maryann ns

I live in Nova Scotia! I take notes to help others.

My only experience is with driverinrome (3 times) and they were excellent.

However, being a budget minded person I would be taking the train and a taxi.

No! Not even going from Alexandria to Cairo and back was it better to take the ship's excursion.

Are you sure it is an eight day cruise on the Yangtze? I believe ours was just three nights and some are a bit longer. There is no need for them to be longer. We spent considerable time not moving. Our last night we went through the locks at the Three Gorges Dam and docked just downstream so the next morning we could do the tour.

You can get the same cruise for about half price if you book through a Chinese agency. You can get a personalized tour for less money if you book through a local agency. China is very safe (penalties for crimes such as pickpocketing must be severe) and we were comfortable walking around on our own.

From their menu: Pub Style Curry and Chips

Chicken curry served the Irish way, over chips with home made mushy peas.

http://www.oldtriangle.com/welcome/

We stopped in Bodrum and Fethiye in November, 2009. We had gorgeous sunny weather.

Bodrum is magical. There is a regular ferry which crosses the harbour from beside where we docked over to near the castle. We took this first thing. The castle has a wonderful underwater archaeology museum. We had lunch outside in a cafe while watching the locals play backgammon. Then we wandered uphill to the remains of the mausoleum. We found it interesting. It is the origin of the term 'mausoleum.' Then we saw a sign pointing uphill to an ampitheatre so we walked up to see it. It was not open but the view of Bodrum from the top of the hill was wonderful. Then we meandered downhill and back along the water to our ship. It was a fabulous day and virtually free.

Fethiye is a similarily beautiful port. We took a half day tour which I arranged to see a ruined, abaondoned Greek village (Kayakov). We had seen a similar Turkish village in Chios. Greece and Turkey did some land exchanges in the 1930s. It was a short pleasant drive to get there. Fethiye also has some wonderful Lycean rock tombs which we saw on the way back.

In the afternoon we wandered along the waterfront. This has shops and restaurants and lots of ships (gulets) for hire. If going again, I would approach one of these and go for a sail. The bay there is full of islands and inlets and it would be a beautiful trip.

This is how I booked the tour. Someone referred me to this company. They delivered as promised:

Fethiye with TINY AKROPOL TRAVEL AGENCY info@tinyakropol.com

Tiny Akropol Tourism & Travel Agency

Adress : Hısaronu St. Fethiye / Muğla/Turkiye

Tel No : 0090 (252) 616 67 68

Fax No : 0090 (252) 616 79 71

Mobile : 0090 (532) 715 43 09

When we did this route we passed by Stromboli around 7:00 and our captain alerted us to this. It was great to sip our coffee while watching the puffs of smoke from the volcano. The strait came later and it was wonderful to cruise through on a beautiful sunny day.

There are not many US cards with Chip and PIN!

The messages you get on ATMs are not always accurate. If it refuses your request just put in a request for less. ATMs have limits on how much they will give out per transaction.

This particular supermoon also coincides with a total lunar eclipse which will be visible in all of eastern North America. http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2015-september-28

The highest and lowest tides each month generally lag a few days behind the full moon, so it doesn't matter so much if you are not docked in Saint John right on the day.

A google search for St. Martins found me the tide tables. http://tides.mobilegeographics.com/locations/6117.html?y=2015&m=9&d=28 You can change the date to check out days around the 28th.

If you go to Trip Advisor you can see how easy it is do arrange yourself with help from local agents or guides. That is what we did. I had a taxi arranged for pickup in Beijing, a driver to the Great Wall, a driver and guide to see the Terra Cotta Warriors, a driver/guide in Chongqing and I booked the Yangtze cruise (Victoria lines) through a local agency.

If all this seems too much check out having a Chinese agency do the whole thing. One that has a great reputation here is China Highlights. You will pay far less and get the tour that you want.

More like budget price, but in a great location is Hotel Attalos. We had a decent room, breakfast and free luggage storage. It is close to the metro (Monasteriki?) and walking distance to the Plaka and Acropolis. It has a rooftop bar with great views of the Acropolis.

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Review-g189400-d235705-Reviews-Attalos_Hotel-Athens_Attica.html

http://www.attaloshotel.com/

Wonderful itinerary!

