Hello
in your experience is there generally taxi waiting at ports.
I'm travelling in the med in the summer and wanted to use Taxi to get to beaches etc.
Thanks for your help
Ruth

I generally stick to ship-sponsored excursions, but yes, I have seen taxi cabs every place the ship docks or the tenders land.
I have seen advice here many times to be careful and be sure to negotiate the price before you get in.

We have been traveling in Europe for about 30 years (both on and off ships) and very seldom use tours (we prefer rental cars, trains, local buses and taxis). If you post your actual ports I can give you detailed taxi info on each port.

Hank

Hank, or anyone else who may know:

Do you have any knowledge of a public sightseeing tram on the island of Rhodes, perhaps near the City Hall? We are going up to Lindos but wanted to see a little more of the area. Any suggestions or should we plan on walking?

Hi
Thanks for the advice re setting the price prior to getting in.
Hank, the port we are visting are-
Olbia in Sardania
Palermon, Sicily-
La Spezia, Italy
Marseille, France
Ville Franche

Any advice would be great- thank you

Good Morning Sunshine, Lets talk about these ports. Olbia - I haven't been to Sardinia in about 10 years, but on our last visit there were a few taxis (not many). However, your options are somewhat limited in this port. They used to run a tour that included boat transportation to the Costa Smeralda (Emerald Coast) which is one of those swim, snorkle and beach trips. That probably makes more sense than a taxi here and keep in mind that I normally hate tours.

Palermo - You actually will dock at the port side of town and its possible to get taxis, grab local buses, or walk. Although Palermo is not a great tourist city it does have one very weird attraction called the Catacombe Cappuccini. This is in the basement of a very old monestary (there is actually a monk at the door) where there are literally thousands of skelatons (many are dressed) just laying and hanging around. This place can best be described as macabre, but it is amazing. You can get there by taxi or local bus and I suggest you google the place and read about the details.

La Spezia - There should be taxis, but they will want to negotiate a full or half-day hire for a set fee. Many of the Italian taxis that meet ships do not want the short local fares. We love this part of Italy and I guess many like that its close to the villages of Cinque Terre.

Marseille - You will dock at the port which is located a couple of miles out of town. There will probably be a bus shuttle into town that drops you at the old port which is only a few blocks from the train station. Taxis are expensive in France. You might want to consider just taking the train to Aix en Provence or even renting a car (we often rent cars in Europe) to explore nearby Provence. Marseille is a large city, but most one-day tourists ignore the city in favor of going to one or more of the Provence towns or countryside.

Villafranche - This is the port located close between Nice and Monte Carlo. Using a taxi here would be expensive and not necessarily a good idea. You can walk from the tender pier to the local train station (you will have to climb about 40 steps) where you can grab the local commuter-type train that goes everywhere along the coast from Monte Carlo to Cannes. You might want to research the villages of Eze and St Paul de Vence which are two of my personal favorites. Another alternative to the train is to simply use the local bus system (very convenient for places between Nice and Monte Carlo). I can help you more with this port once you have decided on the places you would like to visit. My DW and I have spent many months in this region of France (and nearby Italy) and could easily live there for 6 months a year if the darn dollar was not so low.

Hank

Thanks you so much Hank.
It really helps to get advice off someone who has been there

What do you recommend doing when landing in Cadiz, Spain

Grab a big plate of Paella and sit down with a nice Spanish wine and contemplate your surroundings.

Yes, paella.....a wonderful thing that should be savored for the depth of flavor is has. With one of the many fine wines made in Spain (not always on the plain), it is truly a memorable meal. This is one of those things that fills a person with a sense of well-being.

Granny, Sorry I missed your post last month but I do not know of any tram that operates in Rhodes (of course I do not know everything). Rhodes Town (both old and new) is made for walking and there are plenty of cafes where you can rest your tired feet after shopping. As to the rest of the island we have always rented a car or used the public bus when we went directly to a beach. Now, these darn comments about Paella need to stop. We are leaving for Europe in 2 days and I am still trying to lose weight! By the way, the best Paella we ever had was in a dumpy little stand on a beach in Nerha. They had a large grill (it was huge) and they cooked their Paella on the beach all morning and sold it at lunch. The wonderful smell still haunts me.

