Help - DIY port days

Hi,

We are travelling as a family of 4 (kids 8 + 9) to the following ports and was looking for any advice on what to see/do and how easy it is to navigate using public transport or walking etc.

1. Vigo

2. Lisbon

3. Las Palmas

4. Tenerife

5. Funchal

6. La Coruna

Any help would be much appreciated.

Hi,

 

We are travelling as a family of 4 (kids 8 + 9) to the following ports and was looking for any advice on what to see/do and how easy it is to navigate using public transport or walking etc.

 

1. Vigo

2. Lisbon

3. Las Palmas

4. Tenerife

5. Funchal

6. La Coruna

 

Any help would be much appreciated.

Very easy at Lisbon, just get an all-day ticket for trains/trams/bus (about €7). We saw this sort of thing

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Belem is nice, but a 15 minute bus or tram ride from the centre of Lisbon.

From A Coruna we took the train to Santiago de Compostela (after a short bus ride from port to train station. If you do that book your return train at the same time) You can also go here from Vgo but it's a longer journey. This shows us doing it from A Coruna. It's about a mile from the Santiago de Compostela station to the cathedral/town centre.

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If you have time (or even if you don't go to S de C from here) after that a quick look at the Tower of Hercules would be good. You'll see it from the ship when you arrive, 2 miles/40 mins walk from where you dock.

Funchal is easy to walk around, and close from the dock. All the best, Tony

Funchal is easy to do on your own, although the problem there is usually time, as most ships are only there until 2 or 3. Funchal has buses, taxis, etc. and it was pretty easy to find information on them.

I would first go to tomsportguides.com to see ports for which he has written online guides. I used his Funchal guide last August and it was very helpful. He may have others for the places you'll be visiting. In Funchal, we did a short "outside the city" tour and then I went to the Old Town. It's an interesting, photogenic place to visit. The cable car was nothing special, but Monte is nice, and it's easy to get up there by the cable car. You can then come down by bus. The wicker basket ride is something to see. It starts up in Monte.

We do almost all ports on our own, and have rarely had trouble doing that, although it DOES take a bit of planning.

Download the guides from Tom's site, and also look in the general section he has to find the "OSM maps" that can be downloaded on an ipad, Kindle, etc. at home. Then you won't need internet access to view them when you arrive - they're already on your device. The one I downloaded for Lisbon was quite detailed, which helped me a lot in planning my day and a half in Lisbon. Once actually in Lisbon, though, I was afraid to take out my Kindle to look at it, as we heard there were a lot of theft problems there. While we didn't have any problems, you should be careful, especially on crowded trams and along the tram 28 route. (We absolutely loved Lisbon, by the way - and Tom's port guide was helpful. I agree with the previous poster - buy a day pass to ride the trams, buses, funiculars. They are widely available at Metro stations and other places through machines that have an English setting and instructions.)

When you mention Las Palmas, I'm not sure where that is - one of the Canary Islands (island of La Palma), or somewhere else? If the island of La Palma, I can give you some info on that. However, we wanted to see more of the island, so we rented a car and drove around.

See my pictures of Lisbon and Funchal here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123

All of these you are able to get into the town either by walking or public transport.

If you mean las palmas, gran canaria then there is a short 10min walk to quite a nice beach which is easy to do from where the ship docks. In Tenerife your children may like a try to Loro parque which is an animal park so check out ways of getting there.

In lisbon as well as the general sites the aquarium is meant to be very good.

All of these you are able to get into the town either by walking or public transport.

 

If you mean las palmas, gran canaria then there is a short 10min walk to quite a nice beach which is easy to do from where the ship docks. In Tenerife your children may like a try to Loro parque which is an animal park so check out ways of getting there.

 

In lisbon as well as the general sites the aquarium is meant to be very good.

I looked at the Lisbon aquarium (and zoo?) pre-trip, as my husband loves zoos and the like. It is reachable with a little effort on Lisbon's metrorail system, with a metro stop just across the street from it. It isn't cheap, but it does offer a lot more than I was expecting - for example, dolphin shows. As for Lisbon, we really enjoyed just riding the "elevadores" - funiculars that look like the trams, just going up and down some steep hills. The one we liked the best (Bica) was one that you entered in what looks to be just another building on the street.

