Venice Siena and Roma

The plan is good. Although while in Siena I'd consider renting a car for the purpose of maximizing day trips, since buses are not always frequent, and on weekends bus service is really scant to non existent.

Whether you want to stay some nights in Florence or not is up to you, since you've visited already. Maybe you could do so before heading to Rome, that way you have the rail service from Florence to Rome (from Siena to Rome the bus is best).

Orvieto can be seen in less than a day. You could stop for a night, which some people prefer to fully enjoy the place after the day trippers are gone, or visit from Rome on a day trip.

You could even stop between Florence and Rome without spending the night and visit for the day, then heading to Rome in the evening. However I'm not sure where you could store luggage while visiting. Maybe there is some shop that can do so while you visit, as I don't think the Orvieto station has a luggage store facility.

Thank you, Roberto for your response. Good to know about Orvieto, I see now that it's pretty small.

I know that driving in the Siena area would be optimum, but DH isn't keen on driving this time. He might change his mind, though, once we get there. He's driven before in Italy, so well see about that.

I

Ooops, I forgot to ask ....has anyone done the walk from Fiesole to Settignano? (If we do split 6 days in Siena, into 3-Florence, 3 Siena)
This was on my radar in my 3 year old plan (before COVID).
Thanks

I disagree with Roberto. Orvieto has quite a lot of sights for a place its size, including several good museums. It's definitely worth a full day and either one or two nights--or even three if you want to putz around.

If you make it a day trip or see it in transit, keep in mind that the train takes you to the lower level of the town. From there you have to use the funicular or a bus to get up to the historic center. The funicular takes you to a spot quite some distance from the cathedral. My point is that your transportation time doesn't end with the time spent on the train.

There used to be a small branch of the tourist office near the base of the funicular. If it's still there, stop in to get a map and whatever information is available. The city card used to be a good deal, but perhaps not for those making a short visit.

I'd consider adding a day to Venice--especially if you want to do day trips.
Take an international driver's permit just in case--it's only 20 bucks to have the option.
https://www.discovertuscany.com/siena/what-to-do/day-trips-from-siena.html
See #5, since you asked about a hike.

Month of the year?

I am not a person who is attached to the idea of renting a car. But I suggest that you do detailed research about what you can do from Siena without a car. (We went there with a car, from a rural resort in Sinalunga.) Even aside from bus existence and frequency, it becomes hard to do more than one town a day when/if you have to do them "radially" from the same bus station in Siena, for example.

I have no personal experience with public transportation in Tuscany, but most posters here, myself included, have found a car extremely useful. We chose our tiny rural resort specifically because it would be easy to return and park, at any time of day. There are the usual warnings about IDP, ZTL, and insurance for Italy car rental, but I still recommend it for Tuscany.

Siena is a rich destination, if not as much so as Florence. So it's good for more than one full day of sightseeing. But it is very crowded in tourist season. Cathedral tickets regularly sell-out, and a town-wide daypass is usually the best course. The Cathedral floor stonework is only exposed for a few weeks a year, which you might wish to look up. And presumably you want to avoid the Palio days.

Another comment I'd make is that the tourist months in Tuscany are really hot. My wife and I usually skip the pool at hotels we stay in. But every night in Tuscany we took a dip after a sweltering day of sightseeing. And we were so pleased that our room had icy, American-style air conditioning.

Hi All,
Thank you for your responses.
I have seen the discovertuscany website, and definitely have Buonconvento as a side trip from Siena. I'm also thinking about Asciano and other close-by towns.
We are going in April, last time we were in Rome in April it was HOT! But no matter, who can complain? Still pondering whether to add another day to Venice, and stopping in Florence, but I guess we'll hash that out. It seems like there is enough to keep us busy in Siena. It's been 5 years since we've been to Italy, and I'm pretty excited!

i am also going in april. my itinerary is similar to yours.

3 days venice
2 days siena
3 days montepulciano
3 days rome

start in venice, end in rome. i am taking train from venice to siena, siena to chiusi where i pick up rental car and drive 30min to montepulciano. plan on going to pienza and montalcino for day trips. skipping florence as i was there last year,
then train from chiusi to rome.

april weather was fine last year as we moved south (venice, florence, rome trip)

hope you enjoy your trip