solo to the med... tours or on my own??

[bobbisailsolo]

HI. I have a 20 night Mediterranean cruise booked. Would like to hear some input as to whether I should take shore excursions from the ship, or just grab a transfer into town, and do it on my own.

Other than Rome and Florence, I have not visited any of the ports.

 

Civitavecchia (Rome) CHECK IN STARTS AT 0100P

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Corfu, Greece TENDER REQUIRED

Katakolon, Greece

Santorini, Greece TENDER REQUIRED

Kusadasi (Ephesus) Turkey

Piraeus, Greece

Messina, Sicily

Civitavecchia (Rome)

Livorno (Florence) Italy

Monte Carlo, Monaco TENDER REQUIRED

Barcelona, Spain

Mallorca (Palma), Spain

Carthage/Tunis (La Goulette),

Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Naples, Italy

Civitavecchia (Rome)

[kitty9]

I've been lucky to have been to all those ports, so I will give you my OPINION only. Others may see things differently, but at least you'll have some ideas.

 

Ports you can do on your own are:

 

Dubrovnik: Most ships tender there, but if you dock, you should be very close to old town, which is where you want to be.

 

Corfu: A very easy place to do on your own.

 

Santorini: What a great port. Just take the funicular up to the top, and walk the town. Make sure to stop at a taverna and enjoy some of the local fare. I went to a lovely place, above a jewelry store, overlooking the sea and it was fantastic. Great jewelry on Santorini.

 

Katakolon: Another place where you can go on your own. Very easy to see things there.

 

Messina: I'm not sure about that one. If it were me, I would find a private car for touring. I had a wonderful driver who just took me around to points of interest.

 

Monte Carlo: Really easy to do on your own. The place is tiny and can be easily walked. Don't miss the Royal Palace, the Cousteau Aquarium is fantastic, the church where Princess Grace was married and buried, and of course the area where the casinos are located. There are two casinos in the area, one called the American Casino (looks like a TGI Friday's with the red and white canopy) and the European casino. You have to dress up formally at night to get into the Euro casino.

 

Palermo: If you just want to stay in that town, then you can do it on your own, but if you want to get out into the countryside, you either need a private car or find a ship's tour.

 

Mallorca: easy to do on your own

 

Naples: Again, easy to do on your own, but if you find a neat ship's tour, then go for it.

 

 

Places I would either find a private tour or stick with the ship's tours are:

 

 

Kusadasi: It's just easier to tour Ephesus on a ship's tour, and it's one place not to be missed. It's a pretty physical tour, so be ready for that. Be careful in Kusadasi as the local men can be quite intimidating to solo women. I walked off the ship, after our tour in Ephesus, to see the shops, and the men were so leering and made so many comments that I went right back to the ship and found a male friend to walk with me.

 

Piraeus: That's the port for Athens. Not the most secure place on earth and the local drivers will scare the pants off you. I would stick with a ship's tour.

 

Barcelona: This one gave me pause. Some don't have a problem walking alone in Barcelona, but I'm not one of those. While any city can be dangerous, I felt quite insecure in Barcelona because of the pickpockets. Plus, you can't walk from the dock and see the most important places in Barcelona, you need a car or a ship's tour. Don't miss Parque Guell, and La Segrada Familia, plus anything by the famed Antonio Gaudi.

 

Tunis: Not a place for a woman alone. Either find a group from the ship to walk around with or definitely stick with a ship's tour.

 

Hope this helps and I hope you have a fantastic cruise.

[morrieb1]

Piraeus: That's the port for Athens. Not the most secure place on earth and the local drivers will scare the pants off you. I would stick with a ship's tour.

 

 

I'll respectfully disagree with taking a ships tour to Athens. I did it myself in October and it was very easy to use the Metro system - a train runs from Piraeus to the Monstraki (sp) station which puts you within sight of the Acropolis. Most of the central area around the Acropolis is pedestrian only, so a driver can't do much for you anyhow. Now, hiring a guide for the Acropolis would probably help you make better sense of what you were looking at, but any guidebook with a site map would do (most of the buildings have informational plaques on them). There was never a place that I felt the least bit unsafe - the streets are marked well enough that I could find every historical monument/building on my own. I found it no more difficult to navigate than Rome - and actually a bit easier because of the pedestrian only promenade between the major sites.

 

I walked from the Pireaus pier to the Metro station but if I had a "do-over" I would have had one of the cabs take me there - it was a very long walk. I started out alone but met up with several other cruise passengers on the way - which made the walk nicer. There are plenty of cabs available in front of the station for your return as well.

 

Katakalon is the gateway to Olympia. If you wanted to visit that place, I'd definitely take a ships tour to do so. The site isn't well marked and you don't get much out of it without someone explaining what you are looking at....but it is a very pretty drive and the town itself (they give you free time at the end) was fun to stroll - I liked it better than Katakalon itself.

 

I will add one word of caution about Naples - several people on our cruise were victims of pickpockets on the public bus system and one woman had her purse torn from her by a passing motorcyclist in the city. So if you decide that you want to take the train to Pompeii or Sorrento (I took a ships tour - but the do it yourselfers I spoke with were very happy with the train system).....again, I would walk or take a cab to the station and avoid the public bus system.

 

It sounds like a marvelous trip...

 

Em

[kitty9]

I also think the age of the OP makes a difference. If you're a "senior" cruiser, then things are much different. If you're a youngster, and doing a lot of walking is something you regularly do, then doing a lot on your own is a great idea. For me, in my mid 50's, I'm not so much into the public transportation thing, especially in the big cities like Athens.

 

Safety is an issue everywhere and if you go it alone, do not wear good jewelry or carry a purse unless it's one of those safety bags that has a cross strap (one that you wear on your shoulder and it goes across your body) and that strap has a metal string inside the strap so that it can't be cut off your body or pulled and easily breaks. A friend of mine actually had a gold chain ripped off her neck in Barcelona.

[morrieb1]

I also think the age of the OP makes a difference. If you're a "senior" cruiser, then things are much different. If you're a youngster, and doing a lot of walking is something you regularly do, then doing a lot on your own is a great idea. For me, in my mid 50's, I'm not so much into the public transportation thing, especially in the big cities like Athens.

 

Yes this is a consideration - I didn't look to see if the OP had an age listed, but I am not much younger than you at 49 - and there really wasn't much walking to be done except climbing the hill to the Acropolis - which you'd have to do no matter how you chose to arrive there.

 

And I spent my day in Rome barely keeping up with a 70something couple, so I think it's really more how much physical activity a person wants to attempt rather than their age.

 

Em

[bobbisailsolo]

for the record, i am 55.. young enough to do some considerable walking, but old enough to possibly look like an easy mark...lol.....the consensus seems to be in the smaller towns would be safe to tackle alone, while athens might be better to tour with a group. I really do prefer to just wander by myself. Think i will order a purse with the wire strap. I try to always carry as little with me as possible. If i can get away with just putting a few euros in my pocket, or better yet, down my bra. i should be okay.. Will I need to carry my passport with me when I am ashore?

[kitty9]

It depends on the cruise line. Some lines take your passport and keep it until the end of the cruise so they can expidite local Immigration. I alway take a color copy of my information page of my passport and keep it with me in one of those flat, hang around the neck wallets----those are also great for keeping your sign and sail card safe. I never take my passport off the ship---I don't want the problem of having it stolen. None of the ports require you to take your passport with you. The only place would be in Russia, but you're not going there.