paddyzim

We are first time cruisers, leaving for the Holy Land cruise at end of October. From what I can see, the shore excursions are very expensive (family of four soon adds up!) and wondered how easy it is to "do it yourself"? Our ports are Istanbul, Athens, Ephesus, Haifa and Ashdod. We would like to travel to Jerusalem when in Israel. Any help or advice would be very much appreciated. We are travelling with two teenagers. Thank-you.

ParrotMom

For Israel may I suggest you book a hotel overnight....we stayed at the Dan (includes a famous Israeli breakfast).. and we used Guided Tours which were wonderful. We told them exactly what we wanted to see and those were the highlights for us. We went exactly one year ago mid-October. If you need more info please write.. [email protected]

qwovadis

Easy to it all over find a like minded couple or stick with 4

rent a driver/guide from $50/half day usually can keep costs

at around $10 pppd doing that... so I almost always bargain for

deals at the ports works great for me.

paddyzim

Thanks so much for this information.

Is it easy to find a cab from Jerusalem back to Ashdod? I understand that not all cab's can drive to the port. Really don't want to get stuck!

Eschew

Ashdod and Jerusalem is 64 Km apart (about 40 miles?) and will easily take an hour or more depending on traffic. You will also find that security is going to be an issue. The security at Ashdod port facility is quite tight.

My recommendation is to book a private tour company and go from there.

BarbAnn

My DH and I did Athens on our own while on an RCI cruise. Metro was on strike that day (until noon),so we took a cab to Acropolis. We beat most of the cruise tourists, so it was not crowded. Hired a guide at the site. Walked to Syntagma Square. Took the local bus/from to the Archaeological Museum. Used the metro to return to the ship. Be forewarned, give yourself an hour from Athens to the ship if you take the metro back. Research is the key.

You can get all the info you need on DYI tours at www.cruisecritic.com. At cruise critic you can also join the thread for your particular cruise. You may even find out if other teens are on the cruise or if other cruise mates are planning private tours that you can join.

You can get hooked on cruising. Have fun!

Eschew

Just be careful with the distance. If you are not on the ship's tour, and if you don't make it back to the boat on time, you literally missed the boat and will be on your own.

Traffic is unpredictable at best. It took us about an hour to go from the port to downtown AThens but onour return, we hit traffic and took us almost 2 hours.

We toured Acroplois, had lunch at Plaka, walked through the market and time went by so fast that the day is gone in time. Traffic is heavy so you will have to time your "exit" either before after the rush hour.

For Ephesus, make sure you tour the "Terrace Houses". You will need a guide to walk you through there. It is within the Ephesus ruins site but is an extra charge exhibit. The admission ticket that we paid is 2 part, one for me and one for the guide.

BarbAnn

Eschew, that's why we took the metro (train) back to the port. Did not have to deal with traffic on the road. We only gave ourselves 45 minutes. Bad mistake. We made the ship, but they yanked the gangplank away as my foot stepped onto the ship! Next time in Athens (next year) we will give ourselves an hour.

Percy

BarbAnn

Your lucky they did not make you walk the plank.

paddyzim

That's great advice re Athens and Ephesus. It's good to know that we need to give ourselves at least an hour to get back. Glad BarbAnn made it back to the ship! I must research "terrace houses" - sounds interesting. Lots of research to do

JerryS

quo vadis, where do you get a driver/guide for $50/half day in Israel, Turkey or Greece?
Please provide some specifics.
Many thanks.

Percy

I'm with you JerryS.

Where does qwovadis get these rates from.

I do not think he has been to Turkey or Greece lately.

Diver/Guides have to make a living also.

and who is going to drive you around for $ 10.00 pppd( I assume qwovadis means per person per day by her pppd!) ????

I just got back from a month in Europe in June , I know what the going rate is.

jacketwatch

I have to scratch my head as well. Having checked private tours in Israel the going rate is way up there. For 2-3 persons for a fully private tour expect around $500.00 per day,

Eschew

BarbAnn: It happened to us at Port Said. DW and I were the last one back. The ship's staff was outside the terminal looking for us. They were pulling the safety net below the plank when we charge right through the security gates. The Egyptian security guards waved us through without us having going through the metal detactor and the checking our bags.

