Pursuit going from Venice to Athens ... hidden gems?

[doreeng]

Been to Venice and Athens. Never been to Koper,Dubrovnik,kotor,

igoumenitsa,katakolon and nauplion.

would love advice on fabulous hidden gems, that's a must not miss.

[Grandma Cruising]

Napflio is wonderful. It’s very easy to walk around the little streets and some lovely shops there too. Dubrovnik is marvellous too, tho’ it can be very crowded. Azamara often anchors in the bay and tenders into the old town harbour which is lovely. Walking the walls is a good thing to do there, very easy to do on your own, but do it early or late as it can get very hot there.

[Whitby100]

In Kotor Capt Carl led us on a hike up to St John’s Fortress.  It’s a strenuous hike but well worth it.  Fabulous! 

[uktog]

Have a look on the ports of call board, you may pick up hints from a wider audience than here.  It is a lovely part of the world

[doreeng]

Thanks.. I'm new on this web site.. where do I find ports of call?

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, doreeng said:

Thanks.. I'm new on this web site.. where do I find ports of call?

You can find it by clicking Forums at the top, then scroll down to find Ports of Call. Here’s a link to the Europe Forum within Ports of Call.https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/forum/8-europe/

[Shawnino]

If the hike isn't your thing in Kotor take the drive up the road with 25 amazing hairpin corners.

View at the top is amazing.

We actually did a day tour with a good company there, highlight after highlight, and the drive is the activity closest to town.

[crazyman3]

Not sure of your interests... but if you like ancient history do visit Olympia when you're in Katakolon. 

 

Dubrovnik can be heaving with people! Enjoy a walk around the top of the walls --- but take water!

 

Kotor... head up into the mountains in a 4 x 4 if you can.

 

Koper.... have to think here... ah yes, we enjoyed a wine-tasting! Really enjoyed the grappa too!

 

We can never get enough of Venice. We've been there many, many times. Have you tried catching the vaporetto to the island of Lido? Not too many tourists, some good places to eat and fun to wander. There is a good beach too for those who like such places. We enjoyed the leisurely trip out to the island and back.

Also, there are interesting 'Hidden Venice' walking tours to be had.

Of course, nothing quite beats just getting lost there!

[Ithikan]

For more ancient history and as a daytrip from Nauplion, the lion gate at Mycenae is awe-inspiring.  Further inland, we could have spent all day at the Epidavros site, and in fact, we altered lodging when we did a land trip to the Peloponnese in order to stay at Epidavros port.  If your cruise makes it to Igoumenitsa I shall be jealous.  The Pursuit June 19 sailing just dropped that from our itinerary "due to poor port reviews," and we will have Corfu instead.

 

[doreeng]

Thanks. Yes they dropped it from our cruise too !!!

[nordski]

5 hours ago, Ithikan said:

For more ancient history and as a daytrip from Nauplion, the lion gate at Mycenae is awe-inspiring.  Further inland, we could have spent all day at the Epidavros site, and in fact, we altered lodging when we did a land trip to the Peloponnese in order to stay at Epidavros port.  If your cruise makes it to Igoumenitsa I shall be jealous.  The Pursuit June 19 sailing just dropped that from our itinerary "due to poor port reviews," and we will have Corfu instead.

 

 

Too many years ago we drove a rented VW bug around the Peloponnesus. Fabulous memories. Naupiion was me of them as well as the nearby ancient sites of Mycenae and Acrocorinth.

We would love to see more ports visited in the area.

[TravelBugM]

On our last visit to Venice we did a tour of the Clock Tower (Piazza San Marco).  Very interesting and great views of the Piazza.  We also did the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doges' Palace which was also very interesting.  And for us a highlight of Venice was the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. 

 

In Koper, we took the public bus to Piran - a lovely, well preserved, medieval Venetian port town.  Piran is considered one of the most authentic/most photogenic towns on Adriatic coast.  It's a beautiful setting jutting out into Adriatic. 

 

There is so much to Dubrovnik than the walls.  Don't get me wrong, the walls are awesome in the true sense of the word, but there are so many gorgeous, most often overlooked, details  which are fascinating.  Don't miss Gundulic Square at noon! 

