Advice on British Isles Explorer excursions

[SteelCity Cruiser]

19 hours ago, formernuke said:

What provider did you use for Invergordon tour? Thanks 

We did a similar tour in Invergordon, sans Cawdor Castle (but spent a decent amount of time exploring Uruqhart Castle) through Thistle Tours (selected from the Viator site) and it was wonderful.  Only 8 of us in a mini-van and a terrific guide who modified the schedule for our interests.

[daleybread]

22 hours ago, CDR2001 said:

I’m following this thread as we have BIE in May. I clicked the underlined links abore and found the tour operators. Invergordon was with Avril’s Travels. Thanks to those sharing information! 
 

 

My pleasure. Somebody else had suggested them to me last year.

 

The Beatles childhood homes tour is special. I think only 4 groups of 12 are done each day. 

 

[ericosmith]

Looking at the Shetland Islands the included excursion is Panorama and Ponies.  Does anyone know if you can pet the ponies or just observe from a distance.  Asking for a friend (well actually my wife)

[CDR2001]

I saw on another website that someone said no petting on the included excursion. 

[Jim Avery]

You can get very close but we were told that they bite.😳

[KBs mum]

11 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

You can get very close but we were told that they bite.😳

They are the terriers/sheepdogs of the horse world. They look cute but are a very intelligent working breed

[PRH]

On 2/24/2024 at 12:39 PM, ericosmith said:

Looking at the Shetland Islands the included excursion is Panorama and Ponies.  Does anyone know if you can pet the ponies or just observe from a distance.  Asking for a friend (well actually my wife)

You can get very close to the ponies.  There were two very young ones you could pet last spring.  We took this included tour in the am and an optional one in the afternoon.

[Tas353]

On 2/7/2024 at 5:19 PM, snookie1 said:

Thank you all for your excellent advice.   I am getting a better idea of what we should do in all these wonderful places.  Another question:  We would love to do the Coastal Drive and Glens of Antrim in Belfast, but I am concerned about the rating of "demanding" that it is given.  Has anyone been on this excursion?  What makes it demanding?  It says there are trails but you go at your own pace.  How far did you walk?  I love to walk, but I have a new knee (Dec 11th), and am not sure how it will fare.  Of course I have another 3 months until the cruise, so hopefully I'll be nearly back to normal.  Any advice??😕

I did this on our tour. The drive was spectacular. Sit on right side of bus as you are driving along the water. When you reach the glens you can do as much walking as you want. They serve tea and scones and then you are free to walk around. It was not difficult. You can do as much as you want or as little.  We had a beautiful day and the scenery looking into the valley and the water in the distance was everything I thought Ireland would be. It was my favorite 

[Tas353]

Just now, Tas353 said:

I did this on our tour. The drive was spectacular. Sit on right side of bus as you are driving along the water. When you reach the glens you can do as much walking as you want. They serve tea and scones and then you are free to walk around. It was not difficult. You can do as much as you want or as little.  We had a beautiful day and the scenery looking into the valley and the water in the distance was everything I thought Ireland would be. It was my favorite 

I did the homelands tour last year 4 months after my knee replacement. I was able to manage fine on all the cobblestones. This is easy trails. Like I said -you can tailor it to your ability. 

[Tas353]

[Tas353]

On 2/6/2024 at 3:18 PM, snookie1 said:

We will soon be able to book our excursions for our BIE cruise on May 1st.  I am trying to line up the excursions we would like to book so when the time opens up for us, it will be a quick task.  I've run into a couple of questions that maybe some of you who have done this cruise before can help me with:

Is the Tower of London a worthwhile excursion?  Or can we do the same thing on our own in our 2 pre-cruise days in London?

In the included Canterbury excursion from Dover, do you get to go into the Cathedral?  Maybe on your own afterwards?  Can you walk from there back to the ship?

