Advice/help required for choosing best shore excursion!

[EA1978]

Hi folks,

Ok, so I'm booked to go on a cruise next year which visits La Coruna, Bilbao and Gijon. If anyone else has ever been on this cruise previously then I wondered if I could reach out to them for their advice regarding information on the shore excursions on offer for each of the ports we will be visiting as the descriptions on the P&O website don't really go into much detail! 

[Gettingwarmer]

43 minutes ago, EA1978 said:

Hi folks,

Ok, so I'm booked to go on a cruise next year which visits La Coruna, Bilbao and Gijon. If anyone else has ever been on this cruise previously then I wondered if I could reach out to them for their advice regarding information on the shore excursions on offer for each of the ports we will be visiting as the descriptions on the P&O website don't really go into much detail! 

La Coruna, ship docks in town and you can walk through to beach or there is a local tour nearby that takes you to the lighthouse (Tower of Hercules) etc. Bilbao get the shuttle into town and walk to the Guggenheim Museum, then walk right along the river to the old town on the other bank. Gijon I  don’t  know. 

Edited October 22, 2023 by Gettingwarmer

[EA1978]

28 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

La Coruna, ship docks in town and you can walk through to beach or there is a local tour nearby that takes you to the lighthouse (Tower of Hercules) etc. Bilbao get the shuttle into town and walk to the Guggenheim Museum, then walk right along the river to the old town on the other bank. Gijon I  don’t  know. 

Sorry, that wasn't quite what I meant! I'm trying to get a better understanding of what the available shore excursions have to offer so I can pick the best one that shows you as much of the city as possible. For example, the 'Leisurely La Coruna' excursion. This sounds quite thorough but appears to all take place on a coach and I don't know if I want to see the city from a coach window as it goes by! If it also included a guided walking tour of a part of the city, this would be a lot better but the description doesn't really say that! So that's why I wanted to ask on here to see if anyone had the experience of doing them before?

[jh1809]

3 minutes ago, EA1978 said:

Sorry, that wasn't quite what I meant! I'm trying to get a better understanding of what the available shore excursions have to offer so I can pick the best one that shows you as much of the city as possible. For example, the 'Leisurely La Coruna' excursion. This sounds quite thorough but appears to all take place on a coach and I don't know if I want to see the city from a coach window as it goes by! If it also included a guided walking tour of a part of the city, this would be a lot better but the description doesn't really say that! So that's why I wanted to ask on here to see if anyone had the experience of doing them before?

I've not been to any of your ports, but I've found that when a P&O excursion has "Leisurely" in its title it's usually aimed at those who don't want to (or are unable to) do much walking. So that would probably rule out a guided walking tour as part of it.

[Gettingwarmer]

44 minutes ago, EA1978 said:

Sorry, that wasn't quite what I meant! I'm trying to get a better understanding of what the available shore excursions have to offer so I can pick the best one that shows you as much of the city as possible. For example, the 'Leisurely La Coruna' excursion. This sounds quite thorough but appears to all take place on a coach and I don't know if I want to see the city from a coach window as it goes by! If it also included a guided walking tour of a part of the city, this would be a lot better but the description doesn't really say that! So that's why I wanted to ask on here to see if anyone had the experience of doing them before?

What I am saying is that you do not need excursions at these ports. At La Coruna you are right in the middle of town, why take an excursion? Check out the sightseeing on google. If you want to see Bilbao walk it as I suggest, if you want to sit on a coach take an excursion. 
 

Edited October 22, 2023 by Gettingwarmer

[jeanlyon]

15 minutes ago, Gettingwarmer said:

What I am saying is that you do not need excursions at these ports. At La Coruna you are right in the middle of town, why take an excursion? Check out the sightseeing on google. If you want to see Bilbao walk it as I suggest, if you want to sit on a coach take an excursion. 
 

Couldn't agree more.  why pay for an excursions when everywhere is walkable.  Do your internet searches, find out what you would like to see and then walk to it!

[EA1978]

1 hour ago, Gettingwarmer said:

What I am saying is that you do not need excursions at these ports. At La Coruna you are right in the middle of town, why take an excursion? Check out the sightseeing on google. If you want to see Bilbao walk it as I suggest, if you want to sit on a coach take an excursion. 
 

