edinburgher

No worries. I am looking for Heraklion Just wondering why you even need a HOHO as Heraklion is not very big, and aside from the Archaeological Museum and Knossos I don't remember much else of note so I was surprised to read that there are HOHOS there at all, as I wouldn't have thought there would be enough customers to support these buses, but perhaps they are mini rather than full size buses?. And do they have several or only one as that could add to your waiting times for the next one each time you choose to get off. You can actually walk into Heraklion from the cruise dock in around 20/30 minutes max and the Archaeological Museum is easily found and definitely worth a visit . There are also public buses which run from close to the port to both Heraklion and Knossos also from Hertaklion to Knossos and that is quite easy to do. You could find more info by going to the general Greek Ports Forum, not to any individual thread, inputting the word Knossos into the empty search box under your username then hitting the little spy glass. All previous threads containing that word will appear ready for you to read. Or by simply googling what you are looking for including public buses, tickets and timings, Knossos opening hours,HOHOS reviews and anything else you want to know.

does anyone have any idea how to get to it from the pier etc? Crete is the name of the entire island, not the name of a town or city, and cruise ships call into more than one port. Which port are you asking about?

We do not have time for an 8 hour tour, has anyone done a shorter one they could recommend? Istead of a tour, you could consider a DIY trip where you could spend as much or as little time in Sintra as you choose to spend. It is a very easy and popular trip from Lisbon as you can take a train to Sintra,(40/45 minutes) and once there, there is a tourist train which runs a circular route around the town, including uphill to Pena Palace. It starts/stops at the train station so a very easy transfer and it has several stops along the route. There should be much info to found online for getting between Lisbon and Sintra, also information on the tourist bus which runs around Sintra. And very easy to find all previous threads and the helpful replies given if you go to the correct forum (noted below) and insert ithe word SINTRA into the empty SEARCH box under your username before hitting the little spy glass. All previous threads containing that word will appear in the results ready for you to read. And you would probably get more responses if you were to re-post your thread on the correct forum which is OTHER MEDITERRANEAN PORTS.

looking for what to see while there on the pre-excursion, Sorry, but it is generally better to stay in the historic Sultanahmet area as many of the main sights are located there or very near to there, and it is generally more convenient overall as several other sights can be easily reached on foot, especially the waterfront , Spice Market, Galata Tower, Galata Bridge and others.. It is the area you are likely to spend most of your time in. And the trams run through there too, and given how awful road traffic is in Istanbul, trams are the transport of choice. Is your hotel close to a tram line? I ask because that word "Bosphorus" concerns me a little. If it is not, you may have to spend longer getting to and from Sultanahmet than you would like and that will curtail your available time there.

I have no idea about Malaga, but in Valencia there are cycle paths in many areas around the city and cycling is a popular sport. We saw many cyclists on our two visits. I believe you can either book a tour or simply hire and do your own thing. It is the perfect city for cycling as it is flat and has a long promenade running alongside the beaches and sea. Whether or not any are offered near the port, you would need to internet search for locations or contact companies directly and ask how close they are and how you would reach them from the cruise terminal. For Malaga, maybe you could simply search online.

And have you tried simply Googling these exact words? A Taste of Norwegian Farm Life excursion it is somerthing we have done a number of times in the past when we wanted to find reviews or video of a particular shorex to help us decide although we are more usually DIYers.. It is surprising how often we find descriptions and sometimes video clips too. And yes, you wouild be better on the N. Europe and Baltic Ports forum as N. Europe is where Norway is located.

Thanks, I did a search in that section and oddly nothing came up i don't think it odd at all, in part as there is so much to see and do in Palma itself even for a second or subsequent visit, and so many beaches and other places outside of Palma, that waterparks are maybe not as high on most cruise pax "to-do" lists. I think more pax ask about beaches and pretty coves than ask about waterparks, maybe in part as those of us of a certain age would rather a gentle swim in pretty surroundings than a high adrenaline rush especially so if it is summer and the park is crowded with families and noisy kids from across Europe!!.