Athens is easy on your own (with Rick Steve's guidebook).

Ephesus we took a private tour. You really need a guide and the tours are not too expensive. I arranged one for 12 people and it cut the price down.

The Bay of Kotor is very beautiful. Be sure to be up top for the sail in. We just walked around the day we were there, but we were on a land tour and also drove around the Bay.

Dubrovnik you can walk the wall on your own and wander the streets in the old city.

I agree with the others that you need more time in Venice but you may not have that option. Again you can tour this on your own. Get a vaporetto pass and explore. Rick Steve's guide is excellent here too.

Many people do not check Port times carefully. Are things such as museums open or closed. How long are you in port. Do you need to tender.

Azamara does well in these areas when compared to many other lines.

The smoking policy for HAL would be a deal breaker for me.

You can go back to the main Canada page where you posted this and doing a search. Look to the right of the blue bar near the top of the page for Thread Tools.

You can also go here on Trip Advisor for Quebec and do a search or ask your question: http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowForum-g155025-i50-Quebec.html

Or you could just wander around this fantastic city with the help of a good guide book.

The place to ask these questions is Trip Advisor. That being said you will save money and have a better trip by renting a car and going where and when you want. You can easily find places to stay without reservations in the off season. Otherwise use Trip Advisor's accommodation listings and sites such as Venere.com. I generally use these sites for ideas and reviews, but try to book direct. You can often find the website of a hotel just by googling its name.

Check out this company and see what they can do: http://www.greatearthexpeditions.com/

Here are my notes on private tours from Halifax. These are taken from previous reports;

List of Halifax tour companies;

http://www.ambassatours.com/halifax-big-pink-hop-on-hop-off-tour

http://visitors.halifax.ca/tours.shtml?getSearch=38

https://secure.shoretrips.com/default.asp

http://www.halifaxtaxitours.com/page2.html see http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1274450

https://secure.shoretrips.com/common/search3.asp?rcode=NEW&lcode=HAL#

The last time I visited Halifax I booked a three hours tours ( city & peggy's cove) with galaxy taxi & limo. They are very reasonable. http://www.galaxytaxilimo.com

We were in Halifax last week and had an amazing time! We booked a 3 hour private tour with Paul at Halifax Titanic Historical Tours and Car Service. You can look him up on Facebook - he was great! It ended up being our favorite port of call - thanks to him! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1669831

We recently had a four-hour tour (with an hour for lunch and a great lobster at Boondocks Restaurant) on a cruise ship stop with Halifax Titantic Historical Tours. Paul McNeil, the owner,and Darrell, our tour guide, made it the most meaningful stop on our 11 day cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. Darrell, having been a polijcemen in Halifax for nearly 40 years, knew every nook and cranny in Halifax. If you are going to be in Halifax and want experts to avoid the touristy stuff and get you inside the real Halifax, contact Paul. We had my 89 1/2 year old mother-in-law with her electric scooter. Darrell and Paul got us to places that were accessible to her as well as us. This is a great company and you will not be disappointed. We could not have been more pleased with our tour. Our tour was in a roomy, beautifully maintained Cadillac. I just want to get back to Boondocks as well. Yummmmmmmmmm! Paul's email address is HalifaxTitanicTours@yahoo.com Don't miss this one. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1735436

 

http://www.atlantictours.com

We just got back. In PEI we used Bill Murray from Take the Island Adventure Tours. We enjoyed that tour a lot. He was very friendly, nice and filled with info. In Sydney we used Blue Diamond Tours. They were also very good. We used Your Cab Tours in Halifax and were very pleased with them as well. All 3 of these tours were good and we were very happy with all of our choices. You can easily find websites and contact info by googling those names. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1849629

 

We did a couple of tours last year with Halifax Cruise Ship Taxi Tours and had great tours,very knowledgeable local drivers. http://www.halifaxcruiseshiptaxitours.com

