Picture review Vigo and surrounding areas

[Ssislandgirl]

Hi y'all,

On our latest cruise on the Celebrity Constellation we stopped in Vigo from 7am til 4pm. The following is a very picture heavy report about our experiences during the visit. Hopefully it will be helpful to fellow cruisers who are planning their day.

Again we had an early arrival in port. The city was just starting to wake up.

 

 

Lots of passengers were planning to visit Santiago de Compostella with it's famous cathedral. We decided to explore the area around Vigo and the city itself, since this was our first visit to Galicia. I had read many negative comments and reviews about this area but honestly have to say that they are inaccurate. We truly enjoyed our visit.

 

Right by the exit of the port we found a sign advertising taxi tours. I had mapped out a walking tour already, but we decided to combine a trip to Bayona with it. It was a little difficult to find an English speaking cab driver, but we finally found a driver with whom we could communicate very easily.

 

 

On our way out of town we stopped for a few minutes at Samil Beach which is the largest beach in the city.

 

Despite of the early morning hours there were quite a few people out and about already.

[Ssislandgirl]

The Cies Islands are protecting the beaches. Two of the three islands can be visited by boat, but unfortunately our timing wasn't right.

 

We continued on through several small fishing villages

 

 

And soon reached Bayona, a medival town and fishing port.

We visited the 16th century fortress called Monte Real, which also served as the governor's residence. It has now been converted into a hotel.

 

 

View of Bayona from the hotel

[Ssislandgirl]

View of the fortress from our next stop, the Virgen de la Roca.

 

The 45 foot tall statue is built right into the rocks and you can use an internal staircase to reach a viewing platform for great vistas.

 

Next to the monument is a large recreational park area with benches and tables. The crosses are stops of a pilgrimage dedicated to the virgin

 

The terrain is fairly steep, but the view is amazing.

 

We briefly stopped at the Pinta replica in Bayona and continued our tour back to Vigo.

 

We stopped at the Municipal Museum with it's beautiful gardens and excellent viewpoints

[Ssislandgirl]

 

 

 

Our last stop was Parque de Castro with it's Anchor Memorial

 

We were right above our docking area

 

The park features several old towers

[Ssislandgirl]

And several pretty fountains

 

 

On our way back to the pier our driver stopped at this monument appropriately named "Los Caballos"

 

Vigo is the home of several different and interesting sculptures. This one is very close to the pier.

 

The Merman

 

And this gentleman walking towards the ship. Notice the metal silhouettes in the background watching him.

[Ssislandgirl]

Our nice driver dropped us off again at the port after 4 hours of sightseeing. We walked around the pedestrian area for a while which was filled with restaurants and souvenir shops. Fresh oysters seemed to be very popular.

 

One last view from the ship

 

The Rande suspension bridge

 

Impressions from our sail away....

 

..and a beautiful sunset after a great day

 

[MADflyer]

Thank you for posting this wonderful pictorial review.

 

I was also impressed with Vigo on my recent visit on the westbound transatlantic onboard the Oasis of the Seas in October, 2014.

 

I was amazed at how well they handled this mega ship and they really won a new fan. It was amazing to see the festive atmosphere in the city surrounding our visit with thousands showing up for our sail away with the port having planned activities all along the pier.

 

While the bagpipes were not really to my taste it was interesting to see the 'Celtic' connection of the region, which I did know about, but enjoyed seeing demonstrated so well.

 

I had not been in Vigo since I arrived there in 1989 on the much smaller Royal Viking Sun, now the HAL Prinsendam. I was not at all equally impressed with the region as I was on this occasion.

[gillsjottings]

Thank you for your lovely review. We are hoping to do a cruise with a stop in Vigo next year and if it comes about we will definitely use your review to help plan our stop :)

[whatnot]

Enjoyed your great photos. They brought back memories of our visit to Vigo and Bayona in September on Sea Dream Yacht Club. I totally agree with you, both are well worth a visit. We did a wine and tapas tasting at the lovely hotel you mentioned, that had previously been a fortress. It was also beautiful on the inside. Would have liked to go to Santiago but the bus ride was too long. Glad we stayed around Vigo.

[happy_travellers]

We are going to Vigo May 2 from 10-4 pm. Your review has given me a lot of food for thought.

Thanks so much for sharing. When were the photos taken?

 

Karen

[Sophistikatie]

Is it possible and worthwhile to do a day trip to the Cies Islands when docked in Vigo?

[ConnieInNewJersey]

Thank you so much for your wonderful photo review!!! :)

[Ssislandgirl]

We are going to Vigo May 2 from 10-4 pm. Your review has given me a lot of food for thought.

Thanks so much for sharing. When were the photos taken?

 

Karen

 

Hi Karen,

Thanks for your interest in this thread. I took the photos in September of 2014. Enjoy your upcoming cruise

Rgeards

Petra

[Ssislandgirl]

Is it possible and worthwhile to do a day trip to the Cies Islands when docked in Vigo?

 

Hi Sophistikatie,

Yes, it is possible to do day trips by boat to the Cies Islands. Only 2200 people are allowed to visit per day and it is recommended you make reservations ahead of time. I don't remember the exact departure and return times, but I remember that it did not work for us since we had to be back on board by 3:30pm.

