Olbia & genoa ports excursion advice please

[alfie2000]

We are sailing on msc orchestra on 18th June 2023. My husband will be using a collapsable mobility scooter as has breathing difficulties. Has anyone got any suggestions for excursions or should we consider just staying on the ship or in the case of olbia is the town ok?

[euro cruiser]

Olbia is a pretty small town, at the very least I would consider going in to enjoy a leisurely lunch sitting outdoors in a piazza.  There is a free shuttle bus from the port to the town center.

[edinburgher]

or should we consider just staying on the ship or in the case of olbia is the town ok?

 

OLBIA

We didn't want a tour here, only a quieter more relaxed day and that is what we had. We didn't find a great deal  to interest us here, although we did enjoy the archaeological museum on the waterfront and I recommend you visit.  I think it was free or cost very little.. They have some Phoneacian, Punic and Roman artefacts and the remains of a Roman ship, their star exhibit.  

Other than that, we only strolled around the central area (which is quite pleasant)for a time before returning to the ship as we had no interest in the beaches of which I believe there are a few.  The town centre is mostly flat which would be OK with a scooter, so do venture out if only for a time.

 

On our visit there were many young teens working in pairs.  They explained they were studying english, but with few opportunities to practise, they had been let out of school to interact with the mostly english speaking  pax from this British cruise ship, with the focus to be on  verbal exchanges.  They were working in pairs with questionnaires on their clip boards, also gave directions if asked, and were very keen, usually approaching passengers to ask if they wanted to know about the town or needed directions..  There were also a few in the archaeolgical museum volunteering guided tours in english.

 

Sorry cannot help with Genoa as never ported there but there are many past threads you could read.

Edited April 29, 2023 by edinburgher

[dronnygirl]

Olbia is a pleasant small town, okay for a wander. There are shops and plenty of cafes to people watch. There's also a small port where you can wander around the expensive yachts.  

We left the ship quite early and there were double decker buses outside the port. They were taking trips to the beach on the Costa Smerelda . We bought a ticket (think it was about  10 euros) and they took us down the peninsula which had lovely scenery . We got off at a beach and then got a later bus back to the ship.  If you don't want to get off it was a lovely round trip of about an hour .