Minibus Rental Across Italy

Coach and Driver for Groups in Assisi

Coaches never enter the walls of Assisi. The question for the organiser is which coach park to use, because the town is long and steep and its two great basilicas sit at opposite ends.

Pick the coach park by the first visit

For the Basilica di San Francesco, use Piazza Giovanni Paolo II or Ponte San Vetturino. For Santa Chiara and San Rufino, use Porta Nuova or Piazza Matteotti. Piazza Giovanni Paolo II is for loading and unloading; a coach staying longer moves on to another park.

A sensible order is to set down at the San Francesco end, walk through the town by Piazza del Comune, and board again by Santa Chiara. Expect steep, paved streets, so allow time for the walk and warn anyone who finds slopes hard.

Full-size coach interior with reclining seats and aisle
Full-size coach interior with reclining seats and aisle

Tickets and booking

The parks round the walls are paid, and coaches let passengers on and off only there. A daily coach access ticket applies. Booking and payment can be done online in advance, which saves time on arrival.

Trains stop down in Santa Maria degli Angeli, roughly 5 km below the old town, on the Foligno–Perugia line. The town's tourist portal also lists a coach area there, handy for groups visiting the Porziuncola.

Airports for groups arriving in Assisi

Coach day trips from Assisi

  • Santa Maria degli Angeli — about 5 km, about 15 min
  • Spello — about 15 km, about 25 min
  • Perugia — about 25 km, about 40 min
  • Montefalco (Sagrantino wine area) — about 30 km, about 45 min
  • Spoleto — about 48 km, about 1 h
  • Lago Trasimeno (Passignano) — about 50 km, about 1 h
  • Gubbio — about 51 km, about 1 h 10 min
  • Cortona — about 73 km, about 1 h 25 min
  • Cascata delle Marmore — about 77 km, about 1 h 40 min
  • Orvieto — about 92 km, about 1 h 55 min
  • Siena — about 132 km, about 2 h 15 min
  • Roma (Piazza Venezia) — about 189 km, about 3 h 5 min

Coach rules in Assisi that shape the day

  • The nearest airport is Perugia San Francesco d'Assisi (PEG), about 11 km by road (about 25 min). For international groups the usual gateways are Roma Fiumicino (FCO), about 215 km (about 3 h 10 min by coach), and Firenze (FLR), about 192 km (about 2 h 55 min).
  • Assisi station is in Santa Maria degli Angeli, in the plain about 5 km below the old town, on the Foligno-Perugia-Terontola line.
  • The old town of Assisi is a limited-traffic zone (ZTL) and coaches do not enter it. Coaches load and unload passengers only at the authorised paid coach parks around the walls and stay there or in another of them. Bookings and payment can be made online in advance; the coach access ticket is a daily one.
  • Which coach park: Piazza Giovanni Paolo II or Ponte San Vetturino for the Basilica di San Francesco; Porta Nuova or Piazza Matteotti for Santa Chiara and San Rufino. Piazza Giovanni Paolo II is used for loading and unloading; coaches that stay longer go to another coach park. The town tourist portal lists a coach area at Santa Maria degli Angeli station too.
  • The streets inside the walls are steep and paved. Allow time for the walk from the coach park, and plan the order of the visit (for example, drop at the Basilica di San Francesco end and pick up at the Santa Chiara end) with the coach parks in mind.
  • Big religious dates bring large crowds and traffic controls: the Feast of St Francis (3 and 4 October), the Perdono di Assisi at the Porziuncola (1 and 2 August), and Easter. Check the town's traffic plan for those days.

Inside the basilicas

The Basilica di San Francesco has an upper and a lower church, with Giotto's frescoes and the saint's tomb. Dress modestly and keep silence inside. Brief the group on the coach beforehand.

Santa Maria degli Angeli, down in the plain, is built over the small Porziuncola chapel. For a quieter afternoon there is San Damiano below the walls and, higher up Monte Subasio, the hermitage of the Eremo delle Carceri.

Feast days and longer trips

Expect crowds and road controls at Easter, on 1 and 2 August for the Perdono at the Porziuncola, and on 3 and 4 October when Assisi celebrates St Francis. The town publishes a traffic plan; read it before you fix times.

From Assisi, Perugia takes about 40 minutes and Spello about 25; Gubbio is about 1 h 10 min, Orvieto about 1 h 55 min. Siena is about 2 h 15 min, a long return day once the driver's rest stops are added.

Questions organisers ask

Which airport should we use for Assisi?

Perugia airport is the nearest, about 11 km away. International groups usually land at Rome Fiumicino, about 215 km and 3 h 10 min by coach, or Florence, about 192 km and 2 h 55 min.

Can a coach go from Rome to Assisi and back in a day?

It is about 189 km from Piazza Venezia, about 3 h 5 min each way. That fits, but EU rules allow 9 hours at the wheel a day and a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours, so ask the operator to plan the timings.

Can a pilgrim group be dropped near the basilica?

Yes, at Piazza Giovanni Paolo II or Ponte San Vetturino, both at the San Francesco end of town. The coach then waits in an authorised park.

Other group trips we arrange

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