Specifics on Split, Corfu, Piraeus, Mykonos, and Katakolon

[6Travel]

Recently, I posted a question about excursions in Split (Croatia), Corfu (Greece), Piraeus (Greece), Mykonos (Greece), and Katakolon (Greece). People told me to do a search on the forums. I did and found very little specific information as to tour vendors people used.

 

Please suggest what tours to take in each of these ports AND what vendor/tour company you took the trip with. We would like to book the excursions BEFOREHAND. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

[sea-explorer]

I can only help with one.

 

I actually found all the information I needed by searching on these boards. You'll need to put your destinations one at a time into the search, Mykonos, Mykonos tours, Mykonos guides etc. Also use Athens instead of Piraeus. Another tip. Use google to find tour operators in each place, eg. Athens tours, Athens shore excursions etc, & then pop their names into the search function on this boards to see if there are any reviews.

 

Anyway, we used George in Katakolon. (There is also a thread on this further down this page) He was excellent. Took us to Olympia plus other sights, the village, the new ampitheatre, his home etc. We had a lovely morning. Please note though, George is a driver not a licensed guide. If you are looking for a guide you'll need to search a little.

 

Website here:

 

http://www.taxikatakolon.gr/content/view/1/2/lang,en/

 

 

Also a useful printoff (tour) for your visit to Olympia.

 

http://www.calvin.edu/academic/clas/pathways/olympia/

 

I've also booked a driver for Piraeus (Athens), found through searching this board, but as i haven't used him yet I can't personally recommend him.

 

I intend to use this for touring the acropolis. (Rick Steves walking tour)

 

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/greece/athens.htm

 

 

Good luck.

[GSPLover]

Recently, I posted a question about excursions in Split (Croatia), Corfu (Greece), Piraeus (Greece), Mykonos (Greece), and Katakolon (Greece). People told me to do a search on the forums. I did and found very little specific information as to tour vendors people used.

 

Please suggest what tours to take in each of these ports AND what vendor/tour company you took the trip with. We would like to book the excursions BEFOREHAND. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

 

Regarding Split, I really don't see the need for an excursion/tour unless you want to travel out of town. It is really a do-it-yourself port. Great town to wander around in (very clean.) You can get a guided tour of the underground of the palace (not certain it's necessary as it has plenty of signs.)

 

Mykonos (other than Delos) is another DIY port. Athens can also be DIY if you do some research on how to get around on your own.

[taxatty]

Corfu is very easy as a DIY with a rental car--the island roads are well marked and driving is easy. We used Corfu Sunrise for the car and were very pleased--a rep was waiting at the port exit to pick us up, gave us a good road map and suggested an itinerary that worked out well (espeically Paleokastritsa beach). Corfu Town is a breeze on foot--no guide needed.

 

Les

[SharaPowers]

Thanks for the info on Corfu, great idea!

[nparmelee]

Mykonos, a lot depends on what time you are due in port, we loved Delos, if you like ancient history, definitely worth checking out. If you will not get there until the afternoon, a ship excursion there would be advisable. Once back to Mykonos, just wandering around town is nice. There are beaches a taxi or bus ride away if you are a beach person, we chose to wander in the town instead and had a nice day.

 

Piraeus, we shared a cab with another couple to the Acropolis. Wandered there and the museum and then wandered and explored down to the Platka area. Had a great lunch, just look for food that appeals to you and sit and enjoy. Did some shopping and the took the metro back to the port. A great day for us.

 

Corfu, we have a car reserved for our next trip in a few weeks, may go to Achillion Palace, may go to Paleokstra, will decide that morning. Will drop off the car about 2 hours before being due back to ship and then just wander in the old town area.

 

Sorry, can't help with Katakalon or Split. Our experience is to try and do as much on our own as we can, but that's us. Is there a reason you are looking for tour vendors for those places as opposed to doing them on your own? Also check the tripadvisor forums for recommendations there if you really feel the need to use a tour vendor.

[rdsqrl]

Mykonos, a lot depends on what time you are due in port, we loved Delos, if you like ancient history, definitely worth checking out. If you will not get there until the afternoon, a ship excursion there would be advisable. Once back to Mykonos, just wandering around town is nice. There are beaches a taxi or bus ride away if you are a beach person, we chose to wander in the town instead and had a nice day.

