Mediterranean Shore excursions

[disneychic]

La Spezia: on our own to the Cinque Terre

Hi jlwhitney Just wondering if you could please tell me about how you did Cinque Terre on your own? This will be our first time in Europe, and I really want to see Cinque Terra, but I noticed that the DCL excursion is only 4.5 hours, which doesn't seem like it's enough time to see even 1 of the 5 islands. I would love to know how to do this on our own, although I have to admit I am a bit intimidated/chicken to try it.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

 

[sinnika]

We took the train to Cinque Terre and spent the entire day here! You can stay as little or as long as you like, depending on how many towns you want to visit. The ship arrives at 7:30am and since this is a tender port, all DCL booked excursions go first. Open tendering started around 9am. Plan on 30-45 min to tender - ferries have to fill before they leave but there is always one there waiting, at least in the morning. You can go to the meeting place (I think it was the Buena Vista theatre) with your group to tender before 9 but our train was not leaving till a few min after 10, the one prior was at 8:12am (not enough time with the tendering and walk) so we got to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. A small dis group met at the pier at 9:15am after ferrying over to walk to the train station together (thanks Eileen for guiding us to the train station and giving us a lesson on how to read that interesting and confusing train schedule!). Its about a 15 min walk - 20 if you are strolling from the pier. We bought the Cinque Terre Treno Card for 9 euro each which includes all trains, hiking trails and shuttle buses and a map. After you purchase your ticket (there was a line), make sure to get your ticket validated in the machine. Getting to the first town took about 20 min. From there, each of the 5 towns are just minutes apart. I used the Rick Steve's 2010 Italy guidebook to tour the towns. He dedicates 62 pages in the guidebook for Cinque Terre - lots of great info and we hiked trails we would have never found had it not been for the guidebook! Our favorite town was Manarola - we had lunch at the restaurant on the Piazza Capellini and did the amazing vineyard walk (its all in the book). I had the sea bass and they brought the whole cooked fish out and filleted it in front of me - it was the best sea bass I had ever had! We were seated early, 12 or 12:30pm, by the time we finished, the place was packed!
We visited 3 of the towns starting with Riomaggiore, hiked to Manarola along the Via Dell Amore, then finally took the train over to Vernazza. It really depends on what your interests are and what towns you may want to spend the most time in. After, we visited La Spezia to do a little shopping and made it back to the tendering area around 6:30pm or so.
Here's a tip for the Rick Steve's guidebook - I took it to Office Max, had the binder cut off, and removed more than half the book (all the areas we were not visiting). Had it ring bound. It allowed me to open the book flat and was only half as thick this way!

 

[travelbug24]

Here's a tip for the Rick Steve's guidebook - I took it to Office Max, had the binder cut off, and removed more than half the book (all the areas we were not visiting). Had it ring bound. It allowed me to open the book flat and was only half as thick this way!

This is a great tip - I hope you shared that one on a tip board.

 

[sinnika]

This is a great tip - I hope you shared that one on a tip board.

I didn't know there was a tip board!

 

[travelbug24]

I didn't know there was a tip board!

Its right on the Disboards Forums. I would post a link but I'm not that computer savvy. Your tip is so good it will apply to any paperback guide book to anywhere! - Debbie

 

[sgodfrey2000]

Excursions we did:

Malta -Blue Grotto (DCL) We enjoyed this tour! It was in the afternoon so we had time to explore Malta as well.

Tunis - Dougga (DCL) The drive to the ruins was about 2 1/2 hours,much longer than the 90 minutes stated in the brochure,but it was well worth it in the end. The countryside of Tunisia is beautiful and the ruins were worth the trip. Plus we were the only ones up there which allowed for much more indepth look at the ruins.

Naples - Private tour (Limoinrome Tours) of Pompeii,Amalfi Coast, including Positano and Sorrento. Loved it, especially lunch in Positano.

Civitavecchia -Private tour (Limoinrome Tours) Of Rome and the Vatican. Great tour but time was short in St. Peter's Basilica.

La Spezia - Private tour (Limoinrome Tours) Florence and Piza. Another good tour.

For the private tours I liked the fact that there were only 8 of us and the van could go thru streets in the city that buses cannot.

Corsica - Sweet Corsica ( DCL) This was a very relaxing tour which only took half a day and left us time to explore Ajaccio.

Villefrance - Monaco and Nice with lunch in Eze (DCL) - Dissappointed in this tour for the money, especially lunch in Eze. The restaurant was at the bottom of the village with no view. We left lunch and explored Eze which was beautiful. I would explore these places on my own next time are they are so easy to get to by public transportation.

Was this a tour from Disney or private? If private, do you have a link?

Thanks,

 

[Eeyore3838]

We did:

Malta - Blue Grotto Boat Tour - We really enjoyed this! The Blue Grotto was gorgeous and we enjoyed visiting Marsaxlokk as well.