Not really up to a self-drive tour or public transportation anymore, I would have suggesed Ronda but the distance from Malaga is quite a bit longer. Even for someone "not really up to" public transportation, the train to Fuengirola followed by public bus to Mijas Pueblo is a popular and easy journey. And buses between Fuengirola and Mijas Pueblo are quite frequent, and the bus and train stations in Fuengirola are close to each other and to the Tourist Info Office..Or compromise and use the train to go to and back from Fuengirola, and maybe spluge for a taxi up to and back from Mijas Pueblo. Or consider staying in Fuengirola instead as that would be even easier, involving only a shortish train journey. Despite some drawbacks it has a beautiful promenade, marina port and miles of beach, perfect for strolling or sitting, many restaurants, also a biopark, a little tourist train which runs about town, some pretty squares, markets on specific days and would be a pleasant enough place to spend a few hours although I think Mijas would be nicer overall.

if you get few or no replies here, do post instead on the dedicated Palma Majorca sticky at the top of the page.where roge rb will see it. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2697012-palma-de-mallorca-diy-new/

We'll be in LaRochelle for one day in December on the Oceania Riviera. What should we do there? There have been many past threads with ideas of what to do in la Rochelle. Instead of back paging numerous times, go to the general FRANCE PORTS and input la Rochelle into the empty SEARCH BOX under your user name, then hit the little spy glass. All previous threads with that word will appear in the results ready for you to read. This quite recent thread would be helpful for you to read and although the first few posts don't suggest that stick with it. And as usual, do check the la Rochelle OfficialTtourist Info website, Tripadvisor la Rochelle and others.: Also look at shorex even if you don't want one, as they give ideas of what would be possible. https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2917867-château-de-la-roche-courbon/#comment-64887132

Looking for opinions of from people who had a great excursion in this port I would think that almost every excursion from this port would be" a"great one" as you are spoiled for choice with very varied experiences. Some excursions would be longer than others and take a full day.. Examples would include travelling by train to Cannes or Nice, or to Aix en Provence. St Tropez would be the closest for you. then exploring on your own, Or if you have transport, wine touring in the area between Bandol and le Castellet,(Bandol very close, should be less than 30 mins by train and that area is very pretty. Medeival and perched, Le Castellet is very touristy but nice for a wander around attractive surroundings ) or, much longer, a tour to les Beaux or Avignon, or around the pretty Luberon Villages, or to Grasse, or depending on the time of year, visit lavendar fields. . Should you want a beach, there are a number much closer to your port also boat trips. Cassis is also an option by train, and depending on the time of year, boat trips around the calanques from there. The longer trips would be better booked as a shorex for peace of mind. It is really a matter of personal choice, so whatever appeals to YOU, not to others. Personally as the distance is not at all far and the experience varied, I would recommend a private tour to Bandol, the vineyards between there and le Castellet, and some time in le Castellet but it would be costly unless you can find others on your Roll Call who would be happy to share the tour and the cost. Or perhaps some on your Roll Call have already booked private tours to somewhere and are looking for fellow px like yourself to join them? have you checked?

We make each of our three teens plan one day’s activities. They need budget approval, but we make them do the research and mostly plan the day, it means everyone is invested on some level, and if you make the boys compete on who did the best job planning for everyone, maybe their competitiveness will spire some good action! Way to go mcgeetech! Best way for them to learn how to plan a trip which has some interest for themselves, not one with only interests for the grown ups.. When we visited Barcelona with our then teens, we had a full week and each teen had to plan a full day including something of special interest to themselves. It was a reward for the 5 days they came with us around all the cultural sights, museums, parks and walking the historic centre.. Son's day included Camp Nou, home of FC Barcelona), but daughter';s included way too much shop browsing than her dad and brother wanted, however a deal was a deal. And on a 10 day trip to Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, they surprised us by both opting for the climb to the top of Mt Vesuvius and a walk around (and look inside) the crater. And both wanted Naples to eat pizza so we combined that with visiting the archaeological museum..

