Visiting Tuscany for a week

[cayoyaangel]

Hi!

This is a great and definitely a very helpful forum!
I'll be visiting Tuscany with 2 more people by the end of March, I'm hoping the weather is not too cold for this time of the year! We'll be making Florence our base. We'll be spending the first two days in Florence and then will be taking day trips to different locations the rest of the time. Our transportation will be by train or bus.

-Is it better to choose our accommodation close to the train station? I've found nice hotels crossing the Ponte Vecchio but not sure if that's going to be too far walking there every morning. We love walking but not sure about the distance.

-I saw online the train hours for most locations in Tuscany are pretty frequent all day, do we need to book in advanced? or can we buy our tickets when we get there?

-Can we book day tours to Chianti and Montepulciano when we get there or is it better to book them in advanced?

Thanks so much!

[Leonardo]

Hey again,

Ponte Vecchio to SMN is about a 25 minute walk if you are walking normaly, 20-ish if running.
I did that walk twice a day for a few years and i wouldn't recomend it for someone on vacation. Better to be closer to the train station. Also emergencies happen...

There is no need to book regional trains in advance. Once you are in Florence you can also buy generic tickets with only the kilometers written on.

[DonnaDenise]

Buongiorno,

I wouldn't want to contradict Leonardo as to the timeframe, even if I have walked it several times just a bit faster ;-), JUST not as often as he. However, I would note that if you are on vacation, you could slow down and enjoy the stroll for a couple of days through the streets of Florence...afterall, you are on vacation and trains run pretty often in all directions.

Give yourself ample time (and unless you have difficulty walking, 20-25 minutes is more than enough time from Ponte a Vecchio to the SMN train station ... even with a stop for a caffè latte!!) and be sure to know your train schedule before you leave in the morning.

He is absolutely spot on with the trains, as long as you are doing the regionals (to Pisa or Lucca) then you can purchase your ticket there on the spot. Bus tickets are the same way - however, remember they run less frequently and you need to be timely for the departure (which is right next to the SMN train station so you can caluclate the same amount of time)

If you are going to Rome, Bologna or Venice I would suggest having these tickets in advance, this the Freccia (or speedy train) and the seating is assigned and prices can vary according to when you leave. However - the ticktes are not transferable from one time to another like the regionals....

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise

[Lourdes]

I would recommend you stay at a place you liked, the walk takes you by all of the monuments and as long as you give yourself ample time to get there ( you shouldn't rush on holiday), then the walk itself will be pleasant. You can take a different route each time as well for variety ;-)

You can book the tours ahead of time to have piece of mind that you have your spot and not have to worry about it once here, the rates won't change and that way you know when you have it scheduled. On the other hand, if you aren't particularly set on any tour, you could wait and see what's available. Personally, I want to spend more time seeing things and generally plan ahead for them, but it is completely up to you if you want to maintain more flexibility in your schedule.

All regional trains run often and are not assigned seating, and tickets are "open-ended", so valid on any train doing the route you buy for (or as Leonardo suggested, by km). So you have flexibility with those!