My family of 5 will be taking a cruise stopping in the following places: Messina, Italy,--Piraeus, Greece, --Kusadasi, Turkey,-- Rhodes, Greece,-- Chania, Greece and Naples, Italy. We will be spending days at these ports and would like to sightsee as efficently and economically as possible. Any recommendations? Thank you,
Elaine
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23642 posts
You can do it on your own but it requires an enormous amount of homework on your part. We find the Steves guidebooks for these ports as good starting points. Your are arriving by boat instead of train. With a family of four we seldom used private tours but laid out our plan just like we would staying in the city or had come in on the train. There are several approaches that are determine by the city itself. If available the hop on/off buses are good for a one day overview, some in depth site seeing and transportation. That is our fist choice if available. Local walking and bus tours can be arranged through the local TI - second choice. Often the guidebooks will indicate what is available through the TI. A bunch of private tour people will always meet the ship. Sometimes for fixed fee of 50, 75 Euro a taxi driver will give your a tour. Sometimes you can find another group on the ship to hook up with for a tour. The key is to do your homework and have two or three plans in place for that location. We have done all of the above at least a couple of times. Always had great tours and never scammed. Join the cruisecritic.com board for your specific ship and sailing date. An opportunity to find other travelers on your ship and their plans for the various ports.