San Marino Day Trip: The Ultimate Guide
Wondering how to visit the unique, tiny nation of San Marino?
Read on for my guide to taking the ultimate San Marino day trip!
San Marino is the third-smallest country in Europe, and the fifth-smallest in the world. And after visiting all of the tiny countries of Europe, I can confidently say that San Marino was my favorite one!
This country has an area of just 24 square miles and a population of only 34,000 people. It’s fully landlocked and surrounded by Italy, although from the hilltop capital of San Marino, you can see all the way to the Adriatic Sea, which is located sixteen miles away in the nearby Italian city of Rimini.
You can visit San Marino on a day trip, which is what I did — although I honestly felt like I could have stayed overnight and spent two days there. However, one day is enough to cover the highlights!
San Marino is a beautiful destination with a charming capital city (also called San Marino.) This is where the majority of visitors spend their time, and it’s definitely the most scenic place in the country. The town of San Marino is super cute, and it’s full of breathtaking hilltop views all around.
Here’s everything you need to know about visiting San Marino on a day trip!
How to Get to San Marino
Since San Marino is such a small country, it doesn’t have an airport or even a train station. The only way to get to San Marino is by bus or by car. I did this trip with public transportation, which I’ll explain below.
The nearest city to San Marino is Rimini, Italy. From the train station in Rimini, it’s a one-hour bus ride to the capital of San Marino. If you have your own car, it takes about 45 minutes to get there.
In order to take a day trip to San Marino with public transportation, you’ll first need to get to Rimini by train. I based myself in Bologna for three days, which is a 1.5-hour train ride from Rimini. (There’s also a high-speed train that takes about an hour, but it costs a lot more, so I stuck to the regional train.)
The regional train from Bologna to Rimini is about €15 each way. I always use Omio to book.
If you’re coming from any other city in Italy, you’ll need to change trains in Bologna to get to Rimini. I’ve seen people say it’s possible to take a day trip to San Marino from Florence or even Milan, but you’re looking at a minimum of 3.5 hours of travel time each way, which seems extreme to me.
That’s why I’d recommend basing yourself in Bologna, the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region. It’s a cool city with lots of things to do, and it’s a lot closer for taking a day trip to San Marino.
Once you’re in Rimini, you’ll exit the train station and make your way to the bus stop for the Bonelli Bus, which goes to San Marino. The bus stop is right in front of Hotel Napoleon and clearly marked.
You can buy your tickets for the bus from the tabaccheria right outside the train station in Rimini, or you can just buy them online in advance and get a digital ticket, which is what I did. You can also see the timetables for the bus, which runs between Rimini and San Marino about every 1.5 hours.
Tickets for the bus are €7 each way.
Once you’re on the bus, you’ll take it to the very last stop, San Marino Centro Historico.
What to Do in San Marino
Once you arrive at the bus stop in San Marino, which is located in a parking area, it’s about a 10-minute walk to the town itself. I recommend arriving early in the day so you have time to do everything!
The most iconic thing to do in San Marino is to visit the Three Towers. These three historic defense towers span across the hilltop capital, and walking between them provides you with breathtaking views.
You can also visit the first two towers (Guaita Tower and Cesta Tower) by purchasing the San Marino Multi-Museum Pass. This pass costs €11 (or €7 for students and seniors) and includes admission to the two towers and their museums, as well as five other museums and galleries in San Marino.
I highly recommend getting it, because it’s worth it to go inside the towers. You can climb higher and see more unique viewpoints, and learn about the history of these fortifications. I also used the museum pass to visit the Palazzo Pubblico (the main seat of the Sammarinese government) and the State Museum (a small but nice collection) so I felt like it was worth the money to buy this pass in San Marino.
You can buy the pass online or just get it from any of the museums in town.
After you visit the first two towers, you can walk to the third and final one, Montale Tower. However, this tower is smaller than the others and not open for visitors, but you can still see some nice views.
