cruise itinerary

[jyw]

Can anyone tell me which places we can do on our own and which are better to go with excursions,this is our itinerary
Trapani (sicily)
Naples (italy)
Ajaccio (corsica)
Toulon (france)
Barcelona (spain)

Thank's

[HW tenpin]

Hi jyw,

The short answer to your question is all can be done on your own.

The only time we use ships tours is when we would like fuller information about what we are about to see. the ships guides give great insight into places of interest.

[jyw]

Thank you for replying.

[mtek]

It very much depends on what you want. I travel on my own and sometimes I use the ships tours for places I want to see that are some distance away - the ship will not wait for you if you go off on your own and are late but will wait for tours. Not having wanted to go into Naples I decided on a ships tour to Pompeii and Sorrento for history and a big of shopping, in Toulon I decided I wanted to see Marseilles and in Barcelona (which I had been to previously and disliked) I opted for the tour to the monastery at Montserrat and a visit to the famous Cava caves. All of the above could have been done by taxi or local transport but the tours were great - good value for money, informative and my rule is I'm on holidays and if I can't afford to do what I want to do then I can't afford to do the holiday.

[jyw]

Thank you for replying,i would just like to point out that it is not the case of money that is not a problem,it's just because it is our first cruise and we have had a lot of people saying that some of the places you go to you don't have to go on the excursions as these sometimes can be very tiring.

[HW tenpin]

I say again, jyw.

When you get aboard or even on web site you will find/see a list of tours offered by the ship. these are very helpful for deciding your interest in sights to see.

If you really want to learn the most you can about any port of call then the ships tours are by far your best bet. these are normally full of information by a local guide. they are not cheap, but do give you great value for something you may be interested in.

If you just want to take a look at the local port/attractions, a quick tour by taxi is the best bet.

If you just want a very small insight to want may be available for perhaps a return visit, then by all means, use the hop-on, hop-off city tour busses which run in most Med ports.

[jyw]

Thank you very much it was very helpful.

[HW tenpin]

JYW,

Just one other point, most ships tours are marked with how active they are.
gentle walking, some uphill, active & so on. so level of mobility can be judged.