Small Group Tours

[michelle-nh]

We (husband and I) just booked a 10-day cruise for next summer that will go to many ports in Italy and Greece. We’ve been to most of the ports in Italy before and booked tours with a local tour company. They were small group tours. We’d book individually and then they’d assign us to a tour, usually in a small van with say 2-4 other couples or families. We enjoyed this as it gave us a chance to make friends with other people on the ship. I’m trying to find an equivalent local company for the ports in Greece, but all I’m finding are private tours that will take groups but you have to book with your group. When I price them as just a couple they are really pricey and we’d miss out on the small group experience.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.

[Alatraveler1]

We are using Italytours.eu for a couple of ports, they are highly recommended by those on cruise critic that have used them.  We have one completely booked right now, and one for Florence we hope will fill up soon so we have that one confirmed as well.

[cruisemom42]

I’m not sure if what you’re looking for exists for Greece. You can book a small tour and recruit others in your cruise via your roll call. Many do this.

[Over from NZ]

On 11/22/2023 at 3:34 AM, michelle-nh said:

We (husband and I) just booked a 10-day cruise for next summer that will go to many ports in Italy and Greece. We’ve been to most of the ports in Italy before and booked tours with a local tour company. They were small group tours. We’d book individually and then they’d assign us to a tour, usually in a small van with say 2-4 other couples or families. We enjoyed this as it gave us a chance to make friends with other people on the ship. I’m trying to find an equivalent local company for the ports in Greece, but all I’m finding are private tours that will take groups but you have to book with your group. When I price them as just a couple they are really pricey and we’d miss out on the small group experience.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.

Yes - join your roll call! Both on here.. and any you can find on facebook. Pester the ***** out of the roll-calls and you'll get takers lol. 6-8 people usually perfect. 🙂 

[marazul]

1 hour ago, Over from NZ said:

Yes - join your roll call! Both on here.. and any you can find on facebook. Pester the ***** out of the roll-calls and you'll get takers lol. 6-8 people usually perfect. 🙂 

.

Check out PK Travel. pktravelgreece.com.

They have semi-private tours where you are added to a group.

[CruiserBruce]

11 hours ago, marazul said:

.

Check out PK Travel. pktravelgreece.com.

They have semi-private tours where you are added to a group.

Or Georges...another company mentioned here frequently.

[edinburgher]

On 11/21/2023 at 2:34 PM, michelle-nh said:

I’m trying to find an equivalent local company for the ports in Greece,

Will you actually need a tour in every port or only some or most of them?  As there may be a few which would be easy to DIY, it would help if you listed the ports so others can advise.

[marazul]

On 12/1/2023 at 8:36 AM, CruiserBruce said:

Or Georges...another company mentioned here frequently.

George's has great private tours, but it does not do shared tours. PK does.

https://www.georgestaxi.com/faq/

[michelle-nh]

On 11/28/2023 at 8:32 PM, Alatraveler1 said:

We are using Italytours.eu for a couple of ports, they are highly recommended by those on cruise critic that have used them.  We have one completely booked right now, and one for Florence we hope will fill up soon so we have that one confirmed as well.

Yes, that’s the company we used on the last cruise. They were excellent. I plan to use them again for different tours in each Italian port.

[michelle-nh]

Thank you all. I will look into the other suggestions. 
 

Santorini: I’m thinking that going with NCL’s “Charming Oia and Winery” tour will be best to avoid the cable car?

The other ports are:

Athens, Mykonos, and Corfu.

 

We love general sightseeing, just walking around and soaking in the place, and especially anything having to do with history and learning about the culture. We aren’t big shoppers but can be happy just wandering around and window shopping too. 
 

I still have lots of research to do, and am open to any suggestions.

[Over from NZ]

16 hours ago, michelle-nh said:

Thank you all. I will look into the other suggestions. 
 

Santorini: I’m thinking that going with NCL’s “Charming Oia and Winery” tour will be best to avoid the cable car?

The other ports are:

Athens, Mykonos, and Corfu.

 

We love general sightseeing, just walking around and soaking in the place, and especially anything having to do with history and learning about the culture. We aren’t big shoppers but can be happy just wandering around and window shopping too. 
 

I still have lots of research to do, and am open to any suggestions.

We used this company on our first visit there and they were excellent - 

https://www.santorinidailytours.com/?service=private-bus-tours

 

I think we did the 6-hour excursion, although the 8-hour one looks great. We teamed up with some American's via the roll-call on here.. and it then becomes extremely economical with say 4-6 of you. 

