While planning your upcoming trip to Tuscany, the first thing you might want to look into is ‘How to get around”. We understand that before booking your hotel or picking an area to base from, transportation to the major cities in Italy might be an important factor. 

Generally public transportation around this medium-sized region is very well served. There are many regional trains, along with fast ones that connect Italy’s bigger cities with smaller towns located all around the boot. In addition, bus service runs just about anywhere and is fairly easy to use. One thing to keep in mind is that if you are looking for a remote country experience, public transportation might be sparse and bus stops a lot less frequent than large towns.

Trains

Absolutely the best way to get around Tuscany are Italy’s train system. Near us you can find borgo san lorenzo as a convenient starting point to head to the city of Florence and then beyond and with the exception of the occasional strike, you will find this way the easiest to travel. Another advantage of Italy’s train system is that they are very affordable, from Pisa to Florence is less than 10 euros, one way and you can often find deals on trenitalia if you book in advance or on weekends.

*Just make sure to validate your ticket at one of the machines near the tracks, this is very important as you can get fined for not having a validated ticket on the train.

Bus

The next option if you want to stick to public transportation is the public bus system. Around the Mugello Valley where we are located the SITA is what you see most often with other companies around the region including Lazzi, CAP, COPIT, and Florentia Bus. The buses tend to run daily, with less frequent service on weekends, and taking the bus is very affordable. We tend to not trust the online system and prefer to go directly to the bus depot and ask for the current timetable. in Florence this is next to the train station, just ask for the bus station.

Car

The last option (besides vespa, bicycle or on foot 😉 is of course renting a car. We personally think if you are looking to discover more of Tuscany, this might be the best way to go and isn’t as expensive as you might think. Most rental cars use a manual transmission so you pay more for an automatic. Highway’s are called ‘autostrade’ and you can look for the green ‘A1- A11…’ signs around the region, expect toll booths along your journey. Gas isn’t cheap which is why picking an efficient rental car is key, one tip is to pick the smallest you are comfortable with as many roads are quite small and you’ll find parking much easier with a compact.

When driving to larger towns, Florence, Siena etc. you’ll want to find a public parking lot and leave the car there, opting to discover the town on foot. Many towns have restricted access to the center and you can get quite a hefty fine for driving when it’s not allowed. Don’t risk it and just park outside the center. You can read more about how to rent a car and rules you need to know here.  You also want to read this about specific traffic fines and violations for Italy’s historical centers aka the ZTL.

In addition to this article, we highly recommend stopping by Discover Tuscany which has a very thorough list of articles about how to travel all over Tuscany.