Greek Island/Turkey shore excursion options - please help!

[ManhattanLawyer]

Hi,

 

I have several questions and would greatly appreciate your input.

 

I will be going on the 7 day cruise on the Perla (Louis Cruises) this August. The ports of call are:

 

Istanbul

Mykonos

Patmos

Kusadasi

Rhodes

Crete

Santorini

 

Has anyone been on this cruise? If so, did you do any shore excursions through the ship? If so, which ones did you particularly enjoy and think were worth the money, and which ones did you think were not worth the money? Which ports do you think you could easily navigate on your own?

 

I know that in places like Istanbul and Kusadasi, several independent tour companies and travel guides offer their own shore excursions. Have any of you taken those tours instead of those offered through the ship, and if so, which ones do you recommend?

 

Thank you all for your valuable help!

[LHT28]

The ports of call are:

 

Istanbul

Mykonos

Patmos

Kusadasi

Rhodes

Crete

Santorini

 

Patmos ..we did the ships tour to the monestary ...worth the view alone.

There was a nice bakery just off the main square in town or a cafe along the waterfront.

 

Santorini...we just toured the touwn on our own but I think there is a bus you can take around the island ..

Kusadasi ...we did ships tour to Ephesus ...

Rhodes... you could rent a car and go to Lindo's or walk the Old town (close to dock) nice beach at Falaraki (sp?) nice paved roads not hard to get around.

 

Check the Ports of Call section for more info on private tours.

[cacky]

I will be going on the 7 day cruise on the Perla (Louis Cruises) this August. The ports of call are:

 

Istanbul

Mykonos

Patmos

Kusadasi

Rhodes

Crete

Santorini

 

We just came back from the Med/Greek Islands on the Brilliance RCCL. We did Mykonos on our own. Just walked around the village at the port all day. The shops were great and reasonable. We bought some beautiful local art, oil on canvas that was very inexpensive. We ate a fabuluous Greeklunch at the restaurant - Antonini. Mykonos was one of my favorite ports.

 

Santorini - we did a bus tour with the ship that took us on the other side of the island to Oia and also a visit to a local winery.

 

Kusadasi = we also did a bus tour with the ship and visited Ephesus, Melitus and Didymus. Ephesus is well worth the visit. I wish we had more time there. The bus tours are so rushed with little time to spend on your own.

 

Hope this helps some.

[reanbr2000]

We just got back from a Med cruise and had stops in Mykonos and Santorini. Both ports are very easy to do on your own.

 

In Mykonos, we walked around the towns that are closest to where the ship docks, but then we decided to rent an ATV for the rest of the day to explore the island. The cost was only 20E plus 5E for gas. We drove to one of the more popular beaches ~ Paradise beach~ and laid out for awhile, and then just drove around to different parts of the island. The roads are very well marked, and the owner of the ATV rental place gave us a map, so we had no problems navigating. DH absolutely loved doing that.

 

In Santorini, we took the funicular to Fira town, and from there, took the bus to Oia. The cost for the bus is only 1.10E each way, and they run every half hour or so. We spent the day taking pictures, walking, and doing a little shopping. In Santorini, it is all about the views ~ it was one of the most beautiful stops on the cruise.

[Ashlea13vb]

reanbr2000 - i've just learned about these ATVs in Mykonos elsewhere on this board. this is absolutely something my BF would just love also! as i understand it, there are several places that rent them? did you find it easy to locate a rental place, or would you recommend the one that you used?

 

thanks!

[reanbr2000]

reanbr2000 - i've just learned about these ATVs in Mykonos elsewhere on this board. this is absolutely something my BF would just love also! as i understand it, there are several places that rent them? did you find it easy to locate a rental place, or would you recommend the one that you used?

 

My husband loved renting that thing! I think it ended up being one of his absolute favorite stops on the trip ~ he loves to really be able to explore those off-the-beaten path places. The place that we rented from was called Apollon Rentals. Here is their website: http://www.apolloncars.com/about.html There are places all over the main towns that allow you to rent ATV's, so you definitely won't be limited. He gave us a price that was less than what was listed, so make sure to negotiate if he tries to get you to pay full price. We would recommend them, but I also wouldn't sweat it if they run out and you have to use another one. Also, just make sure to bring a driver's license ~ they require you to at least have your US license.

 

They also rent mopeds, but I wouldn't recommend that ~ the roads tend to be a little bumpy & winding, and it could get dangerous being on only two wheels. In fact, a lady on our ship fell off off a moped and broke either her arm or leg. But, the ATV's on the other hand felt perfectly safe. Have a great trip!

 

Rebekah

[tom_uk]

Hello Rebekah!

 

We took the bus to Platy Gialos this year, but I could be quite tempted by one of those ATV's - we're going back to Mykonos next year, just booked for 22/6 on Galaxy again.

 

What did you do with the ATV while you were on the beach? Presumably there are keys that you keep hold of?

[tom_uk]

In fact, a lady on our ship fell off off a moped and broke either her arm or leg.

 

Anyone we knew?