You will want to be on deck when the ship comes into, or departs from, Lisbon. You will see the outside of some of the major sites in Lisbon and Belem from the ship.

I've been to Lisbon several times and am looking for suggestions for something different to do. So far, I've been to the Monastery (twice), Belem tower, Monument of the Discoverers, St. George's Castle, done a private tour of Lisbon, and eaten the wonderful custard pastries. Outside of Lisbon I've visited Cascais, Sintra, and Obidos. I'm not a huge fan of aquariums but do enjoy museums. Does anyone have any recommendations? Many thanks in advance.

Castlerigg, I'm not a big museum fan, so I can't comment on those. However, one thing I would have done if I had had more time was to visit the Cristo Rei statue on the other side of the river. You would need to take a short ferry trip across the Tejo and then take a bus to the statue. Then you can either take the elevator up partway to the feet of Christ, or just admire the views from the embankment and the statue. There are also supposed to be a couple decent seafood restaurants in the town where the ferry drops you. I found out more info about these and the Cristo Rei statue in general by reading Rick Steves' book on Lisbon. The trip would take about a half day, I think.

I went to a wonderful old palace (Palacio Marques de Frontiera or something like that) that was a riot of red and blue (great for photographers). Like Cristo, it takes a little effort to get to it, but I would guess a cab would only be a half hour at most. (I took the metro to the zoo stop, walked a fourth block from the zoo and caught a bus - took maybe 40 minutes total.) The place is not well known, so there weren't many people there, which I liked. If you're interested, see the photo site I mentioned above for the name of it and pictures. Look up their website, as they have somewhat limited hours, especially if you want to tour the palace. (I didn't - the grounds, pool, etc. were enough to keep me happy.)

We went to Lisbon a day early and took a "Bike My Side" motorcycle sidecar tour for $130 each. It was wonderful, but if you've already been on a city tour, it may not be the best use of your time. However, it WAS quite fun, and we visited many parts of the city, which gave us a good overview.

Parque das Nacoes up in the newer part of the city was mildly interesting - just mostly a contrast to the older sections of Lisbon. There's a good view of the long Vasco da Gama bridge, and a little "telecabine" cable car that goes a short distance along the riverside, not very high up.

You could take a DIY tour of some of the art in various Lisbon metro stations - lots of mosaics and modern stuff. Best stations are Parque & Pombal, Campo Grande, Moniz, Campo Pequeno, Campo Grande,Olaias, Chelas, & Oriente.

We docked across from the Maritime Museum. I didn't go in, but that might be a nearby museum that could be worthwhile.

Castlerigg, I'm not a big museum fan, so I can't comment on those. However, one thing I would have done if I had had more time was to visit the Cristo Rei statue on the other side of the river. You would need to take a short ferry trip across the Tejo and then take a bus to the statue. Then you can either take the elevator up partway to the feet of Christ, or just admire the views from the embankment and the statue. There are also supposed to be a couple decent seafood restaurants in the town where the ferry drops you. I found out more info about these and the Cristo Rei statue in general by reading Rick Steves' book on Lisbon. The trip would take about a half day, I think.

 

I went to a wonderful old palace (Palacio Marques de Frontiera or something like that) that was a riot of red and blue (great for photographers). Like Cristo, it takes a little effort to get to it, but I would guess a cab would only be a half hour at most. (I took the metro to the zoo stop, walked a fourth block from the zoo and caught a bus - took maybe 40 minutes total.) The place is not well known, so there weren't many people there, which I liked. If you're interested, see the photo site I mentioned above for the name of it and pictures. Look up their website, as they have somewhat limited hours, especially if you want to tour the palace. (I didn't - the grounds, pool, etc. were enough to keep me happy.)

 

We went to Lisbon a day early and took a "Bike My Side" motorcycle sidecar tour for $130 each. It was wonderful, but if you've already been on a city tour, it may not be the best use of your time. However, it WAS quite fun, and we visited many parts of the city, which gave us a good overview.

