Need Help with DIY Days - Venice to Istanbul

We will be sailing from Venice to Istanbul in April on the Mariner. I have been reading voraciously here on the boards and I am still not so sure which days we should drop our excursions and set out on our own. We have spent two lifetimes traveling independently, so DIY is not so daunting. That said, part of the appeal of Regent and their included tours is that I have far less time to research than ever before (my business is growing...hooray!) and I thought that just falling into a seat on a bus could be good for us. BUT, I also realize this is a port-intensive trip and endless 8:30am departures will probably get old.

Here is our list of ports. Any thoughts on which places would actually be better to do on our own? Or which ones we could sleep in and set out from the ship with ease on our own? Are some of these ports tender ports? Can one just walk on and walk off if we are docked?

Venice - embarkation, no tours

Dubrovnik

Kotor

Corfu

Zakynthos

Athens - seriously thinking of sleeping in and doing this DIY

Santorini - considering paying extra for cooking tour

Rhodes

Ephesus - signed up for premium small tour with townhouses

Istanbul - booked the panoramic bus tour, now second-guessing

Thanks so much in advance! These boards are a wealth of information and I am really grateful to everyone here!!

I would do Istanbul on my own. There is a tram that goes up to where many of the Blue Mosque and other "must see" places. It is a vibrant, safe city -- easy to do on your own.

I would do Istanbul on my own. There is a tram that goes up to where many of the Blue Mosque and other "must see" places. It is a vibrant, safe city -- easy to do on your own.

We'll be in Istanbul for three additional days after disembarkation. I thought the Panorama might help us get our bearings at the start, but now, it seems like a yawn. Maybe the Bosporus Cruise instead? It is something we probably wouldn't otherwise "pay" for. ;)

We will be sailing from Venice to Istanbul in April on the Mariner. I have been reading voraciously here on the boards and I am still not so sure which days we should drop our excursions and set out on our own. We have spent two lifetimes traveling independently, so DIY is not so daunting. That said, part of the appeal of Regent and their included tours is that I have far less time to research than ever before (my business is growing...hooray!) and I thought that just falling into a seat on a bus could be good for us. BUT, I also realize this is a port-intensive trip and endless 8:30am departures will probably get old.

 

Here is our list of ports. Any thoughts on which places would actually be better to do on our own? Or which ones we could sleep in and set out from the ship with ease on our own? Are some of these ports tender ports? Can one just walk on and walk off if we are docked?

 

Venice - embarkation, no tours

Dubrovnik

Kotor

Corfu

Zakynthos

Athens - seriously thinking of sleeping in and doing this DIY

Santorini - considering paying extra for cooking tour

Rhodes

Ephesus - signed up for premium small tour with townhouses

Istanbul - booked the panoramic bus tour, now second-guessing

 

Thanks so much in advance! These boards are a wealth of information and I am really grateful to everyone here!!

Dubrovnik - DIY. Take a taxi to the old city. Walk the outer walls if mobility is not a problem.

Kotor - DIY - Climb the hills on the outside of the city walls if mobility is not a problem. Spectacular views.

Athens - The pits! Two boom industries in Athens -spray paint and scaffolding. Most of the city covered with graffiti. Acropolis covered with scaffolding. Disgusting. Better to look at the photos on Google.

Ephesus - take the guided tour with an expert; worth the extra bucks.

My rule of thumb on taking included tours is that we do them if it is something we cannot confidently or cheaply do on our own. I would cancel the panoramic tour of Istanbul as "panoramic" usually means sitting for hours on a bus. I would definitely take the Bosporus cruise instead. It is very enjoyable, and it is something you would have to pay extra for if you did it on your own.

I would try to find a tour in Athens that didn't involve Athens, if that makes sense. Try to find something outside of town.

In Corfu, the drive yourself jeep tour was really fun, but you won't have time to do anything else there.

Rhodes you can easily do on your own. Just walk off the ship and you are in the old town.

In santorini, we have done our own thing once and done the volcano/winery tour once. The volcano was interesting. Winery was just so so. The cooking class might be good.

Corfu - Regent runs a shuttle service that stops in front of the fort. From there you just walk straight down to the old town and then take the shuttle back when you are ready. They will tell you when the last one goes back to the ship.

Rhodes - this is a lovely place. I was there with a different cruise line and took a guided tour. Had a fabulous guide. I don't know what it is like to DIY.

