Palermo. Port or excursion

Will be in Palermo cruise port in December. Was just thinking of going into town from port. Do you suggest hoho bus or an excursion

Thank you

Some great information on Palermo here on Tripadvisor, especially the Hidden Gems thread...

https://www.tripadvisor.ie/ShowForum-g187890-i418-Palermo_Province_of_Palermo_Sicily.html

If you are simply going into the center of town it is even walkable from the port (if you like walking). Can't speak to the HoHo since we prefer more walking then riding and find many HoHo's too expensive for our minimal use. We have actually used the Palermo local bus system when we decided to go out to the Capuchin Catacombs (a real highlight).

Hank

Thank you both. This is my first time on mediterraean cruise and it seems so port intensive that I'm concerned I'm going yo be tired from all the walking!!!

Thank you both. This is my first time on mediterraean cruise and it seems so port intensive that I'm concerned I'm going yo be tired from all the walking!!!

A valid concern. And most inexperienced visitors compound the situation by trying to "do it all." Try to squeeze in some extra time (before and/or after your cruise) for a few land days...when you can better control the pace and relax :).

If you are planning on lots of walking (we do miles a day since we are almost always on our own without tours or tour buses) it actually helps to get yourself in shape (and break-in shoes) by doing a lot of walking at home. We have seen what happens to sedate souls when they suddenly try to walk a few miles every day......and it ain't pretty.

Hank

Funny you said that. I was just saying I should start walking every day to get in better shape for this trip. I've also had foot issues in the past from not wearing the proper shoes. I am bringing my Brooks sneakers. Great for walking. Thanks for the tips

Funny you said that. I was just saying I should start walking every day to get in better shape for this trip. I've also had foot issues in the past from not wearing the proper shoes. I am bringing my Brooks sneakers. Great for walking. Thanks for the tips

Funny thing about shoes. You will see many experienced cruisers saying, again and again, to wear comfortable shoes when on a cruise (or any trip). But we all know women (we have some in our own family) that wear shoes for how they look, not how they feel. Just walking around a large cruise ship can wear out folks not used to walking or who wear uncomfortable shoes. DW and I travel over 6 months a year and always have a very good comfy pair of walking sandals (we like Clarks, Teva or ECCO) and a pair of very good (and broken-in) sneakers (trainers for you Brits) and proper socks for those sneakers. We see more and more folks wearing flip-flops which look cool, but have zero support. But wearing footwear without any arch support will take a toll on most of us.

Hank

I´ve been to Palermo about 2 weeks ago. We walked straight up from port to Via Roma and followed to San Dominico church where we took a little side track into the market area Vucciria. Back on Via Roma we walked up Corso Vittorio Emanuele where the main sights are located (like Quattro Canti, cathedral). We made it up to the Palazzo Reale and the Porta Nova. As we only had the afternoon in Palermo we didn´t continue to the Cappucine catacombs but turned around and walked back to our ship.

I hope to finish my review today (which will be in German but many photos). I will post a link later.

steamboats

Yes I agree. I have Clark's I am bringing too. Worried about my 30 year old daughter with those heels!!! Ugh

Thank you for the info. Too bad I don't speak German. I love to read reviews. I am going on MSC splendida in December. My first time to Europe with my daughter. I'm very excited and nervous too!!!

Finally finished! Here´s Palermo. You can try google translation. It works pretty well but sometimes it´s a little bit funny :D.

steamboats

Some add'l info for excursions. About an hour drive from Palermo is the archaeological site of Segesta, some claim has the best preserved Greek temple in the world. Not sure about that, the ones at Paestum are pretty impressive too. Segesta also has an ampitheater, walls, fortress, church and mosque to explore.

And there's two interesting hilltowns. Monreale, about 30 minutes from Palermo, famous for the mosaics in its Norman Cathedral. Further is Erice, near Trapani, about 1hr 45 min from Palermo, has two castles, one from Sarcen times and another from the Normal period.

Steamboat. Love the pics!!! Too bad I can't read the review

We spent three days in Palermo whilst on a land trip. We very much enjoyed the city. As others have said it is very walkable. We did the HOHO on the first day in order to get an overview. It was just OK. Nothing special. After that we walked...and walked. One of the main thoroughfares closes to traffic in the evening and you get to see a little of the local life. Some great neighborhoods and markets. Food was very good, people very friendly. But we are biased...we love Sicily.

The choice between staying in the city and taking an excursion is a personal one depending on your personal preferences. We found many interesting sites while we had our rental. We chose not drive in Palermo though...arrived by rail and departed by air.

We were in Palermo 7 years ago. We usually try to avoid ships excursions but we ended up doing a Royal Caribbean excursion that went to the Catacombs, Zisa Castle, along with a city tour. There were numerous stops along the way. It was very enjoyable.

We were in Palermo a few years ago with another couple and did a private excursion with Sicily Life Tours. We had used them before in Taormina, and we have used them since, again in Taormina and in Catania/Siracusa. They have some great options. In Palermo, we saw lots of the area - the markets, the catacombs, etc., as well as some of the surrounding areas - just beautiful. Our driver even went out of the way at the end of the day to take me to a bakery so I could get some cannoli to bring back on the ship!

We have not used a HOHO bus in Palermo, but we avoid those anyway.

Thank you softball