British Isles with Portland

[JerseyShore]

Considering the 12 day British Isles next May.   How many of these ports are easy on your own? Or do we need an excursion at every port?  
 

thanks

[gunnywife]

I would say the main port you would want to book an excursion would be the Paris/Normandy port.

My husband and I did one of the Normandy tours a few years ago and I'm glad we did.  He was a retired Marine and that tour meant a lot to both of us.  In June I'm traveling with my son, dau in law, my dau and her husband and we will probably do one of the Paris tours.  The cruise is wonderful. You will enjoy.. Just remember it's port intensive.  My husband and I  did most of the ports ourselves and will probably do the same this time.  But  I will say my son wants to do the Guinness  tour and the girls want to see castles.

[good42n]

I’ve booked that trip for September and have found many excursions online. All of them suit me better than the shop tours, and are considerably cheaper. Found a nice trip for LeHavre which also includes the beach a peek at the Bayeaux Tapestry, so that’s on my list. 

[Blondilu]

 

 

We've taken a British Isles Cruise twice (very similar, but no Portland) and I found most of the ports were easy to DIY with a little advanced research.  

 

"On your own" can mean a lot of things.  For us it can mean walking, taking taxis, taking buses, taking trains, taking the Hop On Hop off. Or even booking a local tour which we've done a few times.  When I start planning tours I mostly do "on our own" using one of the above mentioned modes of transportation.  But, sometimes a ship's tour is equally good, IMO.  Just depends.  Two ship's excursions that were memorable was the one to Chester on the border of Wales (from Liverpool) and the one we took from LaHavre to the beaches of Normandy.  I liked them becuase the guides plied us with all kinds of great info on the ride there but then let us go off on our own.  And since it was all day lunch was included. 

 

It really depends on what you want to see.  If your cruise stops at Belfast, for instance, it's a little too far to the center of town to walk.  Princess had a shuttle which we used and then got on the Hop On, Hop off bus.  Dublin, once you get to the middle of town you can pretty much walk anywhere, Princess offered a shuttle there, too.  Of course, if you want to go out into the countryside, say The Giant's Causeway, you definitely need some kind of an excursion, either cruise line or private, or rent a car, I guess. 

 

Our cruise stopped at Orkney Islands and the archeological sites are clear on the other side of the island so we took a ship's excursion there.  St. Peters Port in Guernsey is pretty much a walker's paradise, though there are some things that will require transportation of some kind.

 

Greenock we took a train, Invergordon we had a private tour the first time and a ship's tour the next.  The town is quite a way from the port as I recall.

 

In Cork we took a taxi to the Blarney castle the first time and a ship's excursion the second time.  But, the little town of Cobh is right there and an easy walk.

 

In Edinburgh you just need to get to town and then walk everywhere.  I think we took some excursion out into the country the first time and the second time we took a taxi.

 

Sorry for the long answer.  The short answer is yes, I found them easy to do on your own though it may require some advanced thought regarding transportation as some of the ports are a ways out.  

 

One other note; I ditto the advice about LaHavre.  I think it was at least an hour and a half to the beaches of Normandy.  So, not much chance of doing it on your own unless you rent a car.

 

 

[geoherb]

On your own or through an independent tour excursion company will usually be less expensive and give you more. We booked two excursions through independent companies: with Butlers/eCoach in Cobh to go to Blarney Castle and Kinsale and with Invergordon Tours in Invergordon to go to Urquhart Castle, a boat cruise on Loch Ness, Clava Cairns, and Cawdor Castle. We did Dublin on the hop-on/hop-off bus. We did the same in Glasgow after taking the train there from Greenock. We walked in Belfast to the Ulster Museum and around the downtown area. In Edinburgh, I purchased tickets in advance for the castle. We took the train from South Queensferry. We walked in Le Havre and enjoyed it, especially the art museum there.

[nini]

You will find a wealth of detailed information on the following forum. That is how we planned all of our shore excursions. You may also find people to book with on your Roll Call.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/