Florence Plus Tuscany in 4 Days on a Budget
4 Days: Florence as a Base, Three Day Trips by Train and Bus
This plan uses Florence as a sleeping base for three day trips, all reachable without a car: Siena, Pisa and San Gimignano. It extends the 3 day version with one more train-and-bus day trip; go to the 5 day , 6 day or 7 day version if you also want Lucca or a car day into Chianti.
Book these before you go
- Pisa tower ticket on opapisa.it : the only source that will not mark up the 20 euro face price, and peak-season slots sell out within hours.
- A hotel within walking distance of Firenze Santa Maria Novella: compare rates on Booking.com . All three day trips below start from that station.
- A combined Siena and San Gimignano day tour, if the train-plus-bus connection to San Gimignano sounds like too much hassle for one town: check availability on GetYourGuide .
The route at a glance
| Day | Focus | Distance/time from SMN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrive and get oriented | - |
| 2 | Siena, full day | 1h20-1h30 by train |
| 3 | Pisa, half day | about 1h by train |
| 4 | San Gimignano | 1.5-2h door to door |
Day 1: Arrive and get oriented near the station
Land at Florence airport, or at Firenze Santa Maria Novella (SMN) itself if arriving by train. SMN is the station every day trip in this itinerary starts from, so use today to find your bearings around it: locate the regional departure platforms, pick up tram or bus tickets from a tabaccheria (or check fares on Autolinee Toscane ) if needed, and settle into a place to sleep within easy walking distance. Keep sightseeing light today; the deep in-city plan lives in our full Florence guide , for a day you are not racing a morning train. An early night sets up tomorrow’s departure.
Day 2: Siena, the strongest single day trip
Catch a mid-morning regional train to Siena: about 10 euros one way, 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes despite the short 50km distance, since no high speed line connects the two cities. Spend the day at Piazza del Campo (free), the striped Duomo exterior (free), and, if you want the view, a separate paid ticket up the Torre del Mangia. Pack lunch from a Florence market, or budget for a Sienese trattoria and its coperto, a legal per-person cover charge of 1 to 5 euros that is easy to miss until the bill lands. Catch a train back before the evening service thins out.
Day 3: Pisa, in half a day
Pisa runs about 1 hour by regional train, 8 to 13.50 euros depending on the service. The Leaning Tower sits inside Piazza dei Miracoli with the cathedral and baptistery; book the official tower ticket on opapisa.it (see above) up to 90 days ahead, since peak-season slots sell out within hours, and kids under 8 cannot climb at all. Photograph the tower and the piazza, decide for yourself whether the climb is worth the queue, and be back in Florence by mid afternoon.
Day 4: San Gimignano, the slow connection
San Gimignano has no station of its own, so budget more time than money: a regional train to Poggibonsi (about 1 hour, roughly 7.90 euros) then bus 130 (20 to 30 minutes), or the combined ticket for about 6.80 euros one way (13.60 euros return) covering the whole route. Either way, plan on 1.5 to 2 hours door to door. The medieval towers themselves take only a few hours to see, which makes the transfer the real cost of this day, not the ticket price. If the connection sounds like too much hassle for one town, the combined Siena and San Gimignano tour above folds the transfer into a single booked day instead.
Do any of these day trips need a rental car?
No. Siena, Pisa and San Gimignano all run on scheduled trains and buses, and a car adds cost and ZTL risk without saving time on any of the three. The car only earns its keep once Chianti or Val d’Orcia enter the plan, which happens in the 6 day and 7 day versions of this itinerary.
How far ahead should I book the Pisa tower ticket?
As soon as your Florence dates are fixed. Opapisa.it opens bookings up to 90 days ahead, and peak summer slots can sell out within hours of release. A booked slot cannot be changed, so confirm the rest of the day’s plan before you lock in a time.
Is San Gimignano worth the transfer hassle?
Yes, if you pair it with something else on the same day, and less so as a stand-alone trip. The town itself is small enough to see in a few hours, so the 1.5 to 2 hour door-to-door transfer is the real cost of the day. Pairing it with Siena, either on your own by adjusting the train route or through the combined tour above, spreads that transfer cost across two towns instead of one.
Buy each day’s regional train ticket that morning, not in advance: fares are fixed with no advance-purchase discount, so there is no reason to commit to a departure time before the day itself.