Which town to stay in Tuscany for 3 nights - no car?

Jennifer, i'm doing 4 nights in Tuscany in May also without car. Right now i'm planning on staying in Siena all four nights. I may decide to do one night in one of the other towns you mention (except Orvieto, did that last trip) or maybe Montepulciano as well. I think Siena makes a good hub for hitting the Tuscan hill towns.

If you want to get out and see stuff, Siena is definitely the choice. It has both bus and train options to get you pretty much anywhere. It has plenty of sightseeing to do there, and is quite nice. The other places you mention, may only be reachable by bus from Siena or Florence (Montepulciano has a station, I believe). We saw both San Gimigiano and Volterra (in addition to a Winery, Agriturismo for lunch and a cheese tasting) as part of a guided tour with www.winetourintuscany.com. We bussed it to Montalcino for a night from Siena as well. You could also take trips to other Tuscan towns via bus - Chiani region, Montepulciano, San Gimigiano, etc. if you wanted to

Stay in Siena... you'll never regret it... most all the tourists leave to catch their busses @ 5pm and the town becomes "real"!!! It's big enough to find lots of things to do day & night, and small enough to learn intimately over 3 days... stay "in-town". wake up to the incredible church bells... meet some locals... there's lots of small towns around, but why leave... you're already sampling 3 other towns, and you've sampled 5 on a previous trip... you've already proven to yourself that you'll be back in the future... slow down, and learn the town... get out of the main tourist areas and walk the back streets... Siena has wonderful "authentic" areas that offer incredible adventure!!! have a great time!!!

Thank you so much for the replies! We decided to stay just outside Siena at Aia Mattonata Relais. (a splurge, but seems worth it.) The owners have received ridiculously good reviews on Trip Advisor and their responsiveness to my email inquiries so far has confirmed their accommodating nature. We decided to stay 4 nights in Siena and 3 nights in Varenna to allow for 3 full days in Tuscany. We will tour Siena and then take a bus to Montepulciano or San Gigmagniano for a day trip. According to the relais owner, Volterra is difficult for a day trip by bus, so if we decide to do that we will brave a car rental for the day or arrange a tour. Any tips for training to Siena from Manarola? I know it's recommended to take a bus from Florence instead of the train, but not all of the train connections go through there.

Jennifer, I'd highly recommend spending some time in Montepulciano. On our last two trips to Tuscany, we've used the vicinity of Montepulciano as our "home base" and explored out from there. I think it's a small gem of the Tuscany region. Have fun.

Jennifer, "Any tips for training to Siena from Manarola" The trip by rail from Manarola to Siena ranges from about 3H:53M to 4H:21M, with two or more changes in various locations. When you arrive in Siena, you'll have to take a Taxi or Bus to get up to the town. An option I might consider would be to travel by rail from Manarola to Florence (the shortest trip is about 2H:37M) and then travel via Corse Rapide Bus to Siena. The Bus station in Florence is almost right next to Firenze S.M.N. and there are regular departures, which vary a bit depending on the day. The trip via Corse Rapide is 1H:15M, however there are "slower" Corse Ordinarie Buses as well, and the travel time with those is about 1H:35M. Happy travels!

As (the other) Ken mentions, the big reason to take a bus is where it dumps you off. But from the looks of it, you'll be in the proverbial sticks, so I don't think that's necessary. I would go from La Spezia to Empoli and Empoli to Siena via train (~3+ hours depending on layover). This is all assuming that you have worked out transport to/from the Aia Mattonata, of course. Though I would rather catch a cab at the train station then downtown (ZTLs and winding roads = heftier fare)

Yes, I figured since we'll have to get a cab anyways, we'll probably just do the train all the way. Thanks for the suggested train route, that's helpful.

Tommy:
Can you suggest any reasonably-priced hotels in Siena? Sounds like a good plan to base there and bus to a couple of other towns for day-trips.

Laura,
Are you open to a B&B in Siena? We loved this one http://www.anticaresidenzacicogna.it/pages_eng/presentazione.asp. Very old, refurbished, well-run, great breakfast, great location, 85-100 euros per night. Ciao!

Stay in Siena and take local buses to grat Tuscan villages nrby, it is very easy and low cost , safe and comfortable. Just know the schedules ahead.

Another one here for Siena. If you loved Venice, you will love Siena. Siena is just like Venice without the canals. Plenty of things to see and do, and has buses that can take you to nearby hill towns.

A B&B would be fine. We, of course, are looking at the best value...don't need anything luxurious, just CLEAN, good location, access to train/bus stations. Basing in Siena sounds like a good plan and then taking day trips to other towns. We would probably PREFER the smaller villages rather than large cities, like Florence.

I will be staying at Agriturismo Marciano in Siena for my honeymoon. It has amazing reviews and I've heard nothing but glowing reports on these forums. For a large suite room it is only 118 euro/night. I'm sure it's a good bit less for the smaller, but still very spacious, rooms. http://www.agriturismomarciano.it/camera_azzurra_en.html

If you don't have a car, Siena is probably the best base, it's connected by bus to San Gimignano, Montepulciano and other Tuscan towns - but do take note of reduced bus services on Sundays. Montepulciano is definitely worth a visit!

this is a helpul site.
http://in.linkedin.com/in/karanchananas karan chanana;-jef

For Laura, Check out Hotel Alma Domus. Wonderful location! It's run by a religious order so it's simple and basic. The views
are amazing and it's very affordable. Enjoy!

Laura We've stayed at Alma Domus several times and will be spending a week there in May. GREAT location and SPLENDID views.