We enjoyed our trip to Halifax/Peggy's Cove, we were a large group and used Halifax Cruise Ship Taxi Tours. All the drivers stayed together and all met at the same places and all were very good tour guides. They arranged our lobster meal and it was ready when we arrived. We had a great time. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1705545 and We just got back from our cruise which included Halifax. Had a wonderful van tour with Halifax Cruise Ship Taxi Tours. We toured Historic Halifax including Titanic grave sites and Peggy's Cove. The weather was gorgeous so we stopped for lunch at a lobster pound and ate outside at a picnic table. Wonderful relaxing time. Our guide driver was Richard 902-240-8476, born and lived in Halifax for years so was very knowledgeable highly recommend. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1472691 and: Cannot say enough about our tour guide Al ( aldeslaurier@gmail.com)...HIGHLY Recommended http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k5873323-Halifax_Tour_Guide_goes_above_and_beyond_your_typical_tour-Halifax_Halifax_Regional_Municipality_Nova_Scotia.html#45046510 and http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1731597

 

 

http://yourcab.ca/ http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k3084504-l22416942-Halifax_Private_Tours-Halifax_Halifax_Regional_Municipality_Nova_Scotia.html#22416942

I HIGHLY recommend Jonathan Duru, Your Cab Bus & Van Tours for Halifax and Peggy’s Cove tours. http://www.yourcab.ca/ http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k4661003-Halifax_Nova_Scotia_guided_tour-Halifax_Halifax_Regional_Municipality_Nova_Scotia.html

 

http://www.bluediamondtours.com/halifaxshoreexcursions.php

garryjollymore@eastlink.ca This person also gets great reviews. I would get a quote from all of them and then decide. http://www.nova-scotia-van-tours.com http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1209935

We just toured Halifax Sept 25 with Darrell from Halifax Taxi. There were 4 of us, he picked us up with a cadillac and we had a tour of Halifax and went to Peggy's Cove. The highlight was a fantastic, fresh, terrific lobster...cooked fresh. We opted for lobster instead of shopping..Since there were 4 of us the cost was way down, we were not fighting crowds of buses, and Darrell kept us longer than the 4 hours and showed us more things in the area. This was a four hour scheduled tour, and was $180 total for the four of us………

Also same thread: We had a great 8 hour long tour with Bruce from Bruce's Tours in Halifax. There's so much to see in this beautiful area that we got only a taste of Nova Scotia, but I'd love to go back there. Bruce was very knowledgeable, professional and pleasant. He even kept a log of all the places I'd photographed. We went to Lunenburg, Peggy's Cove, Blue Rocks, and took a beautiful drive along the coast to see Mahone Bay. I'd definitely book this tour again http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1477106

 

http://www.novascotiatoursandtravel.com/Cruiseships.htm

http://visitors.halifax.ca/tours.shtml

http://visitors.halifax.ca/historic-halifax.shtml

http://www.greatearthexpeditions.com/ Includes Halifax history, photography walking tour, Peggy’s Cove Rock Walk http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g154976-d1875137-r134031076-Great_E_A_R_T_H_Expeditions-Halifax_Halifax_Regional_Municipality_Nova_Scotia.html#REVIEWS

I wanted to see the city and Peggy's Cove when I came to Halifax last year but I didn't think I had much time since we were leaving port later in the afternoon. On TripAdvisor I found Great EARTH Expeditions and decided to book with them. The tour to Peggy's Cove included stops at Fort George (Citidel), Halifax Public Gardens, then onto Peggy's Cove where we had a wonderful short hike and fresh lunch on a warf. Our guide introduced us to her local friends and you could tell she was passionate about Nova Scotia's history and preservation. It was a small tour in a 15 passenger van and it was a highlight of the cruise. I recommend looking into their tours. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1868955

 

 

We used Paul at Halifax Titanic Tours. We had a LARGE GMC Yukon. That, by far, was the most comfortable vehicle we had ever been in. Paul wore s suit, had speakers in the back and drop-down screens (each row) for a video about the explosion in the harbor. He was very knowledgeable, polite and fascinating. We also were lucky enough to walk thru the public gardens (where there is a mini Titanic in the lake) and got free ice cream 'cuz it was the end of the season. I most say, every tour we did on our 11 day cruise, Quebec to NJ was outstanding. We were very lucky with the weather also. I would recommend Paul. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1727212

 

 

