Florence to Chianti without a car - where to go, where to stay and bus schedule

Z

Zara Arif

Member
Hi Lourdes !!

Omg im so glad I came across this. I'm travelling to Italy for the first time for my honeymoon and I've been stuck trying to plan out my days in Tuscany !! I will be travelling from Florence to Chianti. I really really want to see panzano in particularly. I know chianti seems to be the worse place to travel to without the car. but for some reason, it seems the most attractive countryside of tuscany for me.

I will let you know that I only have a day to do this. so the plan is to leave early in the morning from florence and take the bus down - i've read this much from your threads that i need to take the bus 365 from florence which takes you to other places first like greve and then to panzano. now. since i only have a day any suggestions on what particular areas to go ? can i do both greve and panzano in a day ? I'm looking to spend the night there. either greve or Panzano ... so we rest the night and leave for pisa or venice in the morning.

However, before booking a place - my concern is that till what time do the buses run in the evening ? can i spend a few hours in greve .. take the same bus to panzano .. and back in case im staying in greve ? i did look at the bus schedule you posted. but it seems so complicated since i dont know a word in italian. Also i couldnt figure out if every page has a month's schedule.

Please help me !!! :( So i can finish all my bookings. btw im travelling on 3rd nov.

Thanks !!
 
Just an idea

Buongiorno,

sounds like you are busy with last minute details!

I have two suggestions - the first is consider taking a private tour or a bike tour which will get you everywhere you want to go but not give YOU the hassle of organizing it, there are several fun opportunities even in November.

The second possibility is to look into renting a scoter when in Greve and do the 7 km trek to Panzano on the scooter. You can get to Greve by bus, pick a hotel there and use it as your base for going to Panzano.

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
First of all, I've just helped someone else try to decipher the bus schedule to Greve and back on this other post, so read that: http://www.discovertuscany.com/foru...etween-florence-greve.html?posted=1#post14363

If you only have the day and using public transport, you can get to both Greve and Panzano... and maybe walk around the countryside around the towns. You won't be able to go very far in general. Will you also have luggage with you?

So even if the bus works out as far as schedules, you could look into the vespa rental from Greve to roam around the countryside then... you could make it to Radda or Castellina, then on to San Donato in Poggio before making your way back to Greve.
This place in Greve does the rentals: www.ramuzzi.com/rent.php

Will you be spending some time in either San Gimignano or Siena?? those are must-sees and also perfect for a romantic setting :)
 
GREAT !! the thread for the bus schedule helps a lot !!!

I did check out the private tours and the bike tours … but we are trying to keep everything within budget. Since the hotels in Chianti for reason are costing us a lot booking this last minute.

Although, renting a scooter or even a bike sounds like a good idea. I think I will probably do that. And go around Greve and Panzano .. not sure how long of a ride that is. I’m an occasional biker but my Husband can bike all day with passion !!! Do I’ve enough time to go through all the places you metioned; “Greve to roam around the countryside then... you could make it to Radda or Castellina, then on to San Donato in Poggio before making your way back to Greve.” ???

Ahhh… I’ve seen the pictures of San gimignano or Siena… they look pretty awesome. Since, im staying the night at Greve, you think I can go visit San gimignano or Siena on my way to Pisa in a day ? is there an easy way to get there from Greve or Panzano ?

And yes we will have luggage with us. But it will probably just be back packs. We are going to be travelling as light as possible. Because we are hopping in between a lot of cities through Greece and Italy. If I find a place close to the bus stop .. I will probably drop it off before leaving to explore. It all depends on how the day goes in terms of time !

Zara.
 
The route I was describing is doable on a scooter, with 2 people on board one. Chianti is a lot of HILLS so maybe your husband would LOVE it by bike but you won't as much.... unless you're willing to sacrifice your legs and rear! ;-)

On bikes, I would suggest to take out Radda if you try it by bike.
So Greve - Panzano - Castellina - San Donato - Greve. It would be an all day thing, but a ring so you're not backtracking.

You most definitely cannot do Siena or San Gimignano ON YOUR WAY to Pisa the following day, unless you had your own means of transport. If you go for the rental scooter from Greve and keep it for the next day, you could try to go to S.G..... the thing is you need to take the bus to Florence from Greve to continue by train on to Pisa. There are no easy connections from Greve to either Siena or San Gimignano, unfortunately.

Realistically, Siena and SG are an all day trip, so I wouldn't suggest trying to fit them in unless you allocate an entire day to them. If only S.G., you could do the morning there, then return to Greve and proceed on to Florence.
 
Thank you so much Lourdes !! I will def make use of all my tips/suggestions that you've given me !
I actually ended up extending my stay in florence, i figured it is the middle point for everything. So it will be def much easier to make day trips to where ever I want to. It offers me a little bit more flexibility at this point.

Zara.
 
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