Santorini - the main town is Fira but the best place is Oui. Don't miss it. Once you get there you can do it on your own. Regent will probably run a shuttle. Haven't done the cooking class so can't comment but it sounds like fun. I did one in Livorno and loved it.

Sorry, I meant Oia, Santorini.

Strongly agree about Athens. Taking a tour out of Athens is great...... but, if you haven't been there before, you would probably want to see the local sites and I'd rather take a tour than be on our own in Athens (not because it's dangerous -- just dirty and full of graffiti as mentioned above).

One of the best food excursions we have ever done was in Rhodes. I believe it is listed as a cooking demonstration and lunch. There was an amazing amount of wonderful Greek food. The chef and staff were delightful. Last year this was one of Regent's "included" excursions.

Dubrovnik - do on your own. There is an easy scenic shuttle to and from the ship every 1/2 hour.

Corfu - skip (IMO) - sleep in, sun bathe, have a long champagne filled lunch, nap, go to the spa. We had a virtuoso tour with lunch that was nice enough...ended up in the town and couldn't wait to get back to the ship.

I think all of these ports are doable on your own. In some, like Dubrovnik you might want to use the ship's shuttle, but even there the public transport is a good alternative. I mostly use the port descriptions on http://www.whatsinport.com to do the planning. The itinerary you are sailing is perfect! Enjoy

My rule of thumb on taking included tours is that we do them if it is something we cannot confidently or cheaply do on our own.

 

I would try to find a tour in Athens that didn't involve Athens, if that makes sense. Try to find something outside of town.

I understand your reasoning, but I also feel a bit of pressure to take the "included" tours. I know there are mixed feelings about these AI excursions, but I do feel like I want to avail myself of some of them.

What if we have never been to Athens? Would you still get out of town?

Strongly agree about Athens. Taking a tour out of Athens is great...... but, if you haven't been there before, you would probably want to see the local sites and I'd rather take a tour than be on our own in Athens (not because it's dangerous -- just dirty and full of graffiti as mentioned above).

Does anyone know if it is possible to start with a tour and then split off to wander on your own? Or is that frowned upon? I would love to hitch a ride into Athens and take part of the tour but then have the freedom to wander. Can we have it both ways? :rolleyes: Does Regent run shuttles into Athens?

Corfu - skip (IMO) - sleep in, sun bathe, have a long champagne filled lunch, nap, go to the spa. We had a virtuoso tour with lunch that was nice enough...ended up in the town and couldn't wait to get back to the ship.

Really? That bad?

What about Zakynthos? That looks like a day to stay in bed....although it seems that if you want to see anything, you really have to take a tour to get out of the modern city.

Amy50-I'm taking this itinerary on a November sailing of the Voyager, and these are great tips! Thanks for starting the thread. Especially love the whatsinport.com website...thanks, Zijlweg!

I was on an excursion on the Mariner that I wanted to "break away" from- the tour guide was very adamant my DH and I stay with the group and we didn't press it. On our most recent cruise on the Navigator, the tour guide asked for our names (or maybe cabin #s?), took note and said goodbye.

Since you have not seen Athens, I would definitely take a Regent tour rather than a tour out of the city. There are amazing things to see in Athens. However, once you've been there - done that -- you won't need to do it again (IMHO)

Corfu, I thought was the pits and was sorry I do not stay on the ship and sleep in!! Just MHO :)

I agree with doing the Bosporus boat trip if you are going to be in Istanbul for a few days post-cruise.

Admittedly I have not been in Athens since the "troubles", but it wasn't that bad when I was there last. In April the weather should be lovely. If you don't feel like braving the Acropolis, do the Archeology museum, or the Ancient Agora, or just do your research and find some nice neighbourhoods to walk around in. The subway is a walk or short cab ride from the cruise dock.

We had an overnite in Istanbul, we did the Panorama tour which stopped somewhere, it's all a blur now but we spent 4 days after the cruise in Istanbul last April and now would luv to go back! We had a private guide pick us and our luggage up at 9:15 and we had a lovely tour of many wonderful sites. The dropped our luggage off at our hotel while we tour with our guide on public trams ( an experience I won't forget).

