Minibus Rental Across Italy

Siena Coach Hire for Groups and Tour Leaders

Siena runs its coaches to the minute. Each permit gives a drop-off point and a time, the drop-off lasts 15 minutes at most, and afterwards there is exactly one place where a coach may wait.

Choose the right permit

Si.Ge.Ri.Co. manages the coach zone for the city, and entry is charged. An O permit is for an ordinary visit to the centre, with a set-down at the assigned point and time and parking at Il Fagiolone. A G permit is for places outside the centre and allows neither. Groups staying in Siena use H or P permits, which only the accommodation can request, at least a day before arrival.

The difference between H and P matters. An H permit lets the coach in only on the arrival and departure days, for people and luggage. Taking the group into the centre or out on day trips during the stay needs a P permit.

MAN 57-seat coach, exterior
MAN 57-seat coach, exterior

Four drop-off points

San Prospero, with 12 spaces by the Fortezza Medicea, puts the group closest to Piazza del Campo. San Marco, just beyond Porta San Marco, serves the Duomo side. Pescaia has 5 spaces and an escalator up to Via Cesare Battisti, and Amendola, by the Antiporto di Camollia, faces the escalator to the station. On school days from 12:00 to 14:00, school buses use some of these.

Online booking closes the day before arrival, and the permit is printed and shown before entering.

Airports for groups arriving in Siena

Stadiums and arenas a coach can reach

  • Stadio Artemio Franchi (Siena) — Football ground of Siena's club, beside the Fortezza Medicea; the San Prospero coach drop-off point is close by.

Coach day trips from Siena

  • Monteriggioni — about 18 km, about 35 min
  • Castellina in Chianti — about 25 km, about 50 min
  • Montalcino (Brunello) — about 40 km, about 1 h 20 min
  • Greve in Chianti — about 45 km, about 1 h 20 min
  • San Gimignano — about 45 km, about 1 h 10 min
  • Volterra — about 55 km, about 1 h 25 min
  • Montepulciano — about 64 km, about 1 h 20 min
  • Pienza (Val d'Orcia) — about 68 km, about 1 h 30 min
  • Cortona — about 69 km, about 1 h 20 min
  • Firenze — about 80 km, about 1 h 35 min
  • Orvieto — about 122 km, about 1 h 55 min
  • Pisa — about 127 km, about 2 h 35 min

Coach rules in Siena that shape the day

  • Siena has no airport of its own. Firenze airport (FLR) is about 87 km by road from Piazza del Campo, about 1 h 45 min by coach in light traffic; Pisa airport (PSA) is about 122 km, about 2 h 25 min. Journeys take longer at peak times.
  • Access to the tourist-coach ZTL of Siena is charged and needs a permit; the scheme is run for the city by Si.Ge.Ri.Co. S.p.A. Permits: O (ordinary, historic centre, with set-down at the assigned point at the time on the permit and parking at Il Fagiolone), P and H (groups staying in accommodation in Siena, requested only by the accommodation at least one day before arrival), G (general, for destinations outside the centre, no parking at Il Fagiolone and no set-down in the centre) and A (bought after entering the ZTL).
  • Online reservations (credit card) must be made at least one day before the group arrives; permits can also be bought at the Il Fagiolone check point. Rates differ by high season (16 February - 15 November) and low season (16 November - 15 February). Permits must be printed and displayed before entering the coach ZTL.
  • With an H permit the coach may enter the ZTL only on the arrival and departure days, at the time on the permit, to set down passengers and luggage; taking the group into the centre or on day trips needs a P permit.
  • Coach drop-off and pick-up points, maximum 15 minutes, only with the matching authorisation: San Prospero (12 spaces, in the Ex Campino di San Prospero car park near the Fortezza Medicea), Amendola (3 spaces, Piazza Giovanni Amendola by the Antiporto di Camollia, opposite the escalator to the railway station), San Marco (2 spaces, Piazzale Biringucci outside Porta San Marco, near the Siena Ovest exit) and Pescaia (5 spaces, upper Strada di Pescaia, with an escalator to Via Cesare Battisti).
  • Il Fagiolone (Strada di Pescaia, at the junction with Via Esterna di Fontebranda, easy to reach from the Siena Ovest exit) is the only area where tourist coaches may wait after setting passengers down: 70 coach spaces, open every day from 08:00 to 20:00, also the coach check point.
  • On school days from 12:00 to 14:00 some drop-off points are used by school buses; a free shuttle then runs between Il Fagiolone and the Fontebranda escalator.
  • Siena railway station (Piazza Rosselli) has regional trains to Firenze and Empoli; an escalator links the station area with Porta Camollia.
  • Under Article 142(3)(f) of the Codice della Strada (D.Lgs. 285/1992), buses and coaches with a maximum laden mass over 8 tonnes may drive at up to 100 km/h on motorways (autostrade) and up to 80 km/h on other roads outside built-up areas. Lower signed limits always apply.
  • Under Article 172(6) of the Codice della Strada, every occupant over three years old of a minibus or coach (vehicle categories M2 and M3) must wear the seat belt fitted to their seat while seated; passengers must be informed of this by signs or pictograms at each seat (Article 172(7)).
  • EU drivers' hours rules (Regulation (EC) No 561/2006) apply to coach drivers: at most 9 hours of driving a day (10 hours twice a week), a 45-minute break after 4.5 hours of driving and at least 11 hours of daily rest, recorded by the tachograph.
  • Most Italian motorways (autostrade) are tolled (pedaggio): the toll is paid at the toll stations or by electronic toll device, by vehicle class. Toll amounts are not given here.

Waiting at Il Fagiolone

Il Fagiolone, on Strada di Pescaia near the Siena Ovest exit, has 70 coach spaces and is open from 08:00 to 20:00. The Costone escalator from Via Esterna di Fontebranda links it with the Duomo area, so the group can walk back to the coach rather than wait at a drop-off point.

Hill towns and the Palio

Monteriggioni is about 35 minutes away, San Gimignano about 1 h 10 min, and Montalcino or Pienza in the Val d'Orcia around 1 h 20 to 1 h 30. The Palio is run on 2 July and 16 August and can move to the next day; on those days the Comune's rules apply, and the operator confirms the stopping point.

Questions organisers ask

Which airport serves Siena?

Siena has none. Florence Airport is about 87 km away, around 1 h 45 min by coach, and Pisa International Airport about 122 km, around 2 h 25 min.

Can we buy the permit when we arrive?

Permits are sold at the Il Fagiolone check point too, but an online booking must be made at least a day before arrival. Booking ahead keeps the drop-off time you want.

Is the Chianti a half day from Siena?

Castellina in Chianti is about 50 minutes away, so a half day works. Greve is about 1 h 20 min, better as part of a full day towards Florence.

Other group trips we arrange

Vehicles with a driver