greek cruise shore excursions

[regent traveller]

We will be in Kusadasi,Rhodes Heraklion, Nafplion, Santorini and Mykonos next Sept on the Navigator. In which cities should we go on our own(do we dock near the town and have access to rental cars or cabs) and in which cities does Regent offer shore excursions that are special?

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I believe in Napflion you'll be tendered. You'll be right in town. It's a pretty place, not your typical Greek island town, it's mostly Venetian in flavour. It was the first capital of Greece, and a fair size (not huge.)

 

It's very walkable and has lots of nice taverns and lots of jewellery shops. The obvious excursions are Epidavros and Mycenae. Both of these places are amazing and terrific, so not sure how you choose. If you are into ancient Greek ruins, one of these is the ticket. I don't see lots of other places on your itinerary where you can see this kind of thing.

 

(Sorry, I see you're in Kusadasi, so perhaps you'll be "ruined out" by the time you get to Napflion.)

[Iamboatman]

I am kind of a "ruin" buff and the ruins in Ephesus are very, very different from those in Mycenae. Ephesus has the character of a wealthy port city with sophisticated architecture, amphitheaters, etc. Mycenae is of a much different society, fortified and very interesting, but different. I would encourage you to visit both.

 

Also, there is awesome (read: expensive due to the volume you my buy) shopping near Mycenae for marble busts and tables, excellent ceramics and Greek jewelry.

 

The other ports are definitely "on your own" ports, but there is far more to see in some, like Santorini, than you can see walking. Renting a car can be a very easy and fun way to see more. (Rhodes, however, you can just get lost in the old town for hours!)

[TedC]

Santorini is easy to do on you own. You can just wak around and savor the sights and scenery. Also, interesting excavations found at Akrotiri (sp). The village of Oia (sp) can be reached by bus or rental car.

 

Have a great cruise in that wonderful part of our planet.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Yeh, I agree about Mycenae. It's very ancient and somewhat mysterious. Pre-hellenic. In fact there are Mycenean ruins scattered all through the eastern Peloponnese.

[Iamboatman]

Santorini is easy to do on you own. You can just wak around and savor the sights and scenery. Also, interesting excavations found at Akrotiri (sp). The village of Oia (sp) can be reached by bus or rental car.

 

Have a great cruise in that wonderful part of our planet.

 

Renting a car is very easy. You can find them right outside of the white walled town in Fira (also known as Thira)...though your wallet will probably be left in town after seeing the jewelry, etc. for sale. You can even rent them online through major rental agencies (though not as convenient and more expensive).

 

Akrotiri is another great "ruin" site, Qia is a second charming town and, don't forget the beaches (black, red, brown and "regular"). Some wonderful little roadside tavernas along the way to have a bite...though the view from Fira on the cliffs is wonderful.

[regent traveller]

Thanks for the island information. We have been onMariner in Alaska, Voyager in Baltic, Mariner Tokoyo to Hong Kong, Voyager Hong Kong to Muscat and PG in Tahiti. We like to wander around on our own but someplaces just don't work ie St. Petersburg. Penang in Malasyia was great on our own. However the shore excusions to Siam Riep and Agra were perfect with Regent. :) We are going on the Mariner from BA to Manaus this winter and are taking very few of the Regent trips. We will miss the observation lounge and will just have to find another spot to watch the workd go by on the Navigator.

[Iamboatman]

We will miss the observation lounge and will just have to find another spot to watch the workd go by on the Navigator.

 

Check out the deck aft of the Galileo Lounge. Most people don't even know it is there.

[RachelG]

This is a great cruise. In Rhodes, you are docked right in town--just walk off and go to the castle and sightsee. My husband and son also rented motorbikes here and rode around the island some while I just shopped.

 

In Mykonos, the dock where we were is away from the main town, but Regent provided complimentary shuttle buses to town. We went to Delos--just bought our tickets that day at the dock downtown. I would really recommend doing that. It is very interesting. Some people talk about how the boats to Delos are small and the ride very rough, but we didn't have any problems.

 

In Santorini, we just walked around--but one could very easily rent a car there and drive all over.

 

In Nafphlion, we rented a car and drove to some of the ruins a bit further away--this was actually one of our favorite ports. We found a little village with a restaurant and the guy just kept bringing us food. He didn't speak any English, but with my husband's limited Greek, we found out that he had fought alongside US troops in WW II and loved Americans. It was really fun.

 

In Kusadasi, we hired a van, driver and guide through the ship--there were 6 of us, so it wasn't any more expensive to do this than to go on one of the ship's tours. I think it would be difficult to do Ephesus without a guide.

[Off Shore]

On Rhodes there is much to see on your own in area near the harbor. Be sure and visit the museum in the Old Synagogue. We also hired a car to take us out to Lindos, a remarkable site. If you go to Mycenae, make sure you walk to the gate all the way in the back of the site, and don'y miss the Tholos tombs. Delos and Santorini are wondeful... The guides that RSSC (the old Diamond in 2001) had very limited knowledge of the site; try and get a good private guide.

Cheers,

Danny Weitz

[Off Shore]

Srry, I meant the guides at Kusadashi were inferior, the ones at Delos and Santorini were excellent!

 

Enviously,

Danny Weitz

[carol luvs cruisin]

I highly recommend the "Ephesus with an Expert" shore excursion. It's a small group and the guide is an archeologist who has worked on the site. It was a fantastic tour. The terrace houses are amazing. Also, if Regent has the classical music concert at Ephesus in the evening, definitely book that. It was like a dream it was so beautiful.

 

Santorini is something you can do on your own. We rented a car and drove around the island. Very easy to do.

 

Hope this helps.

[bebopper]

Completely agree on "Ephesus with an expert." I did that trip last week and our expert was the retired museum director in Ephesus. He was terrific, and it was the best excursion of the week. If you want to see a few pics to whet your appetite, here's a link!:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/561279370wjfNhE

[neviboy]

Bonnie, how does one 'publish' all or part of an album in the way that you presented those great shots ? Now that Regent is starting to sail to Croatian ports , I have some interesting shots.