Larry: Guides at Isreal are expensive. $500 is probably the currrent going rate. We paid about $400 per day last October plus tip. They picked us at the dock, the guide gave her cell phone number to the port security guy when we left the port (for security and emergency contact?)

In 2 days, we never did see everything we wanted to see. We probably spent too much time at Jerusalem. We missed Acre, Masada and Dead Sea. I guess we will have to go back again in a few years if we want to see those palces. Petra (Jordan) is our list so we hope to knock them off all at once, when it is safer.

About Isreal guides: they cannot take you into Palestine so if you want to go to Gaza or Westbank, it would be out of the question. So, if you want to see Bethlehem, you are out of luck, unless they pre-arrange a Palestinian guide for you at the control gate. Isreal guide gets off the car, driver took you across, the Palestine guide hops in. On your return, the reverse happens. Cheapest souvnir in Israel is probably in Bethlehem at the BSC.

Paddyzim: Re Terrace house in Ephesus. I would say it is my number one in Ephesus. Make sure your guide can take you there. We were told that not all guides are "certified" to take you through there. We knew people who were there but was refused admission. The Terrace houses is a relatively new fine, The exhibit openned only a few years ago. Imagine a first century house with hot and cold running water, central heating, painted marble walls, decorated mosaic floor, cathedral ceilings, and separate private washrooms for men and women.

jacketwatch

Hello Eschew: $400.00 seems like a great deal. I check and yes its pretty high. One gal wanted $700.00 per day! I tried to negotiate a better price bur she said she could not come down at all. Interesting about bethlehem. I did not know that. I hope our two days in Ashdod will be enough to see the Dead Sea, masada and Jerusalem. Think so if we don't dally too much. I also want to see the Holocaust museum.

jacketwatch

Eschew: BTW what do you think a good tip would be? The daily fee is pretty high but if the service is good I don't want to stiff anyone so whats a rule of thumb to tip? Thanks! Larry

Eschew

Larry, we gave the guide $100 and he seemed pleased. He was only so so. Don't forget, it was booked more than 18 months ago and the trip was last October. We did the two day thing but with 2 different guides as we went north east on day one and then mainly Jerusalem on the second day. We stopped at two ports, Haifa and Ashdod.

A liitle more tidbit: when you enter into the old city, we have to go through security and there are 2 lines. A line for men, and a line for women. The same goes for the west wall. There is a section for men and a section for women.

If you go into any of the "holy" sites, proper attire is needed. We have seen people turned away for not having the proper attire. Not that you will be wearing something that they will consider indecent ...

jacketwatch

Thank you. We booked our Haifa and Ashdod tours with separate companies and each is two days. AFAIK we will have the same guide for both days but B4 we go i will email them to firm it up so thats a good question to ask. The lines thing is the same we have seen in India as well so its now new to us. In fact when we went to Amritsar to see the India-Pak border changing of the guards the viewing stands were segregated. Pretty strange I thought. Does proper attire mean no shorts? It will be Nov. so I assume it will be a bit cool for shorts anyway. Cheers, Larry

Eschew

Larry, 2 days each at Ashdod and Haifa? So that would mean no Egyptian stops. Be careful that the ship does not change the itenary last minute. I would double and triplle check if I were you.

With 2 days each, you can see all those places that we have missed. Now, I am very envious ... We only had one day each in Haia and Ashdod so we have to make some choices.

With 2 days, have you consider doing an overnight to Petra (in Jordon)? You should ask about the posibilities.

While you are in the Mediterrian, we will be in Peru doing the Machu Pinchu thing followed by a cruise on the Galapagos. DW is looking forward to it and we may have to "train" for the trip.

jacketwatch

Actually the original plan was to go to Egypt but it was changed due to the politics there and Haifa was added. I asked Celebrity a few times and was told they had no plans to change back though I saw that Princess did just that. have fun in Peru. You intend to take it a bit slow to adjust to the altitude. That is a good idea as a co-worker of mine went straight off and was sick for a day or so. Then a Galapagos cruise. That is amazing. I will double check w/ X but hopefully they will not switch. Cheers, Larry