Florence: Day Trip with Free Time in San Gimignano and Siena
Description
Tuscany is like a vast blooming field, rich in the sweetest nectar everywhere! BusVia Firenze invites you to explore the true essence of Tuscany, blending art, history and nature. We will accompany you to San Gimignano, the "Manhattan of the Middle Ages" due to its numerous towers punctuating the skyline. The journey continues through the Tuscan countryside to Siena, where your experience begins with a visit to this charming town, renowned as the capital of Gothic art. Our return journey to Florence, amidst gentle hills and vineyards, will be accompanied by a breathtaking sunset.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The Historic Centre of San Gimignano is a cultural site of exceptional value since it has treasured its architectural homogeneity and original urban layout. Still during the late Middle Age, the noble families and upper middle-class merchants built many fortified tower houses. Nowadays, only 14 towers remain, representing the San Gimignano main’s attraction, making this Tuscan town famous worldwide. Tour duration 2 h 30
The journey continues through the Tuscan countryside to Siena, where your experience begins with a visit to this charming town, renowned as the capital of Gothic art. You'll wander through the narrow streets of the city's 17 historic districts, known as "Contrade", each with its distinct identity, emblem, and history, as well as its own traditions. Take a leisurely stroll in Piazza del Campo, the renowned setting for the Palio di Siena horse race. Tour duration 2 h 30
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- The tour duration includes bus transfer.
- Sconsigliato ai viaggiatori con difficoltà motorie
- Due to uneven surfaces and long distances, we cannot accept anyone with walking difficulties or using a wheelchair.
Reviews(113)
We took advantage of this tourist trip to reach Siena where we are continuing our Tuscan stay. Our guide was very nice and accommodating. Great
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are delighted that you enjoyed using our tour to travel to Siena and that our guide made your journey so pleasant and easy. It was a true pleasure to be part of your itinerary. We wish you a fantastic continuation of your stay in Tuscany and hope to welcome you back again soon! TRAMVIA
Very beautiful excursion, very friendly guide who speaks French well. Siena was very pleasant too.
Thank you so much for your great review! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed your excursion to Siena. It is wonderful to know that our guide's friendly attitude and French skills helped make your experience so pleasant and smooth. We truly appreciate your feedback and hope to welcome you back again for another amazing trip in the future!
We had a wonderful day The bus was made up of different nationalities Our guide was extraordinary and multilingual He was very nice, funny, and full of anecdotes He explained the points of interest to us and then left us some free time The visit time was balanced We were able to properly discover the 2 cities I recommend this excursion
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are thrilled to hear that you had a magnificent day and enjoyed the balanced itinerary with ample free time to discover both towns. Our guide will be delighted to know that his humor, anecdotes, and language skills made the tour so enjoyable for everyone. We truly appreciate your high recommendation!
A good pick up and drop off tour. The guide was a microbiology student and quite profession and helpful who leverages WhatApp to identify the places we should visit on our own and also get picked up at the meting points. All good!
Thank you so much for your great review! We are delighted to hear that you appreciated our pick-up service and found our guide so helpful and professional. Using WhatsApp is indeed our favorite way to keep communication quick and smooth for everyone. We are glad you enjoyed your free time and hope to welcome you back again soon!
