Chianti without a car

As a visitor to Tuscany you might have any of several reasons to not want to hire your own car to explore the province - you might not have a driving licence, you might be apprehensive about facing traffic in unfamiliar surroundings, you might want to be without a car on a single day when you plan to go wine tasting, you might wish to economise. So what are the alternatives?

1) Stay put and make short excursions on foot
2) Use public transport
3) Rove around the countryside on a bicycle
4) Hire a car with driver/guide when needed
5) All of the above.

1) Stay put and explore your area on foot

For those who would like to spend their vacation within walking distance of shops and restaurants and yet be able to go for a ramble through vineyards and olive orchards, the ideal option is a self-catering vacation apartment in a small town or village that can be accessed by public transport. Here are some possibilities in and near Greve in Chianti, the market town of the Chianti Classico wine zone.

• On or near Piazza Matteotti, within Greve in Chianti:

Bed and Breakfast vacation accommodations in Greve in Chianti

Bed & Breakfast "Nella Piazza" offers three large and comfortable vacation rooms for 2 or 3 persons. We are located on the second floor looking out directly onto the main piazza of Greve. Behind the house is our quiet terrace where our guests may have their breakfast and relax at any time of the day. A well-equipped kitchen is also available for those who wish to have their dinner at home. More about Chianti Bed and Breakfast "Nella Piazza".

Apartment "Saverio" is a large and comfortable vacation apartment for 4 (+2) persons located on the first floor looking out directly onto the main piazza of Greve. It has a huge terrace overlooking the piazza, a double room and a twin room, a well-equipped kitchen plus a beautiful sitting room and two bathrooms. More about Chianti vacation apartment "Saverio".

La Casina self-catering holiday apartment

La Casina is an apartment for 2 (+1) persons situated two minutes walk away from Piazza Matteotti. It has a double bedroom, a living room with sofa bed, a kitchen, a bathroom and a terrace area for al fresco eating and relaxation, a spacious private garden and off-road parking. More about Chianti holiday apartment La Casina.

	Vacation Apartments "Alessandro" in Greve in Chianti consists of two modern apartments for 2 (+2) and 4 (+2) persons within a 15 minute walk of the main piazza of Greve in Chianti and of the Greve to Florence bus stop. There is a large terrace suitable for dining in the open air and we offer special menus for our guests at our pizzeria, "La Cantina". More about Chianti Vacation Apartments "Alessandro".

	"Casa Conti" holiday home sleeps 2 to 4 persons (one double room, one room with two single beds) and there is a fully-equipped kitchen-dining room opening onto the small garden in the front of the house, and a modern bathroom with shower. The bedrooms open onto a paved courtyard behind the house, equipped with table and chairs, and ideal for outdoor dining. This attractive semi-detached holiday home is situated a short walk from the main piazza of Greve (10 minutes on foot) and the bus stop for Florence (one hour away). More about "Casa Conti" holiday home in Chianti.

	Appartamento "Monica" accommodates 2 to 4 (+2) persons and is located one minute from Piazza Matteotti. Our guests have use of a terrace overlooking the via Roma, the small shopping street that opens off the piazza and the bus stop for Florence is 5 minutes walk away. The apartment has been recently restored, is spacious and is very quiet. There are two bedrooms - one double and one twin - and two modern bathrooms. More about vacation apartment Greve in Chianti "Monica".

	"Casina di Lu" is a holiday apartment for 2 (+1) persons that offers a kitchen-dining room, an open living room, a large double bedroom and a modern bathroom. Our vacation accommodation is located just a one minute walk from the main square of Greve in Chianti and the same distance from the stop for the bus to Florence. More about "Casina di Lu" selfcatering vacation apartment in Chianti.