Instead of taking an excursion with the cruise line, we hired a cab from outside the pier. We were so lucky to have hired Peter with Casino Taxi (1-902-877-7627). There is a government-mandated flat rate for cabs taking tourists to Peggy's Cove. He not only drove us to Peggy's Cove, but gave us a narrated tour to several sites along the way: the "de Garthe's Fisherman's Monument", the Citadel, the Titanic Cemetery and Fairview Lawn, the SwissAir 111 Memorial, to name a few sites. He gave us tidbits of history of the area. http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k4060735-Excellent_taxi_tour_from_cruise_port_to_Peggy_s_Cove-Halifax_Halifax_Regional_Municipality_Nova_Scotia.html#29710608

We did our van tour while in Halifax. It was totally awesome. I want to thank Dave Marriott for taking excellent care of us on this tour. He met us just as we got off the ship and we took off for a wonderful day of site-seeing and adventure! If you plan to be in Halifax, be sure to book your tour with Van Tours of Nova Scotia http://nova-scotia-van-tours.com/Home_Page.html Much more personable, relaxed and enjoyable than a bus tour with 50 other people. This was absolutely the best tour of our cruise.

 

 

Good review for Bruce’s Tours: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1492801

Hi just wanted to share my experience from using an excellent taxi tour from Les Daurie of Halifax Taxi Tours, on 26th September 2011. http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k4927342-Excellent_Taxi_Tour_Halifax_and_Peggys_Cove-Halifax_Halifax_Regional_Municipality_Nova_Scotia.html

We just got back from a cruise and we pre-planned a private tour for 5 of us in Halifax with Robert Young of Tall Tale Tours. You won't find anything on the web for him since he used to work primarily with international groups through the Canadian tourist office. He is now out on his own and we told him he better get known! He was just terrific! He met us at our ship and had a large, comfortable late model van with leather and good views all around. He listened to what we wanted and went over and above. He was so funny and interesting. We went to the Titanic graveyard and his stories of the survivors was riveting.He took us shopping at special areas off the beaten track and to lunch for lobster and fish on the way to Peggy's Cove. Not another tourist in sight. We loved him and you would too! He charged $320 for an entire day and his phone is (902) 830-9179. We all agreed Robert was the highlight of our entire trip! http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k5635664-Halifax_NS_in_March-Halifax_Halifax_Regional_Municipality_Nova_Scotia.html#43700049

 

Great map 1kaper! That would be a fun day with an interesting drive.

No it was not scary. We were in Nagasaki at the time and didn't feel a thing. In fact we emailed home from a cybercafe and our family knew we must be OK since we emailed after the time of the earthquake and did not feel a thing.

However we left port a few minutes early, supposedly in case of a tsunami though the time had likely passed for that.

We missed Osaka and got to Busan and then Shanghai early but an extra night in each of these ports was no hardship.

Wonderful Captain Karl barely slept for a couple days trying to sort things out and we were kept well informed.

Here is a map with a couple choices:

https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Esplanade,+Sydney,+NS&daddr=Miners%27+Museum,+Museum+Street,+Glace+Bay,+NS+to:46.141446,-59.9633928+to:Louisbourg,+NS+to:Esplanade,+Sydney,+NS&hl=en&sll=46.090377,-60.283356&sspn=0.557154,1.344452&geocode=FcgPwAId-nZp_Ck3cZLkLvtnSzGi1NYfQuHwCg%3BFarYwAIdeVtt_CE2FmIrhBL38SnxYVzH1-FnSzE2FmIrhBL38Q%3BFQYQwAIdAAht_CkZqpEG6wloSzHPsqG1SrY29g%3BFV5CvAIdcLFs_CGJxUo4LbE33ymDU16gUx1oSzGJxUo4LbE33w%3BFcgPwAId-nZp_Ck3cZLkLvtnSzGi1NYfQuHwCg&oq=esp&mra=dpe&mrsp=2&sz=10&via=2&t=m&z=10

I don't remember doing much bending over in the mine tour but perhaps it just didn't bother me. It was a very interesting tour.

