita di Bagnoregio. I would recommend Bolsena (best gelato in the world at the little shop on via Santa Cristina), Todi, or some other towns mentioned. I did catch a glimpse of Civita on the ride from Todi to Orvieto. Interesting but not enough to get my attention for a stop.

I'm with Zoe. Bolsena is easy to reach by bus from Orvieto and another favorite of mine
Castiglione del Largo can be reached by a short 35 min train ride.