I see your point but I've always done shore excursions for all the ports I've visited during the previous cruises I have been on. Never having been to these places before and not really having the confidence to make my way around foreign cities on my own (I'm a solo traveller), I've found guided tours to be the best way to get to see and make the most of the locations in the limited time you have there. Therefore that's why I was making enquiries about the shore excursions for this cruise I am going on next year.

[terrierjohn]

3 minutes ago, EA1978 said:

I see your point but I've always done shore excursions for all the ports I've visited during the previous cruises I have been on. Never having been to these places before and not really having the confidence to make my way around foreign cities on my own (I'm a solo traveller), I've found guided tours to be the best way to get to see and make the most of the locations in the limited time you have there. Therefore that's why I was making enquiries about the shore excursions for this cruise I am going on next year.

There is a ports of call forum on CC where you might find some information, although I suspect it's mainly Americans who use that forum.

[Gettingwarmer]

12 minutes ago, EA1978 said:

I see your point but I've always done shore excursions for all the ports I've visited during the previous cruises I have been on. Never having been to these places before and not really having the confidence to make my way around foreign cities on my own (I'm a solo traveller), I've found guided tours to be the best way to get to see and make the most of the locations in the limited time you have there. Therefore that's why I was making enquiries about the shore excursions for this cruise I am going on next year.

I understand your position and hope you receive replies from people who have taken excursions from these ports. 

[Winifred 22]

34 minutes ago, EA1978 said:

I see your point but I've always done shore excursions for all the ports I've visited during the previous cruises I have been on. Never having been to these places before and not really having the confidence to make my way around foreign cities on my own (I'm a solo traveller), I've found guided tours to be the best way to get to see and make the most of the locations in the limited time you have there. Therefore that's why I was making enquiries about the shore excursions for this cruise I am going on next year.

I am a solo traveller who is her her mid 60 ‘s . I don’t take cruise line excursions as I find them too expensive. La Corunna has a good tour from a private bus company that takes you to all the sights. You can get out at each one. You can’t miss the coach as its right outside port with hosts selling tickets. Done it twice. Costs 25 euro I think. Not been to Bilbao. Gijon I just wandered around the town. 

[tring]

1 hour ago, EA1978 said:

I see your point but I've always done shore excursions for all the ports I've visited during the previous cruises I have been on. Never having been to these places before and not really having the confidence to make my way around foreign cities on my own (I'm a solo traveller), I've found guided tours to be the best way to get to see and make the most of the locations in the limited time you have there. Therefore that's why I was making enquiries about the shore excursions for this cruise I am going on next year.

 

If you are interested in a walking tour, you really need to look for excursions that say they are walking tours and they will likely only be for about an hour or so.  If seeing places from a coach is mentioned, that is what an excursion would do, unless there is any mention of a specific stop and a visit to somewhere.  Even then, unless an "inside visit" or perhaps, "A visit to", is mentioned, it is likely you would only see somewhere from the outside and a tour guide will talk about it, whilst you stand in a group listening. On a coach trip, you may have a photo stop, when you may have time to get off the coach to take a photograph, though it is possible there is only time for the coach to stop briefly whilst the passengers take photos from inside the coach.  Coach tours in a city can take a while getting around as there may be a fair bit of traffic.

 

It sounds to me as though you may prefer a walking tour, or something that visits one or more places with inside visits.

 

Alternatively, you may not find Spain a difficult country to visit independently as many people will speak fluent English, especially people who work in museums, other tourist attractions, cafes and bars.  Only you know if you would be comfortable doing that though.  A short walking tour early in the day may well help your confidence as the guide will often suggest museums or churches, (for instance), that would be interesting places to visit later in the day, or if not, they are likely to be very happy to discuss seeing other places with you, if you ask about that.  It is usually easy to pay entrance charges with card payments nowadays, though it is worth taking some Euros with you as well if you do go somewhere on your own.

 

Hope you find something of interest to you,

 

Barbara

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by tring

[Josy1953]

When we were in Bilbao this summer we took the shuttle into the city.  There were Spanish  guides where the shuttle dropped us off, a lot of people getting off the shuttle joined one of these guided tours which I believe were reasonably priced. This might be a good  option for you.

We didn't go on a tour because I spent 3 months working on a project in Vitoria, a short drive from Bilbao, so I was confident enough to walk around the city and show DH the places that I  knew were more interesting for us.  Almost everywhere in Bilbao takes cards and some places don't accept cash.