Italian Excursions

My husband and I are going on our first European cruise in August aboard the Emerald Princess. I've been doing research on excursions, and I wondered if anyone has opinions, reviews, etc. on what we are looking at. We are in our 30s and tend to not like a lot of guided tours. We prefer to do things on our own, but the public transportation in Italy and distances from the port make us nervous.

In Salerno, I am considering hiring a driver to take us from the port to Pompeii and then maybe on a drive or to another town not too far to explore (not exactly sure what's best - a lot of the tourist destinations seem far). Is a taxi to Pompeii from the port out of the question?

Princess offers an excursion from Genoa to Milan with a guided tour and then time on your own. It's the guided tour part I'm not sure about. Has anyone done this excursion? Maybe it would be worth it if the guided part isn't too long.

The other ports that we are visiting where I'm not sure what to book are Palermo and Toulon. If we could find a nice beach one of those days, it would be good. Pisa/Florence are offered on your own through the line. That looks like our style.

Thanks for any advice!

Pompeii is a lot closer to Naples than Salerno, but you can take Trenitalia to a location about a mile from Pompeii.

Instead of Pompeii from Salerno, we took the ferry from the port (Molo Manfredi) adjacent to where the ship docks to Amalfi. From there we hiked the Valle delle Ferriere to the Valle dei Mulini:

http://www.coastalwalking.com/Amalfi_Coast/Valle_delle_Ferriere.php

This is a really picturesque and interesting hike over varied terrain. The ferry ride was gorgeous, too.

When the ship docked near Toulon (it does not actually dock in Toulon), there was a bicycle vendor offering rentals very close to the ship. As we were not dressed for bicycle riding, we took the local ferry into Toulon, visited one of the local open air markets, and then took the bus to ride the telepherique up Mount Faron (http://www.marvellous-provence.com/toulon/what-to-see/mont-faron). On the way back we stopped at the Maritime Museum. We obtained an unlimited transportation pass from the Traveler's Information office in downtown Toulon.

 

When the ship docked near Toulon (it does not actually dock in Toulon), there was a bicycle vendor offering rentals very close to the ship. As we were not dressed for bicycle riding, we took the local ferry into Toulon, visited one of the local open air markets, and then took the bus to ride the telepherique up Mount Faron (http://www.marvellous-provence.com/toulon/what-to-see/mont-faron). On the way back we stopped at the Maritime Museum. We obtained an unlimited transportation pass from the Traveler's Information office in downtown Toulon.

I know this has nothing to do with Italy but you wrote about Toulon and we will be there later this year

Since you were not docked IN Toulon, did the ship offer a shuttle? Where did you get the ferry and public transportation information? Was the transportation pass good for the ferry to return to the ship?

Any info you can provide would be super as we just plan on spending the day wandering the town.

Thanks!

There are times when a driver and car make sense, but going from Salerno to Pompei is not one of them.

You can walk or cab the one mile from Molo Manfredi, the cruise port, to the train station where you can get a train to Pompei. From the Trenitalia station in Pompei to the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance to the ruins is one half mile on foot.

Thanks euro cruiser. I know if we just wanted to go to Pompeii it wouldn't be worth it, but we are looking at a private excursion that takes us to Pompeii for a few hours and then Sorrento and Positano. Is this something we could do on our own or is the driver worth considering?

Thanks euro cruiser. I know if we just wanted to go to Pompeii it wouldn't be worth it, but we are looking at a private excursion that takes us to Pompeii for a few hours and then Sorrento and Positano. Is this something we could do on our own or is the driver worth considering?

If you want to do a few stops which all include significant driving a private car for hire is worth looking into. Princess does offer "bus" tours as well as private cars at crazy prices. In Naples we did a private van, we were off the ship and at Pompeii at opening and were 1/2 thru our tour there by the time the guides with the little princess flags came thru with their tow of 40 people. We were shortly off to the Amalfi coast, well worth it if you can find 6 or so people to share a van or 4 people a car.

Europe is one place IMHO with distance from ports to many attractions worth a private car. Having done private in 6 of our stops on our last cruise I've come to think they are money well spent.

Good luck!

I know this has nothing to do with Italy but you wrote about Toulon and we will be there later this year

 

Since you were not docked IN Toulon, did the ship offer a shuttle? Where did you get the ferry and public transportation information? Was the transportation pass good for the ferry to return to the ship?

