MEDITERRANEAN/GREECE SHORE EXCURSION OPTIONS vs. "Doing it on your own"

[lepidoptera]

We took the NCL tour to Delos from Myknonos, and it was very disappointing. The tour group was so large that it kept getting separated and the guide didn’t try to keep the group together and she carried her little sign so we knew where she was under her arm, so you couldn’t find her. The reason we took the tour through NCL was because we were worried about the ferry. But NCL used the same ferry everyone else was using.

 

Santorini we didn’t plan anything because we worried about how busy it would be. We took a ferry to Oia, spent time there then took the bus that came with the ferry to Fira and walked part way down, rode donkeys part way down to the boats.

[caneable]

Just picking up on Rhodes, Livorno and Malta.

It’s years since we went to Rhodes but it was always my favourite Greek island. Rhodes town is a great place to just walk round and there are lots of old courtyards and alleyways to explore. If you want somewhere further afield you could try Linda’s about 35 miles south. However it’s become more and more exploited and not easy to stroll around, but the main bay always was a marvellous beach.

Malta is similarly easy to walk round with a bust main shopping streets and several interesting churches to explore along with other old buildings. To get to town just take a right as you come out of the port area and, about 300 yards along there’s a passageway through to an elevator which takes you up to town level. Square there has great views over the harbour.

As you get out of the harbour you will see the hop on hop off buses lined up and also the horse and buggy rides. The hoho bus has three routes I think so you need to look at their website to see what you fancy.

At Livorno the options are many. Whatever you choose to do first stop will probably be the NCL shuttle. It was $3 last year I think but it could easily move on to $5 given the NCL approach to such things. It drives you into town where you pick up with various options of transport.

First the destination options. Livorno has an interesting market and the canal area is okay, but it isn’t for the first time visitor. Florence and Pisa are the main draw, but you can try Sienna, Lucca or the coastal villages of Cinque Terre. All can be self driven in a day, although CT would be extremely tiring done that way. Florence and Pisa can be reached by coach service or rain. A company called Tuscany Bus run a coach service from right by the NCL shuttle stop which goes to Florence and then Pisa on the way back. Just Google Tuscany Bus and it’ll pop up. The fare was $35 last year. They take you to a coach stand right alongside Florence Railway Station, So by coach or train you have the same issue, how to get into the city. It’s about a 20 minute walk. The coach company will give you a map and our guide did a good job of explaining the route. You have about 3.5hrs in the city and then leave for Pisa. You would struggle to do both by train. Incidentally, the train will be slightly cheaper than the coach I think.

At Pisa you have quite a walk to the area of the Leaning Tower, but our coach guide did accompany us along the way and got us all together for the return.

To be honest when we did Florence and Pisa we did a private excursion and they dropped us right by the Tower early in the morning , and then took us right through the traffic on the centre with request to be back at the drop off point by a certain time. I think we had 3hrs in Florence.

Well that’s rather a lot but hope it helps. I’ll check back a couple of times through the week if you have any ?s

[cruisequeen4ever]

Thank you for posting the exact itinerary because my recommendation varies by port. Generally speaking, if the port is far away from the tour sites, I recommend doing a ship excursion. That would be Rome, Naples, Florence, and Sicily. Santorini and Mykonos are perfect for DIY. In Mykonos, just wander on your own. In Santorini, listen for the boat operators shouting “get your tickets to Oia 15 Euros pp”, and do that. They’ll provide a bus back to Fira for you to explore there before taking the cable car back down to the tenders. Malta can be done either way; some tours are helpful there. If the HOHO bus picks up from the port in Piraeus, Athens can easily be done that way. I haven’t been to Rhodes or Crete. We love the places you’re going and could go over and over; have fun!

 

 

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[NancyW12]

Uncle Rick (Steves) rarely steers you wrong. Pick up a copy of the blue and yellow bible and go for it. His audio tours (on iTunes) are really good also.

[Clay Clayton]

Uncle Rick (Steves) rarely steers you wrong. Pick up a copy of the blue and yellow bible and go for it. His audio tours (on iTunes) are really good also.

 

 

 

Second the motion for using Rick Steves’ app. We used it last week in Milano and wish he had more for here. We used it to death while in Rome and Pompei.

 

 

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