 

Piraeus, we shared a cab with another couple to the Acropolis. Wandered there and the museum and then wandered and explored down to the Platka area. Had a great lunch, just look for food that appeals to you and sit and enjoy. Did some shopping and the took the metro back to the port. A great day for us.

 

Corfu, we have a car reserved for our next trip in a few weeks, may go to Achillion Palace, may go to Paleokstra, will decide that morning. Will drop off the car about 2 hours before being due back to ship and then just wander in the old town area.

 

Sorry, can't help with Katakalon or Split. Our experience is to try and do as much on our own as we can, but that's us. Is there a reason you are looking for tour vendors for those places as opposed to doing them on your own? Also check the tripadvisor forums for recommendations there if you really feel the need to use a tour vendor.

Thanks for this info re Athens. I have a quick question -- well, three quick questions! How long is the taxi ride? How long is the metro ride from the Plaka district (or wherever you got on) to the port? And is the station a reasonable and fairly straightforward walk to the ship?

[nparmelee]

Athens, it was about 20-30 minutes for the cab ride, the driver offered his services for the day, we declined, he did not push. We had a nice conversation with him on the way in. I don't remember which metro station we started back from, they are all over the place, very easy system to figure out. The metro ride back was not very long, maybe 20 minutes with stops. The walk back to the ship from the metro station was very straightforward, we could see our ship as we came out of the station and just walked around. Walking back to the ship from the metro definitely took longer than the metro ride itself, but we also stopped in one or two shops on the way back. You could also grab a taxi from there to where the ship is docked depending on how tired you are at that point.

[6Travel]

Have any of you done the horse bike riding options on Corfu or the mountain biking? Looks like Corfu has 3 different horse riding stables -- can't find any reviews on them:

 

Ropa Valley Riding Stables

 

Corfu Horse Riding Club (Ranch Rodeo Corfu)

 

Dimitri's Horse Riding

 

Our ship is in from 7am - 3pm.

[wolfegizmo]

How close does the ship dock to everything in Split, Croatia? Is everything in walking distance?

Thanks -

[lep1204]

I'm glad to see this thread. My fiance and I have the same schedule for our honeymoon cruise in October. I was hoping we could save some money with some DIY excursions. Are taxi's at the various ports fairly reasonable? For example, in Athens?

[jms2362]

Recently, I posted a question about excursions in Split (Croatia), Corfu (Greece), Piraeus (Greece), Mykonos (Greece), and Katakolon (Greece). People told me to do a search on the forums. I did and found very little specific information as to tour vendors people used.

 

Please suggest what tours to take in each of these ports AND what vendor/tour company you took the trip with. We would like to book the excursions BEFOREHAND. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.

We were in Mykonos 2 yrs. ago and we walked from the port to town, maybe 10 minutes. It was interesting walking through the fishing village. We went to the ferry office and purchased tickets to go to the Island of Delos. Take snacks and water. There is no electiricty on that island and you have to be off of the Island I am thinking around 3 or 3:30 by law of the Religious Island. We got a sm. tour book of what we were looking at and it was very interesting. There was a museum also. When we took the ferry back we walked around town and up and down the little alleyways. We loved it. We will be there in Sept. and will take the local bus around the island and see other areas. It is a small island. We enjoyed the people, having a drink in Little Venice. There are restaurants out over the water, quite quaint. Saw the windmills and my husband does geocaching and he did a cache near the windmills.

[jane02]

Have any of you done the horse bike riding options on Corfu or the mountain biking? Looks like Corfu has 3 different horse riding stables -- can't find any reviews on them:

 

Ropa Valley Riding Stables

 

Corfu Horse Riding Club (Ranch Rodeo Corfu)

 

Dimitri's Horse Riding

 

Our ship is in from 7am - 3pm.

I am also interested in horse riding or mountain bike riding and would appreciate any feedback.;)

[Eightydays]

Katakolon is the one stop where you might be better off with a ship excursion. The site of the ancient Olympic games and Museum are a bit of a drive away, and I don't recall whether local buses are available. You could possibly take a taxi, but you would need them to wait for about 2 hours while you explore the site and Museum.

