Messina & Dubrovnik

Hi All

In a few weeks we set sail on our 17 night cruise on Aurora around the med. Cant wait!

We have booked all the excursions we think we need/want to. We haven't booked anything for Venice, Messina and Dubrovnik as we hope to just wander around by ourselves in those cities.

With Venice I understand the ship docks very close to the city and between the ship shuttle and a water taxi we'll get into the city easily enough (that is right isn't it?).

But for Messina and Dunrovnik I'm not so sure. Do the p&o shuttle take you in? Should I pick up a taxi in the port? Or am I better off booking a "on your own" excursion via p&o that just drops you off in town?

I know I could post this in the Italy forum but figured folk here would have more experience with the p&o way of doing things.

Many thanks

Hi, can't help re Messina but when we were on Arcadia a couple of years back we caught the ship's shuttle to Dubrovnik, dropped very close to the walls). Have a lovely time.

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I would assume that you will dock in Messina where we did 3 weeks ago (albeit on Celebrity Reflection) and you literally walk off the ship, through the terminal and you're in the town.

This shot taken as we were coming into dock.

Hi

I too am on this cruise and like you are very much looking forward to it.

Been to both ports before here are my recommendations

Messina

An easy walk from ship into town where it's good to wander take time to watch the clock in the square.

Dubrovnik

Ships shuttle takes about twenty minutes from port and drops you by the city walls. My recommendation is to head to the cable car it's the most amazing sight from the top and a great cafe too. Then walk the city walls.

Venice

The ship will try to sell you a water taxi pass but we have caught the people mover into Venice and then just walked The people mover is a bit like a monorail only a short journey about 2 euros each way.

This is a great itinerary booked it last year anymore questions I will try and answer.

The only thing I can add is that on our return trips from Dubrovnik there has always been a bit of a scrum to get back on the shuttle, for some reason queueing seemed to go out the window!

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I'd definitely recommend the trip to Taormina from Messina. Beautiful scenery on the way and a fabulous place to visit - albeit very touristy. But the views are amazing - of Etna with good visibility and of the coast line. There is an amphitheatre there which is well worth a visit too and the architecture is very interesting. When we got back to Messina we walked around but everywhere was closed (not a Sunday - siesta apparently). The main Square with the clock and Cathedral were interesting and worth seeing but otherwise we were extremely glad we'd done the excursion we couldn't even find a cafe. Taormina is spectacular though.

I agree, the cable car is definitely a good idea for Dubrovnik. Get off the shuttle and bear left round the outside of the city walls, uphill but not far to the cable car station. I'd recommend you go early so it's not too busy. They take CC which is handy if you don't want to bother getting Kuna and the Café at the top also accepts CC and there you get the most amazing views looking down on the city - the iconic picture postcard view! Having a coffee from this viewpoint is memorable! Easy to DiY.

And Venice is easy to DiY too. Get the people mover from the port to Piazzale Roma and either walk or get the vaporetto to San Marco. If you walk one way I'd recommend taking the vaporetto the other way but make sure it's the one which goes down the Grand Canal. This gives the views of the mansions lining the Gr Canal - views which are impossible to see other than from the water - and goes under the Rialto Bridge. The water taxi from the port goes down the Guidecca Canal which you have just sailed up as you arrive in Venice. Do watch the sail-in and out though - a must see. But just wander in Venice you'll get lost but all direction signs take you back to St Mark's, the Rialto or Accademia (classic views from this bridge too). I have one of those pop-up maps which I find extremely useful here.

Enjoy your trip we've just done a similar one on Oceana and it was great.

I'd definitely recommend the trip to Taormina from Messina. Beautiful scenery on the way and a fabulous place to visit - albeit very touristy. But the views are amazing - of Etna with good visibility and of the coast line. There is an amphitheatre there which is well worth a visit too and the architecture is very interesting...

Seconded. I don't know how easy it would be to get to Taormina independently, as I took the ship's excursion there. ISTR that the coach journey took about 45 minutes each way.

Hols4

We did Venice on our own last month,got the people mover to Piazzale Roma and got the

No1 vaporetto to Rialto Bridge,you can wander the lanes to St. marks square.

The vaporetto tickets are 7.5 euros for 75 mins make sure you validate the tickets before boarding.

Enjoy

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I agree about Taormina - it's absolutely beautiful. I would encourage you to take a ship's tour there though just because the traffic in Messina has to be seen to be believed. They don't seem to believe in having parking places, they just stop and park, all over the place. We went on a ship's tour and on the way back the time that we took to get through the traffic in Messina meant that we were very late getting back to the port - about 30 minutes late. As we got to the ship we could see the Captain pacing up and down on the Bridge. As we were on a ship's tour he waited but I'm sure if we were travelling independently he would not have done.

Taormina is up high - you get in a lift in the car park where the coach stops and this takes you up into the village itself. We walked through the village (fantastic shops for women) to the remains of the Greco/Roman theatre. I remember going up to the top of the seating area and looking through the arches of the theatre I could see the snow topped peak of Mout Etna in front of me and if I looked to the left I could see the sparkling Mediterranean Sea - a sight I shall never forget. We had some time to wander through the village and have a cup of coffee before we left. It's a good place to buy some Limoncello if you happen to like it. I certainly wouldn't bother with Messina when Taormina is so near. There's lovely scenery as you travel from the port to Taormina too.

In Dubrovnik I would walk the walls early as it gets very busy and very hot. Also you will need Kuna for that. Not sure about cable car. We changed a little money at the place on the dock and used the last of it plus Euros for a snack.

Last year we did an excursion from P&O that took us on the cable car very early and to a lovely fishing village not far away for an hour's stop. It was a lovely way to see the area. We were then dropped off by the town walls and walked the walks. Very easy then to have a snack / drink by the sea / walls (very cheap) and caught the shuttle bus back. We had a superb day. Love the place.

Have also done the Taormina and Mt Etna excursion in the past and loved it. This time we are planning to do the Taormina transfer only and are really looking forward to it as it is such a beautiful town. The amphitheatre is spectacular.

We are doing the same cruise as you but on Ventura in August so we may want to pick your brains when you get back. Have a great time.

Wow fantastic to get so many responses and so much useful info.

Yes, very much looking forward to it - never cruised for that long before. Really looking forward to all the sea days as well.

I think we'd like to come into Venice by water so the vaporetto/water taxi idea seems good.

Will look into the cable car at Dubrovnik but good to know we can just get the shuttle in.

The comments about Taormina are noted - but if we do decide just to wander around Messina is it a nice place or just a "port town" if you know what I mean. I might just fancy a day by a harbour/beach there instead if that's doable.

Thanks again for so many helpful comments - really appreciated.

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Wow fantastic to get so many responses and so much useful info.

 

Yes, very much looking forward to it - never cruised for that long before. Really looking forward to all the sea days as well.

 

I think we'd like to come into Venice by water so the vaporetto/water taxi idea seems good.

 

Will look into the cable car at Dubrovnik but good to know we can just get the shuttle in.

 

The comments about Taormina are noted - but if we do decide just to wander around Messina is it a nice place or just a "port town" if you know what I mean. I might just fancy a day by a harbour/beach there instead if that's doable.

 

Thanks again for so many helpful comments - really appreciated.

 

 

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I think Messina is a nice place. Depends where you go like in any city. We did our own short walking tour to see the sights and great views.

From this you can see how close the ships dock to the city.

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