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Thank you both for your quick replies!

Freestyling, did you find your local guide on arrival? can you remember the cost? Or did you book on the internet in advance? There are 2 companies mentioned on tripadvisor, but I am a bit wary as many of the positive reviews are from people posting their first review (often a sign they are not genuine).

We only have one day in Ecuador (in April) and we'll likely never have the chance to be there again. Really want to make the most of our time, but I am not coming up with any interesting ideas.

We'd love to hear what you did if your ship stopped at Manta for the day, whether you would recommend or advise us to avoid.

Thanks.

Another vote for Ephesus Shuttle. We had a great guide and this is a place where a guide does really bring the experience to life. (We did Olympia on our own with a guide book and that was fine for us.)

Agreed. We were interested in a post-cruise tour of Valparaiso and Santiago, Chile. Cristian Blanco of Ruta Valparaiso got right back to us with suggestions on an itinerary as we were only staying overnight as well as how to recruit others for our tour. We ended up with a group of 10. Cristian arranged for a van and met us at the cruise ship. He and the driver packed us up and away we went. First we explored Vina del Mar and then came back to Valparaiso. We stopped to see sea lions. He then took us to a fish market, which was truly fascinating. Everyone we encountered there was friendly and happy to allow us to take photographs. We did a lot of walking, traveled on several funiculars, stopped at a wonderful candy store...and then moved on. We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant, the Macerado, that served us family style. Pisco sours, chardonnay sours and wines were included. It was pricey, but well worth the experience. We then went to the Kingston winery were we toured and sampled more beverages!! Some of the couples were then dropped off at the airport and the rest of us went to our respective hotels. My husband inadvertently left his rain jacket on the van. Cristian went out of his way to contact the driver, pick it up and mailed it to us back in the States. We spent an EXCELLENT day with this wonderful, affable and knowledgeable young man. The tour/transport was reasonably priced; lunch and the winery were at additional cost. Cristian and Ruta Valparaiso.

Thanks for posting. Pleased to hear you had such a great time. We are getting really excited about our trip now!

Some really useful info - Thanks all.

I agree that from what I've researched Valparaiso looks more interesting and unique than Vina del Mar, so we'll stick with that.

Thanks all for your suggestions.

Right, you have convinced me. I'll book rhythms of the night.

Thanks all. Looks like Rhythms of the Night is the one to go for.

Now I am thinking we should maybe do both if they are different enough and as we have a day and a half in PV. Has anyone done the HAL daytime excursion that includes the Fiesta???

A free shuttle was provided by the port authority in Marseille, south of France.

I'd also find it useful to know if there are any ports (particularly in South America and Mexico), that you can walk out of the port to the town centre.

Places like Aruba and Palermo in Sicily that is the case.

Holland America have 2 similar sounding excursions: one is a daytime fiesta, the other is an evening trip to Rhythms of the Night. if you have done these, which would you recommend if you could only choose one?

Price is quite high on both - did you think they are worth it?

Claudepaulette: thanks for that useful info about the area near the hotel. Good to know there is a metro stop nearby.

Kbaj: thanks for the recommendation but we have already chosen our guide; I've been corresponding with Daniela at "day off Chile". She is putting together a programme and is just asking if we have any preferences.

Jet came back from day tour in Manta with SOS Manta tours. The worst ever . Have had cruise critic group tours all over the world and this was by far the worst.

Started they didn't pay to park with other tour companies and police wouldn't let us board. After 1 hour delay had to cross street and vans met us.

We formed a group of 8 and they added 2. As getting on vans they added 3 more.

Got to fishing village late. Boats were long gone.

Rain forest a dangerous 1 1/2 hour hike.

Took us to some govt museum after saying we were 10 min from hat factory.

Then took us to shop in hat store. When asked about demo guide said oh factory closed today.

Guide only spoke when we asked questions. Told us nothing. He was talking to driver and had radio on whole time.

That's appalling. Hope you post a review on tripadvisor to stop others making the same mistake. Sorry your day was spoilt.

Next April we shall be doing a transfer from Santiago to Valparaiso with a private guide the day before our cruise. We will be stopping at a couple of wineries en route, but we have one and a half hours at the end of the day to see Valparaiso.

The guide has asked if there is anything special we want to see, and is suggesting Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepción,historic old town.

As we will have the following morning before boarding the ship to walk around town on our own (staying at Hotel Ibis), my question is: would we be able to walk this area easily on our own the next day? Are there other things to see that are easier to visit with the car? Or would it be a good idea to have a guide in that part of town?

Not sure we are bothered about Vina de mar if that is just a beach resort. Valparaiso itself looks more quirky and original.

If you have visited Valparaiso and can remember the layout, I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thank you!

Thanks everyone. All very useful.

We have already signed up for a private day tour in Trujillo (temples, Chanchan and reed fishing boats) organised by a lady on our cruisecritic rollcall.

It is reassuring to know that there will (almost certainly) be shuttles available.

A short shuttle to the market area in Manta and a shuttle to Mirafores in Lima are standard.

We have used them several times on this itinerary.

 

We found the HAL shorex to the historic area in Lima was really well done. It is partly a well-guided walking tour. A lot of value in this one.

 

What are your other ports?

Good to know the shuttles will be available. Do you by chance remember what times the Lima shuttle ran? Is it just one set time, or do the buses run at various times? On Day 1 when we arrive in port at midday, it'd be good to set off soon after that but we'd also like to stay in until dark to see the Fountain show. Would the shuttle run during the evening?

