Italy - where to begin planning tours

[Mrsfrz]

We will be doing the Best of Italy and Croatia on the Constellation next April 23. We only have one sea day, which is great, but I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out how to plan our excursions at each port.  We usually don't do the ship excursions, and we try to book small tours which are cheaper and usually better for our needs. I'm afraid we will break the bank at each port, but I don't want to miss anything. I wonder how much we can do on our own and which ones we need to book a tour on. I'm excited but already in a panic! Is it best to take this question to another board or can someone here guide me how to begin? There are only a couple people in our roll call so it's not a good source of info yet. Thank you in advance. 

[Turtles06]

5 minutes ago, Mrsfrz said:

Is it best to take this question to another board or can someone here guide me how to begin?

Yes, the Italy Ports of Call forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/464-italy-ports/
 

Have fun planning!

 

[jelayne]

6 minutes ago, Mrsfrz said:

We will be doing the Best of Italy and Croatia on the Constellation next April 23. We only have one sea day, which is great, but I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out how to plan our excursions at each port.  We usually don't do the ship excursions, and we try to book small tours which are cheaper and usually better for our needs. I'm afraid we will break the bank at each port, but I don't want to miss anything. I wonder how much we can do on our own and which ones we need to book a tour on. I'm excited but already in a panic! Is it best to take this question to another board or can someone here guide me how to begin? There are only a couple people in our roll call so it's not a good source of info yet. Thank you in advance. 

Check the ports of Call boards and tackle 1 port at a time.  Trip advisor and tours by locals also give me an idea of what I might want to see.  Also join your Roll Call you may find others to share with or have already have tours you can join.

[Kelownadon]

Also go to the Roll Call for your specific cruise and read what other people on you cruise are suggesting for tours. There is usually lots of good advice there. 

[Host Kat]

42 minutes ago, Mrsfrz said:

We will be doing the Best of Italy and Croatia on the Constellation next April 23. We only have one sea day, which is great, but I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out how to plan our excursions at each port.  We usually don't do the ship excursions, and we try to book small tours which are cheaper and usually better for our needs. I'm afraid we will break the bank at each port, but I don't want to miss anything. I wonder how much we can do on our own and which ones we need to book a tour on. I'm excited but already in a panic! Is it best to take this question to another board or can someone here guide me how to begin? There are only a couple people in our roll call so it's not a good source of info yet. Thank you in advance. 

 

Howdy @Mrsfrz from a fellow Texan!

 

To help you out, your new thread has been moved to the Ports of Call - Italy forum where it will be on topic. For Croatia, please research the Ports of Call - Other Mediterranean Ports forum.

 

The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have been there frequent those forums and provide feedback there. Browse through the thread titles on the forums looking for threads of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you.
 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[euro cruiser]

Please post a list of the ports, the day of week you will visit each (this impacts both opening of sites as well as public transportation) and the hours you will be in port.  This will help us to help you.

[edinburgher]

12 hours ago, Mrsfrz said:

e will be doing the Best of Italy and Croatia on the Constellation next April 23. We only have one sea day, which is great, but I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out how to plan our excursions at each port.

This is a copy/paste of a reply I  recently gave another poster who didn't know where to start research.  Some of it may be useful to you, some not, but you could read it anyway. But as above, you are best to post the names of your ports.

 

And yes, booking shorex in every port will fast become very expensive and although sometimes a shorex is the best  way to do or see something, there will be other occasions where it will be easy enough to DIY to the sights which interest you most and at a fraction of the cost.Whether you can DIY or not  depends on your plans in each and for that you need to read, read and read.

Best advice is that you do your port research for each port call and get some idea of what you might want to do as that will determine whether or not you can DIY or whether you might want to look at using public transport such as buses or trains or a private tour or a taxi etc.

 

There is a huge amount of info available for most ports  on the boards in previous threads. You will want to begin researching by looking at guidebooks, Tripadvisor and other online information sources to get some of the basics which will help you form ideas of the possibilities, and do look at your ship shorex even if you do not want to book any as they too  will give you some ideas. And some towns and cities have excellent info for visitors on their Official Tourist information website so include these too.  Google really is your new best friend.