Here are instruction about taking the bus to Glace Bay. However, it would not be the best use of your time:

We set our sights on The Miners' Museum (a AAA Gem) located in nearby Glace Bay. They are open 10:00am - 6:00pm and costs $6 pp + Mine Tour $6 pp. The bus stop is about 4 blocks from the pier. Take Esplanade to Dorchester to George. Wait at the glass-enclosed bus stop on Dorchester just short of George Street. Take the #1 Glace Bay bus at 9:00am. It may arrive early but it will wait and leave on the hour. The ride takes about 50 minutes. Once you arrive in Glace Bay, get off on Commercial (between Marconi and York, across the street from Tim Hortons). Walk downhill on Commercial St. Commercial becomes South after you cross over a stream. Continue on South St and turn left at Birkley St. The museum will be straight ahead, about 2 blocks. (Total walk is 1.1 km, which will take you about 20 minutes). You will see occasional signage.

 

The Miners' Museum has a movie and exhibits on coal mining, methods, tools, and history. The real value in visiting the museum is the tour, led by retired coal miners who share with you their coal mining experiences. You go underground into a 1932 'room and pillar' coal mine where you will see coal-lined walls and learn from a true insider about the mining methods and working conditions. He will share his stories with you as you enter one tunnel after another. The tour is advertised to last 20 minutes. Our 10-person tour lasted at least an hour. Highly recommended!

 

Catch the return bus on Marconi Street, near where you arrived, at Noon or 1:00pm (and arrive 1 hour later). If you get back to the bus stop a little early, stop in at Tim Hortons for a fresh Krispy Kreme-style doughnut or muffin, and coffee or hot chocolate.

 

Cost for the bus was $3.25pp 1 way (except Saturdays where all fares are just 1 Loonie). Discount bus fare books of $13.75 can be bought for $12.50 at any Shoppers Drug Mart store or Sydney Citizen Service Centre (320 Esplanade in Sydney 8:30am - 4:30pm). Allow a total of 6 hours for this excursion (1.5 hours for the bus and walk each way and 3 hours for the museum and mine tour). http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1768421 What to do in 5 Canadian Ports: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/constellation.html

Walk around the lake. We did it in the rain in October and it was wonderful. I can only imagine how great it is in good weather. Bled is famous for a particular pastry which you will find in places along the waterfront.

Be sure to take the boat to the island in the lake and visit the church.

For the leaves aim for the second week in October; the colours are spectacular. For multiple ships in port, aim for the second week in October.

For lots of action on the Halifax waterfront, come in summer.

Dear puppypundit: You are a writer! And your personality and great attitude come shining through.

We, too had our cruise sadly interrupted in Japan (earthquake) and I so agree about how wonderfully Azamara handled everything.

Here is a thread to check: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1989879

Another person answered your query on Trip Advisor this way:

I checked Expedia and searched for a rental car on a Sunday. There are a number of rental agencies with offices downtown that are open at 8 or 9 on a Sunday morning, but not Enterprise. They aren't at the cruise port, but close enough that you could take a quick taxi ride or perhaps they will pick you up. Options include Avis, Budget, Thrifty, Hertz and Dollar.

Hank, we lived for a year in Evian-les-Bains on Lake Geneva (Lac Leman in France). We love this area. If you have not been, check out Annecy and, of course, Evian-les-Bains. Then there is Burgundy where our favorite town is Beaune. In Alsace check out Colmar and area. Strasbourg is wonderful. Be sure to take the canal tour.

From Evian you can take ferries to various places on Lake Geneva, including Lausanne.

https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=Avignon,+France&daddr=%C3%89vian-les-Bains,+France+to:Annecy,+France+to:Beaune,+France+to:Colmar,+France+to:Strasbourg,+France&hl=en&ie=UTF8&sll=44.004261,-62.918551&sspn=9.243121,21.51123&geocode=FQWdngIdmFNJACkHnbw5h-u1EjE2ex36bptC5g%3BFdAHxAId5ZFkACnTL6n5TCOMRzHQn7rkKqsIBA%3BFe9dvAId6IZdACnJUQUc-o-LRzG6NAVigRZ4Qg%3BFW6PzQIdRNpJACn7P1jNRPPyRzFT_z5klvSMug%3BFf-h3QIdMEhwACnPwXD232WRRzFm6WxhPn5d4w%3BFexR5QIdKjl2ACnBshheSciWRzEfJOcYMUgalw&oq=stras&mra=ls&t=m&z=6