[prekcruiser]

Hi Michelle-nh,

   My husband and I are going to Italy and Greece in May.  I booked the Charming Oia Village through NCL just to get priority tender and cable car tickets back to the port.  NCL told me that with this "tour" they will bus you to Oia for 1 1/2 hours of free time and then bus you back to Fira.  We plan on getting our cable car tickets from the tour operator and staying in Oia and then catching a bus back to Fira later on in the day.  The local buses run every 30 minutes from Oia to Fira.  There's even a stop in between in Imerovigli.  We may check out that town too. The bus fare is 1.60 eu pp.

   In Athens, I think I will just taxi to Acropolis or catch the X80 bus.  The bus is only 4 eu pp and the ride is about 20-30 minutes.  You can buy the tickets to the Acropolis on the Helenic Heritage website. I think tour guides are available for hire there.  I think this is doable on our own because we are in port from 7 am - 6 pm.  With so many ports, these tours in every port are kinda expensive.  Also, we are going to be in Italy for 12 days before our cruise so I'm looking to see what ports we can do on our own. 

   I have no clue about Corfu or Mykonos.  I wanted to go to the Blue Caves in Paxos from Corfu, but with only 6 or so hours in port, that isn't possible.  I'm still researching......

Marilyn

[marazul]

@prekcruiser@michelle-nh

 

There isn't much to Imerovigli. Do visit the small museum in Fira. 

Lots of info here on Mykonos and Corfu. 

You don't need a guide for the Acropolis. The guides may be there, but I have never seen them.

Read about it before yor trip and copy a few pages from a guide book (public library) and bring them with you. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by marazul

[prekcruiser]

Hi Marazul,

    Thanks for your reply.  Since Imerovigli is on the back to Fira, I thought maybe we'd make a quick stop to look for some picture opportunities.  I didn't plan on staying there long.  How long do you think we should stay in Oia?  I'm not sure how much time to allocate there.  Our cruise excursion has us there for 1 1/2 hours of free time.  Is this enough?  I thought we should maybe plan to spend more time there.

   Glad to hear that there is no need for a tour guide at the Acropolis.  I have downloaded the Rick Steve's podcast on the Acropolis and lots of other places.  I have since booked a tour for Corfu that goes to Paleokastritsa, the caves, and the Old Town.  I really wanted to do a boat ride to the caves so I figured I'd have to book a tour for that.

    I would love any suggestions you may have for Mykonos.  My husband and I are not really into the party scene and I'm wondering what to do/see there.

[marazul]

@prekcruiser You are only going to Oia and Fira.  Decide how long you want to stay in Oia when you are there.  The views from Imerovigli are the same as from Oia. The main problem with a brief stop there is that you have to wait for the next bus for half hour and since the bus fills up in Oia you might not get a seat.

 

Do buy your tickets to the Acropolis online before you go.

 

Mykonos - the party starts at night and in some very trendy clubs earlier in the day. I would suggest one or more of the following depending on your time in port: walk around the town, go to the beach (the water will be on the cold side in May), take a 4-wheel drive tour of the island. If you are interested in ancient history, take the ferry to Delos in the morning. Lots of info about all of this on this board.

[edinburgher]

On 11/21/2023 at 2:34 PM, michelle-nh said:

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thanks

You might find reading previous threads and ports helpful.  Mykonos;

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=mykonos&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=463

 

Delos

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=delos&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=463

 

and since the bus fills up in Oia you might not get a seat.  

 

Aand if it is already full and nobody is getting off, it likely won't even stop.

 

[KiwiCrusing]

On 12/10/2023 at 12:06 PM, prekcruiser said:

Hi Marazul,

    Thanks for your reply.  Since Imerovigli is on the back to Fira, I thought maybe we'd make a quick stop to look for some picture opportunities.  I didn't plan on staying there long.  How long do you think we should stay in Oia?  I'm not sure how much time to allocate there.  Our cruise excursion has us there for 1 1/2 hours of free time.  Is this enough?  I thought we should maybe plan to spend more time there.

   Glad to hear that there is no need for a tour guide at the Acropolis.  I have downloaded the Rick Steve's podcast on the Acropolis and lots of other places.  I have since booked a tour for Corfu that goes to Paleokastritsa, the caves, and the Old Town.  I really wanted to do a boat ride to the caves so I figured I'd have to book a tour for that.

    I would love any suggestions you may have for Mykonos.  My husband and I are not really into the party scene and I'm wondering what to do/see there.

Can I ask who you booked with for your Corfu tour please? Cheers 

[prekcruiser]

Viator......The Best Corfu Shore Excursion with Paleokastrista and Old Town.

[susieq76]

Try Tours by Locals- they often let you customize the tour times.