Thomson Spirit Venetian Vistas alternative to ship's excursions

My OH, sister-in-law and hubby are on The Spirit from 1-8June and on looking at the excursions offered it would cost a fortune to book them for each port of call. Have any of you lovely cruisers any recommendations for places we should visit and alternatives to booking through Thomson. We have all cruised before but not for a few years and only sis-in-law and Hubby with Thomson. Our ports of call are- Trieste, Venice, Rijeka, Hvar and Bar. TIA for any info you can supply.

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I can only speak for Venice, but I've been there twice and never done an excursion. If you're okay with a little walking then DIY is fine!

You can walk from the cruise port to St Marks Square but I've not done it personally, I hear it takes 45 - 60 minutes. The two ways I've travelled there are the fast vaporetto from the cruise port straight to St Marks Square (more expensive but quick), and via the Grand Canal. To do this you need to follow the signs on the pavement to the people mover (lots of people will be going that way), then get the people mover to Piazzale Roma, and from there get a vaporetto down the Grand Canal to St Marks Square - you get a good view of the classic sights this way and go under the Rialto bridge.

To get back I walked from St Marks Square to the Rialto bridge (there are signs on the buildings so its easy to do), and got a vaporetto from there back to Piazzale Roma.

In terms of sights you can book the Doges Palace online in advance, for the Basilica and the Campanile you need to queue on the day but both queues moved quickly when I was there.

Hope this helps!

We walked into central Venice. Took the people mover into P. Roma that only takes a few minutes. We followed signs for Accademia and wended our way in up and over many small canals. It was a lovely walk and although still plenty of people about it wasn't touristy crowds. We came back along the canal promenade. We didn't take the ferry across the Grand canal tomSt Marks Sq. as we have done that area before. I think each leg took about and hour.

Thanks guys. Thomson want approx 50 pp for various tours which includes a gondola ride. I myself have done this back in the 70's so unless the others want to do this I think we will go with your suggestions. Cheers.

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We walked into central Venice. Took the people mover into P. Roma that only takes a few minutes. We followed signs for Accademia and wended our way in up and over many small canals. It was a lovely walk and although still plenty of people about it wasn't touristy crowds. We came back along the canal promenade. We didn't take the ferry across the Grand canal tomSt Marks Sq. as we have done that area before. I think each leg took about and hour.

This may seem a silly question, but does the canal promenade run from the Rialto bridge right up to the cruise terminal?

That would be handy too know jojo67.

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Hope you had a great cruise. Hubby and I are going on the same cruise (our first ever) in August and would love any tips you have, especially regarding any DIY trips