No excursion in Tunisia

Naples - Pompeii Half Day - There was so much to see, and we did not have the best guide. We wanted to do only a few hour excursion because we went on our own afterwards to find authentic Naples pizza - delicioso!

Civitavecchia - Jumping Back into Eternal Rome - we really enjoyed this excursion! It was a sampling of a few places we really wanted to see. Great guide.

La Spezia - Cinque Terre Boat Tour - we LOVED seeing Cinque Terre, but our guide was not great. She said we could follow her or go on our own and meet back at the boat, and we opted to do this.

No excursion in Corsica

Villefranche - Nice and Eze with Wine and Cheese - Loved this! Eze was beautiful. Was not horribly impressed with Nice, but we weren't outside there much. The wine and cheese tasting was terrific.

 

[llkoolj40]

Was this a tour from Disney or private? If private, do you have a link?

Thanks,

My apologies, I went with Romelimotours but their web site is currently down. I sent an email to them to see if they reply. I will let you know. I will be sad if they are in business anymore as Danielle was a great guide!

I have heard that Miles and Miles Tour company is very good and has been in business for years.

Lori-jo

 

[jd99]

Malta - Turkish Schooner - loved loved loved this one! I would actually do this again in a minute. Boat ride was fun, lunch was fantastic, swimming and snorkeling off the boat was great fun. Just a wonderful day, wonderful crew.

Tunis - Carthage and Sidi Bou Said - great tour. Great guide. This was the perfect tour for our family. It was a half day; very interesting with the guide and Sidi was a beautiful little town; merchants were a bit aggressive but not obnoxious at all.

Naples - Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast for families - including exclusive youth activity (making pizza) -- Loved the first part of this trip - Sorrento and the pizza making. The drive on the Amalfi coast was beautiful but probably a bit too long with the kids. WIsh it would have been about 45 minutes - an hour shorter but overall a great day.

Rome - Jumping back into Eternal Rome - fantastic tour. great guide. Great day. Having never been to Rome it was great because we got to see so much; the perfect "taste" of Rome. Great lunch too. Train ride was fun and fast. Just super time.

Florence for families including exclusive youth activity - avoid this like the plague. It was a disaster from beginning to end. We wound up not having any free time and barely seeing any of Florence except for the one museum/castle where the kids did their activity and the lunch place. Guide was horrible and it was a huge disappointment and DCL didn't seem to think anything was wrong despite nearly every person on the tour complaining. I can't warn people off about this one more. Don't do it. You'll be sorry.

Corsica - we didn't have an excursion; just wandered around the island, had lunch, shopped, saw the beach, etc. Had a great day here.

Villefranche - did a DCL excursion (can't remember the name) but it was a half day bus tour from the port to monte carlo, to Eze to Nice. Stops along the way for photos and a longer 1-hour stop in Eze. Really enjoyed this tour; had a fantastic tour guide and Eze was a great surprise.

 

[mindelmouse]

On our 8/18 cruise we did 4 shore excursions:

We did Valletta for kids - don't bother. The excursion was pretty unnecessary. Just go into Valletta on your own. It's very accessable and not huge. The tour was not really geared for kids and I thought it was a waste,

We also did the Bardo Museum with the kids activity in Tunis - we liked this one. The museum was interesting and we liked the Medina. Didn't see a lot of Tunis though.

In Naples we took the Sorrento and The Amalfi Coast tour - we loved Sorrento. The bus ride up the coast was amazing....it was very beautiful

The last tour we took was the best...we did the Perfumer's Apprentice in Villefranche. We took a bus to the town of Eze, which is amazing, and then we went to a perfume factory and made our own perfume.

 

[mindelmouse]

Naples - Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast for families - including exclusive youth activity (making pizza) -- Loved the first part of this trip - Sorrento and the pizza making. The drive on the Amalfi coast was beautiful but probably a bit too long with the kids. WIsh it would have been about 45 minutes - an hour shorter but overall a great day.

.

We did the same tour as you and agree completely. I would say Sorrento was our favorite stop on the whole cruise.

 

[Zoom]

We did:

Malta - Blue Grotto Boat Tour - We really enjoyed this! The Blue Grotto was gorgeous and we enjoyed visiting Marsaxlokk as well.

No excursion in Tunisia

Naples - Pompeii Half Day - There was so much to see, and we did not have the best guide. We wanted to do only a few hour excursion because we went on our own afterwards to find authentic Naples pizza - delicioso!

Civitavecchia - Jumping Back into Eternal Rome - we really enjoyed this excursion! It was a sampling of a few places we really wanted to see. Great guide.

La Spezia - Cinque Terre Boat Tour - we LOVED seeing Cinque Terre, but our guide was not great. She said we could follow her or go on our own and meet back at the boat, and we opted to do this.

No excursion in Corsica

Villefranche - Nice and Eze with Wine and Cheese - Loved this! Eze was beautiful. Was not horribly impressed with Nice, but we weren't outside there much. The wine and cheese tasting was terrific.

Just want to ask regarding the excursion in Civitavecchia, Does the tour "Jumping Back into Eternal Rome" includes the visit inside the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica Church? Thanks.

 

[Zoom]

bump..

 

[Aquachick0410]

The Classical Rome tour included the Sistene Chapel and St. Peter's.

 

[mkmommy]

Just want to ask regarding the excursion in Civitavecchia, Does the tour "Jumping Back into Eternal Rome" includes the visit inside the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica Church? Thanks.

From reading this wonderful trip report, page 6 http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2482007&highlight=pompeii&page=6, it looks like the Jumping back tour does not go into the Sistine Chapel only St Peter's Basilica.

 

[GenieDana]

My Mother and two teen neices (16 and 14) are on the June 8 cruise and also interested in private tours. She is 'Rose-Marie Wilson' on the DIS Boards, and here is what they are looking at for Rome for a tour group of about 10:

http://italycruisetours.com/imperial_rome_and_vatican_highlights

Rome Cruise Tour 1 - From 10 to 18 Passengers
Imperial Rome & Vatican Highlights
Full day Rome Shore Excursion

From 10 to 18 people:

EUR 180.00 per person (currently about $235 US) -or-
Special OFFER - CRUISE DEALS

Save 15 % on the total package for

• Early bookings (3 months ahead) OR
• 3 full day shore excursions in 3 different Italy ports-of-call with us, Italy Cruise Tours.
• EUR 153.00 per person (about $200 US)

What's Included:

• Entrance fees with the reservation to the Rome Coliseum & Vatican Museums with No Lines
• Tour Escort at the Rome Port (Civitavecchia) throughout the entire cruise excursion (appx. 11 hours)
• English speaking guide in Rome for appx. 8-9 hours
• Head-sets throughout the tour.
• Discounts and reductions for children under 18.

What you will visit in the #1 Imperial Rome and Vatican Highlights Tour:

• Capitol Hill (City Hall of Rome) designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti
• Roman Forum
• Imperial Forums (Julius Caesar, Caesar Augustus, Trajan and Nerva Forums)
• Coliseum Rome
• Pantheon Rome
• Caesar Palace
• Circus Maximus with the Aventine Hill & Palatine Hill
• Trevi Fountain
• Vatican Museums with the Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel
• St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican (including Michelangelo's Pietà) and St. Peter's Square
• Venice Square, Via del Corso, Via dei Fori Imperiali, the Tiber Island

For the other ports is 100 Euros per person, unless the 15% discount gets applied for early booking, or booking all three ports with ICT and children discounts). Looking at:

• NAPLES (which tour to choose?) but they would at least like to see the ruins of Pompeii / Herculaneum and other sites (I do not think they are interested in going to the top of the volcano though ).
• ROME CRUISE # 1: Imperial Rome Tour & Vatican Highlights (see details above)
• FLORENCE CRUISE TOUR # 2 - Livorno Florence - Florence & Pisa

 

[Cliffside]

We were on the 8/18 Med and did the follwing excursions:

Malta: Blue Grotto and Fishing village- we really enjoyed this one...the water is just unbelievable!

Tunisia: We did not do any excursions

Naples: We did the tour that went to Sorrento, lunch and the farm house and Pompeii. We also really enjoyed this one. I booked it based on the review from the podcast on the dis and it did not disappoint. Sorrento was beautiful...the farm was fun learning how they make the cheese and olive oil and the lunch there was delicious. Pompeii was very interesting but ist was very hot so that made it a little difficult for some of the kids.

Rome: private tour with Dis friends

Florence: Forence and Pisa This was the tour i was most nervous about..it was 13 hours and we had to meet at 7:15 in the morning and a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of the city....but it turned out to be a great day. We had a good guide in Florence...left lunch a little early to do some shopping and get good gelato. Pisa was quick but good. My DD love seeing it so it was worth it.

Corsica - Just went to the beach on our own

Villefrance- Wine and Cheese w/nice and Eze- this tour was really good in part because it was a 1/2 tour and we needed a break from the full day excursions. The tour of Nice was not that great but the wine and cheese was cool. Unfortunately when we got to Eze the fog had come in so we didn't get great views but it was cool to go to.

 

[sayhello]

From reading this wonderful trip report, page 6 http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2482007&highlight=pompeii&page=6, it looks like the Jumping back tour does not go into the Sistine Chapel only St Peter's Basilica.

Also, if you look at the description of the Jumping Back into Eternal Rome excursion on the DCL website, there is no mention of the Sistine Chapel, just St. Peter's, as mkmommy said.

http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/c...vecchia-italy/jumping-back-into-eternal-rome/

Sayhello