 

The suggestions for Athens sound on point. You should be able to pick up the Green line electric train from the Museum stop to Piraeus. Just remember that although you will be able to see the ship once you get out of the station, it is about a 25 -30 minute walk to actually get to the cruise terminal from the metro station.

[LostFan#1]

Taxatty, I would really like your input about driving on Corfu. We are contemplating a car to get to Paleo. Beach. What were the roads and drivers like? Crazy? Hilly? Hairpin turns? Did you feel comfortable driving there? Was it easy to park at Paleo.

 

Thanks so much,

Debbie

[GSPLover]

How close does the ship dock to everything in Split, Croatia? Is everything in walking distance?

Thanks -

 

We were on RCI and it was a tender port for us. Drop off was right in the center of things. There was one other cruise ship in port (one of the smaller Princess ship - don't recall which) and they we docked near the ferry terminal. Probably a 15-20 minute walk to the center of town. The whole area is walkable. Quite beautiful, and like other ports in Croatia, very clean.

[PBtravel1]

Corfu is very easy as a DIY with a rental car--the island roads are well marked and driving is easy. We used Corfu Sunrise for the car and were very pleased--a rep was waiting at the port exit to pick us up, gave us a good road map and suggested an itinerary that worked out well (espeically Paleokastritsa beach). Corfu Town is a breeze on foot--no guide needed.

 

Les

 

How are the roads? Did the rental provided you with the map? Is parking by the beach available? Where did you droped the car?

 

Any additional details are appreciated.

[AmoMondo]

When I was in Split, I did the hop on, hop off bus that stops right where the ships dock. It gave me a good overview of the town centre itself and also went out of town a little bit along the coast road which was very pretty.

[NYC cruiser lady]

How close does the ship dock to everything in Split, Croatia? Is everything in walking distance?

Thanks -

 

Split: The town is immediately adjacent to the port. No shuttle bus is needed.

 

Katakolon is the one stop where you might be better off with a ship excursion. The site of the ancient Olympic games and Museum are a bit of a drive away, and I don't recall whether local buses are available. You could possibly take a taxi, but you would need them to wait for about 2 hours while you explore the site and Museum.

 

There is a very reasonably priced round trip train you can take from the port to Olympia. Don't stay in Katakolon. The entire town is two blocks of stores that sell postcards and refrigerator magnets.

[wolfegizmo]

Thanks so much for all of your input - It sounds like we can definitely see the city on our own - Only question my husband has - is it worth it to take a tour /taxi to see the countryside?

[Mapu]

Thanks so much for all of your input - It sounds like we can definitely see the city on our own - Only question my husband has - is it worth it to take a tour /taxi to see the countryside?

 

Hi Sharon......I have been researching Split for our upcoming June 1 st cruise on the Royal Princess. When are you cruising? Gail

[Mapu]

Any info on doing this port on our own would be appreciated. Thanks for the info on Split that was posted. Looking for something similar for Kotor. Thank you. Gail

[HangtownGal]

My husband and I are planning to rent a car in Corfu. We want to do Kanoni – Gastouri [Achillion] - Paeleokastritsa [grotto boat trip] – Corfu town at our own pace. So far, the only thing stopping me is finding out the conditions of the roads. Would appreciate any input.

 

Carole

[HangtownGal]

Katakolon - think about taking the train to Olympia and back. 1€ each way.

 

Piraeus/Athens - metro from port to Monastiraki metro station. After seeing Acropolis, check out Athens public sightseeing Bus 400 [HOHO] for 5€ for 20 stops around town.

[cruisintebo]

We are planning to take the train to Olympia. I'm not sure if our ship will be docked or if it will be a tender port. We will be on the Ruby Princess, so it's a large ship. Any info that anybody would have about that would be helpful. And is the walk to the train station from either port short?

 

Also --if we take the train to Olympia, how far is the walk from the train station to the ruins?

 

I'm just trying to see how much time this self planned excursion will take.

 

And -- is there an admission fee to the ruins?

 

Thanks in advance for your info.:):confused: