Western Mediterranean Itinerary

[RFC2014]

Hello!

 

We just booked the following cruise for the summer:

 

Barcelona, Spain

Valencia, Spain

Nice, France 

Ajaccio, Corsica

Santa Margherita, Italy 

Florence/Pisa, Italy

Rome/ Italy 

 

looking for thoughts on the itinerary and any suggestions of excursions or tours. Family of four, kids are 8 and 10 and do quite well with walking.

 

Thank you!

[George C]

Looks great, need to send a couple of days in Barcelona before the cruise starts . Florence is amazing.

[grapau27]

38 minutes ago, RFC2014 said:

Hello!

 

We just booked the following cruise for the summer:

 

Barcelona, Spain

Valencia, Spain

Nice, France 

Ajaccio, Corsica

Santa Margherita, Italy 

Florence/Pisa, Italy

Rome/ Italy 

 

looking for thoughts on the itinerary and any suggestions of excursions or tours. Family of four, kids are 8 and 10 and do quite well with walking.

 

Thank you!

All excellent ports.

I would stay at least 1 night preferably more in Barcelona Pre-cruise.

Nice is lovely but a tour to Monaco/Monte Carlo is popular.

Ajaccio port is nice to walk around plus it is the birthplace of Napoleon.

Florence itself is a distance from the port but is well worth visiting.

Pisa has the leaning tower but not much else and the bus drops you over half a mile from the centre.

Rome is about 1 hour from the port with a number of tours available.

Graham.

[Cruiser_1977]

Is your family into history, religion, architecture, or literature? There are soo many options in these wonderfully historic port cities. Hard to direct you without knowing more than your ages.

[RFC2014]

We are into history and architecture. We love walking around towns and exploring shops. If there is a tour that covers some major points of the port, that is welcome also. My kids would love one beach day if there is the option on the ports listed? 

[Cruiser_1977]

Valencia - Oceanografic

In Nice - the Promenade des Anglais & Old Town. There is a nice beach - Plage de Marinere.

Pisa - I mean let's lean! 🙂

Florence - Ponte Vecchio & Florence Cathedral

 

I hope your cruise planner has some neat options. I'd do a bus hop on/off tour in any of those places and have a blast! Also, if you also like food and there are food type adventures I bet that would be amazing in Italy as well! I think I could spend multiple days in each place.

Edited January 11, 2023 by JennyB1977

[pcur]

O.M.G. I am so excited for you!  Fabulous itinerary! 

 

Barcelona, Spain - walk Las Ramblas, take the hop on/off bus that picks up at the Statue of Columbus right at the entrance to the port.  Suggest at least an extra day before or after the cruise for this.  Al fresco meals along Las Ramblas.

 

Valencia, Spain - if you look at Valencia on the map, you'll see that greenbelt snaking through the middle of the city.  We took the roundtrip transportation from the port and wandered around there.  Just the everyday architecture and buildings, plazas, etc. are great to see.

 

Nice, France - St. Paul de Vence, Eze, Monaco

 

Ajaccio, Corsica -  (A-yah-ch-yo) Very picturesque.  They have a hop on/off bus there, too.

 

Santa Margherita, Italy  - never been there

 

Florence/Pisa, Italy - plan carefully.  VERY busy during the summer, and crowded.  So, don't try to see too much and allow for crowds and gelato stops.  Absolutely, gelato stops.  OK, back to the map.  See the Arno river running through Florence?  The tour buses park along there, usually near the Ponte Vecchio, across from the Ufizi (statue of David) museum.  Just walking around in that part of Florence is a treat.  Go find Michelangelo's Grafifti the at the corner of Palazzo Vecchio nearest the Uffizi Museums, among other sites. 

 

Rome - I've been several times.  I don't know if your cruise ends in Civitavecchia, or goes back to Barcelona, but if Rome is a port, the best tour I took was the "Rome on Your Own by Express Train".  No traffic in/out of Rome to slow you down.  Walk to the vatican, take a bus or the metro (use Moovit free phone app to assist), but I don't recommend the hop on/off bus.  You'll get bogged down in traffic.  

Edited January 11, 2023 by pcur

[Ashland]

Barcelona...Look at the Jazz Hotel for a night or two. Walk the Las Ramblas and stop in at the Mercado. Do the HOHO bus..a great option.

 

Nice..Even though we don't like cruise booked excursion we booked one for this port that went to Nice and Monaco...turned out great.

 

Florence..See if your ship has a DIY shuttle bus that will drop off/pick up at Santa Croce square. This was just amazing for the transportation and time on our own.

