Mediterranean Excursion Advice

[HappilyEverAfter927]

We're leaving this fall for our first Mediterranean cruise and wanted to see if anyone had any advice on excursions to pick. Specifically I wanted to know if anyone has just explored the ports for Nice and Naples on their own with out booking anything. I've been to some ports where there are things to see and do by foot once getting off the ship. There weren't a ton of excursions that caught my eye for either one of these ports, at least not for the price. Thanks!

 

[riot23]

You'll love the Med! We did not get off the ship in Naples, we used it as a day to relax as we were not feeling great. Our sailing had the Magic docking in Cannes and we took the train to Nice. We spent a couple hours walking around the main streets and ducking into shops and enjoying the sights and sun. If you're not set on seeing anything in particular, I would highly suggest just getting off the ship and walking around and seeing where the day takes you. Our day in Cannes / Nice was much more relaxing and enjoyable than our other two port days in Florence and Rome which were very fast-paced because we were so focused on seeing the sights.

 

[cruiser21]

We're leaving this fall for our first Mediterranean cruise and wanted to see if anyone had any advice on excursions to pick. Specifically I wanted to know if anyone has just explored the ports for Nice and Naples on their own with out booking anything. I've been to some ports where there are things to see and do by foot once getting off the ship. There weren't a ton of excursions that caught my eye for either one of these ports, at least not for the price. Thanks!

We grabbed a cab to Pompeii for 50.00 Euros round trip. There's always taxi's and tour operators ready to negotiate in each port. I would never book through the cruise unless money's not a factor.

 

[janiebubble]

We're leaving this fall for our first Mediterranean cruise and wanted to see if anyone had any advice on excursions to pick. Specifically I wanted to know if anyone has just explored the ports for Nice and Naples on their own with out booking anything. I've been to some ports where there are things to see and do by foot once getting off the ship. There weren't a ton of excursions that caught my eye for either one of these ports, at least not for the price. Thanks!

We got the hydrofoil to Capri from Naples and explored the island independently. Our cruise didn't stop at Nice. We also did Rome on our own by train which was very straightforward.

 

[jrabbit]

in Naples we took a cab to the train station (turns out it would not have been a bad walk) and took the train to Pompeii. Train back, then the metro to the National Museum (where LOTS of the artifacts they pulled out of Pompeii resided) then walked downhill to the ship.

 

[3Down1Up]

Naples - we used Rome In Limo for a private car to drive us to Pompeii as soon as we got off the ship. We wanted to hit the road in an effort to beat the crowds and the heat. Spent the morning there, then our driver took us into Naples, where we had lunch and went to the museum there. Honestly the cost was not much less than doing a Pompeii excursion with DCL, but we liked doing it on our own time and getting there quickly. Great driver. Would recommend using them again.

 

[DJinPA]

So, we went on a Disney tour in Naples that was supposed to include both Pompeii and a hike at the top of Mt. Vesuvius. After visiting Pompeii, some thunderstorms rolled in and we could not do the hike. The tour company decided to take us for a tour of Naples and, for those that did not want to do it, they let us off in downtown Naples and we walked back to the ship. Downtown Naples was not nice in our opinion, and apparently in Disney's opinion as well - they were very upset that we were left downtown, not only because we had to walk but because it was not a great place. Basically they refunded a substantial portion of the cost (if not all of it, I can't remember and I believe sent us a gift as well.) So, my personal suggestion is that Naples is not the best for just walking around.

 

[HappilyEverAfter927]

You'll love the Med! We did not get off the ship in Naples, we used it as a day to relax as we were not feeling great. Our sailing had the Magic docking in Cannes and we took the train to Nice. We spent a couple hours walking around the main streets and ducking into shops and enjoying the sights and sun. If you're not set on seeing anything in particular, I would highly suggest just getting off the ship and walking around and seeing where the day takes you. Our day in Cannes / Nice was much more relaxing and enjoyable than our other two port days in Florence and Rome which were very fast-paced because we were so focused on seeing the sights.

This sounds perfect!

 

[HappilyEverAfter927]

Naples - we used Rome In Limo for a private car to drive us to Pompeii as soon as we got off the ship. We wanted to hit the road in an effort to beat the crowds and the heat. Spent the morning there, then our driver took us into Naples, where we had lunch and went to the museum there. Honestly the cost was not much less than doing a Pompeii excursion with DCL, but we liked doing it on our own time and getting there quickly. Great driver. Would recommend using them again.

Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[MeeskaMooskaMickey]

When we did that sailing the Magic tendered in Villefranche, just outside Nice. As we had previously holidayed in that area we just walked around Villefranche, visited a cafe and a few shops. It is a very very pretty village with a beach. From there it is very easy to independently catch a direct train to Monaco in one direction or Nice, Cannes etc in the other direction, which are all quite close. I'm not sure about Naples as our ship made an itinerary change and stopped at Salerno.

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

We are also booked with Rome In Limo for all our Italy excursions for the Med this summer and sharing with another family so it's extremely reasonable in my opinion. We have been able to customize things we'd like to do and we're excited about using them in August and they are very highly rated. In Villefranche we have our only DCL excursion booked for now however I might change it later. It covers all that we want to do and it's pretty reasonable also.

I definitely recommend researching independent tours!

Heather

 

[o&smom]

The first part of our day in Naples we did on our own. We took a taxi to the archeological museum and then walked a few blocks to get real pizza in Naples. Amazing! I would go to Naples again just for the pizza.

 

[HappilyEverAfter927]

When we did that sailing the Magic tendered in Villefranche, just outside Nice. As we had previously holidayed in that area we just walked around Villefranche, visited a cafe and a few shops. It is a very very pretty village with a beach. From there it is very easy to independently catch a direct train to Monaco in one direction or Nice, Cannes etc in the other direction, which are all quite close. I'm not sure about Naples as our ship made an itinerary change and stopped at Salerno.

That is ideally what we would like to do, just walk around and explore a bit! Thanks!

 

[woody64]

A few years ago we did the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii out of Naples. The Amalfi Coast is beyond description, on our list to go and spend a week there.

 

[m3owbox]

We did a Pompeii, Mt Vesuvius, and wine tasting last year and it was absolutely amazing!

 

[mj2vacation]

A few years ago we did the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii out of Naples. The Amalfi Coast is beyond description, on our list to go and spend a week there.

We did this as well. It was amazing!

 

[deanimal]

I would recommend checking out Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports. If you enjoy exploring on your own he gives all the details and advice you need. I've always felt that cruise lines do all they can to avoid giving people the info they need to do the ports on their own and having this book made me feel like I had my own personal cheat sheet. He tells you what public transit to take, where everything is, breaks down taxi vs transit costs, how much time to allow, which places are so much hassle it's better to go with an excursion, etc. Lots of maps too. And while he loves Europe, he's an American so he kind of knows what sort of info North Americans are looking for. We felt much better about touring independently with this guidebook.

 

[kiford]

So, my personal suggestion is that Naples is not the best for just walking around.

Naples is not generally considered to be a terribly nice place nor a particularly safe one (although this can be said about parts of pretty much any large city). Most people go to Vesuvius, Pompeii, Capri, Herculaneum, Sorrento or other nearby locations. There's also not much near the port itself. That's true of most/many Med ports. You have to take transportation some distance away to find something to see.

We did a Pompeii, Mt Vesuvius, and wine tasting last year and it was absolutely amazing!

We did that in 2010. I'm glad to hear they're still offering it. If we get another chance to hit Naples, we'll do it again. We bought several bottles of wine at the winery with the intent of bringing it home but it never made it out of our stateroom (not counting the extra weight on my hips!).

 

[thunes]

We went to Nice on our own after docking in Cannes. We did the self-guided tour in Rick Steves book. It was really lovely just to walk around and explore the big flower and farmers market. We also had lunch and a quick swim at one of the beach clubs. We splurged on a private driver and tour guide for Pompeii. It was a holiday when we were in Naples so the public transportation was less reliable than normal. Rome was awesome on our own, but we nearly missed the ship due to an unexplained train delay. Luckily, we and a few others got a taxi back to ship with about 10 minutes to spare.

 

[owensamo]

I would recommend checking out Rick Steve's Mediterranean Cruise Ports. If you enjoy exploring on your own he gives all the details and advice you need. I've always felt that cruise lines do all they can to avoid giving people the info they need to do the ports on their own and having this book made me feel like I had my own personal cheat sheet. He tells you what public transit to take, where everything is, breaks down taxi vs transit costs, how much time to allow, which places are so much hassle it's better to go with an excursion, etc. Lots of maps too. And while he loves Europe, he's an American so he kind of knows what sort of info North Americans are looking for. We felt much better about touring independently with this guidebook.

We have this book for our upcoming Med cruise, and it's awesome. We have a day in Naples, but will be touring Pompeii earlier in our trip, so plan to use his walking tour to go to the Archaeological Museum and back, see some of Naples, and hopefully take some pictures.

As for crime in Naples, it sounds like it's really no worse for tourists than any other area - pickpockets and purse-snatching. For more information, here's the State Department's page on the city: https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=21543