Delos

[brm]

Has anyone done or is considering doing Delos without booking the tour through the cruiseline.

[jonikal]

Despite doing all other tours on our Cairo cruise last November privately through our roll-call group, we did manage to get a last minute reservation via the ship to see Delos (a lady broke her foot):( . It was the only way to go in the time we had and well worth it. The public ferry seems to be commandeered anyway to transport cruise ship passengers so you may have little choice in the matter. Whatever you do, it's a MUST SEE destination.

[Miata6]

We toured this fascinating island on our own (tendered in from the ship). Used the map from a guidebook and, I believe, a brochure from the museum. Easy to get around and worth the time seeing the most revered location in the ancient Greek world.

[brm]

Thanks for the information. I guess I will book with the cruiseline.

[Twiga]

Does anyone have any other comments about seeing Delos on your own? Our ship will tender us to Delos. Can you walk to the sites? Is it the kind of place where you really need a guide to explain the significance of the ruins? Any reasons to go on our own versus the ship's excursion, or vice versa? Thanks for any suggestions.

[cruisemom42]

If you do your research you can definitely do Delos on your own. Once you get there, there is not much signage or explanation at the site, so go armed with a good map (or get one from the museum onsite), and with information. Although we took the ship's tour, I had also printed out a walking tour with information about the key sites of interest from the internet.

 

It's walkable, but definitely a long walk and lots of climbing over uneven rocks and steps.

 

That said, there are some things we definitely would have missed without having a guided tour. For example, the explanation of how the ancient residents trapped and used water on this "desert" island was great. You have to look for the hidden cisterns.

 

Be sure to allow time for the museum (with bathrooms), which has many beautiful pieces of sculpture, mosaics, and frescos from the site.

[dbh62ark]

You can also hire a guide at the site at Delos. Depending on when you travel, it can be HOT with no shade, so take some water and a hat. We tendered into Mykonos and hired a boat and guide in the harbor to take us to Delos. It was much less $$ than the ship's excursions, and I greatly prefer going in small groups as opposed to the large groups via the ship's excursions. However, I read on the Celebrity board that some ships only call there for a few hours, so in that case, I would take a ship's excursion. But Mykonos is also very nice, so I don't know how you would choose between the two (we had time for both).

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

[HappyHappy578]

You can also hire a guide at the site at Delos. Depending on when you travel, it can be HOT with no shade, so take some water and a hat. We tendered into Mykonos and hired a boat and guide in the harbor to take us to Delos. It was much less $$ than the ship's excursions, and I greatly prefer going in small groups as opposed to the large groups via the ship's excursions. However, I read on the Celebrity board that some ships only call there for a few hours, so in that case, I would take a ship's excursion. But Mykonos is also very nice, so I don't know how you would choose between the two (we had time for both).

 

Have a great trip,

Donna

 

 

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Where did you find the guide and boat? Did you have to go to the tourist office? We're trying to do last minute planning for the trip now. Thanks!

:)