Thanks to the world-famous Palio, held two to three times each year, the perfectly preserved medieval town or the astounding Piazza del Campo, Siena is one of the most sought-after destinations for travellers visiting Italy, an unmissable place and one that can be easily visited even as a day-trip from Rome. How? Read more about the various options available!

Option 1: Siena by bus

Several private companies offer bus journeys to Siena departing from the Tibus bus station, currently located just outside the subway-train stop at Roma Tiburtina. Stress is on “currently”, as plans exist to move the whole bus terminal to the Anagnina metro stop (nothing has been decided yet, though!). Flixbus, Sena, Simet are among the most known operators, with Flixbus possibly being the most famous, an international company which tickets are easy to find online and even via a dedicated app. Travel time, depending on traffic, can vary between 2h30 and 3 hours. On the other hand, this type of journey is the cheapest and will take you through a magnificent part of the country, and it’s an experience in and of itself.

Option 2: Siena by train

Siena isn’t directly connected to Rome by train. This means having another two main sub-options to reach the city (know that other exist!).

• Sub-option 1: take an express train from Rome to Grosseto, and from there a regional train to Siena. The upside to this solution is that it takes you through some of Tuscany’s most beautiful, untouched areas, known for having been the backdrop for many a “Spaghetti Western” movie, particularly in the segment between Grosseto and Siena.
  Service is infrequent, though, and the train is slower than you are probably used to, so this solution may not be for you if you’re indeed thinking of coming back to Rome the same day.
• Sub-option 2: take a high-speed train to Florence, then a regional train to Siena. This is the possibility that’s most popular with tourists. And it will save you time as you will be making the most of the high-speed train line between Rome and Florence.

Depending on which sub-options you pick, travel time should be at least 3 hours. Once in Siena, a city bus will take you from the train station – located at the base of the hill where the old town sits – to the center.

Option 3: Siena by car

While we don’t recommend this, on account of the number of road rules and limitations (see our post on the ZTL!) you may not be familiar with when driving in Italy, many travellers decide to use a rental car to reach Siena, and Tuscany at large. If you choose to do so yourself, know the main rental car offices in Rome proper are by the central train station at Roma Termini. Once there, you can either fllow directions for the A1 highway, or go towards Siena by reaching the Via Cassia route, an ancient Roman road still used to this day and labeled as SS1 on maps and GPS alike.

This solution is considerably quicker, obviously, by roughly 1 hour, which is why we always suggest the “best of both worlds”, so to say. That is, if you want to get to Siena fast, but don’t want to give up the comfort of doing so by car, our partners at Gianni Conti Car Service can offer you a different solution, driving you to Siena and back by private transfer. You will know Gianni Conti’s excellent services if you’ve chosen to reach your rented accommodation in Rome from the airport by using one of the company’s luxury vans or cars. If you think this is the way to go for you, get in touch today, and we’ll discuss possible customizations and quotes.

Option 4: Siena by… hot air balloon!

You’ve got that right: if you want to go for a unique experience, Siena can be also visited from above! This company offers hot air balloon rides of this amazing medieval town, and comes with rave reviews!