Train to Montepulciano

It is likely any bus fare from a local station to town is going to be about €1 but in any case will not be a dent on your budget. If there is a station and a town, there will be a bus.

As to not speaking English, remember that the bus driver/taxi driver in any tourist town likely speaks/understand enough English so you can get to main places. And it helps to write the name/address of your hotel and simply show it to them. Or print out a google map at home and point to where you want to go. Or say the name of a place that is near and try it in Italian, as in "Duomo, por favore". If all else fails, turn to some teenager on the bus and ask them if they speak English. Odds are they do or someone will pipe up and offer to help you.

It is EASY!

All train runs that I see on www.trenitalia.com require a train change at Chiusi. It's then a 14-minute ride to the the Montepulciano train station. I see a bus station in the town but not a train station so I suspect that you will have to take a local bus to the town. Towns such as Siena and Assisi and many others also do this. Not a difficult process. A bus ride is really cheap. Remember, however, that the buses have ticket validation machines on board. We had to validate our tickets when we got on a bus in Florence and Assisi.

I went from Montepulciano to Rome by bus and train via Chiusi last year. As I recall, train was about EUR 14 and bus was about EUR 3. There are frequent trains from Rome that stop in Chiusi and frequent buses from Chiusi train station to Montepulciano (even a few on Sundays). Total travel time was about 3 hours. Not speaking Italian shouldn't be a problem if going via Chiusi. Montepulciano station is several KM from town. Don't know whether there are buses or if you'd need to take a taxi. You could ask your hotel.

Just completed this - thanks for everyones help. Take the morning train to Chiusi (in the station get tickets for the local bus to Chiusi 2.2e), walk out blue bus saying Montepulciano (leaves about 5 minutes after the train arrives, takes about 1 hour - lots of local stops). Returning, leave around 1:30 as shops are now closed for lunch, get ticket at Montepulciano bus station (where you are dropped off, good news only takes about 35 minutes). Back in Chiusi take the train to Orvieto, then an evening train back to Rome. Train tickets about 24e - makes a nice day trip

Terre - Trains are 60 to 90 minutes apart from Chiusi into Roma. It doesn't matter which line. Trains leaving south from Chiusi go to Rome.

Does anyone know how frequently trains depart from Chusi to Rome? Which rail line is it? I am thinking of dropping our rental car off there instead of Orvieto to take train into Rome.