What to do in these ports

[Vampiress88]

Any help would be great. Especially for kids. 
 

Nordfjordeid -

Hellesylt- 

Molde -

Stavanger-

Hamburg Germany -

Cherbourg France -

Rotterdam Netherlands-

Zeebruge Belgium -

La Harve France -

Madeira -

Tenerife-

Gran Canaria -

Lanzarote-

Cadiz -

Lisbon -

Olden -

Alesund -

Haugesund -

[Britboys]

I haven't been to a number of those or have but am not aware of anything for children (but not saying there isn't anything for kids!).

Zeebrugge - get the shuttle to Blankenberge. If the weather is good, there is a mahoosive beach there with lots of cafes and restaurants. If weather not kind, you can get the train to Bruges (only 15 minutes plus a walk into the centre). The kids might not appreciate the beauty of it but they will love the waffles and chocolates...

Madeira isn't especially child-friendly. The town is nice enough to wander around. You can get the cable car up to Monte and hire a sled-ride back down. Or get the HOHO bus that goes to Camara de Lobos and ideally the add-on that takes you up to the Cabo Girao Skywalk viewpoint.

Lanzarote - Excursion to the Timanfaya National Park.

Cadiz - some nice beaches around the town.

Lisbon - get the famous 28 tram. Old-fashioned trams that rattle around the old town. Go up the Elevador Santa Justa, designed by a student of a certain M Eiffel. Make sure you all have a Pastel de Nata, the tasty custard tarts.

Hope this is of some help.

[gsmt47471015]

1 hour ago, Vampiress88 said:

Any help would be great. Especially for kids. 
 

Nordfjordeid -

Hellesylt- 

Molde -

Stavanger-

Hamburg Germany -

Cherbourg France -

Rotterdam Netherlands-

Zeebruge Belgium -

La Harve France -

Madeira -

Tenerife-

Gran Canaria -

Lanzarote-

Cadiz -

Lisbon -

Olden -

Alesund -

Haugesund -

Wouldn't worry to much about the Norwegian ports as you will probably miss most of them😄

[Thejuggler]

Stavanger.  If weather is good the Anthony Gormley statues trail.  Map is available on line.  If not Oil Museum or Sardine Canning Museum are good for children, our daughter enjoyed them both.

Madeira.  Taxi to the Lido area where you can have time swimming with fishes.  You could also take a dolphin sightseeing trip from the port area.

 

Lisbon.  Train to Cascais, takes about half an hour, for a day on the beach.

 

Alesund,  Troll wall and Troll Road day trip.  Fantastic day out.

 

[BrianI]

In Tenerife there is a new tramline that runs to the old capital La Laguna. It takes around 35 mins and the trams run frequently. You buy your tickets from the machine at any tram stop.

https://gotenerife.net/en/tenerife-tram/

You pick up the tram at Fundacion going to La Trinidad up the hill.

The tram stop is one block from the port gates walking away from the port.

There are some good views as you climb up and it’s noticeably cooler at the terminus.

Brian

[showingdiva]

Cherbourg.

 

La Cite de la Mer.    Right next to the cruise terminal.    

https://www.citedelamer.com/en/

 

 

[galeforce9]

3 hours ago, Vampiress88 said:

Any help would be great. Especially for kids. 
 

Nordfjordeid -

Hellesylt- 

Molde -

Stavanger-

Hamburg Germany -

Cherbourg France -

Rotterdam Netherlands-

Zeebruge Belgium -

La Harve France -

Madeira -

Tenerife-

Gran Canaria -

Lanzarote-

Cadiz -

Lisbon -

Olden -

Alesund -

Haugesund -

Olden - loen cable car, a short bus transfer away. Fantastic fjord views and a cafe

hellesylt - nice walk up the hill from the dock alongside a powerful waterfall gushing all the way into the village

alesund - great walk up aksla hill overlooking the beautiful setting of the town and you can see the ship/nice art nouveau buildings and expensive shops downtown

[Eddie99]

Gran Canaria - Las Canetas beach; huge and lovely.  Easy walk

Walk across the plaza & through  a shady shopping street which opens onto the ‘esplanade’.  If you’re early in the day turn right, to get the morning sun.