except for the port of Alesund We also toured the Troll Road and wall from Andalsnes. Ours was quite expensive too, but I think Aldasnes is closer than Alesund so yours will be both longer and more expensive. We were very lucky that day it was bright and dry so we enjoyed the drive and the views. The Troll Road is fabulous but, and it is a big but, if the weather is poor that day it won't be the same experience at all and as you won't know that until the day itself, it is a bit of a gamble to take.. Are you sure you want to tour anywhere at all from Alesund as it is such a pretty town with a number of very easy to visit sights, ships dock in the centre and is a popular port stop for cruise pax because of this.. There have been many past threads about Alesund and it might help you decide if you read them, and some of them have photos. To find them easily, got to the general NORTHER EUROPE AND BALTIC SEA forum, not to any individual thread, insert the word ALESUND in the empty search box under your name, then hit the little spy glass and all previous thread will appear ready for you to read. Works with your other port names too. I think this fairly recent ALESUND thread is worth a look and an example of what you could find by searching as mentioned above; https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2826391-alesund-norway/#comment-62526938 .

you could try internet searching "Nanortalik Tours" to see if there are any results. As pointed out above, Greenland is "different" and as most towns and settlements are not connected by road, any tours would usually be by plane or boat. We actually enjoyed Nanortalik as we watched the local music and dance show in a hall, listened to the choir singing in the church (beautiful) and watched a kayak display.Also did walkabout of the little there is to walkabout, and enjoyed seeing the few who had dressed in traditional sealskin outfits from head to toe., It was a dry and bright sunny day and there were many flowers. if the choir in the church is offered, do not miss it. It was very popular and some pax missed out. The town used to offer these varied activities/displays pre-covid, but I have no idea if they still do. YouTube has some video clips of Nanortalik if you choose to look.

There have been many previous threads on all of these ports and i suggest you read them for information,suggestions and some answers to the questions you are asking.. To find them without back paging, a quick and easy way is to go to the general NORTHERN EUROPE AND BALTIC SEA forum, but NOT to any individual thread. IN TURN insert each name(including Dalsnibba) in the empty search box under your user name, hit the little spy glass and in under a minute every thread containing that word will appear ready for you to read. Lovely itinerary, enjoy.

Also taking suggestions for our first visit to SPLIT It really isn't necessary to have an excursion going out of Split as the city itself has more than enough of interest for a full day especially if it is to be your first visit. You can read all of the previous threads about Split very easily and I suggest you do that as there have been a number of suggestions made in them.Much faster and easier than back paging multiple times, Simply go to the general OTHER MEDITERRANEAN PORTS FORUM, (not an individual thread) and enter SPLIT in the SEARCH BOX under your user name. Hit the little spy glass and results should appear in less than a minute ready for you to read through.. You will read that TROGIR is the closest out of town side trip. Also look at Tourist Information websites for Split for ideas , maps etc. it is a really interesting and attractive city to visit and a favourite of many cruise pax, not least because you can reach the historic area and the Riva (promenade) in less than 10 minutes on foot from the docking area.. And you could internet search something like "Split for kids" as you may get something to interest them that way.