 

Any info you can provide would be super as we just plan on spending the day wandering the town.

 

Thanks!

Ship docked in La Seyne Sur Mer:

http://www.varprovence-cruise.com/eng/Ports/TOULON-LA-SEYNE-SUR-MER

Ship offered water shuttle to Toulon, but at a high price that I cannot remember.

Ferry (line 8M) was about 20-30 minute walk from ship:

http://shorebee.com/en/france/toulon/from-toulon-to-toulon

Transportation pass for 6 euro:

http://www.reseaumistral.com/tarif/index.asp?rub_code=7&thm_id=1577&tar_id=23

I cannot remember whether we used this pass for the return ferry to La Seyne Sur Mer, but I think not.

Ship docked in La Seyne Sur Mer:

http://www.varprovence-cruise.com/eng/Ports/TOULON-LA-SEYNE-SUR-MER

 

Ship offered water shuttle to Toulon, but at a high price that I cannot remember.

 

Ferry (line 8M) was about 20-30 minute walk from ship:

http://shorebee.com/en/france/toulon/from-toulon-to-toulon

 

Transportation pass for 6 euro:

http://www.reseaumistral.com/tarif/index.asp?rub_code=7&thm_id=1577&tar_id=23

 

I cannot remember whether we used this pass for the return ferry to La Seyne Sur Mer, but I think not.

Thank you!

I highly recommend not using the cruise line yours and posting on your roll call and share tours. You save money, smaller groups and you can even customize if you want to stop somewhere additional.

For instance, I used joe bananas limo and we stopped at pisa when we went to cinque terre. I notice they now offer this tour on their site. Probably more than just my group who requested this.

Anyway...check out italytoursharing.com

Or email

info@joebananalimos.net

We are just back from our cruise and when in Naples we used Aldolimos for a shared tour of Sorrento, Ravello, Positano and Amalfi. The were three couples and the minibus could get to places your bus couldn't. You can post your own tour on their website and invite people to join you. Prices are much cheaper than the ship tours and more personal.

My husband and I are going on our first European cruise in August aboard the Emerald Princess. I've been doing research on excursions, and I wondered if anyone has opinions, reviews, etc. on what we are looking at. We are in our 30s and tend to not like a lot of guided tours. We prefer to do things on our own, but the public transportation in Italy and distances from the port make us nervous.

 

In Salerno, I am considering hiring a driver to take us from the port to Pompeii and then maybe on a drive or to another town not too far to explore (not exactly sure what's best - a lot of the tourist destinations seem far). Is a taxi to Pompeii from the port out of the question?

 

Princess offers an excursion from Genoa to Milan with a guided tour and then time on your own. It's the guided tour part I'm not sure about. Has anyone done this excursion? Maybe it would be worth it if the guided part isn't too long.

 

The other ports that we are visiting where I'm not sure what to book are Palermo and Toulon. If we could find a nice beach one of those days, it would be good. Pisa/Florence are offered on your own through the line. That looks like our style.

 

Thanks for any advice!

My friends and I are considering using Viator in Naples. They have a tour that includes Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano and Ravello. You can have just a driver or a driver and tour guide. They pick up and drop off at the cruise terminal and gurantee that you will be back on time. I used them in London and was very pleased.

There are times when a driver and car make sense, but going from Salerno to Pompei is not one of them.

 

You can walk or cab the one mile from Molo Manfredi, the cruise port, to the train station where you can get a train to Pompei. From the Trenitalia station in Pompei to the Piazza Anfiteatro entrance to the ruins is one half mile on foot.

How long is the train ride? Do you have to pay in euros or is a credit card good?

From Salerno to Pompei is between 35 - 50 minutes, depending on the train. The fare is only Euro 2,20 each way so it would be better to pay in cash if possible.

My friends and I are considering using Viator in Naples. They have a tour that includes Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano and Ravello. You can have just a driver or a driver and tour guide. They pick up and drop off at the cruise terminal and gurantee that you will be back on time. I used them in London and was very pleased.

Just be aware that prior experience with Viator does not predict future performance because they are a booking agency, not a tour company. All they do is book you with a tour operator, so the quality of the experience is not within their control.