Plenty of child friendly food outlets

Last time we were there, they had put a temporary dance floor on the sand & we’re doing dance lessons and displays

[Ardennais]

Hamburg - Miniatur World. I loved that place! 

[Vampiress88]

Cheers peeps

[galeforce9]

16 hours ago, galeforce9 said:

Olden - loen cable car, a short bus transfer away. Fantastic fjord views and a cafe

hellesylt - nice walk up the hill from the dock alongside a powerful waterfall gushing all the way into the village

alesund - great walk up aksla hill overlooking the beautiful setting of the town and you can see the ship/nice art nouveau buildings and expensive shops downtown

Here are a few pics of each from my last cruises there on Aurora 2019/2020

[SarahHben]

1 hour ago, galeforce9 said:

Here are a few pics of each from my last cruises there on Aurora 2019/2020

Lovely photos!

[gsmt47471015]

34 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

Lovely photos!

The loen skylift is very impressive ,especially on a clear day, you may have to queue a while to get on as its very popular 

[Vampiress88]

Those are amazing photos. 
 

After our trip to Gibraltar I have decided I really very much don’t like heights or cable cars so the loen lift that we had planned to do all the way back in 2019 is off the table. 
 

 

[Jazzytelly]

When we had Grandkids with us, we caught the local tram in Zeebrugge . You have to get the free shuttle out of the working port. Turn right out of the port and walk to little paper shop ( I think it is) and buy tram tickets . Wait in middle bit of road and catch the tram to Blankenberge. We got off at the Sea life and went in there. We did intend to go into Blankenberge afterwards as we bought all day tickets but couldn’t be bothered so just caught tram back. You will have to Google which stop to get off on. I am also sure some people didn’t bother to get a tram ticket, intending to get on tram,  and just walked on the tram and as it was busy no one asked for money or queried it. But I wouldn’t do that in case an inspector gets on.  We bought the sea life tickets the day before or even that morning online and it amazingly asked how much we wanted to pay for them , so we stuck an amount it and it gave us 6 tickets. Bargain

 

[kalos]

Lanzarote -  Do you /your kids like a walk ?

 

If you don't mind a hour and half walk ,once the port bus drops you off in Arrecife near

the sea front get a taxi to take you up to Beatrice playa hotel in Matagorda.

Here you can take a steady stroll back and see the planes landing very close up.

Follow the path down the side of the coastal runway and you come to Playa Honda,

where you could stop for refreshments before walking the last bit back to where you

started ,back in Arrecife.

You cannot get lost as from the airport you can see Arrecife itself ,it's a pretty level walk

that's about 7km as I said a hour and half walk . And cheap to do when looked on as a

family outing .

 

 

[kruzseeka]

We also enjoyed a day at the Parque Maritimo Cesar Manrique in Tenerife - walkable from the port .

Edited August 8, 2022 by kruzseeka

[Jazzytelly]

4 hours ago, Jazzytelly said:

When we had Grandkids with us, we caught the local tram in Zeebrugge . You have to get the free shuttle out of the working port. Turn right out of the port and walk to little paper shop ( I think it is) and buy tram tickets . Wait in middle bit of road and catch the tram to Blankenberge. We got off at the Sea life and went in there. We did intend to go into Blankenberge afterwards as we bought all day tickets but couldn’t be bothered so just caught tram back. You will have to Google which stop to get off on. I am also sure some people didn’t bother to get a tram ticket, intending to get on tram,  and just walked on the tram and as it was busy no one asked for money or queried it. But I wouldn’t do that in case an inspector gets on.  We bought the sea life tickets the day before or even that morning online and it amazingly asked how much we wanted to pay for them , so we stuck an amount it and it gave us 6 tickets. Bargain

 

Sorry forgot to say this was with another cruise line where you didn’t get free shuttles only the ones provided if in a working port. I don’t know what the story is with P & O is if you have a saver fare and therefore don’t get shuttles.

