Italy Trip Review: Siena, Florence, Tuscany, Cinque Terre, Boat Cruise to Portofino, San Gimignano, Umbira, Lake Como, Wine Tours

We would NEVER do the train again. It was difficult, crowded, one train was late...we had to run from track 1 to track 29 to catch connection...had to get on the wrong car as the train was pulling out...we had no idea that you had to put your luggage overhead...I could not do by myself..plus getting down the aisle with it was impossible....
Travel agent had us go to Siena to catch train into Florence...we found there was a train station much closer to where we were staying plus a smaller town so it would have been easier driving in...we ended up hiring someone to drive into Siena and coming back at 10:00 p.m. that night to pick us up..the road was curvy and dark and we obviously were unfamiliar with it. it was quite expensive......
I think the travel agent did a poor job in communicating the difficulties in train travel....

Travel Company's Comments

Dear Pamella,

We are glad to hear you had a good time at Fontanaro during the wine tour. We understand you really liked this property, and there are so many nice ones to choose from. It sounds like you enjoyed the property where you stayed in Gaiole, Castello di Spaltenna. We will keep your recommendation in mind. Please know that the all transfer and other services are usually charged separately by the properties when they offer them.

Regarding the train, sorry to hear you found the experience difficult. In our confirmation pdf, we mention you have to carry your own luggage and that there are no porters and recommend to travel light.  We will make sure to make this even more clear to our future clients.

Regarding the train station transfer, the closest train station to Spaltenna is called Montevarchi and it is about 21 km from Spaltenna and not many connections here as it is a minor train station.  Siena is 25 km from Spaltenna and had the best connection to Florence, where you wanted to stay late for dinner, and that's why we recommended that train station. There are no trains from Florence to Montevarchi late at night, only from Florence to Siena.

Thank you for your comment on driving at night; we will be clearer with future clients.

Kindest regards,

Founder & CEO