edinburgher

Was the excursion to Vergina organized by the cruise company? Yes, ours was also a shorex. We only do shorex if the distance is too far of if it is too challenging to DIY or if a private tour for only two persons is too costly.. if you can share, maybe a private tour with others on your RC would work just as well.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a bus route map anywhere, We had read somewhat mixed reviews about a sort of HOHO bus which went from near the dock to Piran , but felt (given reviews at that time) that it could be too risky so we went by public bus instead. you would need to check if it still runs, also if reviews have improved. The local Touris Iinfo office people were very helpful and e-mailed a timetable and a map showing the route to the bus stop from the port. It was actually quite easy to find. Go up to the road from the dock (ramp or elevator). Do not cross into the old town, but head right following the road which skirts around the old town Afterr a few minutes it sort of bends to the left, and around that bend, by a roundabout on the right side you will see several bus stops and stances.(It may be the terminus/bus station) Look for the one which is for Piran.. There is (or was then) really only one bus stop in Piran, on the main road a couple of minutes walk from where the road into Piran itself becomes pedestrian only. We boarded for the return journey at the same stop. At that time there was a little building (resembling a small garden shed!) where timetables were posted on the window. We paid the driver on the bus, and back in Koper got off at the same stop where we had boarded..Return to the dock can be either through the old town (across from the stop) or backtracking the route taken from the dock.. I would contact the local Koper Tourist office to check the bus stop location in Koper in case there have been changes since our visit, also for the current timetable. Give them your date of arrival as there are often different winter and summer timetables.

afternoon shore excursion to visit the tomb of Philip II (Alexander the Great's father) in Vergina (about an hour or so outside of Thessaloniki). We did a morning shorex to the Vergina museum. I think you can only access it with private transport and a taxi may not be practical as you will want to spend some time here.. This museum totally surpassed our expectations in every way and I strongly recommend you try to get there. The exhibits from the (intact and unlooted) tomb of Philip 11 are absolurely breathtakingly beautiful, especially the golden objects such as the acorn crown/diadems. We would have happily taken many many photos but photography is not allowed and the museum attendants were hyper vigilant. There shouild be much information found online, (Museum of the Royal Tombs of Vergina.) and even if you think you have visited many museums and "seen it all", and "this will be just another museum"you will find after a visit here that you are now closer to "seeing it all"than you were before your visit. A personal opinion of course, but we rank it as high as the Tomb of Tutankhamun (apart from the golden mask).

there is no need to book a tour to visit the Basilica cistern in Sultanahmet. Simply buy tickets at the entrance and enter.

We have a port stop in Koper. I’ve started research and not finding a lot. We have visited twice and agree that unless wanting a beach day, there is very little in the town itself. The first time we took a shorex to super pretty Lake Bled and Ljubljana which I would highly recommend. There should be online info and images of both to tempt you should one be offered.. The second time, and knowing there was little of interest in Koper itself, we took the local bus to PIRAN. (again info and images online). That was very easy to do and the route passes through a couple of little seaside towns. Piran is "small but perfectly formed".(again online images and info) On return we wandered a little in Koper, maybe took us under an hour to see the sights, although there was a spectacular sunset that evening, one of the best we ever saw. If you go on to the Other Med Ports Forum, but not to any particular thread, under your username, enter Koper and Piran in turn and hit the little spy glass to bring up all previous threads and posts about both places ready for you to read.

You can pick uip a self guided walking tour of Juneau and follow that around town. It includes museums and historic sites. And nearby Mendenhall Glacier from Juneau.is popular with many and also offers hiking trails. Juneau is also one of the most popular ports for whalewatching trips. Use the SEARCH box to pull up all previous threads and posts about Juneau and get lots of useful info from reading them. And check the Juneau Tourist Info website for inspiration.

And if Glacier Bay is on your cruising itinerary, you can tick off another from your list. We cruised it three times on different itineraries. Sit back and enjoy as only the Captain needs to "drive".

