georgieandmike Posted August 9, 2012 #1 Share Posted August 9, 2012 The Oceania trip by boat in Cinque Terre seems sold out. Has anyone used the ferries and if so, would you recommend seeing the towns by boat or train? While in Amalfi coast, do you recommend the Emerald Grotto or seeing the town of Ravelo? :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted August 9, 2012 #2 Share Posted August 9, 2012 We were in the Cinque Terre area on a land tour (self drive) in 2005 and took the ferry from Portovenere and it worked just fine. But I can't speak to the ferry from the ship's port since we were driving, not on a ship, and I'm not sure where the ship docks anyway. We had a port of call in Sorrento last October and opted for a tour to Pompeii and then a drive along the Amalfi coast. There are a number of variations on this theme and a number of outfits you can use for such a day! The drive is gorgeous, as you will see from photos posted on the Capri thread active right now. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letvl Posted August 9, 2012 #3 Share Posted August 9, 2012 If you have never visited Pompeii I would suggest that you do that with the drive along the Amalfi Coast. The drive along the Amalfi Coast is quiet beautiful (not a drive you want to tackle yourself). Depending on how much time you have a stop in Positano and on to Ravello would be a nice trip. Ravello has fantastic views and some nice Italian pottery shops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mexfolkart Posted August 9, 2012 #4 Share Posted August 9, 2012 We were just planning on doing the ferries and they would work well..however it rained the day we were there and the ferries weren't going to run so we went to Siena instead. Try the Ferries! Sherry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SellaVee Posted August 9, 2012 #5 Share Posted August 9, 2012 The Oceania trip by boat in Cinque Terre seems sold out. Has anyone used the ferries and if so, would you recommend seeing the towns by boat or train? We were in La Spezia on the Regatta two weeks ago. We tendered ashore just in time to catch the ferry to Portovenere which we left in perfect time to catch the Cinque Terre ferry (they were berthed alongside one another and this is a popular move). We'd bought a one way ticket that let us hop on and off. I'd been warned that the ferries could be very busy but they were fine (this was a Thursday, weekends may be busier). We disembarked at Riomaggiore and after looking at the town we bought tickets and did the lover's walk to Manarola, enjoing a cold drink at the cafe just before the end. Another stroll around town then back onto the next ferry. We missed out Corniglia, which was closed after the autumn damage, and also bypassed Vernazza because of time considerations, but we saw it from the sea and the ferry boat captain did a little commentary. It is well worth viewing the five towns from the sea IMO. At Monterosso we visited the church to see the flood damage, did a little shopping and had lunch. We then walked to the train station along the promenade. This part of Monterosso is quite unlike anything in the other five towns. More like a traditional seaside resort with a packed beach. We took a fast train back to La Spezia and walked back to Regatta. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted August 9, 2012 #6 Share Posted August 9, 2012 For anyone thinking of Pompeii as a possibility, I highly recommend hiring a guide to go through the ruins. It costs €100 for 2 hours -- I think it was 2 hours! -- so if you are a small group the cost isn't bad. But it adds a lot to the experience. We opted for the guide because someone on our Roll Call last fall had mentioned renting audio guides but not finding them very useful because they were never sure what they were looking at. An American family (husband, wife and 2 children) started following us around and finally asked if they could join our group but the guide denied them. So they clearly found the worth of hiring a guide. And the ride IS gorgeous. Although I wouldn't worry about driving it myself ... then again, I've driven Route 1 north of San Francisco and the Rocky Mountains. OTOH, a Danish friend did her first "mountain" driving on the Needles Drive in the Black Hills and it took her a while to get used to all the turns. She was doing a whole 20 mph in a 35 mph zone ... Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecountess Posted August 9, 2012 #7 Share Posted August 9, 2012 We were on a Med cruise in June, 2010. We planned to take the ferry to Cinque Terra; it's a short walk down the "block" from where we docked in Portovenere. However, that day was excessively windy and rainy so the ferries were cancelled, as was O's excursion. We found a driver with a van and, along with two other couples, were driven to Manarola, the second town. We paid 20 euros per couple, including tip. Cars are not permitted in the area so we were let off atop Manarola and wound our way down the hill, seeing locals starting their day and passing local, non-touristy shops. At the bottom of the hill we purchased tickets for both the path and the train. We walked along the Via del Amore to Riomaggiore. It would have been more romantic and beautiful without the rainy downpour but, on the bright side, we had the place to ourselves. We then took the train to Vernazza, said to be the prettiest of the towns. The rain let up and we got to do more walking here. The six of us then took the train to La Spezia where we hoped to have lunch, but another downpour washed away those plans. We took a van taxi back to Portvenere and had a wonderful lunch at La Marina da Antonio. While enjoying the best pasta with clams we'd ever had, the sun came out and we spent the afternoon exploring Portovenere; tackle all those steps ~ the views and church are well worth it. (We pooped out and didn't climb to the castle.) Long story short, be flexible, roll with the weather punches, possibly have a plan B in mind, and enjoy a gorgeous part of the world. Harriet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambagahle Posted August 9, 2012 #8 Share Posted August 9, 2012 I would take the train. Faster and more reliable - see posts about boats being cancelled!! And one needs "reliable" to make sure one is back at the ship before she sails!! That said, we went to the Cinque Terre by boat but it was a chartered yacht and we were staying with friends near Lucca so had no time constraints!! We loved Riomaggiore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billy.qc Posted August 10, 2012 #9 Share Posted August 10, 2012 The Oceania trip by boat in Cinque Terre seems sold out. Has anyone used the ferries and if so, would you recommend seeing the towns by boat or train? While in Amalfi coast, do you recommend the Emerald Grotto or seeing the town of Ravelo? :confused: IMO C.Terre is most beautiful viewed by boat. The HoHo style ferry is easily accessible from the tender dock. You have the option of the train in case of rain.While in Amalfi you can get an early start and take the train to Pompeii (hire a guided inside the gate) and then book an Amalfi Drive from Sorrento train station, we used benvenutolimos.com visiting Positano & Ravelo. It all depends on how long you will be in port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swifs Posted August 13, 2012 #10 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Having been at both Pompeii and Amalfi/Ravello recently, I really wouldn't count on doing both in one day. You can take the circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Pompeii in the morning. It takes about 45 minutes to get there and leaves you right at the gate. They give you a pretty decent map and while I didn't use the audioguide at Pompeii, we did at Herculanum and we thought it was pretty good. That said, if you want to splurge for a guide, go ahead- I just didn't want you to think that it wasn't viable to do it on your own. (you can also buy a Pompeii guidebook/souvenir book for practically nothing on Amazon before your trip so you have the lay of the land before you get there). After you return to Sorrento, you can walk around the lovely lemontree garden near the train station, into the wonderful museum nearby, or through the streets with all the shops and limoncello tasting places. On the other hand, Amalfi and Ravello are a long way in the other direction- the SITA bus (which leaves right in front of the train station in Sorrento) will take about an hour to get to Amalfi and then you need to get on a second bus to get up to Ravello if you are doing this on your own. We did it this summer and it was a wonderful day, particularly Ravello and the wonderful Villa Rufalo (and the restaurant of the same name around the corner with the wonderful views), but I think if you try to combine it with Pompeii, it may be too much for one day, particularly if you have a deadline to get back to the ship. The SITA buses can get very crowded, particularly later in the day, so you can't wait to the last minute to return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.