Shore excursions in Ireland & Iceland

[Itsacruisething]

Can anyone suggest excursions on our own and not ship's tours?

Are there taxi's or tour people available at ports in Europe?

[Keith1010]

I would post these on the ports of call board.

 

Yes, you can take taxis or book private tours.

 

You need to be more specific when you say Ireland. Do you mean Dublin? If so, you can take a taxi from the cruise ship terminal into Dublin or possibly a ships shuttle. A good thing to do there is to then purchase tickets for their Hop On Hop Off Bus.

 

In Iceland, you could take a taxi into town.

 

I do not remember tour people at either of these two ports but from those boards you could get contacts to book something in advance if that is something you would like to do.

 

Keith

[greatam]

Make sure you take time for the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. Between the airport and Reykjavik. Truly a surreal experience. Very good for your aches and pains and your skin. Be forewarned-Iceland is VERY, VERY pricey. DH about fainted when he saw the price of beer. IIRC, it was about US $12 per bottle and that was at least 6 years ago.

 

http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/thebluelagooniniceland/ss/bluelagoonphoto.htm

[wrp96]

What are your ports in Ireland and Iceland?

 

What kinds of things interest you?

[Essiesmom]

For Iceland, you need to buy a guidebook and see what they say about tours. I have been there twice, first time a land tour, second time a cruise. I can't say I saw any people at the pier offering tours like you do in other countries. But it probably is possible to arrange in Reykjavik. R. is walkable, but if all you do is the city, you have missed Iceland. You need to see Godafoss, Geysir, Thingvellir, etc. the Blue Lagoon is wonderful, but should be the last place on the list. In Isorfjordir we did DIY as is was a substitute port. Nice scenery and a nice little museum. Akuryeri would not be easy to DIY unless you just stay in the town. EM

[jocap]

In Dublin and Belfast, the Tourism people may well provide a free shuttle bus, as these are busy ports. When we went, both buses stopped near the HoHo buses, and the people met us as we came onto the pavement.

In Cobh, the ship moors next to the railway, with frequent journeys to Cork.

Jo.

[Itsacruisething]

What are your ports in Ireland and Iceland?

 

What kinds of things interest you?

We are in Dublin and Cork and Reykjavik. Not sure what to do but want to see as much as possible. Just don't want to do a shopping and pub kind of thing.

[kitty9]

In Dublin, the Book of Kells at Trinity College is a must. Just walking through their library with books that are hundreds of years old is very interesting. Then you could visit St Patricks Cathedral. In there, hanging from the rafters, are flags carried by Irish Regiments in every war, some as far back as the 1500's. In the middle of Dublin is a park called St Stephens Green. It's a lovely area. Most love taking the tour of the Guinness brewery. Go up to the revolving bar on the roof and get a great look at the entire city.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I went to Iceland last march, it was a land based vacation & not a port stop.

 

The blue lagoon was the highlight of my trip. So beautiful it was surreal, and the water was heavenly. I have eczema and the reports about this water being healing are not hype. I never thought it would make a difference, but my eczema was totally healed for over a month after I left. We went horse back riding before the blue lagoon and the water was nice & soothing to my muscles.

 

You can find tours with bus transport from Reykjavik easily. Allow time though, blue lagoon is a good distance from town. If the bus stops at hotels & makes the milk run before heading toward the lagoon or returning, you want to know that so you can plan accordingly. It's also not hard to find excursions that combine different activities. Contact them directly & tell them you are a cruise ship passenger & absolutely need to be back on board at a certain time. I would allow a couple hours cushion time just to be safe.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Make sure you take time for the Blue Lagoon in Iceland. Between the airport and Reykjavik. Truly a surreal experience. Very good for your aches and pains and your skin. Be forewarned-Iceland is VERY, VERY pricey. DH about fainted when he saw the price of beer. IIRC, it was about US $12 per bottle and that was at least 6 years ago.

 

http://goscandinavia.about.com/od/thebluelagooniniceland/ss/bluelagoonphoto.htm

 

It's still not cheap, but since their economy crashed the exchange rate is much more favorable.

[Essiesmom]

Although the Blue Lagoon is an interesting experience, it is not seeing Iceland. You should do the Golden Circle tour, Geysir, Godafoss, Thingvellir - THAT'S Iceland. EM

[montekat]

At Cork, you will dock at Cobh. We have cruised there twice and both times did the Blarney Castle tour with a private company. We used Butler's tours. Their price is very, very reasonable and they take you at a time which doesn't coincide with the majority of tour buses. We got a large group together on our sailing and reserved 2 of their large buses, it was about $35 each. The tour also goes to Kinsale, which is a fishing village not far from Blarney Castle. If you do go, be sure to eat at Dino's in Kinsale; they have the absolute best Fish & Chips!!

 

Here's a link: http://www.butlers-buses.com/cobh-shore-excursions.htm

[wrp96]

For Cork we did a tour through e-coach.ie. Same tour as with Butler. Had a fantastic time.

 

For Reykjavik I highly recommend doing a Golden Circle tour. The countryside of Iceland is fascinating and ever changing. It's cool to see a place where land is still being made.