[tom_uk]

And a quick third post then I'll shut up & go away:

 

We did the morning excursion to Oia. As Rebekah says it's easy enough to do it on your own, but we did the excursion. The main advantage of the excursion is that you have a guide who explains a lot about the history of Santorini and about Oia in particular. The excursion also included a visit to a winery, with bites to eat, which was OK but not great. But perhaps the best thing was we were in Oia very early - just after 9am, when the place was still asleep - we were almost the only people about. That was magical; very peaceful, very quiet. Here's a link to some pictures I took on Santorini, both Oia and Fira town:

 

http://www.*****/travelpage/aspgallery/view_ad.asp?Ad_ID=2515

[reanbr2000]

Hello Rebekah!

 

We took the bus to Platy Gialos this year, but I could be quite tempted by one of those ATV's - we're going back to Mykonos next year, just booked for 22/6 on Galaxy again.

 

What did you do with the ATV while you were on the beach? Presumably there are keys that you keep hold of?

 

Hi Tom! Yes, there were keys to the ATV, and there was a nice little parking area right by the entry to the beach. We just took the keys with us and left the ATV there. We rented some umbrella chairs at the beach and spent some time there, although we wished we had some type of water shoes on or something ~ the beaches were incredibly rocky, as was the ocean, and it was painful to walk around barefoot.

 

As for the woman who broke one of her limbs, it wasn't anyone we knew, but I believe either some of our table mates or CC people saw her. What an awful way to ruin a cruise!

[Ashlea13vb]

Rebekah - thanks for this info! I am pumped about our Mykonos stop - what a way to spend my 25th birthday :)! We wanted to try some "off the beaten path" ways to see a few of the ports... if we do the ATVs in Mykonos, and we're doing a bicycle tour of Barcelona... I think we can feel good about seeing things in a different way.

 

I was reading your ideas about on your own excursions on another thread. Any more "off the beaten path" ideas would be most welcome - you seem to have the same sort of mentality that I do when it comes to this cruise (btw - we're doing Barcelona, Marseille, Naples, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Athens, Mykonos, Istanbul, Kusadasi, and Venice)! Cannot wait!

[Mike073]

In Mykonos, after shopping for a while, we walked over to the windmills and then up the street to the South Bus Station. For 2.5 euros you can ride over to Paradise beach. From there you can take a boat over to Grand Paradise. It is all very easy to do.

 

Kusadusi and Istanbul we took a private tour.

[ManhattanLawyer]

Hi again everyone,

 

I have a question about getting to Oia in Santorini. I have read that there is a cable car that goes from the port to Oia. But I also read that there are 2 ports: larger ships dock in Athinios and smaller ships dock in Skala. We are going on the Perla which I think would be classified as a smaller ship. Does anyone know which port we will dock at? Also, which is the port where you can pick up the cable car? And if it is the port where our ship doesn't dock, then how should we get from that port to the one with the cable car?

 

Thanks!

[LHT28]

Hi again everyone,

 

I have a question about getting to Oia in Santorini. I have read that there is a cable car that goes from the port to Oia. But I also read that there are 2 ports: larger ships dock in Athinios and smaller ships dock in Skala. We are going on the Perla which I think would be classified as a smaller ship. Does anyone know which port we will dock at? Also, which is the port where you can pick up the cable car? And if it is the port where our ship doesn't dock, then how should we get from that port to the one with the cable car?

 

Thanks!

Most of the cruise ships come in the Caldera then the cable car is right there the town at the top is Fira.

check http://www.santorini.net

[Steve007NY]

Manhattan Lawyer- We're BrooklynDoctor and ManhattanExec, (tho Steve007NY on cruisecritic) taking the Perla from Istanbul on the 27th. When are you sailing?

 

Steve and John

[ManhattanLawyer]

Steve, We depart on August 25 from Piraeus. Sorry we won't be on the same ship!

[eslleslie]

LHT28 & others with knowledge of Santorini,

I, too, have a question about Santorini. I will be on the Galaxy ship departing Rome on 8/4/06. It will anchor in Santorini, with tenders to the Skala Harbor. I understand that there is a cable car there to get up to Fira town, but is there also a road down by the port/harbor where you can pick up rental cars? The one agency I contacted said we had to take the cable car first, and go up to Fira to get the car. Is that normal practice? I've read that the cable car can have very long lines when a ship arrives, so we were tryng to avoid that. Is it possible?

Leslie

(aka eslleslie)

[LHT28]

LHT28 & others with knowledge of Santorini,

I, too, have a question about Santorini. I will be on the Galaxy ship departing Rome on 8/4/06. It will anchor in Santorini, with tenders to the Skala Harbor. I understand that there is a cable car there to get up to Fira town, but is there also a road down by the port/harbor where you can pick up rental cars? The one agency I contacted said we had to take the cable car first, and go up to Fira to get the car. Is that normal practice? I've read that the cable car can have very long lines when a ship arrives, so we were tryng to avoid that. Is it possible?

Leslie

(aka eslleslie)

I was there many years ago & no road was there at bottom of the cable car. You either have to go up the stairs by donkey or walk or take the cable car. The other side of the island is flatter and maybe that is the harbour they mean for rental car.