Godafoss Waterfall along with the Myvtan baths At least you will experience some of what Iceland can offer which is different to that found in other countries. And as you will be in the same general area as the stops described in the tour in several posts further up, you may even find you have additional stops at other spots of interest, however brief they may be. Enjoy.

it wasn't hard to convince the group to do the waterfall excursion. Just curious. What is "the waterfall excursion"? And thanks for acknowledging as not everyone does.

We'll also be in Genoa, Naples and Marseilli. Would you recommend the beach any of those ports? Genoa offers many possibilities and is, in its own right, a very historical city with many sights.in the historical centre and little winding streets to explore alongside palaces, churches etc. It is also well located for visits to Cinque Terre, Portofino and others, so a beach day may not appeal to many. Cruise pax already have tough choices to make at Naples as there are many highlights to choose from and they cannot all be done in one port day, so not many would opt for a beach day instead of eg Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, or Herculaneum. Do none of these options appeal to you? Marseille also has many historical sights.but is another city well placed for exploring some of the region of Provence including Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Cassis and others. Your family might also enjoy a boat trip from Marseille to the Chateau d'IF or to the calanques at Cassis. For the pretty Luberon villages you would need a shorex or private tour. You should probably research tourist info websites for all your ports and choose a beach day from the one which holds less appeal than others. Suggest you also look at the shorex bering offered by your cruise line to get an idea of sightseeing options in each port. Even if you don't want to do any they will give you an indication of the highlights at each of your ports. And also read past threads and posts to see what possibilities were suggested to others for DIY sightseeing. You should also use the internet to search eg "Beaches near Genoa/Naples/Marseille" to find the closest to your port cities as you may need to use public transport to reach them. And do bear in mind the advice above that .during the month of August pretty much ALL beaches in S Europe will be absolutely packed (for which read uncomfortably crowded)with tourists and locals from very early morning as it is the main European holiday month, and the hottest. This applies no matter the day of the week but could be especially crowded at weekends especially if it is a frree public beach area.. There should also be information on the "for a fee" private beach areas where you would typically pay for the rental of sun beds, umbrellas etc. and reviews of your chosen beach should indicate whether you would need to book these ahead of time.

the cruise transfer pretty much drops off in Palermo which gives the option of exploring or going to the beach. 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 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. Does the cruiseline tell you how to reach the beach from the drop off point? or does it drop- off for city sightseeing then continue to the beach for a second drop-off? And did you read online descriptions and reviews of the beach?. And if so, will it meet your needs or will you reconsider that option?

the Santa Chiara Monastery. for the fabulously tiled cloisters. (More intersting than you might initially think-.see online images and reviews) The viewpoint with spectacular city views in front of Castel Sant Elmo. Different ways to reach it, but the funicular is something different to try. Christmas Street, actual name San Gregorio Armeno. is good for a wander as are some of the neighbouring streets.. Again read about it online. Eat pizza. Spoiled for choice and Naples is the #1 for pizza. Can't go wrong. We reached all of these on foot from the port apart from the viewpoint as we rode the funicular both ways. We also printed off a self guided walking tour of Naples Old Town last time we were there and followed that. Went in to the centre from opposite the port. A loosely circular walk It ran east from near the cloisters above and followed a not-quite-straight line towards Christmas St. We found several sites/sights of interest along the way that we had not previously seen (ncluding the area in and around the Chiesa de Jesu Nuovo which does not at all resemble any other church building)and at the end we simply went down a side street to the main road and followed that back to the port.

Clearly I need to research this area much more. I agree with above suggestions that you need to read about the region of Provence (which as pointed out above, is an entire region, not a specific town or city.) and decide WHERE you want to actually visit. Once you make a decision,you can begin to explore your travel options. Or do it the other way around and look for easier destinations to reach by train.from Marseille (eg Aix-en Provence a short journey from the main train station in Marseille, and which can also be reached by bus) There is a very good website to delve into,with a two word title, but wary of copyright, can only say the first word is the english translation of the french word merveilleux (an easy translation or use Google translate) and the second word is the name of the region you are to read about. You could also look at the shorex being offered by your cruiseline whether or not you want a shorex, as reading what they offer is a good indication of highlights of the region, and something there might appeal. From that point you could then find out how easy that would be to do yourselves. First decision will be to decide if you want to stay in Marseille itself or venture out of the city, mand for that you would need to read about Marseille. The Marseille Tourist Office has a very good website to start you off, (top right corner to choose the english version) also the website hinted at above, tripadvisor and others.