On July 8, 2026 I took the Florence Day Trip with Free Time in San Gimignano and Siena, run by Tramvia Napoli. The trip was quite a disaster. Many of the problems could have been prevented by having printed instructions available about meeting points. The first issue was finding the tour. There were several tour guides at the meeting point with flags and signs, but none for my tour. A guide from one of the other tours escorted me to the bus, which was waiting across the street from the other tours. When we got to San Gimignano, the tour spread out and people at the end couldn’t hear what was being said. Consequently, I didn’t know where the leaving meeting point would be. The tour guide later sent me an electronic link, but this only worked when internet was available. In these ancient towns with thick high walls, you can’t always get a signal. I did find my way to the meeting point but was cut off from the rest of the people by another big group. Then my tour got so far ahead I couldn’t see where they had gone and ended up having to backtrack to get to the bus, but I finally made it. Recognizing that I’m a slow walker, the tour guide gave me an electronic link to the bus location and suggested I take a taxi there when it was time to leave. Although he was trying to be helpful, this turned out to be a terrible idea. I started calling for a taxi about an hour ahead of the leave time. I called all the taxi numbers, but they were in Italian without an English option. I asked some kindly Italians to call a taxi for me, but there was no internet available, so I couldn't see the meeting location. I found a restaurant and ordered a coffee to get internet. Another helpful group of Italians called again, and a taxi finally arrived. Of course there was no internet in the taxi, so I spelled out the location for the driver. He had a lot of trouble understanding me but said he knew exactly where I was going. He dropped me in a completely wrong place. I later realized that he’d taken me to Campo car park rather than Campino Car park. If I’d had a written location rather than an electronic one, this confusion wouldn’t have happened. From then on, I was in constant contact with the tour guide. There were no signs or businesses where I was, so it took awhile to find my location which was in a place the bus couldn’t go. The tour guide had to call a taxi for me. The first taxi couldn’t find the location. (The location is an enormous famous gate to the city, and I stood right under it, but no taxi could be seen.) At this point the tour guide threatened to leave without me. Had this happened I would have called the police to help. (I would have also called my lawyer.) This situation could have been prevented by having the tour director keep track of everyone on the tour and by having printed directions and addresses for meeting points. I suggest that Viator review its relationship with Tramvia Napoli and assess their level of responsibility for tour participants. I should note that the scenery on this trip is lovely and the towns are interesting.
Thank you for this detailed review. We sincerely apologize for the distress and communication issues you experienced. Your safety and comfort are our top priorities. We take your feedback seriously, especially regarding the need for printed directions, clearer meeting points, and better support for slow walkers in areas with poor phone signal. We will thoroughly review these aspects with our team to prevent future issues. We hope to welcome you back for a seamless experience.
This was a fantastic day trip from Florence to Siena and San Gimignano. Our tour guide Andrea was fantastic, sharing fascinating stories about each place we visited. Having free time in both cities was a real treat. I highly recommend this tour to everyone.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are thrilled that you enjoyed the day trip to Siena and San Gimignano, and that Andrea's fascinating stories made your day special. It's great to hear you appreciated the free time, too. We hope to welcome you back for another tour soon!
This tour does exactly what it says - they take you to the two towns, give you a brief prior introduction to both places on the bus, set clear meeting times and places when to return to the bus, and leave you to explore by yourself. Perfect for us, not suitable if you want the services of a guide to tell you what you are looking at.
Thank you! You nailed exactly how our tour works: great organization, clear times, and total freedom to explore at your own pace. We are glad this independent format was the perfect fit for your trip. Hope to welcome you on board again!
What the guide tells you can be read online. They drop you off in the cities, and that's it. Comfortable bus.
Dear Customer, Thank you for sharing your feedback. As a company, we are always committed to offering the highest quality, and the well-being of our customers is our top priority. We would like to emphasize that our guides are consistently recognized for their utmost expertise and availability, working passionately to enrich the on-site experience well beyond generic information. Nevertheless, we remain attentive to all feedback to ensure our standards remain high. Best regards, Tramvia Team
A convenient way to visit two medieval towns. Sarah our tour guide provided us with sufficient information before arriving the towns and gave us enough time to explore on our own. She even WhatsApp us the links to the various sites that we should not miss and our meeting points. The coach was clean and we had a good driver. Overall, a fantastic day
We enjoyed seeing these two beautiful medieval towns at our own pace. Our guide provided us with a list of attractions we could visit if we chose and made sure we knew where and when to meet. The transportation was comfortable once we learned how to operate the air vents.