On Sat we spent the early afternoon on the top deck of a public ferry ( under an awning it was hot that day), ferry cost up the Bosporus and back to the Goleta Bridge was 8 or 10 Euros. The ferry was full of families ou for a Sat outing, we bought Turkish tea from the vendor selling off his tray and some Turkish cookies. Meeting local people was very fun everyone tried to practice their English on us..... We spent a very pleasant afternoon on the ferry and in the Grand Bazaar where we got lost!!

Istanbul was such a delight and for us unexpectedly so....

I was on an excursion on the Mariner that I wanted to "break away" from- the tour guide was very adamant my DH and I stay with the group and we didn't press it. On our most recent cruise on the Navigator, the tour guide asked for our names (or maybe cabin #s?), took note and said goodbye.

So, am I to understand that maybe we can split and maybe not? And what about at the end of a tour? For example, do we have to ride back to Pireaus after Athens or can we just say toodle-oo?

We have never ever had a problem leaving a tour...just have always let the tour guide know before you leave....they get your name/cabin # this happens often. Now when the tour people get in trouble is if they lose someone!!

We've never had a problem splitting off from a tour. Just be aware of how you are going to get back to the ship.

If you haven't been to Athens before, the acropolis and archeology museums are must dos. Either on the ships tour or your own. I would probably do the ships tour just for convenience. We hired a private guide for Athens, but that was before included tours.

Have to disagree about Corfu. We loved it, but we didn't go to the town. Went on the jeep tour that goes up into the hills. Part of the fun was my son driving this very run down jeep which had gears that didn't quite lock in at times, like on slopes. The two ladies that rode with us and I were dying laughing most of the time. Great fun, and the views were really nice.

Definitely do the Ephesus with an expert tour if you can get it.

Corfu, I thought was the pits and was sorry I do not stay on the ship and sleep in!! Just MHO :)

I have been to Corfu twice and enjoyed it both times.

I have been to Corfu twice and enjoyed it both times.

Well guess its just me and a port intensive itinerary....i needed a Sea Day and Corfu was my least favorite and could have "passed" on it port.

Well guess its just me and a port intensive itinerary....i needed a Sea Day and Corfu was my least favorite and could have "passed" on it port.

I understand and did not intend to put you down about not liking a certain port. We all have our favourites and our "who cares" ports. When you are on the go every day it's nice to just stop and take a break on the ship. I enjoyed Corfu more because of circumstances rather than the port itself. When I was there about five years ago I was taken to a gorgeous cliff top restaurant for lunch. It seemed to hang on the cliff with spectacular views of the sea. That was a wonderful highlight that I will always remember. This year I had two adult daughters with me and saw things with them that I might not have thought of doing on my own. Had circumstances been different in both visits I may not have enjoyed the port at all.

We really liked Corfu but.....we got off the ship (wasn't Regent) and went to the taxi line. Our taxi was quite comfortable and the young man driving was from Tampa, FL with all his relatives from Corfu. His G-Father died and left him a house so instead of just vacationing he spent a year or two. He drove us all over the island (skipped the fort) into the little villages and introduced us to people. Lots of fun! Took us to a great lunch and back to the ship. BTW, we did this on recommendations from dealers in the casino on the ship.

Had I been with LindaVH and Threechicks I just might have enjoyed my visit, instead I was on a Royal Caribbean excursion with 5 buses stuffed with people all going to the same place.....could have had something to do with it! And don't ask I know better than to cruise with one of those big outfits....it was a family thing or I would not have done it. And worse yet was by the time I added up all the parts to that trip I could have sailed on Regent! Oh they succer you in on the low price of the cabin and then all the add on's happen.....well you get the picture!

Threechicks I did not take offense at all but thanks anyway :)

I would do Dubronik on your own. If you don't mind walking a little you can walk from ship to Old Town. The Mariner docks pretty close. You can also do Corfu on your own. The ship docks across from old town. Yes, is touristy but I didn't mind it. We also did a tour of the Empress Sissy's palace in the morning and it was very interesting. So you can sleep in and then tour on your own. I wouldn't miss the Acropolis if you have not been to Athens. Take the ship tour, arrange for private tour, or take a taxi. It is something to see. I love Istanbul and want to go back. You can easily tour on your own. The people are very nice and friendly.

I love Venice and have been there many times. It's a toss up whether to do the ship's tour or on your own. It all depends on what you want to see. I recommend the tour of the secret Doge's Palace.