Bordeaux / Port Day

We will be in Bordeaux for 1 Port day from our Oceania Marina cruise in May 2017 and we are looking for the best suggestions in planning our day. Private tours, independent sightseeing, wine tours maybe.

Any and all suggestions recommended. This will be our 1st time to visit this beautiful area. We will be in Port from 11:30A - 10:45PM

Thanks!

We will likely book the same cruise. I suggest you go on to the "Roll Call" on Cruise Critic for the cruise,and state your interests, and look for passengers looking for people to join a tour, or join one you are organizing. It is still early so there is not a lot of activity yet. Meanwhile, on Trip Advisor in "Things to Do" on the Bordeaux forum you will see tour companies offering the sort of day tours you want.

You must choose from the usual options....i.e. cruise ship excursions, private tours or DIY. And these are all decent options for your port. But a big issue is going to be your late arrival. You will likely not be off your ship until around noon which really gives you a half day for touring (assuming you want to be back aboard for dinner). If your vessel is truly tying up in Bordeaux (actually going up the river to the city) you could also consider an early dinner ashore (consider that the French would normally not dine until past 8pm.

Given your late arrival we suggest you focus on the one thing that best meets your own desires. If you are interested in wine, there are some excellent vineyards you can visit (either on a tour or on your own) and perhaps spend some time in the charming wine village of St Emilion. Just a simple visit to a couple of vineyards and stopping in St Emilion would fill an afternoon. And the city of Bordeaux is also an interesting city with a nice restaurant/nightlife area adjacent to the river and not far from the few ships that actually are able to dock in the city.

Hank