Docking in Cadiz for one day of a 12 day Iberian Penn Cruise. Any suggestions for things to see and do? We only have the day and then depart in the evening. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I prefer not to do the shore excursions offered by the cruise line but rather to use public transportation etc to discover with my husband.
Any thoughts on an excursion to El Puerto de Santa Maria?
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
I'm not entirely sure what you are asking. Sevilla and Cadiz are in separate provinces. Do you want to get from Cadiz to Sevilla? That is easy enough by rail (or bus), but it's not a fast service (min. 90 minutes each way), and at the Sevilla end you would need time to get from the station to the centre where the main attractions are (at Cadiz, the station is close by the cruise harbour).
You could do it definitely, but whether it's worthwhile depends on how long you are in port (to be clear, Sevilla is definitely worthwhile, I'm just not sure how long you would have there after the travel - if it's many hours then that would perhaps be enough to cover the cathedral and the Alcazar, especially with pre-booked tickets, plus a brief wander and lunch? That would be a good visit).
Or you could stay in Cadiz which, I think, is underrated and very interesting and atmospheric overall, but perhaps has no individual "wow" sights like Sevilla. Or Jerez would be closer than Sevilla, but I've never been and don't know if it's worth the trip, unless you like sherry and horses.
Cadiz is on my wish list of places to visit. It looks stunning, so why not just wander, explore, get lost, relax and people watch?
Caro - I think Cadiz is the ideal place for a long weekend break and encourage you to visit. Perhaps no knockout sights like some of its neighbours, as I wrote before, but still a lot to see such as the cathedral, fortifications, Roman remains, a good archaeological museum, etc.; and plenty of squares, shabby streets in the fishing quarter and sea look-outs to relax at. It has a great nightlife (and "paseo") and is famous for its fish and fiestas. Cadiz also has a long and major history if that's of interest, including being Spain's last redoubt against the Napoleon tyranny. I do like Cadiz, but I wasn't sure if Mading was asking about going to Sevilla given the post title.
We visited Cadiz as part of a day trip from Seville to Jerez de la Frontera and Cadiz. We only had time in Cadiz for lunch and a walk through the old center. If you're intrigued by the Spanish Armada, or even if you're not, you will enjoy a stroll along the waterfront. The waterfront reminded me of San Juan, Puerto Rico - our guide told us part of Cadiz is known as "Little Havana" - seems like it should be the other way around.
You should be able to have a great day just walking around on your own.
I really like Cadiz also. It’s one of the oldest inhabited cities in Europe. The imposing cathedral and bright white sun light really give the old town a sparkle. The salt crusted fish at El Faro restaurant is a must do.
Nick, totally understand, rather a confusing title!
Sorry the title was confusing. The cruise line lists the stop this way. As I understand it the port is in Cadiz but the cruise line discusses Seville as the main city attraction. I appreciate the various feedback on my original post.
Also, have read that an excursion to El Puerto de Santa Maria may be well worth our time. Any thoughts on this from those who've been there? Thanks again.
The port is Cadiz, but Sevilla is another city some distance away. It is certainly a main attraction, but you need to travel there and back by train or bus and that will take time. Perhaps worth noting that whilst Cadiz is a port, it is also a city in its own right with plenty of attractions too.
I've been to El Puerto. It's a nice enough place and there is a pretty church and square and other sights such as bodegas, bullring, and so on. There are plenty of eating places too. However, I wouldn't choose it over staying in Cadiz. The best part of going to El Puerto is the views on the ferry across the bay, and seeing Cadiz from the sea, but you will see them from your ship already.
If you are not going to Sevilla, then I recommend you spend the day in Cadiz. It really won't bore you, I am sure, and there is lots to visit.
If you chose to visit Sevilla, then the Alcazar, cathedral and Giralda tower would probably be the only things you’d have time to see. Sevilla is about a 1.5 hours drive from Cadiz. To me, Cadiz is worth a few hours at most with nothing exceptional to see. It’s cathedral is nice but doesn’t compare the Sevilla’s. That leaves simply walking around the town. It’s on a peninsula so it’s longer than it is wide. If you stayed in Cadiz and ran out of things to do, there are ferries that run from the port area over to Rota and Puerto de Santa Maria. They run regularly but will stop running if the bay gets to rough. In those instances a bus would drive you to back to Cadiz. I like Rota and it’s a nice place to walk around (disclaimer: I lived there for over 3 years). The main sights are castle Luna (small), the lighthouse, and the promenade along the beach. It’s popular with the tourists between May and mid-September, but still maintains a small town charm. The ferry drops you off down by the castle and lighthouse.
My last visit to Puerto de Santa Maria was in 2011. At that time, Spain’s economy was depressed and it showed. There was litter and trash seemingly everywhere and unemployed just hanging out. The town itself just looked tired and run down. The main sights are the bull ring, cathedral, and the castle of San Marcos (only open for a couple hours, two days a week). Columbus was given the money for one of his voyages there from Ferdinand and Isabel. It is a nice castle. The ferry drops you off near the cathedral. No idea what it’s like now.
Jerez has an alcazar worth visiting and sherry bodegas if you wanted to tour one or two. The ones I visited were Osborne and William and Humbert and they were right in town. There are others (Fundador, Tio Pepe, etc.), but you’d need to check tour hours and location. Jerez is spread out more than Cadiz.
Jerez has its good points. The Tio Pepe tour is fun and it's just meters from the cathedral. The Royal Equestrian School is in Jerez. Check if there's a horse show on your day - they are around 11 am and only 2-3 times a week. With a full day, you'd have time to see these highlights in Jerez and quite a bit of Cadiz too. If you do go to the horse show, take a taxi - it's too far to walk from the center or the train station.
We walked around Cadiz, strolling along the beach, then cutting across thru the old town. Enjoyable
We recently spent two days in Cadiz as part of a month-long trip through Spain and I would highly recommend spending some time there. As someone said above, it's underrated. There are few 'wow' sites, but it's a bit off the tourist path and there is lots of atmosphere and restaurants and fantastic beaches. Roman ruins. We did a day tour to Puerto de Santa Maria, but it was a weekend and the castle was closed. We toured a sherry bodega. But if you only had one day, I would spend it in Cadiz. Not quite sure why Rick Steves doesn't include it in his book, but in a way, I'm glad he doesn't.
We stopped in Cadiz during a cruise in May. It was a long 16 hrs day in port so we decided there was plenty of time to take public transport to Seville, especially with the train station very close to port. The train was sold out (there were two cruise ships in port that morning) but the bus was just as easy and even cheaper and we were in Seville in 90 minutes. The Alcazar was one of our favourite sites during the cruise! Do reserve tickets online so you don't loose time standing in line.
We spent about half a day in the Alcazar so there was not much time left aftewards other than to see the cathedral, have an ice cream, and wander back to the bus terminal, passing the Golden Tower and a little statue of Mozart reminding us of the Barber of Seville :-)