We are looking at the Walmar Castle and Sandwich excursion from Dover, and the Caernarfon Castle excursion from Holyhead, but we don't want to do a bunch of castles.  Is one of these better than the other?  What would you recommend?

We are interested in the Beauty of County Wicklow excursion from Dublin.  Has anyone taken this one?  Would you recommend it?

DH loves trains and would like to take the Ffestiniog Railway excursion from Holyhead.  Is it worth the 8 hour trip and the $209?

 

This is as far as I've gotten so far; I am sure I will have more questions as I continue.  I think the best source of information about excursions is the people who have been on them, so thank you in advance for any advice you can offer!☺️

 

[deec]

Anyone done the island nature walk from the Shetlands?   How demanding is the hike?

[BlairsvilleCruiseGirl]

19 hours ago, deec said:

Anyone done the island nature walk from the Shetlands?   How demanding is the hike?

Are you talking about the "Walking the Nature Trails of Mousa Island" excursion?  I signed up for that on our May 31 Into the Midnight Sun cruise, so hopefully someone who has been on it will reply!  I did see a YouTube video on it and it didn't look too demanding.

[PRH]

1 hour ago, BlairsvilleCruiseGirl said:

Are you talking about the "Walking the Nature Trails of Mousa Island" excursion?  I signed up for that on our May 31 Into the Midnight Sun cruise, so hopefully someone who has been on it will reply!  I did see a YouTube video on it and it didn't look too demanding.

If this is the one, my nephew did it and said there wasn’t too much to it physically other than climbing the tower.  Of course he is 27.

[Pam]

I am so jealous of all of you traveling to my favorite places!  If you can, book a tour that includes Clava Cairns, then as you pass through the gate see if you also suddenly sense a feeling of total calm.  Also if you tour Culloden, sense the intense grief that still lingers in the air.  I've been to both twice, and felt the different 'spirits' both times.  And I'm not one who senses stuff like that usually.

Edited February 29 by Pam
autocorrect

[boxman52]

Living nearby Conwy is both a nicer castle and town than Caernafon 

[Moonlion]

On 2/27/2024 at 3:36 PM, deec said:

Anyone done the island nature walk from the Shetlands?   How demanding is the hike?

We did the "Walking the Nature Trails of Mousa Island" excursion on our May '23 BIE cruise and didn't find it to be demanding (both of us in our 60s).  If you are of normal mobility, you should be fine.  The most challenging part of hike was not slipping on the mud and avoiding stepping in the sheep "poo." 

[LostInQuilts]

We are in the planning process of our first ever cruise & have decided on the British Isles Explorer cruise. I've been looking at the excursions and we'd really be interested, when in the Orkney Islands, in visiting Skara Brae. Unfortunately, it's not on the list of Viking excursions. Has anyone done a private tour of Skara Brae? Any tour companies that you could recommend? 

[Kountess]

7 minutes ago, LostInQuilts said:

We are in the planning process of our first ever cruise & have decided on the British Isles Explorer cruise. I've been looking at the excursions and we'd really be interested, when in the Orkney Islands, in visiting Skara Brae. Unfortunately, it's not on the list of Viking excursions. Has anyone done a private tour of Skara Brae? Any tour companies that you could recommend? 

Lorna Brown was great, and Skara Brae was one of the places we visited.  Here's my blog post on the day we spent with her.

Rambling Chronicles: Orkney Islands Tour (stramblingchronicles.blogspot.com) 

[Peregrina651]

Viking offers the following optional excursion. We are booked on it in May.

 

 

Orkney’s Stone Age

Duration: 4 hours      

UNESCO

Sightseeing

Moderate *

A REMOTE ISLAND’S NEOLITHIC PAST

Witness untold centuries of human settlement during visits to Orkney’s Neolithic and Viking sites. Take a drive through rolling landscapes, passing prehistoric sites such as the Standing Stones of Stenness, dating to the third millennium BC. Stop at the well-preserved Stone Age settlement of Skara Brae, and explore one of Europe’s most complete Neolithic villages. Older than Stonehenge, it has been called the “Scottish Pompeii” because of its remarkably preserved dwellings. Visit the 17th-century Skaill House, built by Bishop George Graham. All 12 of its lairds have been related during its 400-year history, and the house features memorabilia collected from each generation. Return to your motor coach and continue on this circular route, following the coastline of Scapa Flow.

