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Looking for advice excursions vs DIY


juanarcin
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I have a cruise with RC in December leaving out of Singapore. The stops are: Penang, Langkawi, and Phuket. In Phuket I am leaning towards and RC excursion that goes to Phang Nga Bay. For Penang and Langkawi, I am undecided. I am wondering if any cruisers who are experienced in these ports can give me suggestions on if these ports are easily done on your own, or if its best to get an excursion?

 

Any excursions you recommend? We aren't beach people, so we prefer exploring food, sight seeing, wild life, and looking for the best picture spots!

 

Also, I have done a few European cruises and preferred the private excursions vs the cruise line excursions, does anyone recommend one vs the other in Asia? are there even any private excursion companies in these ports? thanks!

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I just used Uber in Penang to go wherever I wanted from the list of places I wanted to see. $4-5 usd or less for each ride (that's from the dock out to the temple on the hill, half that or much less for places in town).

 

In Langkawi there is also Uber, or just taxis. You can take a taxi to the mangrove/Kilim river area and do a 2-3 hour boat trip. I think it's 200rm ($50usd) for the entire boat for 2 hours. there are some places online you can book ahead, but I think you can also just show up. there are also boats right near the cruise dock you can hire, but I'm not sure where they take you.

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also, in Phuket, the ship docks a ways away from things. there are a few drivers offering tours or rides into town, but there's not much at the docks. Personally if I were doing something myself, I'd arrange for a driver or guide to meet me at the dock. we did a ship tour just for the convenience and because we didn't care too much what we were doing as we are going back this fall.

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For Phuket, are you tendering or docking? What time are you due to arrive? Most of the independent boat tours to Phang Nga Bay seem to leave EARLY in the morning, returning later in the afternoon. This may be problematic depending on your ship's port hours.

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also, in Phuket, the ship docks a ways away from things. there are a few drivers offering tours or rides into town, but there's not much at the docks. Personally if I were doing something myself, I'd arrange for a driver or guide to meet me at the dock. we did a ship tour just for the convenience and because we didn't care too much what we were doing as we are going back this fall.

 

Thanks for the advice!

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For Phuket, are you tendering or docking? What time are you due to arrive? Most of the independent boat tours to Phang Nga Bay seem to leave EARLY in the morning, returning later in the afternoon. This may be problematic depending on your ship's port hours.

 

Not sure if it's tendering or docking in Phuket, but I'm not really concerned with it since the excursion I'm doing would be with RC. So either way, we should be ok. But thanks for the heads up!

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