Pisa...Meh.

 

[pcur]

1 minute ago, Ashland said:

Barcelona...Look at the Jazz Hotel for a night or two. Walk the Las Ramblas and stop in at the Mercado. Do the HOHO bus..a great option.

 

Nice..Even though we don't like cruise booked excursion we booked one for this port that went to Nice and Monaco...turned out great.

 

Florence..See if your ship has a DIY shuttle bus that will drop off/pick up at Santa Croce square. This was just amazing for the transportation and time on our own.

Pisa...Meh.

 

Agree about Pisa.  Not worth the effort.

[Ashland]

I forgot to add ROME...We did an amazing private tour with Rome In Limo...very highly recommended by many and so glad we booked with them.

[RFC2014]

These are great suggestions! Thank you! @Ashlandis Santa Croce square in Florence?

 

thank you!

[grapau27]

13 minutes ago, RFC2014 said:

These are great suggestions! Thank you! @Ashlandis Santa Croce square in Florence?

 

thank you!

 

[George C]

In Florence we had a great private tour with papillon tour , was a total of 8 of us , first did quick stop in Pisa than went to Florence and they gave us skip the line entrance to museum with David which was fantastic. Then we all stopped at a organic vineyard for a wine tasting. Guide was great , new Mercedes van.

[OnTheJourney]

4 hours ago, pcur said:

Barcelona, Spain - walk Las Ramblas, take the hop on/off bus that picks up at the Statue of Columbus right at the entrance to the port.  Suggest at least an extra day before or after the cruise for this.  Al fresco meals along Las Ramblas.

Plus...plan a definite visit to Park Güell and La Sagrada Familia. Both are amazing. If you're spending at least an extra day there, I highly suggest a private tour through Viator. You get to skip all the lines and have the expertise of the guide to provide information. Las Ramblas is surely worth it as well to experience the local culture. Very crowded though, at least when we were there. And, when you're in Catalonia you have to try a sampling of tapas!  I second a recommendation to do HOHO. We only had one full day there post-cruise and easily could have spent probably 2 more. We mostly used the bus as a means of getting back to our hotel after touring the Park and Sagrada, though did go all the way around  one of the routes. 

Edited January 11, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[Crazy planning mom]

I disagree 

4 hours ago, pcur said:

Agree about Pisa.  Not worth the effort.

Disagree.  When we took our son, he had very little interest in Florence but enjoyed climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  I don't know her kids though.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Crazy planning mom

[Crazy planning mom]

7 hours ago, RFC2014 said:

Hello!

 

We just booked the following cruise for the summer:

 

Barcelona, Spain

Valencia, Spain

Nice, France 

Ajaccio, Corsica

Santa Margherita, Italy 

Florence/Pisa, Italy

Rome/ Italy 

 

looking for thoughts on the itinerary and any suggestions of excursions or tours. Family of four, kids are 8 and 10 and do quite well with walking.

 

Thank you!

Are you staying in Rome post cruise?  So much to see there.  We did a tour with Rome Cabs.   Another day  since we had our son with us, we rented segways in Borghese Gardens park.  It was a very nice park that also has a museum called the Borghese Gallery.

[pcur]

59 minutes ago, Crazy planning mom said:

I disagree 

Disagree.  When we took our son, he had very little interest in Florence but enjoyed climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  I don't know her kids though.

Eye of the beholder, etc.  To me:  a big lawn, a crooked tower, a church.

[RobInMN]

When we did the Western Mediterranean (on Symphony), while the home port was Barcelona, we interported and went Rome to Rome. We spent a week in Rome before hand. Loved it, and still didn't get to everything. We need to go back. For us, "Rome in a day" just would not work. That meant that Barcelona was a normal port day for us. We did the Gaudí’s Architectural Masterpieces tour. That was very cool, however it did not include going inside the La Sagrada Familia, just a stop to marvel at it and walk around it.

 

One thing to note on Florence & Pisa. Our port was La Spezia. The tour option that we had originally booked was the Florence & Pisa tour. I believe it's billed time was 9 hours (might have been 10??). However, once on board the ship, and after a few long days of tours, we changed to do just Florence only, which was still like 6 hours or something. We chose Florence over Pisa since my wife heard that's where you want to go for leather purses. 

