Of these ports, which is easiest to "do on your own"?

[jstducky]

In an effort to save a bit of $ and not get private tours or ship tours at every port, of the following ports of call, which is the easiest to "do on your own"?

[cberge]

I voted for Rome,but I would say that they all are doable on your own.If you had to pick one to do a tour I would opt for the Naples stop only because there is so much to cover,but if you didn't try to do it all you could narrow it down and go on your own.As long as you have some good street maps,know the sight's you may want to see,and some city info ahead of time you will be just fine.Have a great trip.

[Aleciajoyful1]

I agree that Rome is a doable on your own city. We actually asked a taxi at our hotel to take us to a scooter rental shop and did that for the day. It is a very efficient way to go if you are adventurous. We drove ourselves around and once you see how everyone drives, it is very easy. They are crazy, so you just have to be crazy too! Just get a map and highlight what you want to see and a possible route to take. We also did a lot of walking as we had a day and a half in Rome. The drive from the port to the city did not seem to be over an hour to me, but I did not have my watch on.:D

 

Because there was so much ground to cover in Florence and Naples I opted for private drivers. They were pretty reasonable as I was in a party of 4.

 

In Villefranche, we just took the train to Monaco and did our own thing. Just follow the crowds!

[Chick's pal]

My OPINION is that Villefranche is the easiest and cheapest to do on your own. We were able to go to Monaco and Eze and could have still gone to Nice if we hadn't tuckered-out. From the port, Monaco is one way and Nice is the opposite way. You can take a train or a bus either way. If you want to go to Eze, there is a shuttle bus with a stop about half-way between Monaco and Villefranche. That shuttle has a schedule that you should be able to get from your shore excursion staff (they should also have train and bus schedules.) The shuttle to Eze is something like $3.50 each way. Compare this to taxi fare of $25 each way, and you'll be glad you paid attention to that shuttle schedule! Just to show you how easy this port was, we made NO ADVANCE PREPARATIONS but still saw everything we wanted to see with transportation costs at less than $20 per person.

 

Depending on what you want to do from Naples, that could also be quite easy. We went to Pompeii via the train. It requires a taxi to the train station (about 10 Euro), but once you're off the train at Pompeii Scavi you are only a 5 minute walk from the ruins. Taxi drivers will want to take you around for the day, rather than just go to the train station...so be firm. I cannot advise you on Amalfi or Capri, since we did not attempt to do anything more than Pompeii. Our transportation costs here were also less than $20. Oh, and with the audio guide and booklet, we did not feel we needed a tour guide at the ruins.

 

Have a great time! We loved our med cruise.

[gsb]

How much was the train to Monaco--how long was the trip?

Thx/Gary

[egdr22]

Gary, I'm not Chick's pal, but I can answer your ? :) The train ride to Monaco is only about 10 minutes. The cost of a round trip ticket from Villefranche to Monaco is around 5 euros.

[lucyjohnz]

We found the train station pretty easy in Villefranche (turn right from the tender dock and follow the road next to the water for about 10 minutes - the train station is up the hill on your left). We first took the train to Nice (about a 15-minute ride) and then took the train from Nice to Monaco and then from Monaco to Villefranche. It costs no more the 6-7 Euros/pp to do this. Do get the train schedule online (see other posts for the web address) ahead of time or you could wait an hour for the next train. And, the people selling the tickets take lots of breaks, so you may have to try to decipher the ticket machines to get your tickets. Finally, make sure that your return train does actually stop at Villefranche - not all of them do. We got all our info from a train station pamplet.

 

In Naples, we took the 45-minutes hydrofoil to the Isle of Capri (compared to the 80-minute speed boat). I'm not sure where to get this schedule but we caught the 10:35 boat. I'm sure there are earlier ones. The dock is directly to the left of the ship and you buy tickets at the office that faces the street that runs in front of the ship. RT tickets are 22 Euros each. Once we got of the hydrofoil, we went to the Blue Grotto office on the dock (left side) and paid 8.50/pp to get a RT tickets to the Blue Grotto on a small speed boat. Once there, you wait to transfer from your speed boat into a row boat and that costs another 8.50 Euros/pp. This entire Blue Grotto trip took about 2 hours (not including the hydrofoil trip). If you don't want to see the Blue Grotto, you can take a Funicular to Capri City and walk around the town (I heard it was very crowded there). Again, check the schedule for the next hydrofoil back to Napes - or, you can take a hydrofoil to Sorrento and take the train from there to Pompeii or back to Naples. We were worn out and just returned to Naples and collapsed on the wonderful air-conditioned ship.