I think the walking tour you mention is the one we are thinking of for Day 3.

We are starting from Vaparaiso heading up to Coquimbo/La Serena, Lima, Salaverry/Trujillo - we have a CC trip booked for that stop, manta, Puerto Caldera, Puerto Chiapas, Puerto, Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas.

Thanks for your help. If you have any thoughts/suggestions for the other ports, please let me know. I haven't got to planning anything after Trujillo.

Hi Sue, The ship docks in an industrial port, and only ship excursion busses were allowed on the pier. To get to the front gate you had to take the shuttle bus provided. This is where you meet private guides. We were cautioned not to wander out into Callao the port. Right by the ship there was a Peruvian Market full of vendors and free WiFi, so it as a good place to get souvenirs . I actually bought a beautiful alpaca sweater and a few other items, and felt prices were comparable to shops in Lima. Because there were things I wanted to see in Lima that were not visited on any of the HAL tours, I hired a private guide from Lima Mentor. We were joined by 3 others on our roll call. I told the company what I wanted, and they put together 2 full days of touring with a fantastic guide.

 

The problem with HAL tours was that there weren't all day tours (for the most part) You had a 4 hour tour and then returned to the ship (with an hour drive each way) and lot of wasted time. It wasn't until we got on the ship that HAL offered Lima on your own transportation. I wish we had known! there was plenty to do in a general area, with lots of restaurants, it would have made a nice day.

 

The 3rd day we did take a HAL tour, which was fine.

 

In Manta Ecuador there was a shuttle to the end of the pier, with shops and a casino. We took a HAL tour with Manta cuisine and Panama hats....it went to a resort in the cloud forest, to a small beach community , a tagua button factory and a hat factory (all out doors) We saw a lot of Ecuador and felt it was money well spent.

 

I used a web site called Lima Easy to find a lot of useful information about Lima.

 

I hope this helps!

Karen

Thanks so much, Karen. A lot of really useful info there. i know on previous cruises there have sometimes been shuttles announced only once we were onboard. It makes planning difficult and the cruise line obviously hopes everyone will sign up to one of their tours . I was also disappointed to see that HAL does not do a longer tours - it does not make sense to keep travelling in and out of the city. We arrive at mid-day on Day 1. We thought of doing the BY NIGHT tour but it seems an incredible waste of an afternoon to have to wait until 7pm to get off. I guess now I know that there are souvenirs etc in the port, we could do a bit of shopping there in the afternoon. The alternative would be to get a private guide from 2pm - 9 or 10pm. We could pack in more that way. I will check out Lima Mentor. Also that Lima Easy site you mention.

Day 2 we have a full day private trip planned. Day 3 I think we may do a ship's walking tour. We heard traffic in Lima can be bad and don't want to risk missing the ship!

Hi....we were on the Zaandam South America/ Antarctica and most recently the 31 day Incan Empires last November on the Statendam, so I think we have been to many of the ports on your itinerary. HAL provided "on your own" excursions in a number of ports, especially Lima and Salaverry(Trujillo) but didn't post them prior to embarkation, which was frustrating in trying to plan. I would suggest you call HAL and inquire. None of these "on your own excursions" were free, but in the case of Lima, there is a lot to see in the general area of the Plaza Mayor that would make the excursion in worthwhile. Traffic in Lima is terrible, and the port is a good distance from the city.

 

We have been on the Zaandam three times, and she is a great ship!

 

Karen

Thanks, Karen. Lima was the port I was most interested in. Did you stop in manta in Ecuador? Is it worth doing a ship excursion there?

It's great to hear from someone who has done these ports. If there is anything you could recommend to us first-timers, please let us know.

Sue

We are sailing next April and wondered whether we can expect shuttle buses to be available from the ports in South America and Mexico to nearby towns. If you have any experience of this, all information would be welcome.

Thanks.

We just got back on Wednesday from the Basque country. We flew to Santander and drove to Bilbao, which is a surprisingly nice town, with the Guggenheim museum, of course, to stay with friends for a few days.

From there we drove down to Laguardia in the Rioja region. It is an amazing place and we loved it. The old walled town is quite small so you can see it all in half a day but you need to do a winery visit or two. We stayed at the Hotel Villa de Laguardia just a short walk outside the walls and it was very nice.

Now to your question: we spent a day in each of San Sebastian and Santander. I would definitely go for San Sebastian. It just felt like a much more fun place. (Nothing wrong with Santander, but it just lacked that vibe.) We walked up the high hill to Monte Urgell (the hill at the other end of town has a funicular but we never made it there). San Sebastian is renowned in Spain for its pintxos (said: pin - choss), which are the little snacks that line all the bars. You just pick what you want. They are pretty cheap, and so is the wine - generally 2 euros a glass in any bar or cafe.

By the way, if you have time, nearby San Sebastian is Hondarribia, which also has a sweet little old town. We stayed in the Parador there - it's a tenth-century castle and I couldn't help wonder how many people had slept there before us over the centuries!

Whichever way you decide to go, I am sure you will have a great time. Good luck.

We took this tourist bus which we booked ahead of time over the internet:

http://www.katakolon-express.com/olympiaonyourown.htm

There's a commentary on the bus but you are free to walk around Olympia on your own. Can't remember the price of taxi, but this bus worked out better for us as there were just 2 of us.

I jst stumbled across this thread today and have read it from start to finish. Thanks so much for your report and the wonderful photos. Can't wait until you get to Quebec!