 

Here's what the Florence & Pisa tour was looking like for us:

• 1.5 hours to Pisa
• 30 minute photo op at the Leaning Tower of Pisa (pretty sure that's all that was allocated, and did not include tickets or time to climb it)
• 1.5 hours from Pisa to Florence
• 30 minute walk to the tourist center (as close as busses are allowed)
• 2? hours on your own 
• 30 minute walk back to the bus
• 2+ hour drive back to La Spezia

So, 5 hours of driving just between the cities. 1 hour of walking (not sightseeing). Leaving just 3 hours for the actual cities.

I know that only adds up to 8.5 hours, not 9 (or even 10?), but I think there may have been a short bus tour in Pisa or something. Not sure. Again, we switched to just Florence only. Plus, it was 4.5 years ago. Hard to remember exactly something we ended up not doing.

 

Not to say don't do it. Just saying go into it knowing that it's a very long day. If you've had some shorter days leading up to it, it can be easier to take, but if you've done multiple long excursion days in a row, it might just be a bit much.

 

Even doing just Pisa, it's 2-3 hours of bus total, Florence only is a minimum of 4 hours on the bus (plus 1 the hour of walking)

 

In the ports we went to in the Mediterranean, I think someone already mentioned it, but a lot of things can be far from port. 1, 1.5, 2 hours from port each way.

 

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, RFC2014 said:

These are great suggestions! Thank you! @Ashlandis Santa Croce square in Florence?

 

thank you!

Yes...and it was a perfect spot for our drop off/ pick up and an easy quick walk to where the shuttle bus parked. We had a meet up time and all walked back together. There was a shop in the square that the owner was allowing the RCI DIY cruiser's to use their restroom...and it was pointed out to our group when we arrived. 

 

The shuttle bus guide provided so much information during our drive from the port to the square...a history lesson about Florence. Then once we arrived he gave us walking maps. This made it so easy to then venture out on our own for several hours before being back at the meet up time. This was a great excursion option.

Edited January 12, 2023 by Ashland

[jacobtsf]

Don’t even think about doing a ship excursion for Florence/Pisa. If you want to maximize your time find a small group tour (I recommend https://www.italytours.eu , they also do an awesome Rome/Vatican tour). 
 

They will meet you as soon as you get off the ship and you will be on the road in minutes. The van will be able to park right near the leaning tower (certainly a lot closer than any bus). The classic photo stop as you approach Florence will take only a few minutes instead of the long time it takes to get everyone off and back on a bus. Your small group will get to skip the line to see the David like the large groups, but will get to see more of the museum because of the small size. Yes, your post David tour of Florence will be quick, mostly pointing out highlights for

you to check out the next time you are there, but at least you will get a tour, and with a guide listening to your questions and directly engaging with you instead of having to keep track of a large group. 

[RFC2014]

2 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Are you staying in Rome post cruise?  So much to see there.  We did a tour with Rome Cabs.   Another day  since we had our son with us, we rented segways in Borghese Gardens park.  It was a very nice park that also has a museum called the Borghese Gallery.

Yes we plan on staying in Rome two days 

[little britain]

Ajaccio is a cute little town; with a beach within an easy walk of the ship.  Usually has a market set up in the square and there’s Napoleon for some history. 
You dock right in town too. 

[little britain]

Villefranche- very easy and cheap to take the train into Nice or into Monte Carlo if they are interested in formula 1 

[pcur]

4 hours ago, little britain said:

Villefranche- very easy and cheap to take the train into Nice or into Monte Carlo if they are interested in formula 1 

 

Reminds me of our first or second time in Villefranche, and taking the train. 

 

There were a lot of passengers in the tiny train station.  I was sitting, trying to figure out the train schedule using my high school French.  I did realize there were TWO trains through Villefranche, and to remember it's the Villefranch SUR MER (by the sea) station.

 

Coming back everyone piled on the train that said Villefranche.  I told my husband, "that's the wrong train; we want Sur Mer." Oh, he says, but EVERYONE is gettiing on this one.  Me:  EVERYONE is wrong.  He says:  we have to get on this one.  

 

I figured it was an express train to the other station in Villefranche, and told myself that time will tell, and we will just have to take another back to the correct one.

 

It was hilarious (to only me in my head) that we WHIZZED through our little station, everyone moaning and groaning, and my husband looking at me with this look on his face that said, "Please be nice to me".

 

High school French ROCKS!!!

[tobyt]

We did a combo tour of Pisa and Lucca. Pisa felt crowded and kind of unsafe but I wanted to check a box. Lucca on the other hand was magical we rented bikes and drove the wall, ate gelato, a bit of pizza in the walled area…amazing! Take a look and I think your kids would enjoy.