Florence Plus Tuscany in 5 Days on a Budget
5 Days: Florence as a Base, Four Day Trips, Still No Car
This plan uses Florence as a sleeping base for four day trips, Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano and Lucca, and none of them need a car. It extends the 4 day version with Lucca’s walled old town. Only the 6 day and 7 day versions of this itinerary add a rental car, for Chianti and Val d’Orcia.
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 four day trips below start from that station.
- A combined Siena and San Gimignano day tour, if you would rather skip managing the train-plus-bus connection: 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 |
| 5 | Lucca | 1-1.5h by train |
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 below 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. 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. Plan on 1.5 to 2 hours door to door either way. The medieval towers take only a few hours to see on foot, which makes the transfer the real cost of this day. If that sounds like too much hassle for one town, the combined tour above folds it into a single booked day.
Day 5: Lucca, the relaxed one
Lucca runs about 10 euros one way and 1 to 1.5 hours by train, with frequent departures. Its Renaissance-era walls are intact and walkable, or rentable by bike for the full loop around the old town. This is the gentlest day on the itinerary by design: no queue to plan around, no timed ticket, just a walled town at a slower pace than Siena or Pisa. Treat it as a half day if the earlier legs left you tired, or stretch it into a full one before heading back to Florence for a last dinner.
Do any of these day trips need a rental car?
No, not on this 5 day version. Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano and Lucca all run on scheduled trains and buses, and a car adds cost and ZTL risk without saving meaningful time on any of them. The car only earns its keep once Chianti or Val d’Orcia enter the plan, in the 6 day and 7 day versions.
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 settle the rest of that day’s plan before locking in a time.
Is Lucca worth adding over a rest day?
If your feet can take a fourth day trip, yes: Lucca is the lowest-effort town on this list, flat, walled and easy, closer to a stroll than a sightseeing push. If four straight day trips by day 5 sounds like too much, swap Lucca for a genuine rest day in Florence instead; nothing about this itinerary requires all four to happen back to back.
Buy each day’s regional train ticket that morning, not in advance: fares are fixed with no advance-purchase discount, so there is nothing to gain by committing to a departure time before the day itself.