[rhopkins]

Villefranche without a doubt!!! Just got back May2005. There is a new Budget car rental at the port in Villefranche. Expensive though about 130 Euro. We shared with another couple. Easy to do without a map. To the left is Nice about 15 minutes and to the right is Monaco and Monte Carlo. Great Signage! We stopped in Eze along the way for fabulous French pasteries and coffee. Then traveled about another 15-20 min to Monte carlo. Huge parking garage right out front No problem! Then headed back to the ship and had a late lunch again in EZE. We did drive in Florence, but never again. No Parking! Nightmare. My husband and I were ready to kill each other.

[arkcruiser]

I would say that Livorno is probably the most difficult since it is a bit of a hassle to get to its train station. The other three have fairly easy access to transportation. At Naples, the ferries to Capri, Sorrento and Ischia are close to where the cruise ship docks. The Civitavecchia station is a short walk from the port bus stop and the station agent by default sells a 9 euro day pass for Rome's bus/metro system. Villefranche can be a bit more complicated. It is a steep climb up to the bus stop and a bit of a walk to the train station. Trips along the bus and train routes are then easy, but more complicated if you want to go somewhere involving a transfer, such as St. Paul de Vence or Eze. The bottom line is that all of these are doable.

 

For me, the real question concerns what your goal for the day is. If you regard the visit as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the key sites, then you are better off with a tour or a private guide. If your goal is more targeted toward seeing a few particular things, then going on your own is fine. But there are risks. Recently, my wife and I took the train into Rome by ourselves because all we wanted to see was the Sistine chapel. While we got the earliest train we could and got a cab to the Vatican Museum and arrived at 9.15, the line was ten-wide and stretched all the way back nearly to St. Peter's Square. It was a Saturday and a four-day weeked to boot! Folks told us they never saw Rome more crowded. Only the folks on the ship's tours or those who had booked a private tour got to see the Sistine Chapel that day!

So doing it on your own has its risks and requires an amount of flexibility.

[CarlCruiser]

:confused: Lucyjohnz says that the Villefranche-Monaco-Nice train schedule is "posted elsewhere", but I wandered around trying to find it with no success. Help!!

[Juliadlf]

Try this posting from 2forthesea.

 

See if this helps: http://www.bonjourlafrance.net/fran...-train-maps.htmIt's a map and other links for the French rail system.

[Mike Andrews]

Rome (Civitavecchia) is very easy to do on your own by either walking or taking a cab to Civitavecchia Station and then getting the train into Rome Termini Station and then getting on the 110 Tourist Bus which tours the city in circle every 30 minutes and allows you to hop off and hop on a following service

[Mike Andrews]

Someone posted elsewhere that there was a 2 hour wait for the 110 Tourist Bus at Rome Termini Station when they got there so also consider the Rome Metro network which has stops at or near the main sitres

[Browezilla]

Also, most sites are close to each other. If you are in good health and have a good map, try walking. However the Vatican is probaby the outlier here requiring the longest walk.

[10suzy]

just got back - Villefranche is super easy - walk to the top of the hill (5 min) and the bus headed to the right goes to Monaco/Monte Carlo (3e round trip/person) and the bus going to the left (across the street) goes to Nice.

[Browezilla]

just got back - Villefranche is super easy - walk to the top of the hill (5 min) and the bus headed to the right goes to Monaco/Monte Carlo (3e round trip/person) and the bus going to the left (across the street) goes to Nice.

Great. I was considering RCCL's full day excursion for $155/person, but the posts here have convinced me to use the bus/train system and a possible taxi here and there if time becomes and issue. Thanks for all the info!