	"Chianti Rooms" Bed & Breakfast offers two double rooms with en suite bathrooms, located an easy walk from the main piazza of Greve in Chianti, and only 300 m from a Florence bus stop. Bicycle rental and the Greve public swimming pool are just a few minutes away on foot. Our guests have access to our large garden and we are open throughout the year. More about "Chianti Rooms" Bed & Breakfast holiday rooms.

	The tiny hamlet of Montebeni is within easy walking distance of the main piazza of Greve in Chianti and of the stop for buses to and from Florence. We offer three, newly-renovated, vacation apartments for 2, 3 and 5 persons. The apartments are fully-equipped and have spacious, modern bathrooms. The elevated location provides fine views and cool breezes in summer. More about Montebeni Tuscany Vacation Apartments.

	Town Apartment and B&B Rooms - terrace and garden (in Greve in Chianti) "Casa Montechiari" vacation apartment and B&B rooms for 2 to 4 (+2) persons is located right on the outskirts of Greve in Chianti. Our front door opens onto a quiet urban street while our terrace and garden look out over the surrounding vineyards to the Chianti hills. Stay at Casa Montechiari and enjoy the tranquility and fresh air of the countryside together with the convenience of town. The Greve swimming pool and the bus stop for the SITA bus to Florence are just 5 minutes from our door. More about "Casa Montechiari" vacation apartment and B&B rooms.

	Town Apartment - air conditioned (in Greve) "Appartamento dell'Arco" is an air-conditioned vacation apartment for 4 (+1) persons located on a quiet lane just a few steps from Piazza Matteotti. It includes two double bedrooms plus a single sofa bed, a modern kitchen-dining room, a comfortable living room and a bathroom with shower. The bus stop for Florence and Panzano is two minutes walk away and there is free parking about 100 m away. More about "Appartamento dell'Arco".

• In Montefioralle

Montefioralle is an ancient walled village rated one of the most beautiful villages in Italy and a 20 minute walk from Greve.

Casa Forese vacation rental - one of two apartments in a recently restored house at the foot of the walls of Montefioralle. It has a large, enclosed garden, an excellent location and a very reasonable price. Suitable for 2 adults and one or two children. More about Casa Forese.

• In Panzano in Chianti, Panzano is 10 minutes past Greve more or less at the end of the SITA bus line, is a quiet Tuscan hill town with restaurants, including the SOLOCICCIA ("Only Meat")owned by Dario Cecchini, an extravert butcher famous throughout Italy. Panzano is know for it annual festivals, including a good wine festival.

	Hotel Villa Sangiovese is a family-run hotel and restaurant located in an 18th century villa fronting onto the small village square of Panzano in Chianti within a few steps of the SITA bus stop. Villa Sangiovese is unique in opening onto a small Tuscan piazza in front, while still preserving a courtyard and large terraced garden with pool and country panoramas on the other side. The hotel has its own restaurant. More about Hotel Villa Sangiovese.

	Apartment La Campana is a large second floor apartment for 4 (+2) persons, located in Panzano in Chianti. It has two double bedrooms, a large open kitchen and a large adjoining dining and living room with a fireplace and foldout sofabed. The private terrace offers panoramic views over the Conca d'Oro valley below Panzano. Shops, restaurants and public transport are within 2 to 5 minutes walk. Florence is one hour away by comfortable bus. More about Apartment La Campana.

	At Holiday Chianti House, English-speaking Sergio Sieni offers comfortable double and triple rooms with private bath in an attractive house near the bus stop for the bus to and from Florence. These rooms are very cool during summer and there are tables and chairs in the garden where you can eat picnic lunches and dinners and enjoy a bottle of wine. More about Holiday Chianti House.

	Agriturismo "La Marcellina" originated in the late mediaeval period as an outlying watchtower for the castle of Panzano. Over the centuries, it was transformed into a farmhouse and is now a winery located just half a mile from Panzano in Chianti, half-way between Florence and Siena. We offer two fully-equipped holiday apartments for 2 (+1) and 2 (+2) persons. The apartments can also be rented as a single linked unit. More about "La Marcellina" Chianti winery vacation apartments.

