Coach & Minibus Hire in Italy

Florence and Tuscany with Your Own Minibus

Florence is a walking city that a minibus can frame beautifully: a morning drop near the David, a day on foot across the centre, and a pick-up at the best viewpoint in town. Getting there means knowing a few local rules first.

One permit, the whole city

Florence's ZTL for buses is much wider than the one for cars: it takes in every built-up street, Galluzzo too, at any hour. A tourist minibus or coach needs its permit before it enters, and since 2020 permits are issued only online, with the old check points closed. Some types need documents uploaded at least three days ahead, so it pays to book early.

If your group stays several nights and wants the vehicle on hand throughout, the H permit is designed for that. School groups have their own S and T types. The company Servizi alla Strada handles all of this on the city's behalf.

Sprinter minibus cabin
Sprinter minibus cabin

A simple loop for the day

The historic centre inside the ring of viali is closed to buses except on set routes to the official stops. Piazza Savonarola is a five-minute set-down point, open 08:00 to 20:00, close to the Accademia; pick-up there is never allowed. So start at Savonarola, walk to the Duomo, the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio, cross into the Oltrarno for Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, then climb to Piazzale Michelangelo.

Piazzale Michelangelo works for both setting down and picking up, at any hour, for up to 20 minutes. Your driver can wait nearby at Piazzale Galileo during the day. It makes a gentle end: the whole city below you before the ride back.

Flying in to Florence

Stops worth making in Florence

  • Palazzo Pitti and Giardino di Boboli — In the Oltrarno sector of the historic centre, where only some coach permits may pass; groups usually walk from the centre or from Piazzale Michelangelo.
  • Galleria dell'Accademia (David) — North of the Duomo; Piazza Savonarola is the nearest coach set-down point.
  • Duomo, Battistero, Galleria degli Uffizi and Ponte Vecchio — Inside the historic centre, which coaches cannot enter except on the routes to the official stops. The nearest stops are Piazza Fra' Girolamo Savonarola (set-down only, 08:00-20:00, maximum 5 minutes) and Piazza Vittorio Veneto (set-down and pick-up).
  • Piazzale Michelangelo — Coach stop for setting down and picking up (maximum 20 minutes, 00:00-24:00), reached only from Viale Galileo and Viale Michelangiolo. Piazzale Galileo nearby is a coach parking area (08:00-20:00).

Easy pickup points

  • Fiesole (hills)
  • Novoli / Peretola (airport area)
  • Campo di Marte
  • Oltrarno / Pitti
  • Santa Croce
  • San Lorenzo / Fortezza da Basso
  • Santa Maria Novella station
  • Duomo / Centro Storico

Chianti, hill towns and the coast

Greve in Chianti is only about 40 minutes away, Vinci about an hour, San Gimignano about 1 h 20 min. Lucca and Arezzo are each around 1 h 15 min. Siena takes about 1 h 35 min and Pisa about 1 h 40 min, while Montepulciano and Montalcino make wine days of nearly two hours or more each way. Tastings are for passengers only: the driver works under a zero alcohol limit.

For the Cinque Terre, the minibus goes as far as La Spezia, about 2 h 20 min away, and the villages are reached by train or boat from there.

What travellers ask us

How far is Florence airport?

Peretola's Amerigo Vespucci airport lies roughly 10 km out, a 25-minute run to the Duomo. Pisa airport is about 85 km, roughly 1 h 40 min. The T2 tram also links Peretola with Santa Maria Novella.

Can we be picked up at Piazza Savonarola?

No. It is for setting down only, for five minutes at most. Piazzale Michelangelo and Piazza Vittorio Veneto handle both drop-off and pick-up.

Is the parking by the stadium always available?

No. The area on Piazzale Campioni del '56 next to the Artemio Franchi is closed during matches and other stadium events, so the driver uses another listed area on those days.

More trips we arrange

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