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Although traveling by
train is our favorite mode of transportation,
there are times when buses are a better or the only
alternative. Where trains don't go, busses
usually do, especially when it's a major tourist
location.
Here our focus is on bus
travel to locations not serviced by train.
We are not discussing the typical hop-on-hop-off
tourist sightseeing buses or chartered bus
trips. While researching your trip, you
must consider how you will reach your
destinations. If you are not renting a
car, is a location easily reachable via train or
bus. When arriving, is the arrival point
convenient to the city center when walking.
Sometimes buses are
the better alternative to a train
As we have mentioned
on our
Trains page, the downside of traveling
by train is that they may not always stop at
the location you want to visit.
On a trip to Florence
Italy, we wanted to also visit San Gimignano
where there is no train service. We also
wanted to visit Siena where the train stops,
but is not
convenient due to it's arrival location. We took
the bus from Florence for an hour to Poggibonsi where we
changed to a second bus for another 20 minute ride to San Gimignano.
After staying the night, we took another bus
to Siena.
If you want to visit
Siena directly from Florence, there is both
train and bus service. Depending on
your train, you may be required to wait to
make a connection to another train.
The train station is also located about 2k
from the city center, so be prepared to do
some uphill walking for about 20 minutes, or
take another bus into town. This is
why it's important to research the stations
location to the city center or your
accommodations should you be staying there
and not simply take the train thinking it
drops you off close to where you want to be.
To get to Siena, taking the
bus is much more convenient as it drops you
off very close to the city center.
Buses are cheap and the travel time is about
that of the train especially if you are
having to make a train connection.
For this specific
trip, the bus station in Florence is located directly
across the street from the train station, so
it's very easy to find. Simply walk up
to the window and ask for a ticket to your
destination. The buses are aligned and
numbered so it's easy to find your bus. Simply board at the
appropriate time and you are good to go.
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