Volterra

There's no really easy way to day trip from Livorno to Volterra using public transit. Best route is from Livorno to Cecina and then on to Volterra. There are frequent trains from Livorno to Cecina, taking 20-30 minutes. From there, it gets more complicated. Infrequent trains arriving at the Volterra-Saline station far below town are one option. There's also bus service, but I find the schedules confusing (and I can read Italian). Taxi would be a reliable but expensive option. The other train-bus option is thru Pontedera, but schedules are bad for a day trip with an inflexible return time. You might consider e-mailing the Volterra TI office (website is www.volterratur.it) and asking for their suggestions.

Contact Francesca at her e-mail address of: m.bigazzi@libero.it She picked us up in Florence at our hotel and drove us to Volterra. Her family runs a taxi service out of Volterra. She was a very good driver and took great pride in her clean taxi. She was prompt, polite, efficient and just a delight to visit with. Be sure to contact Annie Adair at www.tuscantour.com for a private tour of Volterra. She crafted a great tour of Volterra that included the alabaster workshop, Etruscan jewelry makers (which were three Italian ladies who spoke no English but Annie translated for us) and a walking tour of the town. We enjoyed this day immensely! There was even a driving tour of fast Italian cars which wound their way up the hillside to Volterra and checked in at the town square. That's the part my sons loved--seeing all those cool cars! The reason we liked the Etruscan jewelery making shop was because we had bought a wedding ring in Siena a few years ago and it turned out that these ladies had made it. They looked at my ring and were able to tell me the exact shop we had purchased it at. They cleaned it, re-shaped the soft gold and let me take a photo of them.

The Trenitalia train schedule shows the journey from Livorno Centrale to the Volterra-Saline-Pomerance stop to be 1hr.49min max. Some runs are 1hr15min. You take the train from Livorno to Cecina and then transfer to a bus according to the website. As you investiage this journey, you will see the 7:21 train out of Livorno. The next train is at 12:21. That's a 5hr difference. It's not the train as many, many trains go between Livorno and Cecina. It seems to be the bus service. I would suggest being more concerned about the return journey. There is a bus leaving Volterra-Saline-Pomerance at 3:00pm and arriving at Livorno Centrale at 5:08pm. Not sure what time you need to be back onboard but that seems tight as the docks are a good mile or so from the train station. The next bus departs at 5:01pm and arrives in Livorno at 6:24pm. You make the call.