Tours in Sete, France

[dosmamas]

We'll be leaving Oct 2nd on Regatta Venice - Barcelona. Does anyone have any suggestions for highlights of Sete?

[tropicalkerry2002]

Hi dosmamas,

 

We have a roll call for that cruise...please join us!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=3654561

 

I have planned tours for 6 ports, but Sete is a day for R&R, before Barcelona, and the rest of our trip to London and Paris.

I found this site;

 

http://www.ot-sete.fr/index.php3?PHPSESSID=dc83dbad889814c06118c4cf9db0a99b&langue=en

 

to read about Sete as well as the little blurb Cruise Critic has under destinations.

 

But please have a look at our roll call, and join us for our Meet and Greet!

[tropicalkerry2002]

oops, somehow I added a "1" to the link, try

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=365456

 

 

sorry!

[digby]

Sete was supposed to be our last stop last Oct. on the Venice to Barcelona Regatta cruise. However, beacuse of high winds we skipped that port and went directly to Barcelona giving us an extra day there. We had no tour planned there. We were told that it would be very easy to just walk off the ship and walk around on our own.

[englishlee]

Sete is so small that it is very easy to see everything on foot. The ship docks more or less in the town centre so no need for a shuttle or anything like that (or at least there wasn't when we visited).

 

If you want a pleasant walk and have the energy and enthusiasm then there a footpath at the back of the town that takes you up to the church on the hill overlooking the town itself, so you get some decent views from there. The ship will dominate the town itself.

[MaggieS]

We were in Sete last September on Oceania. It is a cute village and easily walkable. If you opt to take the tour to Carcassonne, do not take the one with the lunch included. The lunch ends up taking up way too much time and is something you could quickly do on your own. But do have the cassolet. I personnally have been to Carcassonne many times and love the walled city. Just my thoughts.

[dosmamas]

Thanks all for the info on Sete. I think we'll just check it out on foot! I'm a newbie with all the bulletin boards..... such a wonderful amount of information! I'll check out the Roll Call. :)

[dbh62ark]

Have you considered going to Carcassonne? We went there from Sete while on the Insignia last year. Carcassonne is fabulous. Sete was very nice but, as noted by others, is very small and can be seen in an hour or so (we did that at the end of our private tour).

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[Elusive]

Have you considered going to Carcassonne? We went there from Sete while on the Insignia last year. Carcassonne is fabulous. Sete was very nice but, as noted by others, is very small and can be seen in an hour or so (we did that at the end of our private tour).

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

 

We are booked on Regatta Oct 2 as well. Would you share your private tour company if you were happy with them. Also, I am new to this site. What is a roll call and how do you find it? Thanks

[dbh62ark]

Would you share your private tour company if you were happy with them. Also, I am new to this site. What is a roll call and how do you find it? Thanks

Always happy to help a "neighbor" from Texas, and welcome to CruiseCritic. Yes, we were very happy with our tour, but I think I should give you some additional information. We hired a driver for the day and not a guide. There's been some confusion on other threads, so I wanted to make that distinction. To me, a guide is someone who is very knowledgeable about the history of the area and is fluent in English. A driver can be a good option to go from point A to B but does not necessarily lead you around during the day. Our driver was very good and also provided some guide duties too. His English was very good in my opinion, but he was not fluent.

 

We had a hard time finding a private guide for this area so contacted the best hotel in Carcassonne for a recommendation. We were referred to http://www.chabe-limousines.com. The driver was good, the price was very reasonable (especially compared to the prices for the ship's tour), and the van was clean and comfortable.

 

I also want to give you a slight warning about this port even though I am a big fan of private excursions. I was on a Holland ship in 2004 that was unable to call at Sete due to high winds. We went to Marseilles instead (there's a large industrial port in Marseilles). I have read since that time that there have been other issues with ships getting into Sete due to winds. So I would select a private tour operator that has fair cancellation policies for any port where you use the tender boats. Chabe Limousines had reasonable cancellation policies, so that's one of the reasons why we used that company. And a back-up plan is always a good idea just in case. :)

 

I can’t say enough good things about Carcassonne, so I hope you get to go there. It’s just fabulous.

 

The roll call threads are located at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=34. We enjoy participating in roll call threads to make new friends even before we embark. These threads are also a very helpful tool to find private tour partners to split costs. The roll call for your sailing is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=365456.

 

We loved our Oceania Med cruise last year and hope you have a great time.

 

Donna

[tropicalkerry2002]

Please have a look at our roll call, and come to our Meet and Greet!

may be some private tours on there you want to join as well!

see you soon on Regatta!

[tgg]

Could someone who has been there tell me how long it takes to drive from Sete to Carcassonne?