• Near Florence Within walking distance of Impruneta, in the countryside and yet within a 20 minute bus ride of central Florence - have your cake and eat it too. It doesn't come much better than this!
	Podere Capiteto vacation accommodation provides farm house accommodations just 3 km from Impruneta. We offer three vacation apartments for 2 (+1) persons plus a large swimming pool for our guests. Horses may be hired from the neighbouring property for horseback excursions in Chianti wine country around us. Be able to visit the museums of Florence while staying high up in the cool and quiet Chianti hills. More about Agriturismo Podere Capiteto farmhouse accommodation near Florence

• On the Florence City Bus Line The bus stop at San Polo in Chianti in the Chianti hills is serviced by both the SITA pullman service from Florence, and the ATAF Florence city buses (number 49).

	Podere Albereto is located deep in the Chianti countryside 2 km from San Polo, on a private road far from any traffic noise. It offers two apartments for 5 and 2 (+1) persons, swimming pool, with a panoramic views from the grassy terrace. The farm is completely surrounded with olive trees, vineyards and forest. Barbecue and gazebo provided. Time from central Florence by SITA bus, 45 minutes. More about Podere Albereto Chianti holiday apartments.

2) Public transport in Tuscany - trains, buses and taxis

• Train

For Tuscany train timetables, please consult the Trenitalia web site. The train routes most useful to tourists are between Pisa and Florence, between Florence and Siena, and between Florence and Lucca. There is a station very near Pisa Airport for travel to Florence.

However, the SITA express bus (see below) might be preferable to the Florence to Siena train because it's a fairly stiff hike from the train station to the centre of Siena, while the bus stop is only a short walk away from the main sites. Local buses do run from Siena railway station to the town centre.

Check your train arrival times or journey durations carefully. There are fast trains that depart after certain local trains but arrive sooner.

There is a steam engine route, the Treno Natura, running Siena-Asciano-Monte Antico-Siena through the Val d'Orcia (which of course is in Tuscany but not Chianti), with three departures from Siena daily but possibly not all using the steam engine. (8:30, 11:15 and 15:45 - check the times, please). There is also a diesel rail car on this route. Reservations required. Highly recommended - costs quite a bit but children 10 and younger travel for free.

Click here for more information about the Treno Natura

• Bus

There are extensive networks of comfortable Pullman buses throughout Tuscany but they have their limitations. Their purpose is to serve local people going to and from work and school, and their timetables reflect this, with few if any routes running after 7 or 8 at night, and long hiatuses during parts of the day. The timetables differ markedly between working days (Monday to Saturday), working days excluding Saturday, and Sunday and holidays. Timetables may also change for long school holidays. It is therefore a very good idea to print out and study the relevant timetables before you leave. The bus web sites usually provide pdf files for this purpose.

In addition, these routes are province-based with numerous buses fanning out from provincial capitals such as Florence and Siena, but with far fewer passing from one province to another. So for example, Panzano is located in the Province of Florence on Highway 222, exactly half-way between Florence and Siena, and yet to travel by bus from Panzano to Siena one must take the bus to Florence and then the express bus from Florence to Siena via the motorway.

Nevertheless, these buses can be extremely useful. You can be staying in a country apartment with a swimming pool that has a bus stop within half a mile or much less, so that it is entirely practical to spend a day in your nearest provincial capital while enjoying country life. Some famous wine tasting locales (for example, Vicchiomaggio) are just a few yards from a SITA bus stop.

Tickets can be bought on board the bus but there is often a surcharge and the driver might not have the ticket denomination you require and/or change. Normal practice is to buy enough tickets to come and go at the bus station ticket office or at the bar nearest to your stop. When you first enter the bus, be sure to validate your ticket by clicking it in the machine just behind the driver. Large bags, bicycles etc can be stowed in the boot (trunk) under the passenger compartment of the bus.

