RCI Western Med Shore Excursions

Sailing on FOS in May in the Western Med. Wondering if anyone can recommend any of the ships shore excursions for La Spezia and for Naples? So much choice it is confusing.

Best bet is to join the roll call thread for your sailing - others will have the same issue and can help.

Also check the port of call forum:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595

Check RomeinLimo, Joe Banana, among others. Very reputable. Small groups.:D

The ship's excursions are much more expensive.

We visited these ports on Harmony last year.... we used the ship tour for La Spezia which was ok but much preferred the private tour booked through Pleasant Travel. We were picked up when the ship docked and returned in plenty of time. We drove down the Amalfi coast stopping at places for as long as we wanted, they took us to a lovely little restaurant for lunch and then finished with Pompeii. They will pretty much fit in with whatever you want, we saw and experienced much more than we would have on a ship tour..... the guide and driver were excellent.

We did a Western Med cruise last May. I really enjoyed the planning aspect and although we didn't hit those particular ports I think I can make some suggestions.

First, check out the link that Bob posted. Read about the ports and see what others have done in those locations. Think about what appeals to YOU and your group. What kind of things do you enjoying doing - do you want to see historic sites, museums, pretty scenery, or do you want to try to pack in as much as you can? Also think about your comfort level with excursions. Are you someone that's comfortable figuring out how to get around in a foreign country? Would you rather someone do all the legwork for you? How big is your group? Would you be willing to join a group from your roll call?

Then, once you have an idea what you would like to do, you can figure out how. Read through the ship's excursion descriptions and compare that to the tours that you can find recommended either in your roll call or through the ports of call board. The roll call can be a great way to find alternatives to the ship's tours usually with a smaller group and often cheaper than a ship excursion.

In our case, (just my husband and myself) we prefer to do our own thing, so I used mostly the ports of call boards to figure out how to get where I wanted to go. We also chose to focus on one major thing and not try to pack in everything in one day because that is what we were comfortable with doing.

Enjoy it whatever you end up doing!

Sailing on FOS in May in the Western Med. Wondering if anyone can recommend any of the ships shore excursions for La Spezia and for Naples? So much choice it is confusing.

For Naples I would recommend an excursion to the island of Capri (can't remember if there are more than 1) but if one of the excursions goes to Anacapri I would choose that one.

For La Spezia I would recommend an excursion to Florence - the one I did was " HistoricalFlorence & Accademia Museum – LL01" and I really enjoyed it.

If you are open to striking out on your own, La Spezia is a great port for visiting the beautiful Cinque Terre. http://www.cinqueterre.eu.com/en/Depending on how mobile you are you can walk to the railway station from the port (about 25 mins) or take a taxi.You buy the train tickets at a dedicated office in the railway station where the friendly staff will be delighted to explain everything to you. It only costs 16 euros per person, cheaper for over-65s I think.

We enjoyed this so much the first time we did it that we went back and repeated it on our second visit to La Spezia.

For Naples, we enjoyed the excursion to Pompei. It is a fantastic sight that is well worth visiting. However, you would probably want to think twice about that if you have any mobility issues. We had a gent on our coach who really struggled to keep up and I am sure it was not the best day out for him.

We love the Amalfi Coast Drive out of Naples. Did it twice. Even if it rains, it is beautiful.

Thanks for the replies so far. I should have stated that Florence is a must for us but would ideally like to see Pisa too if I can. There will be our party of four for that excursion. There are many ship excursions to Florence however and it is hard to know which one to choose.

I will be alone for Naples stop and want to see Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast. I was considering the ship excursion Amalfi coast by land and sea. Certainly if I found people on my roll call looking for extra people to join a private tour I would do so.