 

For previous threads and posts, instead of back paging, use the SEARCH TOOL.  If you do not know how to use it, go to the relevant board for that country. You are mentioning Italy and Croatia, so the boards would be Italy Ports and Other Mediterranean Ports.Beginning with your first port, go to the relevant board and stay on that General board,   ( not an individual thread) and insert the word *?*  in the empty search box under your username. Hit the little spy glass, and in a few seconds all the results will appear showing previous threads where that word is included. You can then choose which to read.  Repeat the process with your other ports on the relevant geographic forum. Some ports will have many hundreds of results, others very few, and it is also worth looking for "stickies" at the top of each forum as these will have much info too. As an example, there is one for  Rome at the top of the Italian one, but there are others.

 

It is a fair amount of work to research a number of ports and time is needed but you may have that. I don't know as you gave no indication of your travel date. And everyone will have their own way of researching and collating info they might need.  Our way is described here.

 

Firstly and I think most importantly, I suggest that in order not to get confused, tackle only one port at a time and do not move on until that one is "done and dusted".  We find it helpful to start a document for each port and copy/paste info into that document  which we find along the way.  At this early stage it is random from a number of sources and documents can become very long, but when finished and we have semi planned each day, we delete all info which is no longer relevant leaving only the info we need. We print off and take it with us. When we arrive somewhere it is a simple matter to take out the relevant page(s).  We then know where we are going, address, opening hours etc and how to get there. and if you have had to pre-book entry times and/or bought tickets in advance, you can include that info on your document.

 

Lots of work for you ahead, but if you don't let it overwhelm you, research is part of the overall enjoyment of the trip.

[Mrsfrz]

Here's the itinerary:

 

[euro cruiser]

Okay, a couple more questions.  Will you be spending time in Rome prior to the cruise, and will you spend time in Italy afterwards?  Are you flying into Rome and out of another airport?

[ajtaylor29]

Great advise from others about taking your time to research and focusing on one port at a time.

We're about to leave on our 3rd Med cruise (all new ports for us!) and i know the feeling of "where do i start?!?"

I always read CC threads to find other peoples experiences/suggestions and slowly start to lock in on what sounds good for us! Also do a lot of you-tube videos, google searches, reviews, etc. until i make a decision and book it! (can you tell i'm the planner in our family?!?)

You may find that one tour company offers tours in several ports and that can simplify things sometimes. We rarely use ship excursions so almost all of our tours are booked privately.

Occasionally we will go DIY without any structured plans, but imo - those are the stops that i tend to feel like we just wandered around and we probably missed a lot of the highlights. That's just me, but if you can afford it i recommend some kind of planned activity in each port.

As you make decisions and start locking in plans for each port, the excitement will build! I actually think the research is part of the fun of planning a cruise!

[MeHeartCruising]

While I also don't like t book ship excursions (unless it really, really makes sense for some reason), I still regard them as a valuable assistance in helping me determine what I might like to do in each port.  I think the majority of first time visitors to most stops in Europe would do very similar things to what the excursions offer.  I do additional research as well, but that usually leads back to doing the same things the excursions offer. 

 

So my advice is to review the excursions and itemize, from them, what you might like to see and do while in port.  Then separately, research how you can accomplish those things either doing on your own or hiring someone local to help you.  That's at least a starting point.

[John Bull]

1 hour ago, Mrsfrz said:

Here's the itinerary:

 

 

Civitavecchia. If you're heading direct from airport to ship, I suggest you pre-book a private transfer - but you won't see Rome at all..

You need at least a couple of full days in Rome to explore, so book a hotel in Rome, not in Civi which is an hour away. You can get around by metro or local buses, many sights are close enough to each-other to go by shanks's pony, you might find hailing a taxi quicker & easier here or there.

Tip - whilst ho-ho buses give a great over-view in many cities, because of the limitations on their routing  they're not worth the time or trouble in Rome. If you want an over-view, I suggest booking a night-tour bus.  

There are quite frequent inexpensive trains from Rome to Civi. - ,late in the day they're packed with cruisers returning to their ships from a port-of-call visit but you'll be travelling earlier in the day. You can board at one of several stations in the city, so choose the most convenient one for your hotel.

From Civi station you need a shuttle-bus to the port gate then another from the gate to the ship - if you don't want to do that with luggage, pre-book a private transfer direct from hotel to ship.

 

Livorno. Most folk head for Pisa or Florence (or both, but with limited time in each) by train or by pre-booked local shared tour. The one problem with using the train is getting from port to Livorno station - taxis aren't always available, and ships' shuttlebuses go to Livorno centre & from there to the station needs a short local bus ride.

Same ho-ho advice as for Rome - they're not allowed in the historic centre, they merely circumnavigate it.

 

Portofino I suggest a lazy day in this delightful but busy village.

