Which Mediterranean cruise excursions are actually worth it? — featuring Family at Sea

0:00 A Mediterranean cruise can be the trip of a lifetime or one you'll regret because you spend it rushing through overcrowded tourist stops instead of experiencing the places you came to see. Because the best parts of the Mediterranean aren't just the famous landmarks, they're the moments around

0:16 them. Wandering through Rome with a local guide, watching Santorini glow at sunset, and wandering through cliffside towns along the Amalfi Coast that feel like something out of a movie. But Mediterranean excursions can cost hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars, and not all of them live up to

0:32 the hype. So, if you want the best this region has to offer, these are the excursions actually worth your time and money. Oh, and if we haven't met yet, I'm Evan from Family at Sea. If this is your first time watching my channel, I'm glad you're here. And if you've been here a while, you already know how much

0:47 I appreciate you. If you're ready, I am. Let's go. Rome is one of the most iconic ports in the entire Mediterranean, but it's also one of the easiest places to completely ruin with the wrong excursion. Because your ship doesn't actually dock in Rome. It docks in Civitavecchia. Civis listen.

1:10 It docks about hour away from the city depending on traffic. And that means if you try to cram too much into one day here, you'll spend more time on buses and standing in lines than actually experiencing Rome itself. If it's your first time here, the best thing you can do is pick one side of Rome and

1:28 experience it properly. For most people, I'd either focus on ancient Rome or the Vatican, but not both. Trying to do both in a single day is where a lot of these excursions start turning into exhausting checklist tours instead of meaningful experiences. If you want the best overall excursion here, I'd look for a

1:46 smaller guided Colosseum and Roman Forum tour with skip-the-line access. The Colosseum is one of those rare places that actually lives up to the hype when you experience it in the right way, especially with a great guide who can actually bring the history to life instead of you just wandering around

2:03 staring at ruins you don't fully understand. But a lot of people get Rome completely wrong because they spend their entire day bouncing from landmark to landmark without ever slowing down long enough to actually experience the city and the culture itself. So if you do ancient Rome, instead of trying to

2:19 cram in five more tourist stops, I'd pair it with the Jewish Quarter instead. It's one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world and the atmosphere there feels completely different from the giant crowds around the Colosseum and Trevi Fountain. And tucked away there is Pastaceria

2:34 Boccione and I'm sure I butchered the pronunciation of that but this is a tiny old-school bakery that most tourists walk right past without even realizing what it is. Their ricotta sour cherry pie is one of those things that feels like a secret someone local told you about. It's rich,

2:52 slightly tart, not overly sweet and honestly one of the most memorable things you'll eat in Rome. And another really smart strategy in Rome is using a golf cart tour instead of a giant bus excursion. Rome is massive, crowded and brutally hot in the summer and golf cart tours let you move through the city much

3:10 faster while still reaching smaller streets and viewpoints the buses can't access. Rome is where many med cruises start or finish and if that's the case for you, I'd recommend adding at least two extra days on your trip so you can experience more of it without having to rush. There's just too much history and

3:27 food and culture and atmosphere here to experience properly in a single port day. What I definitely would not do in Rome are the Rome in a day excursions that sound incredible on paper because they promise the Colosseum, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon and shopping stops all in a single port day. But the

3:45 reality is your day will be a blur of traffic, crowds, security lines and constantly watching the clock to make sure you get back to the ship on time. I'd also skip the generic Rome on your own bus transfers unless you already know exactly what you're doing once you get there. Rome is overwhelming for

4:03 first-time visitors and it's very easy to waste huge chunks of your day figuring out transportation and lines instead of actually enjoying the city. In Rome, the best excursions aren't the ones that check off the most famous landmarks. They're the ones that slow the city down enough for you to actually

4:19 experience it. And if you're looking for a good place to book excursions like these, I recommend checking out Shore Excursions Group. They offer tours in all the most popular ports where cruise will visit and offer smaller groups and more unique experiences than the typical cruise line excursions and typically at

4:35 much better prices. And the thing I love about Shore Excursions Group is their back-to-ship guarantee. So, in the very unlikely event your tour ever runs late and you miss the ship, they'll cover the cost to get you to the next port and give you an extra thousand dollars for the inconvenience which gives you the

4:51 freedom to book independently without worrying about being left behind. So, if you want to check them out, I truly appreciate it. It costs you nothing, but it definitely makes a big impact on my family and I as we continue on this YouTube journey. So, I'll put a link for them in the description below. Barcelona

5:07 is one of the easiest ports in the Mediterranean to waste because people try to experience the entire city in a single day instead of immersing themselves in one part of it and actually slowing down long enough to enjoy it. And Barcelona rewards people who slow down because yes, the famous

5:23 attractions are here and they absolutely live up to the hype. La Sagrada Familia is one of the most visually incredible buildings I have ever seen and Park Güell somehow feels like somebody turned an entire hillside into a surreal piece of art. But what a lot of people get wrong is trying to stack La Sagrada

