Travel by train around Tuscany

[Becca]

Hi there,

Firstly, I have found your website a fantastic source of information to plan my trip to Italy- thank you!

I plan to go in October and stay in Florence for 7 nights. I would like to ideally have Florence as a base to travel around the region- Chianti is on my list and Pisa. Is all this possible by train? I would like to also visit the coast but am not sure where to visit! Any suggestions would be grateful!

Thanks

Becca

[Valentina]

Dear Becca,

Florence is a good base for your vacation in Tuscany, especially if you're moving by public transports From and to Florence depart and arrive most of trains and buses for other destinations in the region.

Pisa is just 1 hour train distance from Florence. I suggest you spend half day there visiting Piazza dei Miracoli and the Leaning Tower, and the rest of the day in Lucca that is about 20 minutes away. Lucca, whose city center is very beautiful, is then about 1 hour train from Florence.

About Chianti, the best way to move around is by bus. There are just two main train stations in Chianti: Poggibonsi and Castellina. From there you have then to take buses for other destinations. Otherwise you can take directly the SITA bus 365 from Florence station. Here you find more information about moving around Chianti, both by train and bus.

Regarding the coast there are several places reachable by train. For example going south I suggest you visit Castiglioncello, that I personally love. The train station is within walking distance from the center and the sea and is about 1 hour and half from Florence. There are no sandy beaches but rocks and the sea is clear and blue. Otherwise closer to Florence, about 1 hour and 10 minutes, there is Viareggio, characterized by long sandy beaches, as well as nice shops and clubs. I recommend you read this article about top beaches in Tuscany to find more ideas.

Last but not least I strongly recommend you check train schedules ahead of time and plan your trips. I also recommend you read this other thread about trains in Tuscany.

Well I hope my suggestions helped for planning your vacation in Tuscany. Please don't hesitate to come back with any other question, I'll be glad to answer

[Cr360]

Sounds really interesting, Thank you Valentina for such useful information i realy like it and this also help me because i am also planing to do the same trip like Becca, and i found your conversation, But one thing i want to ask is that if i take my car there then it would be better or train would be better.

[Lourdes]

Ciao Cr360,

If you're traveling to Tuscany by car, then by all means use it to get around the region, it will make everything easier. The only place where you really don't need a car is within Florence or Siena (within the historical centers as you cannot enter if you aren't a resident or have a special permit). You can make your base in Florence but outside the city center or in the immediate surroundings and then use your car to visit the rest of Tuscany. When you are in Florence just use public transport to get downtown. Take a look here to find accommodation in Florence outside of the city center, highly recommend il Palagetto just outside the historical center since it offers parking. Outside of Florence, take a look at Poderino as well as Poggio al Sole outside Florence.

[Csula]

Thank you for everyone's comments and input...it makes planning trips so much easier. I'm on my way to Tuscany at the beginning of December for a week (not ideal, but it's all I've got). I want to land in Pisa and make my way to Siena, Cortona and San Vincenzo and back to Pisa (with stay-overs in two smaller towns/villages inbetween). I'm finding it VERY difficult to figure out what my train fares will cost for this 'trip'...the Italian train website has not been straightforward and it keeps saying the option I'm trying to book is not available. Could someone please help?
Many thanks
A South African in Europe

[Cristina]

Hello Csula and welcome to the Forum!

I've checked your routes in the Trenitalia railway website (http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage_en.html) and this are the prices I've found:

one way from Pisa (aeroporto) to Siena costs about 10€ (you need to change the train in Empoli train station)
Siena-Cortona (Camucia-Cortona station) is about 10€ (change in Chiusi-Chianciano Terme)
Cortona-San Vincenzo has not a good train service. You should take a train from Camucia-Cortona to Florence, here to Pisa or Livorno and then a third train to San Vincenzo. (it should cost totally about 25 €)
one way from San Vincenzo to Pisa (aeroporto) costs about 7€

It seems all tickets are available for purchase online, after registration here: https://www.lefrecce.it/B2CWeb/custo...gisterCustomer

[Csula]

Thank you so much Cristina, I really appreciate your detailed input!
Kind regards

Hello Csula and welcome to the Forum!