Hank

Hank,

We are a family of 7, 2 children 10 and 8 years on out first 12 day cruise to the Mediterranean on Celibrity Millennium July 24th/07.
I am finding out that the tours on shore are very expensive for a group so was wondering if you had suggesstiohs for the ports of Livorno,Civitavecchia and Athens.
Wondered if it is possible to take a train, take a taxi to the trains, will it be too confusing with a larger group?
Also 3 of us have been to Rome and Florence and I have been looking to see if there are other places we could go for the day!
Would appreciate any help you could give me!

Thanks
Sharon

Hank I noticed you said you were famaliar with the port of Villefrance. I am a first time cruise traveling with 8 adults and we would like to get to see Monaco and Eze but we only have one day in port. Could you give us some suggestions on how best to get to see the most ina such a short period? Would it be best to schedule a ship or private tour or just train it? Any help will be appreciated . We are going to be there June 17,2007 on the RCCL Voyager of the Seas....Thanks, Andrew

We used www.sunnydays.fr while we were in port last fall and they were excellent. I booked 3 vans for our group of 22, and we split off with one going to Eze and St. Paul de Vence and the other two going to Eze and Monte Carlo. We all had a wonderful experience.

I appologize to be so slow in responding, but we recently returned from a 5 week trip (Europe). Let's try and help Sharon first since we are very supportive of those that show their children the world. A group of 7 actually increases your options because there are economies of scale if you elect to hire a private guide/driver. Unfortunately, I am totally useless (my wife tells me this everyday) when it comes to private guides because we have never done this except for one instance in St Petersburg. But, if you do not want to go to Florence (from Livorno) the easiest (and cheapest) alternative is to take the train from Livorno to Pisa...than change and take the train to Lucca. You can walk from the Lucca station into town (its just across the road) and enjoy that wonderful walled city. The kids would probably get a kick out of renting bikes and riding around the top of the city walls (a common thing to do and very safe). On the way back you could stop in Pisa and either walk (its about a mile) or take a couple of taxis over to the Duomo to see the Leaning Tower. As to alternatives from "Civ" this is difficult. There is the Rome beach resort of Lido di Ostia, but honestly I find that most mainland European beaches pale when compared to US Beaches. Rome is a very large city with so much to do and see (we have been there 5 times) and it can be a fun educational stop for kids. The fact that 3 of you have been to Rome does not mean you couldn't enjoy the city again and perhaps see some new places. Why not let the kids read-up on the city and see if they have any suggestions? The other places within range of a one-day trip from Civ would require a car (in your case a large van) for a drive to some smaller towns such as Orvieto (a nice hilltop town). Athens is another great port with kids and if you can keep everyone in tow, you can take the subway from Pireaus into Athens and go off on your own. This is another of those places where you might benefit from hiring a private driver/guide who can provide a van large enough for your group. As to finding decent guides, this can be a challenge, but you always have Google and there is another cruise forum site (it would not be proper for me to mention other site names here) where the guide subject is often a topic.

Andrew, like I said to Sharon, you also have economies of scale and might want to explore the availability of private guides who can provide a large van. Otherwise, there is no reason for you not to simply do things just like 4 seperate couples (you can still stay together). From Villafranche you can either use the local buses or local train line that spans the entire Riviera from Cannes to Monte Carlo. Its very easy to walk from the tender pier to the train station (walk along the road with the water on your right until you see the steps that lead up the hill to the station) and grab a train into Monte Carlo. From the Monte Carlo station you will either want to hire taxis (you would need 2) or use the local buses to get up to the Palace. From there, assuming you can all walk distances, you can work your way back down the hill and into town. Eze presents a slightly more difficult challenge since its not right on the train line. There are local buses that can get you to Eze (or Monte Carlo) and although I know many of the bus routes (bus 100 from Villafrache to Eze Bord du Mer and than bus 83 up to the village) its a bit complicated and the frequency of bus schedules can leave you sitting for long periods of time. So, my advice would be to go to Monte Carlo on the train and than stop at one of the tourist offices to get the latest info on bus/train schedules. A very common way to get to Eze is to simply take the train (its the same train that goes from Villafranche to Monte Carlo) and get off at the Eze (Bord) du Mer station which lies below the village of Eze. From the road right in front of that little train station (Eze de Mer) you can get the bus (#83) that will take you up the steep hill to Eze. However, that bus used to take a long break at lunch time (used to not run for 90 minutes) so this is why I suggest you check with one of the many tourist offices (they have the big I) in Monte Carlo or even at Villafrance regarding schedules. By the way, the same train line also stops in Nice and Nice is really nice..especially Old Town and walking along the Promonade. However, I again urge you to check out private tour possibilities since when splitting the cost 8 ways it can be a great deal.

Hank