Mediterranean and Aegean shore excursion queries

Hi all, after researching our upcoming port visits I have some queries I need assistance with.

We are 55 yo. Love culture, nature, scenery, easy pace, walking, not so much into history.

July cruise to following port queries

1. Messina... how easy to DIY. What options of things to do. How close is it to town from port. Finding very little info

2. Athens... How easy is it to get to city from port and do HOHO bus tour? A good way to go or better to do ship tour and go out further

3. Santorini...how easy to DIY to Oia. Enough to do on our own without tour?

4.salerno...limited info. What are the things to do here DIY?

Thanks in advance :)

Athens - very easy to do it yourself, though I don't know about the HOHO bus. We usually just walk once we get to the historical areas. It is easy to do, though there are some hills that may not be easy, but even on a tour you have those same hills. I suggest buy Rick Steves book and taking it with you.

In Santorini it is easy to get to Oia on your own, either by bus or cab, or even easier by ferry before you go to the top of the hill. Unless you want to go to a lot of other areas, there is no need for a tour.

I also suggest that you check the port of call boards for more information.

The book mentioned above is Rick Steves' Mediterranean Cruise Ports. Will tell you everything you need to DIY in Athens and Santorini. He doesn't cover Sicily, and recommends Lonely Planet. EM

While you certainly CAN do Athens on your own, I highly recommend a tour for your first visit. You can spend (waste) a lot of your valuable and limited time just figuring out how to get from point A to point B, and once you're there how to buy tickets, which line to stand in, etc etc. Athens is a HUGE city and the ships dock quite a bit distant. We did a private full day tour that toured Athens and the Poseidon Temple (miles away). It was a fantastic way to see the city for a first timer. Our second time we did on our own, having gained familiarity from our previous tour. Good luck!

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In Santorini take the ferry around to Oia. The ticket will cover the ferry ride, shuttle bus up the hill, and a bus back to Fira. Get off the ship as early as you can, and plan head back to Fira very early in the afternoon as the queues for the cable car down can be long. We caught a 2pm bus from Oia to Fira and ended up waiting 1.25 hours to get on the cable car. There were two ships in port that day.

We docked about two blocks from the main square in Messina so an easy walk. We did a morning excursion to Taormina, a gorgeous hillside town about an hour from Messina. Our ship excursion was a bit rushed and I would have like more time in Taormina so it might be something you'd like to investigate doing a private tour to. Messina itself was a bit meh but pretty for sailaway!

Athens - the ho-ho will get you from the port at Piraeus to Athens on one route, then a city tour on the other route.

But there are cheaper / better ways to get to Athens such as the X80 bus or shared taxi, and the ho-ho city tour is pretty limited.

However you choose to get to Athens, put the Acropolis first - crowds build later, and it's hot & unshaded, sometimes it's closed on very hot afternoons for health reasons.

Santorini - all ships moor in the channel & passengers go ashore on tenders. As per the Oz/Kiwi's post, there's a ferry to Oia from the same jetty as the tenders, and this avoids any lines to go up the cliff to Fira from the jetty. Ferry includes a bus up to Oia from the jetty at Oia but I think the information about it including a bus from Oia back to Fira is out-of-date.

All passengers - including those on ship's tours - have to return to the tender jetty down the cliff from Fira (there's no ferry back from Oia).There are only two ways to do it - the cablecar or walk down the zigzag path. There can be huge queues for the cablecar. It sounds like the zigzag path would be no problem for you, so get to the top cablecar station at least 40 minutes before "last tender time" - if the cablecar line isn't long that's an option or if, as is likely, there is a long line the zig-zag path starts near that cablecar station & you can walk down to the tender jetty in about 25 minutes.

Salerno - haven't cruised into Salerno, but there are ferries & buses from Salerno along the very scenic Amalfi coast to Amalfi & Positano - even all the way to Capri though I suspect that takes too long for a one-day port-of-call visit in Salerno. Consider bus one way & ferry the other way to get both perspectives of the coast.

Or it's tolerably easy to get to Pompeii.

JB :)

There is a third way down to the tender port and that is the donkeys. They are not necessarily comfortable. They go the same path as the walkers and leave little "hellos" for those who come behind them.

While you certainly CAN do Athens on your own, I highly recommend a tour for your first visit. You can spend (waste) a lot of your valuable and limited time just figuring out how to get from point A to point B, and once you're there how to buy tickets, which line to stand in, etc etc. Athens is a HUGE city and the ships dock quite a bit distant. We did a private full day tour that toured Athens and the Poseidon Temple (miles away). It was a fantastic way to see the city for a first timer. Our second time we did on our own, having gained familiarity from our previous tour. Good luck!

 

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I disagree that it is challenging to do Athens on your own -- it is actually one of the easier cities. Piraeus is only 20 minutes from Athens (without too much traffic), there are good, fast and cheap options for getting from the port to the historic center -- express bus X80, HOHO bus that leaves right from the port, and metro line.

While Athens is a huge city, the area where you will be visiting -- the historic center -- is very small. All the sites are concentrated here. Many of the streets are pedestrian-only and most are well signed.

Wear good walking shoes for the Acropolis. The top is very rocky and uneven, can even be slippery. EM

Wear good walking shoes for the Acropolis. The top is very rocky and uneven, can even be slippery. EM

Can't stress this enough. Very difficult walking the Acropolis if you don't have good shoes. I also recommend a trip to Taormina for the stop in Messina. Not really much to see in Messina but Taormina is gorgeous. Most cruise lines have an "on your own" excursion which provides transport to/from the town and gives you several hours to wander independently.

July will be very hot in Athens. If saving money is not a priority, consider using an air conditioned taxi to whisk you around. The most important advice I can give you, whether taxi or public transportation, is to be one of the first off the ship and get to the Acropolis before it opens. Have your ticket in hand and be one of the first visitors. We used a taxi and Rick Steves FREE podcast tour. Perfect for us.

I disagree that it is challenging to do Athens on your own -- it is actually one of the easier cities. Piraeus is only 20 minutes from Athens (without too much traffic), there are good, fast and cheap options for getting from the port to the historic center -- express bus X80, HOHO bus that leaves right from the port, and metro line.

 

While Athens is a huge city, the area where you will be visiting -- the historic center -- is very small. All the sites are concentrated here. Many of the streets are pedestrian-only and most are well signed.

I agree with you 100%. There is no need for a tour in Athens. Just do your research ahead of time, and you can cover most of the historical sites in a day (there are a number of museums that can add a lot of time, but you can still see the "big" stuff without visiting them). Allow a little time for the New Acropolis Museum, we like to stop there after teh Acropolis to cool off a bit.

Santorini - all ships moor in the channel & passengers go ashore on tenders. As per the Oz/Kiwi's post, there's a ferry to Oia from the same jetty as the tenders, and this avoids any lines to go up the cliff to Fira from the jetty. Ferry includes a bus up to Oia from the jetty at Oia but I think the information about it including a bus from Oia back to Fira is out-of-date.

 

:)

That was the deal in September last year. It may depend which company you book the ferry through, there were two, I think. We went to the first one we saw.

Anyway there are plenty of public buses running from Oia to Fira apart from the ferry deal ones.

Be wary of the public buses if you travel during high season. They are overcrowded, uncomfortable, and quite frankly undesirable. But they will get you there. Just be prepared for heat, rude passengers, and a lot of pushing.

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For Messina, besides the Ports of Call section here, post on the Sicily forum on Trip Advisor: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowForum-g187886-i343-Sicily.html

However, most people want to go to Taormina which is a good distance away so a ship's tour may be best.

In Messina we did take a private tour ,those who stayed in town were sorry they did.