Thread: Med excursions

Anybody know of excursions and from which ports that i can get to visit.

1) Thermopylae
2) Mycenae
3) Troy
4) Knossos

nobody then ?

Sorry, they are all new to me.

Originally Posted by tonylinsdell

nobody then ?

Tony, I asked our Navigators if they could help out with these ports, but none of them have actual experience!

Suggestion...pose your question on the Ask a Travel Agent forum and you might find one of our travel agent members who can advise.

Tony a little about the places mentioned, I have left the link in the passages. You should be able to work out which ports are nearest.


Myself Knossos inHeraklion Crete may be the only one accessible by shore excursions from a ship

Thermopylae is located in eastern central Greece on the only land route large enough to bear any significant traffic between Lokris and Thessaly. Passage from north to south along the east coast of the Balkan peninsula requires use of the pass. Further west the way is blocked by mountains and the Gulf of Corinth. For this reason the area has been the site of several battles.

Mycenae (Greek Μυκῆναι Mykēnai or Μυκήνη Mykēnē) is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north. From the hill on which the palace was located one can see across the Argolid to the Saronic Gulf.

Troy (Hittite: Wilusa or Truwisa;[1][2]Greek: Ἴλιον, Ilion, and Τροία, Troia; Latin: Trōia and Īlium;[3]Turkish: Truva and Troia) was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida. It is best known for being the focus of the Trojan War described in the Greek Epic Cycle and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. Metrical evidence from the Iliad and the Odyssey seems to show that the name Ἴλιον (Ilion) formerly began with a digamma: Ϝίλιον (Wilion). This was later supported by the Hittite form Wilusa.
A new city called Ilium was founded on the site in the reign of the Roman EmperorAugustus. It flourished until the establishment of Constantinople and declined gradually during the Byzantine era.

Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Greek Κνωσός pronounced [knoˈsos]), also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Agearchaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square. Detailed images of Cretan life in the late Bronze Age are provided by images on the walls of this palace. It is also a tourist destination today, as it is near the main city of Heraklion and has been substantially restored by archaeologist Arthur Evans.
The city of Knossos remained important through the Classical and Roman periods, but its population shifted to the new town of Handaq (modern Heraklion) during the 9th century AD. By the 13th century, it was called Makryteikhos 'Long Wall'; the bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves Bishops of Knossos until the 19th century.[1] Today, the name is used only for the archaeological site situated in the suburbs of Heraklion.

I have some info to supplement Norman's excellent summary. I agree that Knossos is your best bet for a ship's excursion, unless you are going on a very small ship or your ship has overnight stays. And even then, Troy will be the hardest to get to.


We did a private excursion from Athens to the Peloponessus (sp?) and Mycenae was one of our stops. It has the ruins of Agammemnon's palace and there is a museum with artifacts that is extremely interesting if you are interested in pre-Athenian culture. I will try to post some pictures of Mycenae with this note. One is of the Lion's Gate, the second is of the map of the area you can see and the third is a view of some of the building ruins and the valley surrounding it. This place is has some of the oldest ruins in Greece.

On the way we stopped in Corinth to see the canal and the ancient ruins there. We also took in Epidarius. In Greece, you never have to go more then a few miles to see ruins of some era.

You could also go to Thermopylae from Athens, and probably combine that with a tour of Delphi, home of the Oracle. While Mycenae is to the southwest of Athens, Thermopylae is to the northwest, but an easy day trip distance. Both though may be a bit too far for a ship excursion. We started a cruise in Athens and spent 3 days there before getting on the ship, including our private tour.


Troy is near the modern town of Cannakale, which is only visited by very small ships, and not very often. You would probably need to visit it as part of a multi-day trip from Istanbul.

Those pictures are almost identical to ones that we took!

We were on a land trip in Greece for a couple of weeks and saw all the places you mentioned! (not Troy, though) In fact, we liked Greece so much we did a second land trip a few years later.

Too bad all our pictures are paper photographs and not on the computer.

Char, we got a scanner for that reason. I haven't learned how to use it, LOL, but it has come in useful. And yes, we want to go back to Greece to get to all the places we missed - but now doesn't seem to be a good time.

Europe is not a good time at all, with how the economies are shaping, especially Greece, Portugal and Spain, who all have financial problems.

There is even talk the euro may collapse in the next five years.

Thanks for all the inputs Char, Norman and Ya-Ya Princess, Looks like a 3 to 5 day stay in Athens is the way to go pre po tpost cruise. I would like to visit Sparta also.
Then a med cruise that would include Istanbul , Santorini , Crete , Rhodes , and Alexandria (Overnight stay). That might be a tall order.
What would be the best time ( least crowded) to do this ?