I've checked your routes in the Trenitalia railway website (http://www.fsitaliane.it/homepage_en.html) and this are the prices I've found:

one way from Pisa (aeroporto) to Siena costs about 10€ (you need to change the train in Empoli train station)
Siena-Cortona (Camucia-Cortona station) is about 10€ (change in Chiusi-Chianciano Terme)
Cortona-San Vincenzo has not a good train service. You should take a train from Camucia-Cortona to Florence, here to Pisa or Livorno and then a third train to San Vincenzo. (it should cost totally about 25 €)
one way from San Vincenzo to Pisa (aeroporto) costs about 7€

It seems all tickets are available for purchase online, after registration here: https://www.lefrecce.it/B2CWeb/custo...gisterCustomer

[MLM]

I have no idea how to do this forum thing and I'm sure I'm doing it wrong but here goes. I will be coming to Italy in April. Will be in Venice for a day, then will be coming to Tuscany for 6 days, then on to Rome for 4 days - at least thats what I'm thinking now. I'm struggling with this. First time I've been and have no idea what I'm doing. I want to see Volterra, San Gimignano, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre maybe, Siena and I'm sure I'm leaving out a million other beautiful places. My husband is not keen on driving so we will be taking public transportation. I need to know the best place to stay that will let us have access to see all these places easily. Also any suggestions on places to stay in Rome or Venice would be greatly appreciated. I would love to stay within walking distance to the spanish steps etc in Rome. I've been told that from Rome we can do day trips to Pompeii which I hope is true. In Venice we would need to stay in the heart of the historic district because we will only be there one night. If I've left off anything that is essential please let me know. I know that I have not mentioned the sights in the cities but I do have those down.

[Lourdes]

Ciao MLM,
don't worry, you posted fine! you could have created a new thread too by clicking on "+ start new thread" at the top of the main forum but this works too!

Yes, don't worry about the sights just yet, first try to figure out your destinations.

I assume you're flying to Venice and flying out of Rome to make your itinerary work better. You definitely need to stay central to make the most of your time. For hotels in Venice, search here.
you definitely want something central to make it easy to get to as well as move around. From Venice you can catch a fast train to Florence (there is www.trenitalia.com as well as the new Italo company that is now competing with the national rail company and have very interesting ticket rates, so check them both out - http://www.italotreno.it/en/).
The same goes for Rome - search here for hotels in Rome, and the train schedules above to see what times are good for you.
As far as Pompeii goes from Rome, an organized tour is your best bet - the distance is about 250 km and trying to do it on your own with public transportation requires a lot of planning and organization. Take a look at this tour for example. There are many companies offering these tours so with a bit of research you can find one you like.

Coming back to Tuscany, if your husband isn't keen on driving, then he doesn't have to. But for 6 days, you have too many places listed and you'll need to make a selection.
From Venice, go to Florence - spend at least 2 days here.
Use Florence as your base - one day head to Siena, another to San Gimignano. Volterra would be doable with bus from Siena, so another possibility is to head to Siena for 2 days and use that as your base to visit Volterra and San Gimignano, on two separate days..... see, we're already at 5 days (2 for Florence, 1 each for Siena, SG and Volterra.
You can try to do the day in Pisa before heading to Siena or if you continue to use Florence as your base it will be easy to get there from Florence.
Cinque Terre are a bit out of your way once you're in Tuscany (takes about 2.5-3 hrs to get there by train from Florence. So I'd leave them out.... if you leave Pisa to your last day, you can head down to Rome directly from there rather than returning to Florence.

So you CAN see what's on your list of places without a car, you already have a good base of places covered and doable so far, don't try to fit too many more in because you're already doing 3 cities and a whole region (Tuscany) in 11 days.
Others off your list would require a car in any case! One you have your days somewhat set, you should check out the Tuscany Accommodation link in my signature to start looking at accommodation in Tuscany

[kovsie]

I want to explore Chianti / Tuscany in July. I know this is rather late, but here goes: I have booked an apartment in florence for 3 days. Before that I want to stay for 7 nights somewhere in a small town: in my dreams this will be in a place with a stunning view of the countryside, within walking distance of a nice bakery (!) and a train station. I do not want to rent a car. Reading the posts above I realize that I can stay in florence the whole time. However, it will be lovely to stay in a smaller place for a few days. Please help - are there any small towns like this?