 

Has anyone rented a car and done the trip on their own?

[dbh62ark]

Could someone who has been there tell me how long it takes to drive from Sete to Carcassonne?

It should take approx 1.5 hours to go from Sete to Carcassonne. We rode on a highway for much of the trip because I remember seeing the signs for lanes to go to Paris. :)

 

We checked into going to Carcassonne via rental car and decided not to because the cost of the private driver split between the 8 that we had in our van was the same as the cost of renting a car, so we chose to go with the convenience of having a driver. Our group was formed through our Oceania roll call thread. Our driver included some scenic photo stops, including a stop in the vineyards with the gorgeous backdrop of Carcassonne, and to a winery in a quaint village on the way back to the ship too. If you decide to rent a car, I think your routing should be fairly easy, and you may be able to pick up some tips on parking and finding some of the “extras” we had that day by asking at http://www.slowtrav.com (just a tip if you don’t already use that site).

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[tgg]

Thanks, Donna, for the information. I saw your earlier post about the service that you used. We have an active roll call for our Oct 30 Venice to Barcelona cruise, so I might be able to get a group together. Can you tell me the cost of your trip so I can let the others know?

 

You also mention that Chabe has a "reasonable" cancellation policy. Could you expand on that?

[dbh62ark]

Thanks, Donna, for the information. I saw your earlier post about the service that you used. We have an active roll call for our Oct 30 Venice to Barcelona cruise, so I might be able to get a group together. Can you tell me the cost of your trip so I can let the others know?

 

You also mention that Chabe has a "reasonable" cancellation policy. Could you expand on that?

I think we paid approx 50 Euros per person for a 8 - 9 hour tour. If I'm recalling correctly, the ship's excursion was $149 for the day and did not include lunch or tips either. The Chabe driver did not live in Sete, and he had a commute to come to get us. I always ask in advance if I will be charged if the ship can't make it into port through no fault of the passengers (weather, mechanical issues, etc.) because I don't know if travel insurance will cover cancellation charges. Chabe advised us that we would not be charged if the driver had not left his home to come to get us, which was approx two hours before the start of our tour. I thought that was fair enough. When our 2004 HAL port call to Sete was redirected to Marseilles due to high wind, the captain knew several hours in advance. So we took the cell number for our driver when we returned to that area on Oceania last year and then called the purser's desk when we woke up that morning to make sure that the weather did not prohibit the tender boats from operating that day. We figured that worst case scenario was that we would need to call the driver and tell him to meet us in xx port instead of Sete, but we had no issues last year. I have a strong aversion to shore excursions because I like to maximize time in port and fell like I'm wasting time touring in large groups, so this worked well for us but might not be agreeable to others. I can't imagine that the Chabe policies have changed in the last year, but I would advise you to ask to verify. I hope that helps but will be glad to answer any questions that you have.

 

:) Donna

[tgg]

Thanks again for the information. I've written to Chabe and asked for a quote and have posted on our roll call. You've been great.

[tgg]

Donna,

 

Thought you might be interested in the quote I got from Chabe. They are charging 779 euros for 8 people. At today's exchange rate (1.40), that's $136 pp. I checked the ship's tour price, which is $109 for a full day trip.

[dbh62ark]

Donna,

 

Thought you might be interested in the quote I got from Chabe. They are charging 779 euros for 8 people. At today's exchange rate (1.40), that's $136 pp. I checked the ship's tour price, which is $109 for a full day trip.

Oh yes, that's quite a difference from what we paid. Sorry, but I don't know of any other private tour operators in that area. I e-mailed several and did not even receive a reply. I originally checked with the concierge at the Hotel de la Cite (I found it at http://frommers.com/destinations/carcassonne/H34477.html), so he/she might be able to help you if you choose to check out some other options.

 

I'll keep my fingers crossed that you can find the best way for you to go to Carcassonne and hope that you'll let us know about it when you return.

 

Happy travels,

Donna

[SETOISE]

Hi everyone, I'm a canadian living in Sète, love cruising and can't help but react when I read about Sète in the forums. The ships dock practically in the center of this lovely colorful fishing town (pop 45 000). It is bordered by sandy Mediterranean beaches on one side and canals on the other which is why it is called the Venice of France and is considered as the most fascinating small town on the Mediterranean coast according to the Daily Telegraph. Plenty of excellent seafood restaurants featuring famed oysters from the local oyster beds, 22 art galleries, 5 museums, beaches, festivals.... If you check the tourist information website, you will find LOCAL shore excursions that don't take you to Carcassonne on a 4 hour bus ride and a 4 hour walk around with no guide. I feel it is such a pity that so many cruise ship passengers are missing out on such an authentic experience in the South of France.