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Courier-Mail
4 days ago
- Courier-Mail
I cruised to Belize City, the world's 'worst' cruise port, and loved it
Cruisers are a passionate lot. An internet search reveals long online discussions among travellers about the worst ports they have cruised to, those they never want to revisit. Top of the list is Belize City in the Caribbean country of Belize. 'Full of useless trinket shops,' one commenter says. 'Nothing to do,' others complain. I beg to differ. I was lucky enough to visit Belize City for the first time earlier this year on an Explorer Journeys voyage and loved an excursion visiting the Altun Ha Mayan ruins, followed by a wander through the town to see the colonial buildings, visit the museum, and the library which was running an exhibition on Belizean musicians. X After that we looked at reviews and made our way to the best-rated outdoor bar serving johnny cakes and Belizean Belikin beer and watched sailors pulling in their catch of the day from fishing boats. Yes, the tourism village selling trinkets that you need to walk through at the cruise ship terminal is terrible but beyond that there's a whole country to discover. Second on the worst ports list was Nassau in the Bahamas, for exactly the same reasons – the touts selling souvenirs right near the port. But beyond is a tour of John Watling's Distillery to learn about rum, the fascinating Educulture Junkanoo Museum full of Bahamian costumes made from colourful crêpe paper and cardboard and endless beach shacks serving delicious conch salad. I was lucky enough to visit Belize City for the first time earlier this year on an Explorer Journeys voyage and loved an excursion visiting the Altun Ha Mayan ruins. Picture: Andrea Black. So why do these ports make it to the top of cruisers' worst lists? Bottom line: don't rely on walking off the ship and having a wander without being fully prepared. If it's a port that you've never been to before, do some pre-trip research on the best things to do there, and consider booking in excursions. After all, part of the joy of travel is in the planning. This rule especially applies to any port you see that has a bracket afterwards. For example, an Italian cruise might include Florence (Livorno) and Rome (Civitavecchia), which of course sounds alluring, but beware, these world cities are often a long bus trip from the port, which is even more reason to pre-book an excursion. A port visit to Livorno is made so much better if you book in that day tour to Florence. A port visit to Livorno is made so much better if you book in that day tour to Florence. Jump on the bus for the 99km drive and before you know it you'll be visiting Michelangelo's David at the Galleria dell'Accademia and dining on incredible pasta in hidden trattorias. This rule also applies to sailings into Bangkok (Laem Chabang), a 90-minute drive to the capital. Some such as Berlin (Warnemünde) are so far away (at two and half hours' drive each way) it might be an idea to just explore the local city of Rostock instead and save Berlin for a proper discovery post-cruise. Ultimately, if there is one port we can all agree is the very worst port, the port that truly tops the world's worst ports list, it's the one where we have to get off with our luggage. Originally published as I cruised to Belize City, the world's 'worst' cruise port, and loved it
Local Italy
26-05-2025
- Local Italy
Everything that changes about life in Italy in June 2025
Free museum openings People around Italy will be able to visit dozens of state-run museums and archaeological sites free of charge on Sunday, June 1st under the popular Domenica al Museo or 'free museum Sundays' national scheme. The initiative applies to hundreds of sites, including world-famous attractions like the Colosseum, Pompeii, Florence's Galleria dell'Accademia, the Reggia di Caserta and Trieste's Miramare Castle. Find out more about how the scheme works in our article. Giro d'Italia ends in Rome The 108th edition of the Giro d'Italia, Italy's most prestigious cycling competition, will end in Rome on Sunday, June 1st. Giro riders will ride by some of the Eternal City's most iconic monuments – from San Peter's Basilica to Castel Sant'Angelo – crossing the finish line right in front of the Circo Massimo. Prior to the start of the final stage, riders will pay a tribute to the late Pope Francis by slowly cycling through the Vatican's Porta del Perugino. Republic Day celebrations Monday, June 2nd is Italy's Republic Day (or Festa della Repubblica) – a national public holiday commemorating the abolition of the monarchy and the birth of the Italian Republic as we know it today. Public offices (banks, post offices, town halls, etc.) and schools will be closed on this date, while supermarkets and shops in major cities may have reduced opening hours. Shops in smaller towns and villages are likely to remain closed all day. Plenty of celebrations will take place on June 2nd, especially in Rome, where an official ceremony attended by President Sergio Mattarella will be followed by a military parade and a flyover from Italy's Frecce Tricolori jets. Rome will also mark the occasion by opening its state museums and archeological sites for free. Rome traditionally marks Republic Day with a wreath-laying ceremony. Photo by Quirinale Press Office / AFP. New flight routes A number of airlines are launching new seasonal flight routes to and from Italy throughout the month of June. These include new daily flights connecting Miami with Rome Fiumicino and Dallas-Fort Worth with Venice Marco Polo starting on June 5th. British budget airline EasyJet has also announced new routes connecting the Sicilian capital of Palermo with Bristol, Lisbon and Palma de Mallorca. Find a full list of new summer flights here. Start of school summer holidays Italian schools will all start their summer break in the first half of June, with the exact dates varying from region to region. This year, children in Emilia Romagna will be the first to go on holiday, with their last day of school falling on Friday, June 6th. Pupils in the Bolzano province will be the last to do so, with their last day falling a week later, on June 13th. Citizenship referendum Italians will be called to vote in a landmark citizenship referendum on Sunday, June 8th and Monday, June 9th. The referendum will ask voters to decide whether or not to create a quicker path to citizenship by residency (or naturalisation) by cutting the current 10-year residency requirement down to five years. According to estimates from immigration research centre Idos, more than 1.4 million non-EU nationals would become eligible for Italian citizenship if the referendum were to pass. Polling stations will be open between 7am and 11pm on Sunday, June 8th and between 7am and 3pm on Monday, June 9th. Italians voting from abroad must ensure that that the completed ballots are received by their Italian consulate by 4pm local time on Thursday, June 5th at the latest. Italy is set to hold a key citizenship referendum on June 8th and 9th. Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP. Transport strikes Transport strikes are frequent in Italy, with at least two or three nationwide walkouts and several regional protests called each month. Next month will be no exception as Italian trade unions have already announced multiple national and regional strikes affecting air and rail services. People flying to, from or across Italy may face delays or cancellations on Friday, June 13th due to three separate air transport strikes, including a 24-hour walkout involving baggage handlers at airports around the country. Rail services around Italy are set to be hit by a 24-hour general strike a week later, with the walkout expected to affect private and public rail operators between 9pm on Thursday, June 19th and 9pm on Friday, June 20th. You can find further details about these and other transport strikes in June here. First instalment of Italy's property tax The deadline for paying the first instalment of Italy's property tax, known as Imposta Municipale Unica (Single Municipal Tax, or IMU), falls on Monday, June 16th this year. prime case). IMU is owed by all owners of second homes in Italy and the June deadline marks the first instalment, with the other payment due by December 16th, 2025. Summer solstice Italy will have its longest day of the year on June 21st, with parts of the country seeing over 15 hours of daylight. Daytime on Italy's summer solstice lasts approximately six hours longer than on the shortest day of the year, December 21st (winter solstice). Income tax payment deadline The deadline for paying the first instalment of Italy's personal income tax, or Irpef, falls on Monday, June 30th this year, along with the deadline for making the first corporate ('Ires' and 'Irap') tax payments. The deadline for making the second payment falls on December 1st, 2025.
