Ravena and Bari Italy on you own?

[SeaFlorida]

Our May 30th cruise on the silhouette will be visiting Ravena and Bari Italy. Is it best to take a tour or can they be done on your own?

[msk1]

Our May 30th cruise on the silhouette will be visiting Ravena and Bari Italy. Is it best to take a tour or can they be done on your own?

 

We did Ravenna with Rick Steves' walking tour. It was fun and easy. We took the shuttle from the ship to town and then went on our own. Be sure to visit the upstairs mosaic-making shop--great souvenirs also!

 

msk1

[SeaFlorida]

We did Ravenna with Rick Steves' walking tour. It was fun and easy. We took the shuttle from the ship to town and then went on our own. Be sure to visit the upstairs mosaic-making shop--great souvenirs also!

 

msk1

Thanks so much for the info. We enjoy doing some of the ports on our own.

[PCWalton1]

We are going to try to do Bari on our own in May. A group of us are renting a van at the airport and going to Alberobello and Polignano a Mare. Wish us luck! :)

 

Bill

[robinlynn]

Our May 30th cruise on the silhouette will be visiting Ravena and Bari Italy. Is it best to take a tour or can they be done on your own?

 

Hi from a fellow Floridian on the Silhouette sailing! We chose the ships excursion, when I saw they offered a half day excursion at 12:00 . Since it is our first full day at sea, I thought it would be nice to sleep in a bit, have a leisurely breakfast in Blu, and then go into Ravenna. I wish more of the tours started a little later like this one.

I wasn't sure how far a taxi ride it would be from the port to the various famous churches, but going round trip, plus the admission to the beautiful churches probably isn't that much less than this reasonable priced excursion, since you are paying with dollars vs. the taxis and admisisions in Euro.

 

Going with the excursion makes it a no brainer as far as finding the right churches etc. and I am all for that. Knowing me, I will probably still be a bit jet-lagged this early in the cruise and want to RELAX!

 

I am also going on the ship's excurion to the Aerobello in Bari, but am not sure if this one will be worth the money. Still may change my mind on this one!

 

Getting realy excited about the cruise! Still 98 days to go (but whose counting?)

 

Robin

[SeaFlorida]

Hi from a fellow Floridian on the Silhouette sailing! We chose the ships excursion, when I saw they offered a half day excursion at 12:00 . Since it is our first full day at sea, I thought it would be nice to sleep in a bit, have a leisurely breakfast in Blu, and then go into Ravenna. I wish more of the tours started a little later like this one.

I wasn't sure how far a taxi ride it would be from the port to the various famous churches, but going round trip, plus the admission to the beautiful churches probably isn't that much less than this reasonable priced excursion, since you are paying with dollars vs. the taxis and admisisions in Euro.

 

Going with the excursion makes it a no brainer as far as finding the right churches etc. and I am all for that. Knowing me, I will probably still be a bit jet-lagged this early in the cruise and want to RELAX!

 

I am also going on the ship's excurion to the Aerobello in Bari, but am not sure if this one will be worth the money. Still may change my mind on this one!

 

Getting realy excited about the cruise! Still 98 days to go (but whose counting?)

 

Robin

 

Are you doing Panoramic Ravena? It does sound interesting. Noon would be a good time. I also have the Rick Steves' Italy 2012. Haven't had a chance to read it yet.

 

I can't believe how close the cruise is now. I booked this last March .

[robinlynn]

Are you doing Panoramic Ravena? It does sound interesting. Noon would be a good time. I also have the Rick Steves' Italy 2012. Haven't had a chance to read it yet.

 

I can't believe how close the cruise is now. I booked this last March .

 

Yes thats the one we are taking . It included all of the most highly recommended churches, including one just outside of the town in Classe, which according to two of my guide books is one not to miss.. It also gives you some free time to admire the sights on your own, which I like.

And the later start that day sounded great to me!

 

Yes, it is finally getting close! I can't wait!

Robin:)

[stipmom]

I am on the sailing right before yours. The Panorama tour does not include admissions.

[mydreamvacation]

you might want to consider Matera from Bari, that is what I am leaning towards- haven't figured out how yet but it looks very nice there.

[robinlynn]

I am on the sailing right before yours. The Panorama tour does not include admissions.

 

I believe a combination ticket that includes all of the featured churches is E8.50

 

Robin

[robinlynn]

you might want to consider Matera from Bari, that is what I am leaning towards- haven't figured out how yet but it looks very nice there.

 

Going to look into it now.....although I know the Aerobello trulli towns are supposed to be really cool and unique, I don't know if its worth a whole day's visit, with a lot of bus driving. It seems after seeing the first group of those types of homes,they might all look the same.

 

Has anyone been there? And if so, is it worth it? i know it is considered a World Heritage site.

 

Thanks!

 

Robin

[mydreamvacation]

Going to look into it now.....although I know the Aerobello trulli towns are supposed to be really cool and unique, I don't know if its worth a whole day's visit, with a lot of bus driving. It seems after seeing the first group of those types of homes,they might all look the same.

 

Has anyone been there? And if so, is it worth it? i know it is considered a World Heritage site.

 

Thanks!

 

Robin

 

definately interested in hearinf rom someone who has been there before. I like the uniqueness of it. After so many summers spent in Europe I think I am "churched" out lol.

[mydreamvacation]

I spoke with Stefano who owns Romecabs and Stefano Rome Tours

(www.romecabs.com and www.stefanorometours.com) today as we always use him each year when we are in Italy. I asked him about his thoughts on Matera and he said that he was there last summer and it was amazing. Now this is a man who's opinion I highly value so we are definately planning on going. Just have to figure out how to get there as his drivers don't go that far. He said he would check into my options and get back to me.