 

Naples. You have a number of options, the main ones are

- the city itself

- train or bus to Herculaneum (Ercolano Scavi) or Pompeii (Pompeii Scavi) or both

- train to Sorrento

- ferry to Sorrento or Capri

- pre-booked tour of the Amalfi coast (not possible by bus in a cruiser's port-of-call hours & you won't want to drive it.

Two (or more?) of those options can be combined. The choices and travel options are wide, you'l need to research deeply to figure which you'd prefer and which could be combined

 

Messini & Brindisi - sorry, can't help.

 

Kotor. Be on your balcony or on deck for the super sail-in or sail-out.

Your ship berths right in this quaint and historic little town (or for some ships this is a very easy & reliable tender port, tenders go to the same quay). You might want to make this a lazy day wandering the narrow little streets and people-watching from behind a tall cold beer.

Or take a boat ride to a couple of tiny (and I do mean tiny) islands, one man-made. "Our Lady of the Rocks" is how it's advertised. Or a ho-ho bus from the quay goes along the shore to see the islands from the mainland. You'll also see them as you sail in or out.

 

Split

Unlike most European ports, there will be inexpensive tour options available on-spec at the pier. Or walk along the ferry-lined quayside to the historic centre - the Diocletian's Palace is at its heart. 

 

Zadar

I don't know the city, but if you're brave enough to rent a car the coastal road (D8) south - perhaps as far as Trogir, altho that's not far from Split - is very scenic and has little traffic. Trogir is 2 1/2 hrs on the coast road but only 90 minutes back using the main road, and there are several opportunities to switch back earlier if time is a concern. It's for the drive more than the destination

 

Ravenna.

I don't know Ravenna, it's one of the port options for Venice following the ban on large cruise ships sailing into the city. It'd be a shame to be so close to Venice without seeing it, so despite the cost in time & money try to spend at least one full day in Venice before flying home.

 

You'll see I've not suggested a single ship's excursion. If you research, there'll be no need.

And you've got plenty of time for research.

Have fun googling and going through the port-of-call boards

 

JB 🙂

[euro cruiser]

One thing to consider is what is your personal ratio of travel time vs. "being there" time.  I know for myself that I generally want about twice as much time in a place as I spend getting there and back.

 

For that reason, I would not try to do a combination Florence and Pisa day from Livorno, because it takes too long to get there and back, there's just not enough time in either place for my taste.  But that's me, you need to consider what feels comfortable to you.

 

John Bull has hit the major sites at most of the Italy ports.

 

For Messina, most people head to either Taormina or Mt. Etna.  These are very different places, so again it comes down to what interests you.

 

Brindisi is in Puglia, some of the key sites in that region are Alberobello, famous for the trulli, Lecce, old town Bari, Polignano a Mare, and Ostuni.  Of these, the easiest to get to are Lecce and Ostuni, each of which can easily be reached by train.

[CynBeth6]

We were recently on a Med cruise. For Livorno we took a taxi to Pisa. They were right there as we got out of the terminal. We agreed on a price and a time for him to pick us back up. He said he could take us anywhere else but with my elderly mother being with us this was enough. For Portofino it is a tender port and you can walk around on your own seeing the castle and shops.

[ninjacat123]

Great itinerary! Like others have mentioned, TripAdvisor has given me insight to what each port has to offer.  I also have Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports book and have been researching my ports through that as well.  My cruise out of Civi starts with flying into FCO then train to Venice.  Spend the night then a train to Florence.  Spend the night then 2 days in Rome.  Train to Civi and a 10 day cruise to Greece and Italy.  Have fun planning!! 

[PurpleTraveller]

John Bull has given some excellent advice as per usual. I am on the exact same itinerary but for June 25 next year.

 

I always recommend looking at the ship shore excursions to get an idea of what is available to see and do in each port. Websites such as whatsinport can also be valuable sources of information. Also books either bought or borrowed can be helpful. You can also read previous reviews here and also search for specific ports. Once you have an idea of what you might like to do in each port you can then decide if you want to do ship shore excursions, private tours or DIY. Many if not all of the ports can be done independently. 

 

Some ports such as Livorno and Messina don't have a lot to see or do so most go further afield such as Florence, Pisa or the Cinque Terre from Livorno and Taormina or Mr Etna from Messina. Take into account the distances to travel to what it is that you would like to see and do.

