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Distances - port to city/cities


xmkv2
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Hi

 

I would much appreciate a little insight into the following ports cities that I will be visiting with my family during a cruise in February (Costa Diadema). How far from the city centre will we be when getting off the ship?

 

  • Barcelona (I have a clear impression that the ship will be only a few hundred meters from the end of the Rambla/the tourist-friendly part of the harbour?)
  • Palma de Mallorca
  • Palermo
  • Citavecchia (I am aware that we are 1½ hrs from actual Rome)
  • Savona
  • Marseille

(The context is that I have a couple of kids too old for strollers, they are not too fond of walking, and it being February climate in Europe, we consider not taking pricey full-day excursions into town at every opportunity. Some times just hop off and see the immediate surroundings)

Really appreciate any help!

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Hi there

 

Been to those a few times.

 

Barcelona you can take the Blue port bus for €4 return, not sure how much they charge for kids. That takes you to quite near the bottom of La Rambla. The Costa bus is WAY more.

 

Palma I would suggest a taxi. They drop you next to the cathedral and then you can walk into the old city. Lots of steps up.

 

Marseille I would actually use the Costa transfer. It stops just short of the Old port area. If the weather is kind you can use the little train. €8 or 10 pp for one of the routes. Not sure if you want to do both. I am sure the kids won't mind the kidney rumbling on the uneven streets. We took the trip to the Cathedral on the hill. Rather scenic and the views from the top is amazing.

 

Palermo is a s******e in my opinion. We used their HOHO which does not do many stops, cost too much and when we went the sound system did not work. Must say we did not really feel safe there either( I lived in South Africa for the first 40ish years of my life).

 

Depends what you want to do in Rome. We went February 2 years ago on the Diadema and lucked out with Costa. We had a French/English group and we went up in the coach together.90 minutes of wishing the guide would shut up nattering mainly in French. We then split in 2 groups the English one about 12 people with an amazing guide. Our smaller bus stopped outside the Colosseum and we walked around and took photos. We the went to St.Peters and he whisked us through in next to no time. We had free time inside. Did not go to the Vatican museum or Sistine. We then went to the area close to the Trevi and walked there, Piazza Navona and Pantheon. We had free time for lunch and had a lovely meal despite it being tourist central. In May this year we just used the transfer but it was a lot of walking and not sure your kiddos will manage.

 

Savona is really right in town. If you have never been it is actually OK. There is Priamar(can be windy and cold up there), beautiful cathedral and another Sistine chapel(same pope). It is very smalll and beautiful. There is a small charge and it is not open all the time. There are a few other churches(I like churches) and some museums(never gone). There are alsoo some statues about. It is also just nice to wander around the shops , it is actually rather pretty. They sometimes have stalls selling tat as well.

 

We had quite good weather when we went so you might be lucky too. I remeber 18 Celcius in Barcelona.

 

Have a good time.

 

Alicat

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Barcelona you will probably be at Moll D' Adossat. The Blue bus might not be a good choice for a family as described, the Costa transfer might be worth the money. Barcelona also has a bad reputation for pickpockets.

I agree in Marseille, the alternatives to the Costa transfer are not practical.

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Barcelona - if you are docked at the normal cruise port you are about 1 mile from the end of the Ramblas and the Columbus Statute. You can walk it in about 25 min, take a local bus that has a stop right across from the cruise terminal, take a shuttle bus provided by your cruise line (the cost varies depending on the line), or grab a taxi to wherever you choose to go.

 

Palma - You are outside of town so you will need to use some kind of shuttle, bus or taxi to get into town. We have previously moved around that island with a rental car...and also just used local buses to get to a beach,

 

Marseille - You will be docked in a commercial port over a mile from downtown. There will be some kind of shuttle bus into town (it will drop you at the Vieux Port or old port) or you can use a taxi. Many folks use Marseille as a "gateway port" to go to other places in Provence such as Aix en Provence, Avignon, Les Baux, etc. There are options to get to places using trans, buses, tours, or a rental car.

 

Civitavecchia - It is a huge port located right in the town. You can use a free shuttle bus to get outside the port where you can walk or use a bus to go to the train station...or perhaps just walk.. It is also possible to walk from your ship's pier to outside the port (into town) but that walk can be a mile (it varies depending on docking position, The most common destination (Rome) is reachable by tour, taxi, or by simply using the Italian trains.

 

Palermo You are docked at one end of town. It is possible to walk into the center of town from the ship (if you like long walks) use local buses, taxis, etc. One of my personal favorite (and macabre) things to see in Palermo is called the Capuchin Catacombs (you can google the place).

 

Savona - A port used primarily by Costa. We have never been to this port...although we have driven past (up in the hills on the main road) in our rental cars. Have no clue what to do in that port :).

 

Hank

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