I have booked both the Troll Road and the Mt. Dalsnibba tour Once home, you could maybe think about adding a brief post to this thread about your experiences on both drives, (including whether there is a better side of the drives for viewing) as it could be helpful to others?.

On this shorex, and on the Mt Dalsnibba one out of Geiranger, one of us had the window seat going up, the other the aisle seat, but we swapped each time for the return. Hoping you get a clear weather day.😊

Any recommendations as to which side of the bus would be better to sit on in terms of the views? I don't remember one side or the other being better for views either going up or down because the road is a series of steep hairpin bends, so one moment you are viewing from one side, the next from the other. Suggesting you google" Troll Road images" to get some idea of what it is like, or even "Troll Road" for a description of the route. It was a breathtaking drive.

Unsure which wording you searched with and came up with nothing. Maybe you could try tweaking the words you are using in your internet search? I just now tried searching with "private minbus(or minivan) transfers from Marseille port to Marseille" and a small number popped up in results, so similar wording might bring more success in your search.

We are going to Toulon for a day on the QE in late October. Be aware that some ships use nearby la Seyne s/ Mer instead of Toulon, so either yourselves or your eventual tour provider would need to check at which location to meet you. Most convenient wine tour would be to the vineyards behind Bandol,which extend to to Le Castellet which you might also enjoy spending a short time in. We actually prefer la Cadiere as it is a less touristy and more authentic town .Bandol rose wines are amongst the best in the world and that is a scenic area to visit.

I think it’s a don’t miss — you visit Iceland to see things like this. Turtles06, like yourselves we thoroughly enjoyed that tour, and should we ever return to Akureyri we would actually repeat it, not something we would usually do, but these sights cannot be found anywhere else in the world,and we would not pass up an other opportunity.

I'm mainly trying to figure out whether the ship will offer a tour or transport to Pula or whether I should figure out how to get there on my own .Knew you would really prefer Pula, but so annoying is it not when these occasional dilemmas come along and a difficult decision must be made. We are more fortunate as we have easier access to archaeological sites in Europe as I think you may be based further away than that? Have you checked Rome2Rio for transport options? It is our #1 "go to" choice for transport info between two points. Used it often as we are mostly DIYers. if all else fails, you could try to taxi share with others on your RC?

Has anyone experienced a day in Rovinj and if so, what did you do? Thinking you are super lucky to be going to Rovinj as far fewer cruiselines visit. We had a day there and can honestly say it is one of the prettiest towns we ever visited in Croatia(and we visited many of them). We mostly only walked around, which sounds a little boring but it is a really charming town to walk around with something of interest around every corner.. Pax will be taking photos even before leaving the ship, but many more will be taken from the tenders as they travel in both directions. Tender port. You will see the promontory from your ship. We tendered into a spot next to a car park to the left of the promontory as you face it from the sea, only a couple of minutes walk into town from there. We firstly turned right towards it but soon headed up a side street to the left and explored most of that area. We then headed to the promontory itself. Super quaint with tiny narrow cobbled streets and covered alleyways leading to the rocks and sea. From the tenders you will have seen the houses built almost into the sea itself, the water lapping their walls. Some of the little alleyways led down to rocks where cafe and bar owners had placed cushions for their clients to sit next to the sea. That area (pre-pandemic) had many little independent craft shops selling everything from ceramics to jewellery to artworks, fashion items and much more. We walked up to the bell tower. Iit was all totally charming. Had lunch in a restaurant in a pedestrian square next to the actual harbour. The harbour is a sort of division between town and a hotel/promenade area. After lunch we headed right (with back to the sea)and walked along the promenade which skirts the sea. There are no sandy beaches, mostly rocky, pebble areas, but bathers used large flat rocks and beach clubs where some seating was provided. The views were pretty but it was extremely hot and there was little shade so we didn't walk too far before turning around to head back. By this time it was already mid-afternoon anyway. We discovered that a UK travel company offered hotel based package holidays to Rovinj and considered returning for a week or so, as that would have given us more time in Rovinj also the option to visit Pula for the Roman sites, then a couple of years later the world turned topsy turvy and we never did get to stay there.. This was unfortunately one of these classic port days which posed a dilemma. Stay in town or go to Pula. Wil be a difficult decision for you, but do look at online reviews and images of Rovinj itself before deciding. Should you travel to Pula either independently or on a shorex, but would still have a little time to spare on return to Rovinj, i would use it to explore the promontory area as that would be better than missing the town altogether.