Only you can judge if it would be worthwhile. If you are into nature and hiking, I am sure you would enjoy it.;).

You can get info at http://www.turismodevigo.org

 

Hope this helps

Regards

Petra

[Sophistikatie]

Great thank you! I must look into times etc. Looks like we will be in Vigo from 9am to 5.30 so should be plenty of time and may leave us with an hour or two back in Vigo after. The beaches on the islands look amazing :)

[boca7]

My thanks also, we will be in Vigo in Sept. & as Spain Day Tours has ignored our emails for a group tour, the private Taxi`s look like a better deal.

[Linda-E]

Thanks for the great review! I'm looking forward to a similar tour.

 

I contacted Spain Day Tours in early July about a Vigo tour. They said they would confirm us once they had the minimum number of people for a group so I said I'd fill the group from our roll call. Although I sent them all the names and email addresses, it took them 11 days to let us know they couldn't accommodate us. I have booked and participated in private tours all over the world, as well as booking them for my clients, and this is by far the worst company I've ever encountered.

 

I'm happy that we can do a taxi tour. Can you please give me an idea of the cost so we can make sure to have enough Euros.

[Ssislandgirl]

Thanks for the great review! I'm looking forward to a similar tour.

 

I contacted Spain Day Tours in early July about a Vigo tour. They said they would confirm us once they had the minimum number of people for a group so I said I'd fill the group from our roll call. Although I sent them all the names and email addresses, it took them 11 days to let us know they couldn't accommodate us. I have booked and participated in private tours all over the world, as well as booking them for my clients, and this is by far the worst company I've ever encountered.

 

I'm happy that we can do a taxi tour. Can you please give me an idea of the cost so we can make sure to have enough Euros.

 

Hi Linda,

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the tour company.

We took the taxi tour in Sept. 2014 and the prices were as shown in the following photo

 

 

It was not a very busy day in town and we negotiated a tour incl. Bayona and Vigo lasting 4 hrs for 25 Euros in cash per person.

Just be aware that not very many of the cab drivers speak English fluently and the taxi drivers are not tour guides offering you a wealth of info. It took us a little while to find a driver we could communicate with. So read up on your destinations ahead of time.

Regards

Petra

[boca7]

Hi Linda,

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the tour company.

We took the taxi tour in Sept. 2014 and the prices were as shown in the following photo

 

 

It was not a very busy day in town and we negotiated a tour incl. Bayona and Vigo lasting 4 hrs for 25 Euros in cash per person.

Just be aware that not very many of the cab drivers speak English fluently and the taxi drivers are not tour guides offering you a wealth of info. It took us a little while to find a driver we could communicate with. So read up on your destinations ahead of time.

Regards

Petra

Were the cabs large enough to sit 4 comfortably or did 3 have to sit in the back. Thanks in advance for your advise, if the cabs are small I guess we`ll have to go alone & pay for 4.

[Ssislandgirl]

Were the cabs large enough to sit 4 comfortably or did 3 have to sit in the back. Thanks in advance for your advise, if the cabs are small I guess we`ll have to go alone & pay for 4.

 

Hello again,

The cabs are just regular cabs. 3 people will have to sit in the back.

Hope this helps

Petra

[boca7]

Hello again,

The cabs are just regular cabs. 3 people will have to sit in the back.

Hope this helps

Petra

 

Sure does, if we share will need thin people or most likely by ourselves. Thanks again

[Linda-E]

 

It was not a very busy day in town and we negotiated a tour incl. Bayona and Vigo lasting 4 hrs for 25 Euros in cash per person.

Just be aware that not very many of the cab drivers speak English fluently and the taxi drivers are not tour guides offering you a wealth of info. It took us a little while to find a driver we could communicate with. So read up on your destinations ahead of time.

Regards

Petra

 

Thank you Petra. I found an well-reviewed English speaking guide who is going to do a tour for 15 of us to Vigo and Baiona for 40 Euros per person. i really prefer a tour guide with lots of info to share and definitely fluent in English. I'll post for future cruisers when we return.

[js4rq]

What a gorgeous photo review! Thanks for posting.

[MacMaghnusa]

Nice pics. As a point of interest, Baiona/Bayona was the first place in Europe, and consequently the world, to learn of the discovery of the "New World" when Alonso Pinzón's caravelle La Pinta reached Baiona on March 15th 1493. This momentous event is commemorated every year in Spring with a mediaeval knees-up that attracts folk from all over Galicia. The noblemen of Baiona were the first in Europe to see strange foodstuffs like maize and exotic tropical fruit like guayaba. Pinzón also paraded around a couple of hapless Native Americans who were then taken to be exhibited at the court of Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand & Isabella, sponsors of the voyage. Alonso Pinzón, who was sick on arrival, returned home to Palos de la Frontera where he died just a few days later. He is buried in the church of the Monastery of La Rábida. What a tale!

[keltic]

The area is pretty although the city itself is interested. If you have enjoyed Vigo, image Santiago. My city. :-)

 

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