"Shared tour in Marseille?"

[tartana]

We are a party of two and are looking for shorter, guided excursions/tours in the ports on our Mediterranean cruise in September. I have been researching hours upon hours and contacted several reputable companies; however, I am having trouble getting prices for just two people that aren't exorbitant (like a price for 6-8 people). My roll call has no activity - there are very few members and no one is talking about excursions at this point. Can anyone give me recommendations for any tours from Marseille (or Livorno in Italy) where I could join a smaller shared tour? TIA :)

[Hlitner]

Your only option, here on CC, is to post on your cruise-specific Roll Call board and ask for others, who might be interested, to contact you. There is never a guarantee that you can put together a small group....but you can give it a try and many here on CC have been successful. Personally, we just do these ports (and just about all European ports) on our own which gives us the complete freedom to go and do as we please....without the extra cost of hiring guides/tour companies.

 

The past few years (we have taken dozens of cruises in Europe) we have noticed fewer folks organizing private excursions for the more common European ports (such as Marseille, Livorno, Civitavecchia, etc). Although we cannot know for sure, we think that more and more folks are simply doing their own thing.....which has been made much easier by the Internet and Cruise Critic (you can get all kinds of detailed advice here). Thirty plus years ago, when DW and moi would post (before there was even Cruise Critic) on AOL or Prodigy about doing our own thing....many folks thought we were crazy. These days we have been on some smaller ship cruises where the cruise line is forced to cancel many of their overpriced excursions...because many are no longer willing to pay the high prices. Consider that a BIRG ticket which includes round trip train from Civitavecchia to Rome..plus all day's use of Rome's public transit system...costs about $13 per person....versus cruise line transfers which can cost around $100 per person. And private excursions can also cost hundreds of dollars per person/day (the price drops if you can put together a group). Multiply the cost of tours by the number of ports.....and a couple can often save thousands of dollars by simply doing their own thing.

 

Hank

[tartana]

Thank you, Hank. I don't do a lot of paid for excursions, and I am "cheap" lol. I plan on just enjoying the "smaller" ports (the ones that are easier to get around) on our own, but I am thinking of trying to get something arranged for a couple as well (like Marseille and Livorno) where we can see 2 or 3 places - not just the actual town. We also don't really want whole day tours - we like to spend a few hours exploring then head back to the ship and relax a couple of hours later in the afternoon. We did the Eastern Med 2 years ago, and I had really good luck getting guides for a couple of the ports without paying an arm and a leg. I find this time with the western Med, I'm having a harder time. And as I mentioned, I've been spending hours and hours researching lol. I did find a good one out of Nice, but I'd rather do it on the Marseille day if possible as I'd like to go to Cassis and maybe Aix en Provence. I figured in Cannes and Villefranche we could find lots to do on our own locally. We're very willing to use public transport if it isn't too difficult, but some of the ports, I find by the time you pay to get to the first stop, pay to connect to the area, and sometimes pay again to get in to where you actually want to be, can add up quickly and I am nervous of not making it back or getting lost lol. I'm from the boonies in Canada, so public transportation is not common for me. I really want to see the Cinque Terre area in Italy as well, but I realize it's quite a ways from Livorno. My daughter wants to see Pisa and many Cinque Terre tours stop for a quick look - which would be all we'd want there anyway. I don't typically want to book a cruise ship tour, but for that one I think it may be safer lol. (and it's not too too expensive) Again, thanks for your helpful advice. - Andrea

[tartana]

We are a party of two and are looking for shorter, guided excursions/tours in the ports on our Mediterranean cruise in September. I have been researching hours upon hours and contacted several reputable companies; however, I am having trouble getting prices for just two people that aren't exorbitant (like a price for 6-8 people). My roll call has no activity - there are very few members and no one is talking about excursions at this point. Can anyone give me recommendations for any tours from Marseille (or Livorno in Italy) where I could join a smaller shared tour? TIA :)

 

I have booked italytours.eu for our Marseille tour. They seem to have reasonable rates by the person. Thanks for your assistance and advice.

[nybumpkin]

I have booked italytours.eu for our Marseille tour. They seem to have reasonable rates by the person. Thanks for your assistance and advice.

We booked through ItalyTours.eu when we toured last year. We did the Best of Provence tour - Avignon, Arles, Les Baux and St. Remy de Provence. Excellent tour.

[tartana]

That's great! Thanks :)

[vapersecutor]

Double check where your ship docks in Marseille. Apparently the regular docking area is several miles from the old part of the city and no where near a train station. Obviously if you have a private tour picking you up that isn't an issue but if you decide to do it on your own it is.

 

If you decide to stay in Marseille then you might be interested in this group. I have no experience with them but may try them on our May visit. They are free which I like :) and the concept is available in a number of cities throughout the world. http://www.marseilleprovencegreeters.com/en/

The walks appear to be more general meet a local type walks than a traditional historic sightseeing walk. They do appreciate donations to the group which I will gladly do if I enjoy it.

 

Mary

[Hlitner]

What you say is true, the Port is located about 3 1/2 - 4 miles from the train station and the center of town. Tour operators know to pick cruise ship folks up at the port. If you are planning to go into town or the train station you can simply grab a taxi from the port...or use the shuttle service to town (old Port) from where its about a 20 min walk to the station.

 

Hank

[Browniehugs]

Hello Andrea,

 

We worked with a local company who offered us many options. Here is their website http://www.absolutelysouthernfrance.com

[tartana]

Hello Andrea,

 

We worked with a local company who offered us many options. Here is their website http://www.absolutelysouthernfrance.com

 

thank you :)