You will probably be docked in Corfu Town. Have you tried internet searching Corfu TOWN beaches (or similar) because if you only serch for "Corfu beaches" you will get results from across the entire island. Corfu is known for its scenery and taxi tours are popular, but as you didn't give the ages of your kids it is difficult to know if scenery would be of interest to them or not. Corfu town itself may have something of interest to kids, again you only need to internet search something like "Corfu TOWN for kids" or if prepared to venture out of town, try searching for "Corfu for kids" for results across the entire island.

is it far from the ship port? - i.e. would we be able to do so easily, without a tour booked? I gave this reply in response to a fairly recent thread . It may not answer your question exactly but would give you an approximate idea of timng. the OP in this instance mentioned a ship transfer. but had been more interested in going to a beach from the drop off point.. the cruise transfer pretty much drops off in Palermo which gives the option of exploring or going to the beach. My reply: I don't actually understand that, unless the cruise port has changed location since our visit. Maybe a new one has been built? We docked centrally, with the more modern city pretty much across the street from the dock. The port area was busy with taxis, one of the little tourist trains and HOHOs also on offer. I am pretty sure there was also a Tourist Info office just across the stret as we picked up a map from there. .It was either there in a building or it was from a kiosk beside the taxis, HOHOs etc. it was very busy there.We were exploring on foot and had even found a YouTube video which showed cruise pax following a suggested route from the port to the old town main sights. We did that, with our first stop being Four Corners, followed by the Monumental Fountain Square. Our other sighseeing highlights were easily reached from there and in close proximity to each other. The longest walk was from the port to four corners. It was a good 20 or more minutes fairly fast walking. Perhaps the transfer bus goes as far as the Cathedral which we did not reach as we already had a full schedule? You could read all past threads which mention Palermo by inserting PALERMO in the search box under your user name then hitting the little spy glass and all results will appear. Note that you would only need to be on the general Italy Ports forum to do this and NOT on any individual thread.

they may like the unique art outside of it. Agreed in post #8 above. The floral puppy is HUGE and the architecture of the building itself a sight to behold. for all ages.

private transfer from the airport to Menaggio in the Como area. And you didn't say which airport you will be using. If no useful respones, you may need to get quotes from different taxi/transfer companies and I expect they could be quite highly priced as the driver will most probably need to return to Milan with no fares, so you are paying for a round trip, (though I am only guessing about that) There are a couple of lower cost alternatives should you want to consider them.. OPTION 1There should be shuttle buses between both Linate and Malpensa airports to Milano Centrale train station, and from there you can board a direct train to Como, then a choice of bus, taxi or ferry to Menaggio. Search online for the details of the shuttle buses from the above airports.and if they stop outside the train station, or any other travel option they might have between airport and train station.. OPTION 2 Or consider taking a taxi from the airport to Milano Centrale, then the direct train to Como. We flew into and out of Bergamo airport , which also had shuttle buses to Milano Centrale (stopped right outside the station) and from there we took a direct train to Como where we were met by our friends. with their car, as we were staying in a village between Como and Bellagio.

