Gijon - ideas

I've read a few posts but nothing definitive, as it's not such a popular port yet.

We are visiting in Sept on the RCI Adventure of the Seas

From what I have read elsewhere, Gijon seems to have a nice old town, so we would like to visit there rather than go to Oviedo, or elsewhere.

Is there still a free port shuttle bus (as I have read a couple of times), and how regular is it / where does it drop you? Does it run from the time the ship docks, or from a certain time daily?

What is worth doing in the city centre? Anything not worth doing?

Thanks in advance!

Ade

I've read a few posts but nothing definitive, as it's not such a popular port yet.

 

We are visiting in Sept on the RCI Adventure of the Seas

 

From what I have read elsewhere, Gijon seems to have a nice old town, so we would like to visit there rather than go to Oviedo, or elsewhere.

 

Is there still a free port shuttle bus (as I have read a couple of times), and how regular is it / where does it drop you? Does it run from the time the ship docks, or from a certain time daily?

 

What is worth doing in the city centre? Anything not worth doing?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Ade

I was in your shoes about a year ago as we prepared for our fall TA, which included a call in Gijon. Not a very popular port, so not that much on here. I read what I could about Gijon and surrounding areas, and even got a bunch of brochures from the Gijon tourist board. I finally concluded that it would be more interesting to visit Oviedo, which has an historic, old city "peatonal" area (pedestrians only), within which is the Cathedral of San Salvador. (Photo below.)

We wound up booking a half day ship's tour to Oviedo that included a walking tour in the old city area. Our particular tour guide was awful and we struck out on our own, and enjoyed our walk.

Whatever you wind up doing on this port call, I doubt it will be a highlight of your trip, which I hope is a great one.

(photo by turtles06)

Sorry for the delay in my response, and thank you very much for the information.

I did read about Oviedo previously, and it seems (as with most Spanish cities) that the main draw is the Cathedral. Bit tired of them after the last cruise, and there are others on the cruise to see.

I would still rather kick around in Gijon, so if anyone has any ideas, I'd be grateful.

Hi- our stop in Gijon in 2010 was so short (barely 2 hours in the town) I'm not sure I can tell you too much!

If you like old buildings there are some beautiful squares in the centre, plaza major and around there, and the shops had some interesting things in them, including local produce (lovely chocolate!). You can walk right round the headland where the big curved sculpture is, and lovely beaches. The ship docked a few miles away, we had a free shuttle which dropped us off on the seafront right by the harbour and old town. There was a tourist office very close to the bus stop.

The tourist information (on the bus or quayside I think) gave us so many maps, guides, discount card leaflets etc we were swamped with them! Some of the highlights from the leaflets include the roman baths, San Pedro church, Valdes palace, clock tower, church of san juan bautista, monument to king palayo etc., but we didn't get to see even half of that.

It was very different in character to other stops, and we found it interesting and attractive, but I know others feel there is not much of interest there and prefer to go further afield. In fact quite a few people on our ship didn't even get off the shuttle bus before declaring there was nothing there and going straight back!

Hope you enjoy your visit,

kate

We were in Gijon last week. It has a lovely wide beach area, nice old cobbled streets and a modern shopping area as well. We too were a little apprehensive as it is not a usual port of call, but we really enjoyed a good walk around, drinks in a typical Spanish Tapas bar, and a good walk along the beach front.

The shuttle from RCI cost $18.00 per person, but there were many taxis at the port and as we too are on Adventure in September we shall use taxis into Gijon rather than the ship's shuttle service- much cheaper I'm sure!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Thanks for the tips. I had forgotten about this thread!

Unbelievable price on the RCI shuttle bus! I think we might have to lump it (or take a taxi), as there really isn't a great deal of information out there, and I just know we will get lost on the first day of the cruise. :eek:

For specific information you can contact the tourist office at

infogijon@gijon.info

Their website

http://en.turismo.gijon.es/

http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/gijon.html

Thanks. I've emailed the tourism office. I will post an answer if I get one (I wrote the email in English)

They are rapid in their reply, if not a bit lacking in information

 

Good afternoon,

 

In response to your e-mail, we advise you that the tourist office of Gijón always provide shuttle buses to go from El Musel port to the town center. But we are sorry to tell you that we don't have the schedule jet.

If you have any other questions do not hesitate contact us.

 

Kind regards,

Marta Crego Menéndez

Infogijón

They are rapid in their reply, if not a bit lacking in information

But very useful to know they provide shuttle buses too. We definitely will be using alternative transportation to RCI- either taxi or local shuttle.

Not sure if anyone is still active on this thread, but we're also on the Adventure next week and would be happy to share a taxi into town with people

Just to follow up on the post: having been to Gijon, I can now tell you there is absolutely bugger all in Gijon.

The shuttle was $15, and I still felt cheated.

Just to follow up on the post: having been to Gijon, I can now tell you there is absolutely bugger all in Gijon.

 

The shuttle was $15, and I still felt cheated.

Hi, was this RCI shuttle or Gijon tourist shuttle? You're saying there is nothing worth seeing in Gijon? Sorry, English is not my first language so I may have misunderstood.

We will be visiting Gijon (as well as Vigo & Bilbao) next week with Adventure and it has been hard finding out anything about Gijon. Any advice is highly appreciated! Thanks!

Hi,

That was the RCI shuttle. The place where the AOS docks is a long way away from the city, and is a very uninteresting walk (piles of coal everywhere)

IMHO, there is very little to see in Gijon. It's quite a nice harbour in the city and the shuttle drops you in an easy to find location. If you have seen the monuments on the internet, they are pretty much the highlight.

The church was quite pretty, but there are much nicer to see.

Hope that helps

Hi, was this RCI shuttle or Gijon tourist shuttle? You're saying there is nothing worth seeing in Gijon? Sorry, English is not my first language so I may have misunderstood.

 

We will be visiting Gijon (as well as Vigo & Bilbao) next week with Adventure and it has been hard finding out anything about Gijon. Any advice is highly appreciated! Thanks!

I think the info in this thread pretty much sums up Gijón. Just curious about your plans for Vigo -- are you going to Santiago de Compostela? (Vigo is not that interesting, but Santiago de Compostela is a UNESCO World Heritage site.)

Have a great cruise!