Walking between all three towers takes about twenty minutes. After you finish doing this, you can head back to the winding streets of the town and stop for lunch or visit another one of the museums. You can also pop into the Basilica of Saint Marinus, the main church in a beautiful Neoclassical style.
I visited in late December, and San Marino was having a lovely Christmas market, which was fun to browse. All in all, I spent about six hours in San Marino and felt like I got to see everything I wanted to!
Things to Know Before You Go
Taking a day trip to San Marino is definitely worth it! Here are a few more things to know before you go.
People from San Marino are called Sammarinese. There are only 34,000 of them, and the country is governed by two Captains Regents, elected every six months from the opposing political parties.
It’s the oldest constitutional republic in the world. San Marino was founded in 301 AD by Saint Marinus, who created a mountainside monastery to escape persecution from the Romans.
The official language is Italian. Since San Marino is an autonomous enclave fully surrounded by Italy, the official language here is Italian. Most people working in tourism also speak English in San Marino.
There is no passport control in San Marino. Speaking of being fully surrounded by Italy, you’ll hardly know that you’ve crossed the border into San Marino. There is no formal passport control. You can get a souvenir stamp in your passport from the tourism office for a small fee if you’d like to, though.
The official currency is the Euro. Although San Marino is not actually part of the European Union, the country uses the Euro. Previously, the country was the Sammarinese lira until adopting the Euro in 2022.
Arrive early and stay late. If you’re visiting for a day trip, I recommend arriving as early in the day as you can and staying until the evening. Although San Marino is small, there’s a lot to do! Six hours was ideal.
Prepare for the weather. The most popular time to visit San Marino is the summer, when the weather is warm and sunny. If you visit in the winter like I did, though, be prepared for very cold and windy weather since the capital sits on Monte Titano! Definitely wear warm socks, gloves, a scarf, a hat, and so on.
Wear comfortable walking shoes. Some streets in San Marino are pretty steep when walking up to and around the old town, and many are also paved with uneven cobblestones. Comfortable footwear is a must!
Where to Stay in San Marino
As I mentioned, I just visited San Marino on a day trip from Bologna. While I felt like I had enough time to do and see a lot, I also loved the charm of San Marino and wouldn’t have minded staying overnight!
Spending the night in San Marino would be cool because you could enjoy a quiet evening in San Marino once the day trippers have left, and do the same thing in the morning before they arrive.
These are the top hotels in San Marino if you decide to stay overnight:
- La Grotta Hotel: A charming, affordable hotel with free breakfast and great views.
- Hotel Titano: Boutique hotel in the pedestrian-only old town of San Marino.
- Grand Hotel San Marino: Balcony rooms overlooking the hills and the valley.
If I return to San Marino, I’d definitely like to stay for a night when I come back!
Is Visiting San Marino Worth It?
I definitely think that San Marino is worth a visit, even if you only have one day.
San Marino had been on my radar for a while, but I had never been able to make it happen on any of my (many) previous trips to Italy. That’s because I do think San Marino is just too far away for a day trip from Milan or Florence. It’s technically doable, but you’ll spend a lot of time in transit for it.
I’m glad I waited until this trip, when I was spending several days in Bologna, because Bologna is the best major city for getting to San Marino. (Although it still involves taking a train and a bus!)
That being said, San Marino is worth the mild hassle of getting there. If you’re a country counter like me, it’s obviously worth a visit, but even if you’re not, you should still visit San Marino. It’s a beautiful little country, unique in its small size, and full of cool things to do despite its tiny geographic area.
How to Take a Day Trip to San Marino
This guide showed you how to take a day trip to the small republic of San Marino.
San Marino was the last of the European microstates that I visited, and ended up being my favorite! Despite being fully surrounded by Italy and having many similarities, it really felt like its own unique country.
It was also a fairytale-like destination with impossibly stunning views all around. I definitely recommend making the time to visit San Marino on a day trip, especially if you’re already staying in Bologna.
Enjoy your visit to San Marino!
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