Excursions

[asmody]

We are booked on the Quest leaving Athens August 17(Mediterranean Isles). Any recommendations for shore excursions? Are there any we should absolutely go on or avoid?

[Roxburgh]

We are booked on the Quest leaving Athens August 17(Mediterranean Isles). Any recommendations for shore excursions? Are there any we should absolutely go on or avoid?

 

Based on your itinerary and our experience:

 

Kusadasi .... if you have not been to Ephesus then it is a 'must' visit. Make sure your tour includes the terraced houses which are still being excavated. Do not bother with the House of Mary. Edit. Unless you really want to buy an expensive carpet, avoid the carpet stores like the plague.

 

Chios ..... the town itself is not very interesting. MIght be worth booking one of the tours.

 

Lipari .... the town and the church on the hill are very walkable. No need for a tour. Then, what we did, was to do a private taxi tour around the island which was very good. Get two couples and it works out as good value.

 

Livorno ..... we just took the transfer into Florence for the day. But we would not do it again. Far too crowded. If you have been to Florence then you might want to look at other options.

[wripro]

From Livorno the best thing to do imo is take the train to Lucca and spend the time walking around on your own. It's a fascinating walled city with great sights, shops and restaurants.

[Chairsin]

I actually also like Livorno itself -- lovely canals and fortifications. Another option from Livorno by easy train are Pisa.And don't forget that in Kusadasi you will have SB's signature evening event at Ephesus.

[hoya68]

We are booked on the Quest leaving Athens August 17(Mediterranean Isles). Any recommendations for shore excursions? Are there any we should absolutely go on or avoid?

 

Ephesus is an absolute must. We actually booked a private car and driver rather than go on a tour. It didn't cost much more, we could see what we wanted and avoid what we weren't interested in, and our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and informative about Ephesus and the other sites(as opposed to one guide we saw reading out loud from an English guidebook!)

[ab21au]

Ephesus is an absolute must. We actually booked a private car and driver rather than go on a tour.

 

What tour company did you choose to go with, there are so many of them and they all seem to have good and bad reports. Was it from Izmir or Kusadasi?

[hoya68]

Our guide was Ozgur Dalkilic whom we booked through Ertunga Ecir at http://ertungaecir.com/ Ertunga was unavailable that day, but I have heard he is outstanding as well. My wife and I couldn't have been more pleased with the tour. Ozgur and his driver met us in Kudasi.