Seeking port option advice

[masspector]

Doing the following ports in October 2024.  Each port is one day after the other, no sea days in between.  We are not opposed to doing excursions, but wanted to get advice on what we might could do on our own in each port.  We are not sure how far each docking location is from any activities or town centers.  No major mobility issues but not looking for anything strenuous either.  TIA

 

Tue         Ravenna, Italy   

Wed       Koper, Slovenia 

Thu        Split, Croatia      

Fri           Kotor, Montenegro         

Sat          Dubrovnik, Croatia          

Sun        Corfu, Greece

Mon      Santorini, Greece

Tue         Mykonos, Greece

[cruisemom42]

4 hours ago, masspector said:

Doing the following ports in October 2024.  Each port is one day after the other, no sea days in between.  We are not opposed to doing excursions, but wanted to get advice on what we might could do on our own in each port.  We are not sure how far each docking location is from any activities or town centers.  No major mobility issues but not looking for anything strenuous either.  TIA

 

Tue         Ravenna, Italy   

Wed       Koper, Slovenia 

Thu        Split, Croatia      

Fri           Kotor, Montenegro         

Sat          Dubrovnik, Croatia          

Sun        Corfu, Greece

Mon      Santorini, Greece

Tue         Mykonos, Greece

 

Here are my thoughts but there are longer discussions on the appropriate boards here (e.g., search the Italy forum for Ravenna, etc.)

 

Ravenna, Italy  -- Take the ship's shuttle into town and view the magnificant mosaics in the early churches, baptisteries and tombs. These are considered UNESCO world treasures and are very unique; a bridge between ancient Roman mosaics and later Christian ones. With a little reading/research, easy to do on your own and the center of town is very walkable. Also very good food and wine so look to have lunch in town.

 

Koper, Slovenia -- Several options ranging from exploring the nearby town of Koper on your own from the ship (easy day) to taking a ship or private tour to Ljubljana or Lake Bled. I did the latter last October and enjoyed it very much; if you do this be sure you take a tour that will get you to the island in the middle of the lake via the traditional wooden boats.

 

Split, Croatia -- Easy walk into the old town from the ship. The old town was created from the remains of a large Roman palace built by Emperor Diocletian (who was from Split and retired there). Parts of the Roman town can still be seen/visited and it is very charming. Easy day.

 

Kotor, Montenegro -- One of the best parts of this visit is the approach via the scenic Bay of Kotor, which is basically a fjord. It takes several hours to reach Kotor, hopefully your ship will not do the transit TOO early in the morning. The old walled town of Kotor is just across the street from where ships dock or tender, you can wander on your own or take a walking tour.        

 

Dubrovnik, Croatia -- A charming walled city, known for its "wall walk" (for a small fee you can climb to the top of the medieval walls and walk around the entire circuit, takes a couple of hours with stops for photos and rest). Also well known as a "Game of Thrones" filming location (🙄) for which you can take a local walking tour or DIY with downloaded info from the internet. Warning: it tends to be overrun with tourists in the height of the season.

 

Corfu, Greece -- A charming Greek island very different to Santorini and Mykonos -- much greener. You can opt to take a tour if you want to see more of the island (lovely beaches, a couple of small palaces, etc), or you can just get transportation (local bus or shuttle) into the main town (Corfu town) where there is a lovely Venetian esplanade, several churches, markets, and museums (archaeology, and a unique museum of Byzantine/Greek icons).

 

Santorini, Greece -- Everyone knows the iconic blue and white houses of Santorini. Oia is the best place to see them. Unfortunately Santorini can be very overcrowded and it is a good idea to do some reading to figure out how best to navigate the bottlenecks caused by tendering and by the need to get up to the top of the cliff at Thira in order to sightsee. There are a couple of workarounds, such as taking an early ship tour to get you to Oia early, a private boat that takes passengers from the tender stop around the island to Oia, etc.

 

Mykonos, Greece -- Similar to Santorini but a bit more rustic, Mykonos town is easy to wander on your own but can also get crowded if several ships are in port. One ship can dock but any additional ones will tender you right to the center of the town. Streets are fun to wander but mostly contain expensive shops and tavernas. There are beaches around the island via local bus, taxi, or excursion; some are topless (fair warning). If you enjoy ancient ruins, you can take a short ferry ride to the nearby island of Delos which was a very important place in antiquity and has marvelous ruins but little shade.

 

[masspector]

Thank you so much for the very detailed information.  I will use it to research.  This was way more than I expected.  Thank you again.