Need recommendations on RC LOS Med excursions

[Tinkerbell2012]

My husband & I are sailing on RC Liberty of the Seas--departing July 14th from Barcelona. We could really use some help/recommendations on excursions-in all ports--especially the 2 in France: Provence (Toulon) & Villefranche (Nice). On past sailings, we've used the ship's tours, but are very open to any private or DIY recommendations. We are also open to active excursions (would love to snorkel somewhere in the med!), historical, nature...etc...just want it to be worth our time & money. We're kinda stumped as to what would be best--thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[ksc37]

Hi, we were on the same cruise on June 16th. It was fabulous!

 

One of my favorite days was in Nice - we took the public bus from Villefranche to Nice, where we went on a 3 hour bike tour of the town with Nice Cycle tours, which we found through research on Trip Advisor. The guide is very informative, and the bike was a great way to see a lot of the town with a short amount of time. Afterward we still had time for a leisurely cafe lunch and some strolling around town. I highly recommend the bike tour if you like an active tour.

 

In Toulon we did the ship's excursion to Cassis, which was a cute little town, but we got less than two hours to spend there, which was not enough to see both the calanques and enjoy the town.

[Tinkerbell2012]

Thanks Karen! Biking in Nice sounds like perfect to us! Do you have any recommendations as what to do in Florence or Naples? Did you take a tour you would definitely recommend or not recommend? Thanks again!

[Cornishpastyman1]

My husband & I are sailing on RC Liberty of the Seas--departing July 14th from Barcelona. We could really use some help/recommendations on excursions-in all ports--especially the 2 in France: Provence (Toulon) & Villefranche (Nice). On past sailings, we've used the ship's tours, but are very open to any private or DIY recommendations. We are also open to active excursions (would love to snorkel somewhere in the med!), historical, nature...etc...just want it to be worth our time & money. We're kinda stumped as to what would be best--thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Hello Tinkerbell

 

This has some short videos of what I did DIY in Rome, Barca, Florence and Pompeii/Herculaneum http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1633637

 

You have very long hours in port on all these days (more than I did) and can easily use the trains and public transport to do this sort of thing (and more, or at least in a more leisurely fashion)

All the best, Tony

[ksc37]

Thanks Karen! Biking in Nice sounds like perfect to us! Do you have any recommendations as what to do in Florence or Naples? Did you take a tour you would definitely recommend or not recommend? Thanks again!

 

Hi, Tinkerbelle. We were fortunate because we were traveling with a group of 8 (2 families of four), so we were able to plan private excursions in both Livorno and Naples which were fairly cost-effective. We did Rome on our own using the tourist train. Our kids are 9 and 11, so a lot of our planning took their interests into account.

 

In Livorno we just hired a taxi for the day which we took to Florence and then Pisa. We had a good day - in Florence we climbed to the top of the Duomo, walked to some of the main parts of town and had a nice lunch. At the end of the day we stopped off in Pisa just to see the tower.

 

In Naples we booked a private tour with APTours - we went to Pompeii (very interesting), climbed to the crater of Mt Vesuvius, and then had lunch and free time in Sorrento before taking the ferry back to Naples. It was another very enjoyable day (even though Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius were hot!). I think it is rather easy to do Pompeii and Sorrento on your own using the train (and ferry for Sorrento).

[Tinkerbell2012]

Thanks SO much Karen & PastyMan....really helpful! One other question to you or anyone out there:

 

At our first stop this Sunday, in Toulon/Provence--we are considering taking public transportation to Cassis & then in order to see/explore the Calanques, either taking a boat tour or, preferable, rent kayaks for a few hours.

 

Does anyone out there have any thoughts/suggestions/warnings about this plan? Good idea? Bad idea? Easy or difficult to make happen? etc. We haven't got it all figured out yet, so very much welcome input! Thank you!

[mskaufman]

Hi,

 

Just got off LOS this past Sat. RCI did a good job with ship excursions. They were efficiently run. In the past we were DIY'ers but this time we went more with ship excursions. I realize we paid a premium but with such limited time in each city it reduced the risk that we wouldn't see what we wanted to. Also, the tours provided us with radio headsets so we could hear the guide as we walked.

 

Toulon - We went to Aix

Villefranche - In the moring we walked around Villefrance. In the afternoon we went to Nice and Eze. It is possible to DIY but using the ship tour took the stress out of working around the public transportation schedules and saved some of our energy (which we needed for walking around Florence, Rome and Pompeii).

Naples - Amalfi by motor launch and Pompeii - This was a really good tour. We went to Salerno and had a provide boat that went up the cost to Amalfi. Pompeii was hot but exceeded expectations. Doing the tour let us do Pompeii in a half day. The guide was able to work around the crowds in Pompeii and take us where the crowds were not.

 

I have not been through my several thousand pictures yet and will post some when I do.

 

Happy to answer any questions.

[shellys6]

Great ideas, Tink...we are going on this cruise Aug 4th and I am at a lost as to what excursions to book in Toulon. We really want to see Provence for the day and I am having difficulty finding a tour or company out of Toulon. Let me know if you come across anything great...thanks so much!! Have fun (this weekend)!!!

 

Thanks SO much Karen & PastyMan....really helpful! One other question to you or anyone out there:

 

At our first stop this Sunday, in Toulon/Provence--we are considering taking public transportation to Cassis & then in order to see/explore the Calanques, either taking a boat tour or, preferable, rent kayaks for a few hours.

 

Does anyone out there have any thoughts/suggestions/warnings about this plan? Good idea? Bad idea? Easy or difficult to make happen? etc. We haven't got it all figured out yet, so very much welcome input! Thank you!