Costa Victoria Excursions Insight

[CgyTravelJunkies]

These are just my opinions, but I have been asked several times since returning from our April 18th sailing for views on the ports... this is what I have told people!

 

PORTS OF CALL:

VENICE: When you arrive at the port, there is a water shuttle that

offers a 20 minute route over to St. Mark's square and back for 10

Euro... this was a cheap way to get over to the main area, and was

WELL WORTH IT!!! The shuttle ran on a regular schedule every 20

minutes at each end.

 

BARI: This port was very dissapointing, since it mainly served as a

technical port (lots of people got on here)... The town shut down for

"siesta" from 1:30-4:30... basically the same timing as we were there.

We took the "Tour of Bari" excursion, but found it a bit of a waste of

money... might be a nice place to just explore on your own, but dont

expect much!!!

 

KATAKOLON: Definately take an excursion here to Olympia. The cost of a

taxi would be about the same as the cost of the ship excursion. Go

with the basic tour, since we saw many of the others from our ship

following the same itinerary as us, and we paid the least!!! It was a

great excursion, and was well worth the money.

 

SANTORINI: Do this stop on your own!! Dont waste your money on an

excursion! We hopped in a taxi from Thira to Oia for 12 Euro and

explored the White wall town at our own pace. We stopped for lunch and

shopping and then headed back to the ship. This was the EXACT same

itinerary as others took on the pricey excursion.

 

MYKONOS: The ship offers a bus shuttle (about a 4 minute drive) from

the port to the actual town...it is only 5 Euro, a bit of a waste of

money, but serves a purpose I guess! Once in town it is just a great

place to walk the streets, and enjoy Greece. I would reccomend doing

this one on your own... I dont see value in an excurion, but

definately get off the ship for some exploring. There is a restaurant

in the heart of Mykonos (about 3 blocks off the water),,, called Nikos

Taverna. It was FABULOUS!!! we ate outside, and they have fresh

seafood and a great atmosphere. This is also where the famous Mykonos

Pelicans hang out too! Quite the experience having dinner with these

birds wandering around! If you love greek food, this is a must!

 

RHODES: Again, we didnt see value in purchasing a ship excursion, when

exiting the port and heading toward the old town, there is a car

rental place there. We walked in, got a rental car for the day, and

headed up to Lindos on our own! We beat all the busses up there, and

had a great time! We then headed back along the other coast (basically

circling the island) and stopped in at Butterfly Valley (reccomended

by our car rental agency) I would reccomend this if you have time! We

returned our car back in time to explore the old town for about 2

hours. It was a perfect day!

 

DUBROVNIK: We purchased a tour here, not sure what to expect, but

would reccomend others to just do it on their own! The main area is

fairly small and would be easy to navigate on ones own. Again the ship

offered a 5 Euro return bus shuttle that ran on a regular schedule to

the main squre and the port. I suggest walking the walls, if you have

the energy!

[cruiseonly]

Thanks for the review.

 

How was the weather, and was it smooth sailing.:)

[donmimi]

We are on the August sailing and this info was most helpful! (Even tho the ports are not exactly the same!)