 

We did a private morning tour (Tours by Milo) when in Kotor and visited places and were imparted historic details.  We then wandered Kotor on our own in the afternoon.  We didn't visit, but there's a Cats Museum!

[Literary Lynne]

Thinking about what Ithikan and Nordski say, I would love a cruise with ancient civilisations as a theme and some inspiring lecturers on board. Would love to visit Olympia, Sparta, Mycenae, Ithica, Troy etc. There is a gap in the market for this type of cruise. I can only find one company that does this and the reviews of the ship are terrible.   

Lynne

 

 

[crazyman3]

12 hours ago, TravelBugM said:

On our last visit to Venice we did a tour of the Clock Tower (Piazza San Marco).  Very interesting and great views of the Piazza.  We also did the Secret Itineraries tour of the Doges' Palace which was also very interesting.  And for us a highlight of Venice was the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. 

 

In Koper, we took the public bus to Piran - a lovely, well preserved, medieval Venetian port town.  Piran is considered one of the most authentic/most photogenic towns on Adriatic coast.  It's a beautiful setting jutting out into Adriatic. 

 

There is so much to Dubrovnik than the walls.  Don't get me wrong, the walls are awesome in the true sense of the word, but there are so many gorgeous, most often overlooked, details  which are fascinating.  Don't miss Gundulic Square at noon! 

 

We did a private morning tour (Tours by Milo) when in Kotor and visited places and were imparted historic details.  We then wandered Kotor on our own in the afternoon.  We didn't visit, but there's a Cats Museum!

 

Yes, Piran was good! Loved the wine tasting there but the red was disappointing. Bought a couple of bottles of white... can't recall the grape.

 

The Peggy Guggenheim collection is fab. The first time I went there photography was banned. Of course, it was impossible to police because people used their phones. Now all photography is fine ----but no flash or tripods.

[crazyman3]

4 minutes ago, Literary Lynne said:

Thinking about what Ithikan and Nordski say, I would love a cruise with ancient civilisations as a theme and some inspiring lecturers on board. Would love to visit Olympia, Sparta, Mycenae, Ithica, Troy etc. There is a gap in the market for this type of cruise. I can only find one company that does this and the reviews of the ship are terrible.   

Lynne

 

 

 

Of course, there is the 'Voyages of Antiquity' company, in the UK. Never tried them. Prices are high and the ships rather old. 

[Literary Lynne]

13 minutes ago, crazyman3 said:

 

Of course, there is the 'Voyages of Antiquity' company, in the UK. Never tried them. Prices are high and the ships rather old. 

Yes, that's the one I was referring to.

Lynne

[crazyman3]

29 minutes ago, Literary Lynne said:

Yes, that's the one I was referring to.

Lynne

 

Thought so! I've just looked at their site and... well, I love history but I don't think I could tolerate such a cruise. Cox & Kings or similar for me, I guess!

[Waratah]

On 3/5/2019 at 12:32 AM, crazyman3 said:

Not sure of your interests... but if you like ancient history do visit Olympia when you're in Katakolon. 

 

We will be on that cruise in May.  The roll call is not very active, so will check out ports of call forum for some more information. Unfortunately Azamara has an age limit for the tour to Olympia that we wanted to do. I am just under that limit of 65, but my husband is over. Asked our agent to contact Azamara to get around this, but no luck. We are both fit, healthy and are great walkers. One of the delights of this cruise itinerary is the possibility of visiting the renowned archaeological sites.

 

On 3/5/2019 at 3:36 AM, Ithikan said:

For more ancient history and as a daytrip from Nauplion, the lion gate at Mycenae is awe-inspiring.  Further inland, we could have spent all day at the Epidavros site, and in fact, we altered lodging when we did a land trip to the Peloponnese in order to stay at Epidavros port.  If your cruise makes it to Igoumenitsa I shall be jealous.  The Pursuit June 19 sailing just dropped that from our itinerary "due to poor port reviews," and we will have Corfu instead.

 

Also dropped from May 5 cruise in favour of Corfu.

