Chianti area

jamfam

New member
In May we are travelling to Italy and spending 6 days in Greve in Chianti and we were wondering if it is easy to get around without a car only relying on buses. We were hoping to get down to Siena for a day to have a look around is this possible? Also what places of interest do you suggest
 
moving around Chianti by bus

Ciao! You can definitely enjoy Tuscany depending solely on public transportation, just keep in mind its limitations in the Chianti area. More than anything, most services are concentrated in the largest towns, such as Florence and Siena and you need to head there to change buses or trains to head elsewhere in Tuscany.

In particular, Greve in Chianti is well connected to Florence with SITA/ACV buses offering service every day. The main schedule you need to look at is this: http://www.acvbus.it/orari/365.pdf

As you can see from the schedule, the problem is getting around to other places within Chianti and to Siena. There are several buses that go to Panzano, fewer make the trip to Castellina and Gaiole and Radda. So you can use the bus to move around Chianti, just be very mindful of the time schedules as you plan your day out.

To get to Siena, the best solution is to head back into Florence and then catch the express bus (offered by SITA) to Siena. Siena is definitely a must see, very medieval and thus different from Florence. Once you get the hang of moving around with bus and train, you should also go to San Gimignano (bus back to Florence, then train to Poggibonsi and from there the short bus ride to San Gimignano). Another day, take a day trip to Pisa (train from Florence). Then of course you should spend time in Greve and the other Chianti towns as well as in Florence.

Hope this information is useful, if you have any other doubts do let us know!
 
Thanks for that information is is really helpful. One other query we are wondering if it is possible to get from Siena to Perugia without going back into Florence.
 
Siena to Perugia by train or bus

You're very welcome!

You can definitely get to Perugia from Siena without going through Florence but your options are a little more limited. If you search for train timetables on www.trenitalia.com, you'll see that from Siena you need to change trains twice, once in Chiusi-Chianciano Terme AND then in Terontola-Cortona. Because of this, some travel times are a bit long (up to 5 hours). The shortest is the train that leaves Siena at 13:28 and arrives in Perugia at 16:22 (total of 2 hours and 54 min).

As for buses, there is one daily run by Sena/Baltour that goes from Siena to Perugia that leaves at 17.15 that takes only an hour and 30 minutes (direct). On Fridays there is an extra bus that also leaves at 13.40. See the schedule here.

Train from Florence to Perugia is usually around 2 hours and 10-30 minutes just to give you a base reference point (the shortest do not require train changes at all).

Have a great time in Tuscany!
 
Buongiorno :)

I am planning to visit Chianti this September with two aunts who are in their late fifties. We are travelling by bus. Thank you for posting the link to the SITA timetable that goes through Greve.

We plan to stay in Greve in a rented apartment. From here, we would like to visit Radda and Castellina.

I'd like to ask for help understanding the timetable, just to be sure that I understand it correctly.

I take 7am bus (97) from Firenze to Greve in Chianti.

THen, if we want to visit Radda after two days, we can take the same bus at 8am to Radda. But then, we'd have to stay the night there. BEcause there's no bus from Radda back to Greve in the afternoon or evening.

And there doesn't seem to be a bus that connects Radda and Castellina. So, I'll have to travel back to another bus point that will have a bus that goes to Castellina.

Is this correct?

We do not have much time... would it be worthwhile to just stay in Greve for three nights? Will there be much to see in Greve? I love to take photographs, and my time will be occupied mostly by that. I am a slow traveller. Or will it be a big loss if we don't visit the other places? :)

Thank you very much for your time.

Ian
Manila, Philippines
 
...in Chianti with no car

Hello Ulan25,
September is a lovely month to visit Tuscany and Chianti.

As you may have noticed reading the timetable Lourdes posted, public transportation is not always the best choice to reach the smaller towns. There are better ways to move around Chianti.
It would be advisable to rent a car if you want to explore the countryside and shoot photographs. Only by car you can choose what to see and discover paths, view and landscapes because you can stop where you want.

Anyway, if you’re not planning to rent any car and want to rely on public transportation, the timetable Lourdes provided is very useful.

Your interpretatation of the timetable is correct: some towns are not connected to each other often (or at all!).

The more feasable way to enjoy the countryside and Chianti with no car is to rely on a tour operator, finding accommodation maybe at a farmhouse where the owners often can help you organize your daily visits.

As to your last question (if it is or not worthwhile to stay in Greve the three nights)....I would say that that depends on what you expect from the town....there’s not much to do, but if you just want a base to get around the countryside, it can be ok, especially if you do rent a car.

Kind regards,
Fabrizio
 
We have now decided to go to Montepulciano from Siena. We see that you can get a train to Chiusi then a bus to Montepulciano but is there a bus that will take us direct from Siena to Montepulciano? Also any sightseeing suggestions as we are in Montepulciano for two days.
 
yes, there are buses from Siena to Montepulciano

Ciao jamfam!

The Siena bus company has this website - http://www.busfox.com/timetable/ - which is great for finding buses to get around the Siena province.
Searching for Siena-Montepulciano, it shows several results that take anywhere form 84-132 minutes. It shows that there are two lines that go there without need to change buses - line 112 and 139 - so those are the ones I'd recommend. Take a look at that site and do your search for your dates and time so that you can better plan your move from Siena to Montepulciano. You'll love the area around there, the Val d'Orcia! :)
 
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