I really want to take a day trip to see Volterra while I am staying in Siena. I'm having a difficult time finding a good way to get there without a car. I've read that taking the train to Poggibonsi from Siena and a bus from there on to Volterra is the best way. The problem is that I can't find any trains leaving Siena and stopping in Poggibonsi.
Does anybody have any suggestions on a way to get there and back as a day trip?
Thanks I appreciate it.
On trenitalia.com/tcom-en
The station is probably called Poggibonsi-something; in rural tuscan secondary stations are often named after the 2 or more villages they serve. For instance, Volterra is listed as Volterra-Saline-Pomarance.
There's bus service from Siena to Volterra with a change in Colle Val d'Elsa. When I took the trip a few years ago, it involved 2 different bus companies and so I had 2 separate tickets. It's much simpler than it might sound. If you took the train to Poggibonsi, I think you still may need to change buses in Colle Val d'Esla, so I suspect the route I took is easier. I did a quick check, and the rome2rio website shows the route I took and the buses involved. Note that I didn't do this as a day trip; I stayed a few days.
Thank you darioalb. I found a train one way from Siena to Poggibonsi but am having difficulty finding one the other way around. I don't mind taking the bus back but I didn't want to spend two hours on the bus getting there if I could avoid it.
Thank you Frank for your info about the buses. Did you buy your tickets once you were on the bus or did you purchase them ahead of time. It appears to be a long ride but I imagine it's quite scenic. Do you have any idea how often the bus runs from Volterra or when the last one is? Do you happen to know the bus company website?
Thank you both for your suggestions!
I am having difficulty finding one the other way around
As I don't know the day of travel I can't check on trenitalia.com what's the problem.
I'm traveling on June 16th and also returning on the 16th between 5 & 8 in the evening. I found many trains leaving Siena in the morning but nothing shows up leaving Poggibonsi - San Gimignano in the afternoon. I wonder if this means that the trains don't stop there in the afternoon.
It probably means that the new timetables are still to be loaded on the Trenitalia server.
Buses between Siena and Colle Val d’Elsa are part of the Siena regional lines (Siena Mobilita) while buses between Colle Val d’Elsa and Volterra are part of the Pisa regional lines (CPT Pisa). I purchased tickets before boarding the buses, but my recollection is that I purchased them separately. Buying the second ticket was no big deal as the news stand right beside the bus stop in Colle Val d’Elsa sells tickets for both bus systems.
I did a quick check on the rome2rio website and then confirmed the Colle Val d’Elsa to Volterra portion of the information on the CPT Pisa website. For June 16, it shows a very early connection departing Siena at 6:20 and arriving in Volterra at 7:50 and a midmorning connection departing at 8:40 and arriving 10:35. Last bus back is at 17:20. I’d suggest you start your research with the rome2rio website, which has links to the regional bus line websites if needed. If you go to the bus line websites, you’ll need to look at the extraurbana lines. The rome2rio website has been favorably mentioned many times on this board but yesterday was the first time I actually used it. I found it to be very user-friendly.
I strongly recommend that you reconsider taking the train to Poggibonsi and then doubling back to Colle Val d’Elsa. The bus between Siena and Colle Val d’Elsa takes about a half hour, which is about the time it would take you to get to Poggibonsi on the train. Then you’d need to go to the bus station and take a bus to Colle Val d’Elsa to connect to the same CPT Pisa bus (#770) as had you taken the direct bus from Siena. Going via Poggibonsi, while doable, would just make the longish trip even longer and more expensive. Plus, it won’t allow you to get to Volterra any earlier or leave any later.
Thanks for your help everyone.
Frank, thanks so much for your post regarding the buses. It does make sense to just travel by bus all the way if there isn't going to be any real difference in travel time. Plus it seems that with such an early start I should get there quite early which would leave me tons of time to go exploring before catching the bus back to Siena.
Is the bus station easy to walk to in Siena?
Yes, buses leave from Piazza Gramsci, no more than a 10-15 minute walk from il Campo (the main square). I'd suggest buying your tickets the day before since you plan to leave on the early bus. The ticket windows are under the piazza. I believe the bus departs from the street along the back of the piazza, but be sure to confirm with the person at the ticket window. Hopefully, they'll be able to sell you round trip tickets in Siena. If not, there's a bar on the piazza where the bus arrives in Volterra that sells tickets.
it probably means that the new timetables are still to be loaded on the Trenitalia server.
You are right lachera.
Emragona as I wrote in my first reply you must enter a day of travel before June 11 to see the complete schedules.
Take the bus if you prefer (and if you do not suffer from motion sickness like me), but don't worry about trains: of course they'll run also in the afternoon as they always do and they can't sell out.
Thank you dariolb and Frank you have both been extremely helpful. At least I know I have some good options!
So much appreciated!!!
have you considered a drive/transfer service besides the bus. Little more expense but might be worth it as you can setup a stop along the way too.
Hi Robert,
I've thought about that but since I'm on my own it might be a little too expensive for my blood. If I had someone to share the expense with then I would definitely prefer to do that.
