Magnifica - May 29, 2010

[jmitchmpd]

We're doing the "Turkish Treasures and Croation Coasts" cruise. Does anyone have any recommendations on the shore excursions for this particular cruise route? Our ports are Bari, Katakolon, Izmir, Istanbul and Dubrovnik. Thanks for any info!

[AmoMondo]

We're doing the "Turkish Treasures and Croation Coasts" cruise. Does anyone have any recommendations on the shore excursions for this particular cruise route? Our ports are Bari, Katakolon, Izmir, Istanbul and Dubrovnik. Thanks for any info!

 

This is a pretty similar itinerary to my first cruise on MSC but not sure if the shore excursions will be similar now or not.

 

In Bari I did a city tour where the bus dropped us at the castle and the rest was on foot. To be honest it wasn't that great. The guide was nice and friendly but there really wasn't a lot to see and do in Bari itself. The "highlight" of the tour was a visit to the crypt in a church in the city centre that has St Nicholas's remains, There were other tours that took you out in to the countryside and with hindsight may have been a better option.

In Katakalon I did the Olympus tour. We had 2 hours at the site itself. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about her subject matter. She knew exactly what each pile of rubble had been and its use. I did however find that 2 hours in June in very hot temperatures with no shade whatsoever rather exhausting. There was also a brief shopping stop enroute back. If you are really in to archeology and Greek culture and mythology, you will enjoy this tour

 

By far the best tour we did was in Istanbul. It was 8 hours and included the Blue Mosque St Sofia Church, a talk at a carpet factory with some refreshements (spent a fortune on a beautiful silk number that still has pride of place in my home), then we had free time in the Grand Bazaar before finishing up with a guided tour and free time at the Tokapi Palace. It was a great day out with a great guide.

 

In Dubrovnik we did a walking city tour. the guide was good but it was not worth the money in my opinion. We visited 4 places (covent, town hall, a church and somewhere else) which were all off of the main square in Dubrovnil, so I could have just have easily done this on my own with a map.there were other tours available, so maybe I didn't make the best choice.

[jmitchmpd]

Thanks for the info and to be honest, everything you said is along the lines I had been thinking. I'm notorious for my planning and Katakolon and Istanbul seemed like the best places to do an organized tour with the rest being done on our own. Glad to have someone confirm my thoughts!

[AmoMondo]

Happy to help. Have a great time.