Hello. I am planning a day trip to Saturnia in end of April. Need advice on how long and difficult is the driving to/from Saturnia.

I planned to start from Siena at noon, spend an hour in San Galgano, head down to Saturnia, and spend the night there.

Visit the cascaded falls and spa in the morning, stop by Pitigliano for a few hours in the afternoon, and drive down to Rome at around 7pm.

Will this itinerary works? I heard that the road to/from Saturnia is windy and like to seek advice for planning. I found discussions about the Terme and how to get there but get no idea about the drive to town.

I would skip San Galgano because you are going out of your way there. From Siena, you can take the SS2 straight down thru Tuscany, maybe stopping at a town along the way (Montalcino, Pienza, Bagno Vignoni?). It will take about an hour to get to that area.

Then it will be another hour, probably hour and a half to Saturnia. You cut across to Saturnia from the SS2 at Aquapendente, near the Lazio border. From there the roads are a bit windy, but are good. I remember driving from Celle sul Rigo (near Radicofani) to Saturnia in over an hour.

From Saturnia to Rome may be about 2 hours. You can take the autostrada that goes along the coast - it takes you right to the ring road around Rome. We have used this road many times and it is good (parts are autostrada, parts are regular highway). Or you could take the SS2 to Rome, but it is a more congested and busy road as you get into Lazio (not as much on the Tuscany section).

I have some notes on this area on the web site:
Italy: Travel Notes - Central Italy

The terme is about a mile or less from the town.

Pauline, Thank you for the info. Road from Aquapendente to Saturnia is easily followed? Will it be a problem if I drive to Saturnia after sunset? I wanna stop by Pitigliano on the way to Saturnia. If I visit Pitigliano on my way out of Saturnia to Rome, will it be faster and less traffic if I continue onto Orvieto and take A1 to Rome ring? or I better off go back west and take the coastal autostrada to Rome? Any scenic spot along the coastal autostrada that is worth to stop by?

Hi to Cali & all
Wendy and I followed a similar route to what you have in mind last October ... We left Strove, near Siena, at 9 am (we were so proud as well as surprised at ourselves in that we were able to be on the road before 10 am) with the idea of going back to Rome by way of Montalcino, San Antimo, Pitigliano, and if time allowed, Saturnia ... We were able to do as we had planned, but Saturnia was out of the question, which we suspected would be the case .... But then again it is all about options ... And with all of that, we still arrived back in Rome at 6:45 pm ... None too early ....
We spent about an hour or so each in Montalcino and San Antimo, and probably a couple of hours in Pitigliano where we had lunch ... The drive wasn't hurried, but we certainly would not have wanted to be back into Rome any later ....
We enjoyed the road from Pitigliano to the coast, but keep in mind that there are a lot of wiggly bits,on that road, which we actually enjoy, and somewhat slow going for a while ...
Our one suggestion would be to try to be on the road and out of Siena before noon, if possible ... I really can't imagine us late risers making such a suggestion, but it really is necessary to make the best of that day as well as that trip ....
Have a good time whichever route that you choose ... They're all delightful ...
Cheers,
Rob {& Wendy}