[hubofhockey]

For Dubrovnik, if you are going in the summer, Lokrum Island is pretty nice, but only do that if you have an overnight there.  If not, tour the old city and around it.  If you can, walk the walls.  For Kotor,  we used Mont Travelers and designed a tour of Old Town of Budva, Kotor, and the Lipa Caves.  It was nice, but if you've been to caves before, you might want to focus on another area.  We've been to Venice a couple of times and Athens and do the standard in both.  Love the Plaka as a lunch choice in Athens.

[MNgardens]

In Dubrovnik we made time for a small museum that is dedicated to photography of armed conflicts. It took at most an hour to go through but in my mind was well worth it, considering the city's history.

 

http://www.warphotoltd.com/visit-us

[Azamarajunkie]

5 hours ago, Waratah said:

We will be on that cruise in May.  The roll call is not very active, so will check out ports of call forum for some more information. Unfortunately Azamara has an age limit for the tour to Olympia that we wanted to do. I am just under that limit of 65, but my husband is over. Asked our agent to contact Azamara to get around this, but no luck. We are both fit, healthy and are great walkers. One of the delights of this cruise itinerary is the possibility of visiting the renowned archaeological sites.

 

Also dropped from May 5 cruise in favour of Corfu.

That’s very surprising, we did that exact same tour with Azamara in 2016 with my brother in law who was 74 at the time.  As far as I’m aware there was no age restriction then and if you’re fit and healthy the only issue you may have is it can be very hot there, just take plenty of water. We had no issues on the tour at all other than the guide we had would insist on stopping at a souvenir shop on the way home for which we received an apology later as at wasn’t a part of the itinerary. 

 

Alternatively, it’s easy to arrange a private tour to Olympia if Azamara insist on the age conditions, I would be surprised if that’s so once you’re on board.

[Mrs Miggins]

5 hours ago, Waratah said:

We will be on that cruise in May.  The roll call is not very active, so will check out ports of call forum for some more information. Unfortunately Azamara has an age limit for the tour to Olympia that we wanted to do. I am just under that limit of 65, but my husband is over. Asked our agent to contact Azamara to get around this, but no luck. We are both fit, healthy and are great walkers. One of the delights of this cruise itinerary is the possibility of visiting the renowned archaeological sites.

 

Also dropped from May 5 cruise in favour of Corfu.

If you do go to Katokolon you can easily visit Olympia as a DIY.  There are busses waiting that you take you there and back for as I recall 10 euros.  We visited the site on a Viking included excursion and I cannot imagine why there is any sort of age limit.  The journey is around 40 minutes.  I am over 65 and my husband does not walk well but we both enjoyed the site immensely.  Also the lovely rose garden near the entrance.

 

[Wickets]

We did chefs shopping tour in market in Kotor with Chef Daniel. Sampled everything in market.   We then had tour of the town with local guide.  Went back to ship for quick lunch and guide met us for van ride to winery for tapas and tasting.  When we returned to ship, Daniel had prepared fish that was still moving when he picked it out in the morning along with other local dishes.  Local wine that the wine steward had chosen was served with each course.   This was better than chefs table.

[Leo_On_Geo]

I used Patti Staikov for the tour of Mycenae in 2017.  She was great.  Found her through Rick Steves and she gave 5 of us a private tour. She arranged for the taxi and we met her at the site, where she works most days. 

 e-mail address is staipatt@yahoo.gr and  mobile phone number 0030 697 77 8 33 15.

[crazyman3]

On 4/2/2019 at 4:05 PM, Mrs Miggins said:

If you do go to Katokolon you can easily visit Olympia as a DIY.  There are busses waiting that you take you there and back for as I recall 10 euros.  We visited the site on a Viking included excursion and I cannot imagine why there is any sort of age limit.  The journey is around 40 minutes.  I am over 65 and my husband does not walk well but we both enjoyed the site immensely.  Also the lovely rose garden near the entrance.

 

 

Also, there is the ticket kiosk that sells guide books.

Once inside, there is plenty of information about each site on a nearby board.

 

If you're really into history, you can purchase a book which shows how the site is now, then add the overlay and you can see how it was many years ago. I couldn't buy mine from the kiosk and so bought one in a shop in the local shopping street.