Edited March 23 by Peregrina651

[LostInQuilts]

39 minutes ago, Peregrina651 said:

Viking offers the following optional excursion. We are booked on it in May.

 

 

Orkney’s Stone Age

Duration: 4 hours      

UNESCO

Sightseeing

Moderate *

A REMOTE ISLAND’S NEOLITHIC PAST

Witness untold centuries of human settlement during visits to Orkney’s Neolithic and Viking sites. Take a drive through rolling landscapes, passing prehistoric sites such as the Standing Stones of Stenness, dating to the third millennium BC. Stop at the well-preserved Stone Age settlement of Skara Brae, and explore one of Europe’s most complete Neolithic villages. Older than Stonehenge, it has been called the “Scottish Pompeii” because of its remarkably preserved dwellings. Visit the 17th-century Skaill House, built by Bishop George Graham. All 12 of its lairds have been related during its 400-year history, and the house features memorabilia collected from each generation. Return to your motor coach and continue on this circular route, following the coastline of Scapa Flow.

Thanks. Didn't see that on the list when I was searching. Glad it's there because we really want to see it.

[let's go cruising]

Our BIE isn't until June 2026. 😞

 

What excursion advice does anyone have for active people who do NOT like bus tours. A bus to get you to a great place is ok, but not seeing everything from a bus as you drive by.

 

Thanks!

[LostInQuilts]

Does anyone have a ballpark estimate of what, on average, the optional excursions cost? I know that they'll be different depending on what the activity is but I'm trying to get a general idea of costs. There are so many excursions to choose from and, as this will be a trip of a lifetime, I want to make sure we see as much as possible. 

 

Has anyone done the optional excursions that are farm visits? We have a small farm so seeing how people in other countries farm is of particular interest. Were they worth the time & expense?

 

One last question. If you stay more than one day in a port, is there one included excursion per day or is it just one included per port?

[SantaFe1]

22 minutes ago, LostInQuilts said:

Does anyone have a ballpark estimate of what, on average, the optional excursions cost? I know that they'll be different depending on what the activity is but I'm trying to get a general idea of costs. There are so many excursions to choose from and, as this will be a trip of a lifetime, I want to make sure we see as much as possible. 

 

Has anyone done the optional excursions that are farm visits? We have a small farm so seeing how people in other countries farm is of particular interest. Were they worth the time & expense?

 

One last question. If you stay more than one day in a port, is there one included excursion per day or is it just one included per port?

We do BIE in May, so I have seen all the prices and booked our excursions already.   There are a handful of optional excursions under $100pp.  I would say most are in the $100-200 pp range.  There are several between $200-300 and a handful over $300.  I know that is general, and maybe not helpful, but if you have questions about the price of specific excursions list them and I will give you the prices.  If you stay more than one day, you only get one included excursion overall, not one per day.  

[LostInQuilts]

7 minutes ago, SantaFe1 said:

We do BIE in May, so I have seen all the prices and booked our excursions already.   There are a handful of optional excursions under $100pp.  I would say most are in the $100-200 pp range.  There are several between $200-300 and a handful over $300.  I know that is general, and maybe not helpful, but if you have questions about the price of specific excursions list them and I will give you the prices.  If you stay more than one day, you only get one included excursion overall, not one per day.  

 Thank you!

 

I'm definitely interested in the excursion in the Orkney Islands that goes to Skara Brae. There's a farm visit in Bergen that looks interesting and another one in Dublin. I'm thinking that we'll want to visit Caerfarnon Castle in Wales. Those are the only ones I've halfway decided on at this point.