[DamianG]

Lanzarote there is usually a shuttle bus which drops you off not far from the promenade in Arrecife. The beach there isn't great but the kids might enjoy exploring the rock pools. In the past we've taken a taxi to Puerto del Carmen which was okay but nothing more (in our opinion anyway) and taken a taxi to Rancho Texas which was very good.

 

In Tenerife the shuttle bus drops off close to Plaza de Espana (Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and from there we have walked along the promenade to Cesar Manrique Parque Maritimo which is a family friendly water park with a nice, friendly atmosphere (near to the Auditorio - opera house). You can also take in the Mercado de Nuestra Senora de Africa (African Market) as part of the walk. On the return walk the kids can have a paddle in Plaza de Espana.

 

In Las Palmas de Gran Canaria we usually walk to the beach and promenade at Playa de las Canteras. The dock is right in the city centre so there are plenty of shopping options and Parque de Santa Catalina (where there are plenty of bars and restaurants) is on the way to and from the ship.

 

In Cadiz we usually catch the bus opposite the port gates to Playa de Caleta which we think is a better beach then the one nearest the port.

 

In Madeira there is a lido not too far from the port which is good and a really good water park which is a longish (expensive) taxi ride away. Both are very fairly priced (or they used to be).

 

Lisbon has a good aquarium Oceanario and a zoo.

 

There are a few photos below:

 

Rancho Texas

 

Cesar Manrique Parque Maritimo (Tenerife)

 

Plaza de Espana, Santa Cruz, Tenerife

 

Lido Funchal

 

Water Park Madeira

Edited August 8, 2022 by DamianG

[davecttr]

There is a good aquarium just outside alesund which in addition to fish has penguins and sealions outside. a local bus gets you there

[P&O SUE]

18 hours ago, Jazzytelly said:

Sorry forgot to say this was with another cruise line where you didn’t get free shuttles only the ones provided if in a working port. I don’t know what the story is with P & O is if you have a saver fare and therefore don’t get shuttles.

If you have saver fare you can still use the shuttle buses on P&O they just scan your cruise card and it’s about £3 or £4.

 

The shuttle bus is good to Blankenburg.  Lovely beach as someone else said also chocolate shops and if weather is good lots of places to eat and drink by the beach. There’s also a pier.

[P&O SUE]

The beach at Blankenburg and viewed from the pier. (Zeebrugge stop)

[DamianG]

There doesn't appear to be many obvious attractions in Molde for the children, last time we were there it was our pre-parenting days so we had a stroll around the traditional homes at Romsdal Museum. My main memory is that 2 pints in the port cost NOK 180 (approx £18 back in 2009)!

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2022 by DamianG

[Solent Richard]

On 8/7/2022 at 11:22 AM, Vampiress88 said:

Any help would be great. Especially for kids. 
 

Nordfjordeid -

Hellesylt- 

Molde -

Stavanger-

Hamburg Germany -

Cherbourg France -

Rotterdam Netherlands-

Zeebruge Belgium -

La Harve France -

Madeira -

Tenerife-

Gran Canaria -

Lanzarote-

Cadiz -

Lisbon -

Olden -

Alesund -

Haugesund -

 

 

Where do I start, well here are a few but you can also use the search engine on my blog to pick out a few others....

Hamburg

 

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2013/07/08/hamburg-in-a-day/

 

Lisbon

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2014/08/20/one-way-to-do-lisbon/

 

Le Havre

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2017/04/17/one-way-to-do-le-havre/

 

From Le Havre we have also done Honfleur, scroll down to the itinerary section, Day 6,  to see how we did that...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2022/01/02/iona-a-pre-christmas-cruise-diary/