Is the weather extremely hot in May? I don't think it would be super hot as it is in the peak summer months of July and August, unless of course one of these freak heatwaves comes along, something that has happened in recent years across Europe when tewmps can reach the 40's C I think in Dubrovnik the heat bounces off all the marble and stone and it can be really crowded to the point of being unpleasant. You could google for average temperatures in Dubrovnik to get an idea of what you might expect, barring a freak heatwave,but weather is all over the place nowadays so difficult to say. Should you take the shuttle boat between Dubrovnik and Cavtat one way, note that the beautiful views are on the bus going TO Cavtat, (we usually take two window seats) not on the return as the bus is on the opposite side of the road in that direction. Ideally for views you would want to GO to Cavtat by bus and return by boat, putting you in the city centre and maybe a late lunch, but if you read reviews of the walls walking, Ihink you will find most folks prefer to walk the walls first thing when it is not too hot and possibly less crowded, so that would have you in Cavtat in the afternoon, in which case I would suggest you GO by boat as you may have already explored and lunched in the city, and be only a few minutes walk from the shuttle boats, walk Cavtat and take the bus directly back to the port as you will probably appreciate the very short walk from the bus station in the port gate and to your gangway. it is your decision which way around you plan your day, but reading would help you decide. Note that you will still have to get from Gruz to either the Old Harbour or to Plie, or the reverse,and although the Cavtat bus leaves from inside the bus station (unless that has changed) Dubrovnik city buses run along the main road outside the bus station where you will see the bus stops. The local bus company is LIBERTAS. See their website for timetables for the #10 Cavtat route (direction east) as you don't want to miss one and have to wait an hour for the next.And for fares too. The bus station in Dubrovnik is a recognisable bus station, the one in Cavtat is only a few stances marked out on the car park. You enter the car park at one end and bus parks at the other. Walk back to the car park entrance and look to your left where you should see the start (or end) of the peninsula walk. We like to do the walk first in that direction rather than the reverse,and when we finish at the harbour, sit and have a chilled beer or two whilst watching the activity on the super yachts, but with so many having been impounded through sanctions,, it remains to be seen how many could be there. Try Tripadvisor Dubrovnik for reviews of the walls walk and other highlights, but also look at Tripadvisor Cavtat for suggestions. You could walk up to the town cemetery for the views otherwise it is all flat.. The Tourist Info office with maps used to be next to the bus stancealthough you don't really need one. Enjoy, but if you do include Cavtat (and you would have the time) consider bering kind enough to add your experience to this thread as others could be interested in the future and better they have more than one opionion, and you could highlight changes to timetable, fares etc.(switch from 20 kuna pp each wa\y to ?euros) On our second trip to Corfu we did an excellent taxi tour with others on our sailing. Went out of town to enjoy some of the wonderful scenery for which this island is known. First time we only explored Corfu Town, but I would recommend going out of town.We had either 3 or 4 taxis for the group of around 12. Google taxi tours Corfu, but also check previous threads for all your ports by using the SEARCH TOOL under your user name. We have visited Dubrovnik SEVEN times, so have also explored the beach/hotel area of LAPAD and the seaside walk in that area. Stayed in Dubrovnik twice, plus an early evening walk one time after Cavtat, Cavtat itself THREE times. One time, on our 4th or 5th visit, we actually stayed onboard as there was a storm and torrential rain. Really nasty weather with thunder and lightewning too.Those on their first visit ventured out, but we did not need to so stayed onboard until the rain finally went off mid- afternoon then had a stroll around tthe harbourfront near Gruz.

Most larger towns and cities have pickpocketing issues. Just take the usual precautions you would take anywhere, and as suggested above, leave unnecessary ccs and cash in the safe, also passports (take a copy out with you) and jewellery doesn't need to be worn either. That advice is also good for all your other S. American ports.

not leaving enough time to simply enjoy Dubrovnik. As their ship is in port from 0700 until midnight, which is longer than most port calls, I thought they would have enough time for both, and Cavtat is a lovely alternative to the often crowded and very hot city We ventured in to Dubrovnik early one evening thinking we would enjoy a quiet stroll around only to find that when we arrived at Pile, the city was surprisingly busy. (still had to almost push our way through) and given that most cruise ships had either sailed or were about to, could only guess that that number of folks were land tour groups and holidaymakers staying in the area. It did get a little quieter once many of them went into restaurants for dinner, but at that point many restaurants were full so just as well we had the option of dining onboard.

I didn't actually read it that way at all. On the original thread I read this: I'm thinking I won't book an excursion and would like to see something more real, that feels like Alaska. But have zero idea what that would be in Ketchikan. It's our first port on our trip so that matters, too. I guess one of is is right...........

We'll be in Ketchikan in July and I'm thinking I won't book an excursion. Nothing really appeals. Many many previous similar threads and replies. Use the SEARCH box under your username then hit the little spy glass and all the results should apprear ready for you to read. Or back page, but the SEARCH tool is faster and easier. This is a recent thread you would probably find helpful to read: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2911191-utterly-stumped-about-what-to-do-in-ketchikan-help/#comment-64725250 Have now noticed that the above and very recent linked thread was YOUR first one asking the same question. Maybe time to read it again to refresh your memory of the many suggestions already made.