 

Decide what interests you most to narrow down what you would like to see and do. Don't feel obliged to do a big ticket item such as Pompeii for an example, if you have no interest whatsoever in Roman ruins. A trip to Capri or the Amalfi Coast may be more to your liking. Then you can ask more specific questions about a particular port or activity.

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[edinburgher]

On 8/25/2023 at 12:25 AM, Mrsfrz said:

I wonder how much we can do on our own and which ones we need to book a tour on.

For Portofino, when you search the boards as described in post #7, you will find a number of references to Santa Margherita a very short distance away and I strongly suggest you consider that option as Portofino  really is tiny and a 12 hour stop there will be too long unless you take an excursion or visit SantaMmargherita( which you could also search for on the Italy Ports forum.)

 

From Livorno, a popular and relatively easy day out for cruise pax is to combine both Pisa and Lucca, and if you have no interest in viewing the Leaning Tower, even easier. You could also search for Lucca both online and again on the Italy ports forum. It is a "Tuscan gem" and a delight to explore.

 

SPLIT is super easy to DIY, only a 10-15 minute walk from the dock.  Again much info on previous threads and online. A favourite with cruisers.

 

Zadar, we didn't find too much there to interest us, but others may have been more taken with it than we were, but you could consider a shorex from this port if you decide after looking at online Zadar info, that there isn't enough for you.

 

NAPLES is always difficult for first time visitors given the number of choices. For this port especially you really do need to decide what interests you and that means reading reading and reading. Once you decide, several of the main sights can be done using either buses or trains, or the ferry should you decide on Capri. Lots of info on using these in previous threads.

[Mrsfrz]

23 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

Okay, a couple more questions.  Will you be spending time in Rome prior to the cruise, and will you spend time in Italy afterwards?  Are you flying into Rome and out of another airport?

We will probably fly into Rome a day or two early and stay one night in Venice. 

[euro cruiser]

Ahh, okay.  You might want to consider spending a bit more time in Venice, as you'll only have a half day there with a one night stay after a cruise.

 

From Ravenna to Venice is at least two and a half hours by car or bus transfer and a bit longer by train. 

[ollienbertsmum]

On 8/25/2023 at 1:25 AM, Mrsfrz said:

We will be doing the Best of Italy and Croatia on the Constellation next April 23. We only have one sea day, which is great, but I'm overwhelmed trying to figure out how to plan our excursions at each port.  We usually don't do the ship excursions, and we try to book small tours which are cheaper and usually better for our needs. I'm afraid we will break the bank at each port, but I don't want to miss anything. I wonder how much we can do on our own and which ones we need to book a tour on. I'm excited but already in a panic! Is it best to take this question to another board or can someone here guide me how to begin? There are only a couple people in our roll call so it's not a good source of info yet. Thank you in advance. 

 

I just want to add my two cents to “I don’t want to miss anything”.  You will!  You cannot see all that these wonderful ports have to offer in one day. You have to choose what you will enjoy most.  For me and DH it is usually DIY walking tours of the port town, the first few Med cruises took more planning.    I have passed too many cruisers on walking tours that look so bored to make me want to change my mind.  

 

I have taken cruise tours when that has been the only way to get to see somewhere that is on my wishlist - and is further from the port than I am willing to risk.  

 

It takes work to get the best trip you can.  You might find You Tube will help in your planning.  You can see what others have done.  I have used Rick Steves audio tours to listen to during the trip or even to help me plan.  The best have been St Peter’s Square, the canal cruise of Venice and St Mark’s Square.  

 

Happy travels. 

[erby2283]

I took my first (and so far only) trip to Europe in Aug 2019.  I booked a 12 day cruise packed full with ports because I wanted to see as much as I could!  I booked 4 tours with ItalyTours.Eu.  I would say they are very affordable - but then again, I was only paying for myself.  I would say the average tour was around 90 Euros and I tipped on top that even though it's not required.

 

In Kotor, we had an amazing day driving around and seeing the sights with our driver.  Tour was around 6 hours - went to Our Lady of the Rocks, Perast, panoramic ride to Budva, photo break at St. Stefan and an hour or so to walk around back in the town of Kotor - wish we had a little more time to explore the town - but you could just ask for that.  We had a group of 4 so it was 70 EU per person. mtours.me is the website address. And of course, the sail in to Kotor, which starts 2 hours before docking, is worth every minute so be sure to get up early.  I can't wait to go back again one day. 

 

As others have said, try to find your roll call here - although it seems to be a bit slow on here lately for all roll calls. The planning is part of the fun!