Sicily and Naples.

[kuddles14]

We will be doing a Greek Isles cruise with stops in Sicily and Naples.  Any suggestions for private tour operators in these ports? Are they better done on our own? Is there anything we should not miss?

 

Thank you.

 

Kathy

[CruiserBruce]

It depends what you want to do...which you have given no indication of.  Plus there are 4 or 5 possible ports in Sicily.  Which one are you stopping at?

Rome in Limo operates in both...they have a huge thread down the board, and are highly recommended here for good reason. They are a high quality outfit, and booking more than one trip with them gets you a discount, typically. 

[euro cruiser]

As noted above, it really depends on what you want to do.  For example, if you want to go to Capri while on a port day at Naples it makes no sense to use a car service.

[kuddles14]

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 12:39 AM, CruiserBruce said:

It depends what you want to do...which you have given no indication of.  Plus there are 4 or 5 possible ports in Sicily.  Which one are you stopping at?

Rome in Limo operates in both...they have a huge thread down the board, and are highly recommended here for good reason. They are a high quality outfit, and booking more than one trip with them gets you a discount, typically. 

Thank you. Did not know there was more than one port for Sicily. We going into Messina.

Any suggestions from there? I have heard if Rome in Limo. Heard they are very good. I will check them out and if  you have any other suggestions, please post.

 

[kuddles14]

20 hours ago, euro cruiser said:

As noted above, it really depends on what you want to do.  For example, if you want to go to Capri while on a port day at Naples it makes no sense to use a car service.

To be honest with you, we are not sure what we want to do in Naples. We have done the Amalfi coast. Any other suggestions.   

[circee]

For Messina, Sicily you should check out Filippo at http://www.sicily-best-tour.com.  We took his  "Tour 2 - Etna Taormina" just a few weeks ago. Filippo was quick to respond to emails and very personable. The drive to Etna was actually quite long and I wouldn't do it again, but that wasn't Filippo's fault (DH likes to visit volcanoes anywhere we go). 

[kuddles14]

5 hours ago, circee said:

For Messina, Sicily you should check out Filippo at http://www.sicily-best-tour.com.  We took his  "Tour 2 - Etna Taormina" just a few weeks ago. Filippo was quick to respond to emails and very personable. The drive to Etna was actually quite long and I wouldn't do it again, but that wasn't Filippo's fault (DH likes to visit volcanoes anywhere we go). 

Thank you for your recommendation. I will be looking into them.

 

[lamchops]

On 10/17/2018 at 8:34 PM, kuddles14 said:

We will be doing a Greek Isles cruise with stops in Sicily and Naples.  Any suggestions for private tour operators in these ports? Are they better done on our own? Is there anything we should not miss?

 

Thank you.

 

Kathy

 

I’ve been to Messina twice by cruise ship. The first time there (weather itinerary change) we walked 5 minutes to the cathedral and watched the astronomical chime at noon. There are tour operators and a petite train at the plaza. We took the (not expensive) train tour combined with a walking tour afterwards. The walking tour ended at a cannoli shop near the pier.

 

 The second time time was a planned port day so I pre-booked a rental car from Avis (a block from port) and followed the gps (50 minutes) to Taormina. We visited castlemola and had a great time in Taormina.  Driving is easy if you rent an automatic and if you stay in the right hand lane and only use the left to pass.

 

We’ve had 3 visits to Naples and DIY to Pompeii the first time, walked the town and ate pizza at a couple famous pizzerias the second time, and recently a DIY to Herculaneum with more pizza.

There are lots of instructions and information online to get you there. The ships excursions were not as outrageously priced as some of the other ports. 

Edited October 20, 2018 by lamchops

[BarbinMich]

From Naples we've been to Pompeii and Herculaneum [Ercolano today] which were both totally covered in ash from the Mt. Vesuvius eruption.  [This was on two different cruises.]  We visited Herculaneum on a full-day private tour which also included time in Sorrento and a few hours down on the Amalfi coast.

[kuddles14]

On 10/20/2018 at 5:30 PM, lamchops said:

 

I’ve been to Messina twice by cruise ship. The first time there (weather itinerary change) we walked 5 minutes to the cathedral and watched the astronomical chime at noon. There are tour operators and a petite train at the plaza. We took the (not expensive) train tour combined with a walking tour afterwards. The walking tour ended at a cannoli shop near the pier.

 

 The second time time was a planned port day so I pre-booked a rental car from Avis (a block from port) and followed the gps (50 minutes) to Taormina. We visited castlemola and had a great time in Taormina.  Driving is easy if you rent an automatic and if you stay in the right hand lane and only use the left to pass.

 

We’ve had 3 visits to Naples and DIY to Pompeii the first time, walked the town and ate pizza at a couple famous pizzerias the second time, and recently a DIY to Herculaneum with more pizza.

There are lots of instructions and information online to get you there. The ships excursions were not as outrageously priced as some of the other ports. 

Thank you . I like your suggestions 

[cinesage]

We just got back from a Jewel of the Seas cruise that stopped in both of these cities.  You might want to check out "Sicily with Mario" for Messina which I just reviewed on tripadvisor - https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187889-d2615234-r628178197-Sicily_With_Mario-Messina_Province_of_Messina_Sicily.html

 

For Naples we took a ship excursion which employed the Aloschi Brothers - http://www.aloschibros.com/ - for a visit to a farm near Sorrento where we got a taste of fresh mozzarella, olives, olive oil, wine and limoncello, before time in Sorrento for shopping and margherita pizza.  The tour finished with a 2-3 hour guided tour of Pompeii which was excellent.

[Lmack]

We'll be stopping in Naples on our upcoming cruise in Dec. We've been to Naples a couple of times in the past. DH would like to do Capri on this sailing. We need advice and suggestions regarding DIY for Capri from Naples. 

[euro cruiser]

Regarding Capri, there's no need to purchase ferry tickets in advance, just walk over (the ferry port Molo Beverello is adjacent to the cruise port) and buy a ticket for the next crossing.  There is an electronic board listing the upcoming crossings as you approach from the cruise port so you'll know which company's line to get in.

 

Don't buy your return in the morning unless the company you are going over with happens to have a return crossing at a time you like.  Tickets are not transferrable from one company to another.  

 

In December you don't need to worry about ferry crossings selling out, even the most popular return times.  I would wait and buy the return ticket when you're ready to come back because you may find that the island is too quiet to maintain your interest all day.