5:41 Familia, Park Güell, La Rambla, and the Gothic Quarter, the beach, and shopping all into a single day. And if it's your first time here, I honestly think the perfect Barcelona port day is La Sagrada Familia, Park Güell, and then slowing the day down with some great food instead of trying to force in six more

5:59 landmarks. La Sagrada Familia feels massive and all inspiring with its towering columns, stained glass pouring color across the interior, and details so intricate you can spend an hour inside still noticing new things. While Park Güell feels calmer by comparison with sweeping views over Barcelona and

6:18 architecture that barely even feels real when you're walking through it. They pair together well geographically as traffic can get brutal in Barcelona. Getting across the city often takes much longer than you'd expect, meaning you're wasting precious time navigating the city instead of immersing yourself in

6:35 it. If you want the best overall excursion here, I'd look for a smaller guided La Sagrada Familia and Park Güell tour with skip-the-line access instead of one of the giant panoramic bus tours. Barcelona is a city that feels best at street level, not through the window of a coach bus inching through traffic. And

6:53 once you've knocked out those two incredible sites, rather than trying to overdo things, I think you're much better off to spend the rest of the day immersing yourself in the local culture, wandering the historic streets, and enjoying some local cuisine. One of my favorite spots is El Xampanyet.

7:09 >> [laughter] >> I'm sure I just butchered the pronunciation of that, but I'm going to do the Latin this video. But it's a tiny place packed shoulder to shoulder and often has long lines, but its atmosphere is unmistakably Barcelona. Instead of a restaurant designed for tourists, and

7:24 the tapas are some of the best you'll find in the entire city. And since I have no idea how to actually pronounce it, I'll definitely put the name on the screen, but look it up and I think you'll be very impressed just like we were. Order the cava wine, jamón ibérico, anchovies, and whatever tapas

7:39 they're known for that day, and just slow down for a while. And for vegetarians, they have plenty of great options for you as well. And if you want something a bit more tucked away, Bo Muth is another great stop in El Born that feels a little less chaotic, but still very local. Their garlic shrimp

7:55 and patatas bravas are ridiculously good. But whatever you do, definitely don't skip out on the food, even if you can get something free back on the ship, because some of the best moments in Barcelona happen after the sightseeing is over, and the food is central to it all. Naples is one of those ports where

8:13 people get themselves into trouble, because there's so much they want to see in a single day, and they don't want to miss a thing. The first time we visited, we actually saw both the Amalfi Coast and Pompeii in a single day. And while we managed to see everything, the entire day felt completely rushed, and we were

8:30 beyond exhausted by the end of it. In retrospect, both my wife and I wish we'd picked just one, and really experienced it properly. If you're trying to decide between the two is incredible as Pompeii was, I'd still tell most people to choose the Amalfi Coast. Because Pompeii is fascinating in a historical,

8:48 intellectual kind of way, and you walk through this city that was buried under volcanic ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted nearly 2,000 years ago, thinking, "These were real people having completely normal days when all of this suddenly happened." But the Amalfi Coast hits you emotionally in a totally different way.

9:04 You're winding through places like Positano, Ravello, and Sorrento with these colorful buildings stacked into the cliffs above the Mediterranean, with little beach clubs tucked in the tiny coves, black sand and pebble beaches down below, lemon groves hanging over the roads, and restaurants perched so

9:21 high above the water, it almost doesn't look real. The whole place feels less like somewhere you visit for a few hours, and more like somewhere you immediately start daydreaming about coming back to. And that's the part that I still think about. One of the best things we did all day was stopping at

9:37 Frantoio Gargiulo. God, I'm so bad at these pronunciations. One of the best things to do is stop at an olive oil farm or factory up in the this hill above Sorrento and it's it's this little family run olive oil farm where they do wine, olive oil, cheese, and limoncello tastings and it overlooks the coast and

9:56 it ended up being the single most memorable moment from our entire first Mediterranean cruise. Nobody was rushing us and nobody was waving a little tour flag trying to herd everybody back onto a bus. We were just sitting there dipping bread in a fresh olive oil they made right there on the property while

10:12 looking out over Sorrento. And that's the kind of experience that I think people should be chasing in the Mediterranean. So, if it were me, I'd either fully commit to Pompeii with a really good small group tour or I'd spend the entire day immersed in the Amalfi Coast and let yourself actually

10:29 enjoy where you are instead of trying to squeeze all of Southern Italy into one afternoon. Santorini is one of those places that almost doesn't look real when your ship drops anchor beside those massive cliffs and you start heading toward the island. The cliffs are so steep and the little white town sitting

10:48 on top of them look completely disconnected from reality. And it's also one of the easiest ports in the Mediterranean to accidentally ruin for yourself if you don't plan carefully. Because the biggest mistakes people make here is doing exactly what everybody else is doing at the exact same time.

