itinerary for 9 hours from Livorno

[Yanni-Tati]

Ciao!

Congratulations on the wonderful job you are doing in this forum.
I have been watching you for a while. I need your assistance at this point.
We are newly weds arriving at Livorno on 17th August on a cruise. We won' t have more than 9 hours to go around.
We have both been to Pisa, so we will skip it. We are thinking to go to Siena and St. Gimignano (I have been there before and I want to show these places to my husband). Ideally we would like to visit another nice village and do a wine tasting (we are open to suggestions). Is this possible? If not, we can keep either Siena or St. gimgnano and add some other places in between.
Now, is it better to rent a car for this or can we use the train?
Which place would you suggest for wine tasting ? (maybe we could combine it with lunch).
I have seen the map, but unfortunately I cannot figure out how long it will take us from one place to another.
I highly appreciate any opinions and advice about our trip.
Thank you in advance!

 

[Elena]

Tuscan Itinerary from Livorno to Siena

Ciao and welcome to our Forum!

First of all congratulations for your wedding
A visit to Tuscany is perfect for a great honeymoon and a cruise is fantastic!

Livorno is a very nice city so you may also enjoy a brief walk through the city center with a visit to the ancient Medicean port and fortress.

As you will have a very limited time to go around, I suggest you rent a car, so to save time without being too much in a hurry.
San Gimignano is on top of a hill and reaching it using public transport (train+bus) will take a lot of time, the same to reach Siena.
You will find information on car rentals at this link, and here some useful notes on getting around Tuscany by car.

Consider that the journey from Livorno to Siena will take around 2 hours and half in total.
From Livorno you should take the SGC Highway or Fi-Pi-Li, the main road leading to Florence, and take the exit at Pontedera-Ponsacco.
You'll find it very pleasing driving along this route to Siena, it winds through scenic country roads amidst charming Tuscan landscapes.
On your way to San Gimignano, you’ll meet Volterra, a beautiful medieval village set on a rocky promontory with splendid views, that I highly recommend visiting.
Then you can proceed to reach San Gimignano and its scenic towers, and finally head on to Siena.

Of course much depends on how much time you’ll spend in each town, so, in case you see time is lacking, skip Volterra and soon head to San Gimignano and Siena.

Here you’ll find a map of the Tuscan itinerary I’ve just suggested.

As to wine tasting, along the route you'll meet really many wineries, so you can just stop and taste!
In San Gimignano and Siena, however, you’ll find a lot of shops, where you can also do wine tastings and try other delicious typical products, such as cheese and olive oil.

Feel free to post again for any additional request or suggestion.

Enjoy your trip to Italy and your Tuscan itinerary

Ciao from Tuscany!