La Rochelle for two days, 9/13-14. What do you recommend? In looking at the distance to Bordeaux, is it worth it?

[Cruisechristi]

We are sailing aboard the Celebrity APEX arriving at 5:00 p.m. on 9/13 and departing 5:00pm 9/14. I can find half day Medoc or St. Emillion  tours but they depart Boudreaux at 9:00 am and just cannot figure out how to get there in time, plus worried about ship departure at 5:00. Any alternative ideas? The ship offers a cognac tour and La Rochelle city tour so I guess we should not plan to visit Bordeaux? 

[edinburgher]

 

 Arriving at 5pm in the evening means you could plan an evening ashore in la Rochelle with dinner in a local restaurant.

 

 If you are near enough to the Cognac area, (i think, the only area in the world which can give it the name cognac) visiting would be a quite rare opportunity and much less  less common than the opportunity to visit a winery somewhere in the world, but really it is personal choice how you spend your time there.  You might even want to consider a private tour to Cognac (if there is one) and find others on your RC to share the cost with you, or decide against any tour at all and enjoy doing things your own way.

 

I really don't think a guided tour is needed to explore la Rochelle, and as a town it  has quite  a lot going for it. There will be much info about the town online, including tripadvisor and other info sources.

 

.A recent thread,  but you may find others when you use the search option for la Rochelle on the boards.

facility.https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2840178-excursions-on-our-own/page/2/

Edited May 10, 2022 by edinburgher

[LondonTowner]

If you look on the local tourist board website there are lots of suggestions as to what to do in La Rochelle.

[Hlitner]

An overnight in La Rochelle is intriguing.  For those of us who are very independent travelers this offers a terrific opportunity.  If a cruiser wanted to experience the Bordeaux wine region we would suggest renting a car (at La Rochelle) and driving to Bordeaux.  But rather than returning to the ship we think a good option would be to book a night in a hotel somewhere in the Bordeaux region (perhaps in the city of Bordeaux or even a small village like St Emillion).  This would a full first day to explore the region and one would also have the first half of that 2nd day before driving back to La Rochelle.

 

I will add that we have spent many nights in the Bordeaux region (on independent driving trips) and do really enjoy the area.  For wine lovers it is very interesting to visit some of the better-known vineyards (you often need to make advance reservations) and enjoy a nice dinner in a decent restaurant with some good local wine.  We are big fans of the cruise industry trend towards overnights.  HAL has been doing it for years (especially in Lisbon and Venice (unfortunately that is no longer possible)) and we always took advantage of those overnights to enjoy the local food and nightlife.  

 

Hank