City buses also penetrate far into the countryside. For example, Impruneta is served not only by SITA and CAP buses but also by Florence city ATAF buses.

SITA Autobus

Here are some but by no means all useful Tuscany bus web sites:

SITA covering the following zones (look for Orari - timetables. Linee Urbane are inside towns and nearby, Linee Extraurbane go far into the countryside)
- Zona Mugello e Valdisieve   MAP
- Zona Chianti e Valdarno   MAP
- Zona Montespertoli, Empoli, Certaldo, Castelfiorentino, Montaione
- Linea Firenze-Siena
- Linea Firenze-Bibbiena
- Zona Casentino, Valdarno Aretino e Valtiberina (including Arezzo)   MAP

There is an EXTREMELY USEFUL route generator based around Siena at www.busfox.com/timetable/ Note that this generator might not show the shortest route because it is Siena-centred. Try Firenze ---> Arezzo - there could well be direct buses from Florence to Arezzo.

CAP and other Lazzi services - Florence, Empoli, Prato, Pistoia, Lucca, Val d'Arno etc.

Click here for the "PIUBUS" route MAP.

CAP routes and timetables

ATAF - Florence city routes and nearby

RAMA timetables - Grosseto, Maremma, the remote country southwest of Siena

TRA-IN (this is a bus service, not the railways) - buses around Siena, Poggibonsi, Colle Val d'Elsa, Certaldo etc.

CLAP - Lucca, Via Reggio

• Taxi

Use of a taxi to transport you to your agriturismo is a fairly expensive option, but not excessively so in most cases because it can be extremely convenient. For example, the fare from Florence to Greve in Chianti is about 60 to 65 Euros - the same route is a one hour bus ride. Note that this is double fare because you pay for the driver to return empty to his base. Most taxi meters can be clicked to double rate so that you pay what you see on the meter. It's important that you have a good idea (preferably a map) of where you want to go because drivers are not unnaturally reluctant to drive through country lanes searching for a vaguely defined objective. Many rural addresses are in the form "Case Sparse numero xx" or "Loc. xxxxxxx" and only the postman knows what that means.

An alternative to a normal taxi is a taxi with an NCC licence. This means that the driver is allowed to quote a fixed price beforehand and these drivers often have very extensive experience of country roads and agriturismi. Arrangements to be picked up can be made before you leave home.

Don't disregard the NCC option - often the price for transport for your family and all of your gear directly from the airport or station to your country accommodations will cost not much more than a combination of trains, buses and local taxi, but will be much quicker, more comfortable and with less risk of leaving a bag somewhere.

We recommend Pasquale Pugliese's Chianti transfer service.

3) Bicycling in Tuscany

Tuscany is a bikers' paradise as witnessed by the brightly-costumed, very fit-looking, Italian men on racing bikes streaming at high speed through the countryside every sunny weekend, much like shoals of tropical fish with a shark on their tail. Some parts of Tuscany, notably Chianti, are hilly and might not be ideal for the athletically-challenged but many areas have long flat stretches and gentle slopes. Racing bikes are universally popular in Italy but there's no reason not to use an ordinary road bike, and mountain bikes are often available from your accommodation for modest or no cost. There are also bicycle shops here and there where you can rent your transport.

Bicycling in Tuscany

Some tourists join organised bicycle tours but this is by no means essential. Many excellent do-it-yourself bicycling guide books with maps and detailed route descriptions are available. Some of them are listed on the Greve in Chianti web site bicycling page. The Florence-Impruneta-Florence circuit is described here.

Here's a great place to stay while on a Chianti bike tour!