[hylasgirl]

Anyone rent bikes in Ravenna?

[lalique]

Going to look into it now.....although I know the Aerobello trulli towns are supposed to be really cool and unique, I don't know if its worth a whole day's visit, with a lot of bus driving. It seems after seeing the first group of those types of homes,they might all look the same.

 

Has anyone been there? And if so, is it worth it? i know it is considered a World Heritage site.

 

Thanks!

 

Robin

When our ship docked in Bari we did go to Alberobello to see the Trulli homes and they were amazing. We even got to go inside a couple of them. They do have one model one you can go in and we did, but we also saw a couple coming out of another one which they had rented for the week and they let us come in and see that one too. There was still time to explore Bari or somewhere else nearby. We did not go to Matera, but loved Alberobello.

[dln929]

We were in both Ravenna and Bari last fall. You'll need transportation from the dock into Ravenna as it's much too far away from the center of town to walk to. In Bari, however, you can just walk off the ship. There are local buses only paces away and it's very easy to get on one that will bring you to the train station if you'd like.

 

In Ravenna, we bought the combination ticket--9 euros if I recall--and visited the churches by ourselves. We had a guidebook that we referred to and it was easy enough to manage sightseeing without booking any shore excursion. The churches are spectacular and Ravenna is a nice little town to walk around. We had a lovely day there.

 

In Bari, we got on the bus to the station and took the train to Polignano a Mare. There's an extensive thread on it that is loaded with info. Polignano a Mare was so scenic! We had a great day there. It had the advantage of being very close too. I had looked into Matera but it was very difficult to reach without booking an excursion. We'd thought about booking the tour to Arobello but in the end the cliffs of Polignano a Mare won out. Luckily, though, there was a trulli house on the way so we saw it, abeit briefly, from the train. ;) MY BIL and SIL were on the cruise with us and they opted for a day wandering around Bari. They enjoyed it and said there was enough to see to keep them occupied for the day.

[Redtravel]

Let me know how the excursions were. Also, those people who went out on their own. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated. My Silhouette cruise is in October.

[celebritydave]

Are you doing Panoramic Ravena? It does sound interesting. Noon would be a good time. I also have the Rick Steves' Italy 2012. Haven't had a chance to read it yet.

 

I can't believe how close the cruise is now. I booked this last March .

 

Ravenna is famous for it's mosaics. The Rick Steve's book gives a great description of the mosaics and directions to them. You can easily walk to all of them and you can buy a combination ticket that will get you into all of them. We really enjoyed the mosaics. Some of the best I have ever seen.

 

Dave

[celebritydave]

When our ship docked in Bari we did go to Alberobello to see the Trulli homes and they were amazing. We even got to go inside a couple of them. They do have one model one you can go in and we did, but we also saw a couple coming out of another one which they had rented for the week and they let us come in and see that one too. There was still time to explore Bari or somewhere else nearby. We did not go to Matera, but loved Alberobello.

 

I agree - the Truli houses are not to be missed.

 

Dave

[PCWalton1]

We were in both Ravenna and Bari last fall. You'll need transportation from the dock into Ravenna as it's much too far away from the center of town to walk to. In Bari, however, you can just walk off the ship. There are local buses only paces away and it's very easy to get on one that will bring you to the train station if you'd like.

 

In Ravenna, we bought the combination ticket--9 euros if I recall--and visited the churches by ourselves. We had a guidebook that we referred to and it was easy enough to manage sightseeing without booking any shore excursion. The churches are spectacular and Ravenna is a nice little town to walk around. We had a lovely day there.

 

In Bari, we got on the bus to the station and took the train to Polignano a Mare. There's an extensive thread on it that is loaded with info. Polignano a Mare was so scenic! We had a great day there. It had the advantage of being very close too. I had looked into Matera but it was very difficult to reach without booking an excursion. We'd thought about booking the tour to Arobello but in the end the cliffs of Polignano a Mare won out. Luckily, though, there was a trulli house on the way so we saw it, abeit briefly, from the train. ;) MY BIL and SIL were on the cruise with us and they opted for a day wandering around Bari. They enjoyed it and said there was enough to see to keep them occupied for the day.

 

Thanks for the information on Polignano. We originally were renting a van to drive ourselves around but had a moment of sanity and decided to do a 1/2 day tour instead. Polignano is what we opted for, and sound like we picked right. thanks :)

Bill

[Marcus305]

We were in both Ravenna and Bari last fall. You'll need transportation from the dock into Ravenna as it's much too far away from the center of town to walk to. In Bari, however, you can just walk off the ship. There are local buses only paces away and it's very easy to get on one that will bring you to the train station if you'd like.

 

In Ravenna, we bought the combination ticket--9 euros if I recall--and visited the churches by ourselves. We had a guidebook that we referred to and it was easy enough to manage sightseeing without booking any shore excursion. The churches are spectacular and Ravenna is a nice little town to walk around. We had a lovely day there.

 

In Bari, we got on the bus to the station and took the train to Polignano a Mare. There's an extensive thread on it that is loaded with info. Polignano a Mare was so scenic! We had a great day there. It had the advantage of being very close too. I had looked into Matera but it was very difficult to reach without booking an excursion. We'd thought about booking the tour to Arobello but in the end the cliffs of Polignano a Mare won out. Luckily, though, there was a trulli house on the way so we saw it, abeit briefly, from the train. ;) MY BIL and SIL were on the cruise with us and they opted for a day wandering around Bari. They enjoyed it and said there was enough to see to keep them occupied for the day.

 

How did you know which bus to take to the train station in Bari? I did not see any information about it in the thread you are referring to on Polignano a Mare. Did you take a bus back to the cruise port after you returned to Bari? If so, how did you know which bus to take and where to get off? Thanks!!