 

Parque das Nacoes up in the newer part of the city was mildly interesting - just mostly a contrast to the older sections of Lisbon. There's a good view of the long Vasco da Gama bridge, and a little "telecabine" cable car that goes a short distance along the riverside, not very high up.

 

You could take a DIY tour of some of the art in various Lisbon metro stations - lots of mosaics and modern stuff. Best stations are Parque & Pombal, Campo Grande, Moniz, Campo Pequeno, Campo Grande,Olaias, Chelas, & Oriente.

 

We docked across from the Maritime Museum. I didn't go in, but that might be a nearby museum that could be worthwhile.

Thanks so much for the information!

I've been to Lisbon several times and am looking for suggestions for something different to do. So far, I've been to the Monastery (twice), Belem tower, Monument of the Discoverers, St. George's Castle, done a private tour of Lisbon, and eaten the wonderful custard pastries. Outside of Lisbon I've visited Cascais, Sintra, and Obidos. I'm not a huge fan of aquariums but do enjoy museums. Does anyone have any recommendations? Many thanks in advance.

The Gulbenkian museum is great -- if you like museums I can highly recommend it.

http://museu.gulbenkian.pt/museu/en/Homepage

For Funchal, you can walk along the pathway (with the ocean on your right hand side) to the chair lifts, it's about a 20 minute walk, if you're worried about little ones getting tired, you can take a taxi there.

The lifts are enclosed & give a fantastic view, it can get quite chilly at the little town on top, "Monte" I started with a tank top & capris at sea level & needed my long sleeved tee, scarf & sweater at the top. There's a little open air market, a lovely old church with truly amazing views, try to climb the tower if it's open.

To get back down, your kids would probably love the woven bobsleds, you are guided down by men dressed in traditional costumes, yes it's a bit gimmicky, but I suspect your kids would enjoy it.

When you get back down to the main town, there are lots of sidewalk cafes, there are also plenty of wine tasting rooms if you're not there on a Sunday. (the "old Blandy" is closed on Sunday.

Can't

I've been to Lisbon several times and am looking for suggestions for something different to do. So far, I've been to the Monastery (twice), Belem tower, Monument of the Discoverers, St. George's Castle, done a private tour of Lisbon, and eaten the wonderful custard pastries. Outside of Lisbon I've visited Cascais, Sintra, and Obidos. I'm not a huge fan of aquariums but do enjoy museums. Does anyone have any recommendations? Many thanks in advance.

There are many options...depending on the hours you are in port and your spirit of adventure. There are some very interesting places to visit North of Lisbon. With a rental car (one of our favorite forms of travel) you can easily drive up to places like Queluz where there is a nice Royal Palace and other places in that region.

Hank

I second the Loro Parque in Tenerife - can still remember going there as a kid.

In Madeira go on the wicker Toboggan run from Monte, that really made an impression on me as a kid too.

Lisbon is great for kids, there is a cool carriage museum in Belem, you can climb the tower there, and the trams and funiculars are so cool.

Castlerigg...

I second the recommendation of CruiseMom42 to go to the Gulbenkian!

The Gulbenkian is one of my favorite museums in the world..it is a little gem

filled with amazing things from his private collection that he wanted to give back to Portugal! An amazing Turner, a fabulous Lalique jewelery collection,

Turkish tiles, silver table services..a little of everything and only the best!

We go every trip to Lisbon!

Go!!

Sherry

Castlerigg...

I second the recommendation of CruiseMom42 to go to the Gulbenkian!

The Gulbenkian is one of my favorite museums in the world..it is a little gem

filled with amazing things from his private collection that he wanted to give back to Portugal! An amazing Turner, a fabulous Lalique jewelery collection,

Turkish tiles, silver table services..a little of everything and only the best!

We go every trip to Lisbon!

Go!!

Sherry

It sounds wonderful! I will definitely make this one of my stops. Thank you both for the recommendation!

Linda

Hi All,

We will be on a cruise arriving in Lisbon on May 1st 2015, which is a national holiday. This is our first time in Lisbon and thought we would get a day pass on the public transport system. Does anyone know a place or two that provides port / wine tasting in Lisbon.

Much appreciated,

Brent