	The Ristoro di Lucarelli offers quiet, clean and comfortable rooms with their own bathrooms for one, two or three persons. As its name suggests, the Ristoro also has a restaurant and a bar. It is ideally located on the country road that joins Panzano with Radda and Gaiole, and the Chianti Castles routes. More about Ristoro di Lucarelli.
And while cycling in the Alta Maremma SW of Sienna . . .
	The densely forested area of the Alta Maremma provides endless wonderful bicycling circuits. Wild animals and the large carnivorous birds are much more readily observed here than in more populated parts of Tuscany, and the villages and towns are truly "authentic". If you want to see old style Tuscany, this is the area. And from here you can cycle down to the Maremma itself and visit the huge wild-life reserve there as well as go to the beach. Casa Reasco offers two commodious self-catering apartments in the village of Torniella, with extra rooms providing accommodation for GROUPS OF UP TO 12 PERSONS. Ideal for families travelling together and for bicycle and motorbike tour groups. The ruined Abbey of San Galgano is within easy riding distance. The apartments and some additional rooms can also be rented together if you have a largish bicycling group. The prices can't be beat! More about Casa Reasco.

4) Car or minibus with driver/guide

Although this costs a bit of money, an ideal way to explore Tuscany is to hire a licensed driver who also provides the car or minibus. This is especially useful if you are a group of four or more, up to about eight. The vehicles are modern, comfortable, clean and air-conditioned. If they aren't, you're dealing with the wrong company.

Be sure to distinguish between a taxi driver, a licensed fixed-rate taxi driver and a driver who is also a licensed tour guide.

• A taxi driver is used for fairly short routes or at least for a journey to a single destination, and he will charge exactly what his meter shows (double fare for a long trip where he is obliged to return empty).

• A driver who is appropriately licensed (NCC) may offer a fixed rate for an entire tour lasting an agreed amount of time and not extending beyond an agreed territory.

• If you also wish to be guided around the sights, you should use a driver who has a tour guide license - that allows him to enter buildings with you. It's also possible to hire an NCC driver plus a licensed tour guide, but this is normally the option for a full-sized bus rather than a minibus.

All three of these categories are permitted to enter the traffic-limited inner city areas in Florence and elsewhere that are closed to outside traffic.

Our recommendations:


	Giovanni Sirabella minibus tours Giovanni Sirabella is a licensed, English-speaking Tuscany tour guide and driver whose minibuses can carry up to 8 passengers. His Sunflower Tours specialises in shore-excursions for cruise ship passengers arriving at Livorno, and in wine and art tours throughout Tuscany. More about Giovanni and Sunflower Cruise Ship Shore Excursions from Livorno.

	Angela Saltafuori minibus tours Angie is a licensed, English-speaking Tuscany tour guide and driver who provides transport for groups of up to 8 passengers in an air-conditioned minibus. She holds a sommelier certificate and has an excellent knowledge of the highways and byways of Chianti. More about Angela, your wine tour guide in Tuscany.

	Sergio Ceccherini minibus tours Sergio is a licensed, English-speaking Tuscany tour guide and driver who provides transport for groups of up to 7 passengers in an air-conditioned minibus. Sergio's tours include wine tasting in different areas of Tuscany as well as sightseeing tours with great photographic opportunities. In addition he offers a comprehensive list of intercity transfers which can also include sightseeing along the way. More about Sergio's scenic wine tours in Tuscany.

	Pasquale Pugliese, minibus taxi service Pasquale holds an NCC taxi license which means he can quote fixed prices for tours and transfers ahead of time. He specialises in transfers between airports and railway stations to agriturismi in Chianti and shopping excursions to the famous discount fashion outlets near Florence. More about Pasquale's fixed price taxi and tour service.


	Transfers and Excursions anywhere in peninsular Italy. Autonoleggio Il Cassero Sandra Talluri specialises in long-distance transfers between airports in Italy and anywhere in Tuscany. In addition, she does tours within the Chianti region. Minibuses for 8 passengers as well as larger buses are available. The eight-person minibuses are extremely comfortable, recent model Renault Trafic and Lancia Fedra vehicles. More about Autonoleggio Il Cassero minibus transfers.