For I certainly wouldn't do it, if I could locate those original posts. AJ. You would probably find it beneficial to spend some time learning how to use the various functions of CC (including how to find your past posts,) as some time spent learning about CC will be well rewarded. Help on doing this can be found here: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forum/859-need-help-using-the-forums-check-here/ How to find your past threads and posts is described approx. 12or more topics down on the first page of that link. And CC aside, google is your best friend. So very simple to use, so much info out there just waiting for you to find it. Two examples here in your earlier thread you had mentioned "a liking of nature" and been advised that the Alvor Boardwalk passed alongside the estuary and nature reserve with info easily found by googling "Alvor boardwalk". Only two words to google but much info in the results. And from your current thread. Have you tried googling "best sardines in Portimao" and "best sardines in Alvor? . This time only four words for each but much info in the results. General internet searching aside, ideally when you start a thread and receive responses from others, you should be copying and pasting that info into your notes for that particular port. Start a Word Document for each port.. copy/paste helpful replies into it and that way the info will be easily found as you begin to form your plans without having to search for your past posts, or instead, copy and paste the link to your various threads into your notes/Word documents for each port then you only need click the link to access it. I would also suggest you learn how to use the SEARCH option, so you can bring up past threads and posts on port towns and cities which are not your own as you can learn much from reading these. Info on how to do that should also be on the same link: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forum/859-need-help-using-the-forums-check-here/ And if you don't actually want to research a port six months early, and complete it before moving on to the next one, why not wait until you are ready to do it from start to finish? And do remember to use Tripadvisor and other online sources in addition.. So easy to google eg Tripadvisor Portimao or Tripadvisor Alvor (or wherever you want to learn about) then choose THINGS TO DO, and many of the official LOCAL TOURIST INFO websites have a wealth of info. Unfortunately you either do some homework yourself or simply book a shorex in every port you will visit. Hoping that at least some of the above will be helpful to you and make your current and any future cruise ports research easier.

This sounds like a great tour for us - me, my husband and 5 boys ages 11-21. Were there opportunities to explore out of the vehicle or was it mostly on the bus? Timings may vary depending on ship time in port, but we had a number of short stops along the way. Guesstimating around 15-20 minutes or so at each but I cannot remember exact timings nor how many stops, only that we had them. Thinking the highlight for your boys will be Namafjall Hverir with the fumaroles and mud pools. We were especially taken with the natural colours of that landscape, something we had not expected.A lovely mix of shades of ochre, yellows etc. And your boys might enjoy the sulphur smells more than we did. Enjoy.

Our day starts and ends rather early (7:00-14:00 in port), so I'm not sure we want to deal with a train. Sounds like a plan CMPH especially with the early arrival and departure times. Enjoy.

We booked an excursion due to the reports that this was the most cost-effective way to get from Gdynia to Gdansk Both cities are also connected by train.and being as close to each other as they are, i expect there will also be buses.and a taxi trip may not be expensive either. By doing this you would not be restricted to whatever timing the shorex has. You could tip in euros which I am pretty sure will be happily accepted as many Poles either work "cross border" in eurozone countries or have friends or family liviing there. On mainland Europe there is a lot of cross border traffic between countries for entertainment, work, leisure activities, and even for shopping depending on how close to a border a person is located.