Shore excursions on the Iona January 2023

[mcase131]

Hello, just wondering if anyone can give me advice on shore excursions for Funchal, Madeira in Portugal, the Tenerife, Grand Canary Island and Lanzarote.  Is it worth booking an excursion with the ship? 

 

Thank you in advance. 

[Cathygh]

If you haven't been to these places before I suggest a cable car and basket ride (sorry I might not have got the name right) in Madeira. Tenerife- Mount Teide and Lanzarote - Fire Mountain. There is a lot more to see on the islands so it depends on your interests. You can do this by ship's tours or with a bit of research you could find a DIY way. 

[Camberley]

Yes definitely those for Madeira. Great fun.
 

We also did an amazing Afternoon Tea in Madeira at Reid’s Hotel on a previous cruise - sublime, though next time we’ll book it directly with the hotel

[sleepingcat]

5 hours ago, mcase131 said:

Tenerife, Grand Canary Island and Lanzarote.  Is it worth booking an excursion with the ship? 

 

have a look at the port reviews elsewhere and the port forums for more advice.  We have been to all these places several times. 

 

everywhere in the canaries, and in Madeira, the ship docks close in to the centre of town, so if you like doing your own exploring there is no need to book anything.

In Tenerife the best excursion is to the top of the mountain, but the risk is its covered in fog or saharan sand and you see nothing. If not, Santa Cruz de Tenerife is a modern sophisticated city with interesting historic areas to wander around. 

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is one of my favourite cruise Ports. the city is the capital of Canaries.  it has a fantastic history and the museum and historic area can be visited easily by taxi or bus.  just walking off the ship and wandering, the nearest beaches are a ten minute stroll. We ve also hired bikes there as its all set up for car free cycling. however we thought the open topped city bus tour was poor value, unlike most other places where it is often the best thing to do. 

 

Lanzarote is less interesting than other Canary Islands in our opinion.  However the one tour worth the effort and cost is to the active volcano area, where you might get your steak grilled over an open volcano vent.  hope you have a great time.

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, sleepingcat said:

Lanzarote is less interesting than other Canary Islands in our opinion.  However the one tour worth the effort and cost is to the active volcano area, where you might get your steak grilled over an open volcano vent.  hope you have a great time.

Lots to do in Lanzarote, apart from the Timanfaya National Park.  However,  if it is your first time on the island,  that would be the tour to go on.

Ask again on your second visit,  and I will bore you silly with places to go. Which is why we will be back there yet again next month, for three weeks !

[mcase131]

Thank you so much!

 

[John Bull]

Funchal.

Take a taxi / bus / tuk-tuk / retro bus or whatever else is available or walk the 2km  to the cablecar station and take the cablecar to Monte.

Turn left out of the Monte cablecar station onto the cobbled road and in five minutes you'll come to the start of the Monte Toboggan Run

At the bottom of the run, share with others to negotiate a taxi back to town - the cathedral and shops & bars on R. do Aljube would be a good place to aim for, and walk back to the ship from there. NB - I recently saw a post which mentioned a bus back to town from near the end of the toboggan run, sorry can't find it now.

https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/travel-guide/madeira/cable-car-to-monte/

 

 

 

Lanzarote. 

Rent a car, the roads are easy & mainly un-crowded.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2870283-lanzarote-canary-islands/#comment-63676936

 

JB 🙂

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I absolutely loved Madeira.  We did a 3 hour taxi tour mostly outside Madeira.  There are several very worthwhile viewpoints out on the island; well known if you google. We wen to Monte to see the pretty church and watch the toboggan basket rides go off - crazy!  (But we didn't go; didn't want to risk an accident while on our cruise.)  We took the gondola back down to town and met the driver. He took my spouse back to the ship and stayed to visit the old town part of Madeira and its painted doors. 

 

On the island of Lanzarote we rented a car from CI Car and drove to Timanfaya National Park.   I loved it.  Great for dramatic scenery.  

 

I haven't been to Tenerife or Gran Canaria, but they're likely beautiful, just like the island of La Palma, which we did visit and loved.  The Iberian cruise is a great one - we loved Gibraltar and Lisbon.

  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 10/27/2022 at 8:35 PM, John Bull said:

Funchal.

Take a taxi / bus / tuk-tuk / retro bus or whatever else is available or walk the 2km  to the cablecar station and take the cablecar to Monte.

Turn left out of the Monte cablecar station onto the cobbled road and in five minutes you'll come to the start of the Monte Toboggan Run

At the bottom of the run, share with others to negotiate a taxi back to town - the cathedral and shops & bars on R. do Aljube would be a good place to aim for, and walk back to the ship from there. NB - I recently saw a post which mentioned a bus back to town from near the end of the toboggan run, sorry can't find it now.

https://www.europeanbestdestinations.com/travel-guide/madeira/cable-car-to-monte/

 

 

 

Lanzarote. 

Rent a car, the roads are easy & mainly un-crowded.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2870283-lanzarote-canary-islands/#comment-63676936

 

JB 🙂

I definitely agree with that - CI Car (very close to ship's berth) gave us a wonderful car, plus a CD to listen to about attractions, history, etc.   Roads were excellent and navigation was easy.