Excursion or DIY???

[dinoman]

Hi, everyone,

 

I am expecting my first cruise with my parents in May 2007 on Celebrity Galaxy to the Med, stopping at Piraeus, Kusadasi, Santorini & Mykonos. I've read the various comments on the forum and decided to tour around Santorini & Mykonos on our own, but not yet decided for Piraeus & Kusadasi. Pls advise which place is more easier to venture on our own and which is better to join an excursion. Tks!

[Bruin Steve]

Hi, everyone,

 

I am expecting my first cruise with my parents in May 2007 on Celebrity Galaxy to the Med, stopping at Piraeus, Kusadasi, Santorini & Mykonos. I've read the various comments on the forum and decided to tour around Santorini & Mykonos on our own, but not yet decided for Piraeus & Kusadasi. Pls advise which place is more easier to venture on our own and which is better to join an excursion. Tks!

 

For Kusadasi, my recommendation is to arrange a private tour...these can be found for cheaper than the ship's offerings...We used Ekol Travel in Kusadasi and got a full day private guided tour to Miletus, Didyma and Ephesus, including lunch, for only $75 per person...$150 for the two of us...Those three sites are all a pretty good drive from the pier in Kusadasi, so I would not recommend trying to do them on your own...Ephesus is the premier site most people visit, but those other two are interesting as well...for what we paid, I ciould not see doing it any other way...We had a great guide as well...

 

I've visited Athens three times now...the first visit, we attempted it "on our own", the second, we did a ship's excursion through Celebrity to the Acropolis and Cape Sounion...and this last time, we did a private tour to the Pelopenesse (Corinth, Epidaurus, Mycenae, etc.)..."On our own" was a nightmare...Athens is a big, crowded city...we got lost a couple of times and really never saw as much as we should have...The ship's tour (which cost only $99 pp back in 2003) was a bargain...and actually very enjoyable...We had people on our ship who did, basically, the exact itinerary with a private driver, pais more and didn't get any more out of it...If your intent is to see the Acropolis, a little of Athens and an impressive added site out in the hinterland, this would be a good option...Our private guide this last summer cost us 250 euros for a full day and we got an awful lot into that day...thought it was well worth it...Our ship didn't offer these sites in any of its excursions...and, having been to the Acropolis twice before, we were looking for something different...I would recommend this to anyone doing a repeat visit to Athens...

 

I know people who did Athens "on their own" and THINK they had an adequate visit, but, having done it all three ways, I will never try to do this port on my own again...the other options are just so much better coordinated and we got so much more out of our day...