11:05 They tender in the feeder, wait in a huge cable car line, go straight to Oia Oia Oia, go straight to Oia in the middle of the afternoon with four other cruise ships in port, fight shoulder to shoulder crowds for a few hours, then spend the rest of the day stressed about getting back down before the lines get

11:23 even worse. And I just don't think that's the kind of way to experience Santorini. If it were me, I'd either be prepared to be on the first tender off the ship to get ahead of the crowds and then ready to leave early as well. Or better yet, I'd spend time somewhere like in Imerovigli instead. You still

11:40 get those ridiculous white cliff Santorini views everybody comes for, but without feeling packed into crowds the entire day. And Santorini gets a lot better once you stop treating it like a checklist of photo spots and slow down just a little. If you want to truly escape the crowds and still be immersed

11:58 in the beauty of Santorini, consider booking a smaller catamaran cruise around the island. Seeing Santorini from the water gives you a completely different perspective on how massive the cliffs really are and a lot of those tourist stop places like the Red Beach and the volcanic hot springs and both of

12:14 those are at these spots that most will never see, but you will never forget. Red Beach especially is surreal in person because the cliffs behind it are this deep rust red color against the bright blue water that it's just incredible. Another option is doing a winery tour. Santorini's volcanic soil

12:33 produces really crisp white wines and the wineries tend to have incredible Caldera views without the chaos you often get in Oia during peak cruise hours. What I would absolutely skip are the giant Santorini highlights tours where you spend the entire day hopping from one crowded overlook to another.

12:52 The people who enjoy Santorini the most usually aren't the ones trying to see every corner of the island. They're the ones who actually leave room to enjoy being there. Mykonos is one of those ports where I think people had the best day when they stop over planning it because yes, there are famous spots you

13:09 should absolutely see. Little Venice is beautiful. The windmills are iconic for a reason and and the white alleyways around Mykonos town really do feel like a maze designed by somebody who hated straight lines. But the fun parts of Mykonos usually happen once you stop trying to navigate it efficiently. One

13:27 of the smartest things you can do here is just wander through Mykonos town without a rigid plan for a while. You'll stumble into tiny bakeries, little chapels tucked between buildings, cats sleeping in windows, places selling gyros the size of your forearms, and bars that somehow look like they've been

13:43 there forever. And if you want one really good food stop that doesn't feel like a giant tourist trap, Sakis Grill House tucked into the alleyways of Mykonos town is the kind of place I look for. It's nothing fancy, just messy gyros, fries wrapped into them, people squeezed around tiny tables, and the

14:01 kind of food that somehow tastes perfect after wandering around town for hours. A lot of people stay entirely around the waterfront and never realize there's a much quieter side to the island once you get away from Mykonos town. Places like Ano Mera feel completely different with

14:16 little cafes around the square, fewer crowds, and the monastery of Panagia Tourliani sitting right in the middle of town. And some of the local farm tours out there, well, honestly surprise you with just how great they are. There's olive oil tastings, wine, homemade bread, local cheeses, cooking classes,

14:34 and things like that. I'd also look seriously at the Armenistis Lighthouse. If you want one of those spots that makes you stop and just stare at the view for a while. It's out on the northwestern side of the island away from most of the crowds, and the views back over the Aegean and toward the

14:50 surrounding islands are incredible around sunset. What you need to pay close attention to in Mykonos are the beach excursions because the vibes change wildly there depending on where you go. Some beaches are quiet and relaxing, but others turn into full-blown parties with DJ's spraying

15:07 champagne at people by the middle of the afternoon. And if that's not what you signed up for, it can catch you off guard fast. And I think that's why Mykonos works best when you don't over structure the day too much. The island has a very specific kind of energy to it, and the people who seem to enjoy it

15:24 are usually the ones who leave a little room for randomness. You turn down some tiny alleyway because it looks interesting, end up sitting outside somewhere with a euro and drink for an hour longer than you planned, and suddenly the whole day feels better because you stop trying to optimize

15:41 every minute of it. So, by now you can probably see the pattern. The best Mediterranean excursions usually aren't the ones trying to cram five famous landmarks into a single afternoon. They're the ones that actually leave room for the place itself. A long lunch overlooking the water in Sorrento,

15:57 wandering through Barcelona until you find some tiny place serving incredible tapas, and sitting on a cliff in Santorini wondering how any of this is even real. That's the stuff that people remember years later. If you choose the right excursions in these ports, your Mediterranean cruise stops feeling like

16:14 a checklist of famous cities and starts feeling like you actually experienced a small piece of them. But, here's the bad news. Even if you pick amazing excursions, Mediterranean cruises can still go sideways fast if you don't prepare for them the right way. Between the crowds, the heat, the long port

16:30 days, and well, everything else, there are a lot of things that catch first-time Med cruisers off guard. But, the good news, I put together a full video breaking down all the Mediterranean cruise tips, mistakes, and little things I wish we knew before our first Med cruise, including what's

16:46 actually worth packing, what catches most people off guard, and the small de- cisions that end up making a huge difference once you're there. So, don't stop here. Come hang out with me in that one next, where I'll show you how to avoid the mistakes that can quietly ruin a Mediterranean cruise before you even

17:02 realize they're happening. I'll see you over there. If you're ready, I am. Let's go.