I was helping my friend Winnie plan her first Mediterranean cruise recently. She
said she wanted a cruise that went to the best ports and avoided the worst.
I told she’d set me an impossible task as the best ports in the Mediterranean are also the worst.
Here’s why and what those ports are.
As I explained to Winnie, the number of ports she can visit is
vast. Though the ones worth visiting is not.
I count 45 Mediterranean ports where cruise ships can dock, but there are many
more places where ships can anchor and tender guests in, especially around the Greek islands.
Most Mediterranean cruises are 7-nights and call into at no more
than 6 ports, so I told Winnie she must make sure whatever cruise
she chooses should call on as many of the must-visit ports as possible.
As you will see, surprisingly only a few of the most beautiful ports in the Mediterranean make my
must-visit list as there are more important things to consider. Starting with this.
If you’re cruising the Mediterranean, Especially, if like Winnie, it’s a first
Western, Eastern or Southern Greek Islands cruise, you should focus first on
ports that are gateways to famous cities or historic sites in the region.
Many of these ports themselves are not that appealing, they are working
container and freight ports, far from the iconic cities and sites and have limited
things to see and do close by. They are not where you will want to spend time.
Unlike the Caribbean, where the ports themselves are beautiful
with things to do at the port, the best Mediterranean ports are not.
It’s what they grant access to that makes them essential to have on any list.
Here are the 7 key ones I recommended to Winnie.
Civitavecchia is one of the most common ports ships call on. It is an uninspiring,
slightly run-down town with little to see and do.
But Rome, one of the most historically rich cities in the world with incredible sights
like the Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and the Vatican City is an hour to hour and half away.
Livorno is also an unattractive, busy industrial and cruise port, but the grand city of Florence
with Michelangelo’s David, Ponte Vecchio bridge, Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore
and Basilica of Santa Croce is an hour and half away.
Pisa and the Leaning Tower is 45 minutes away.
If you want to see Venice, with its grand canals, St Mark’s Square
and Basilica and the fascinating Doge’s Palace, you now must dock in the functional
ports of Ravenna or Trieste, both of which are around 2 hours from Venice,
Even if your ship is small enough to be allowed to dock in Venice, as I was
on my Viking Sky cruise in March, it was inside a freight port on the mainland, we could not walk
around the area as too dangerous, and it took 45 minutes to get into Venice.
La Spezia in Northern Italy is an industrial port with little around it to explore.
But in an hour or less you can be exploring the gorgeous Cinque Terre region,
a collection of 5 amazing villages clinging to the hillside with quaint shops and popular beaches.
Katakolon in Greece is a small town with one road of tourist trap shops that takes
about half an hour to explore, but an hour away is the vast Olympia,
home of the Olympics with extensive ruins, and remarkable museum.
Piraeus is a busy industrial and cruise port, with a city to match where you
could catch a Hop-on Hop-Off bus to a beach. But again, an hour away is the rich history of Athens
with the beautiful Acropolis with Parthenon and museum and Panathenaic Stadium.
To get to see the incredible ruins of Pompeii or the gorgeous island of Capri,
the port is Naples about an hour away from the ruins based on traffic
and an often-bumpy boat ride as long to the island.
As I said to Winnie, these are unattractive and unappealing these ports in themselves,
making them some of the worst ports to call in the Mediterranean,
but they also are the best because they are gateways to iconic cities and must-see sites.
One warning and watch-out I gave her was that cruise lines often try and disguise these ports,
or certainly do not make it clear about the nature of these ports.
Look at this itinerary from a cruise line website and brochure. It shows the ship calls on Florence
/ Pisa and Rome. However, it is not. The ports are Livorno and Civitavecchia as you now know.
As I told Winnie, there is a simple way to know if the city or major site
is at the port by looking at the detailed itinerary listing.
Here the lines usually have name of the major city or attraction they know passengers like Winnie
want to see first, and then in brackets after it the actual port the ship will be calling into.
For example, for that cruise you can see they then have written Florence/ Pisa (Livorno).
If you are unfamiliar with the geography of a country this tip helps.
For example, I am considering this Mediterranean cruise to see the incredible Ephesus ruins but
can see from the listing that the port closest it calls on is the tourist resort of Kusadasi.
Checking it’s about an hour from the port.
So, after this, I wanted Winnie to know that I
also recommended ports that would sound like some of the worst to go,
but she would thank me after visiting as they will be some of the most memorable.
The Mediterranean is a popular vacation region, and the best cities draw land-based holiday
makers, weekend, and city breakers and, of course, cruise passengers.
All the cities I mentioned already suffer from being
packed, so make them worse ports in that way too.
Historic Venice, where us visitors go, for example,
has a population of just 60,000 but during summer has 60,000 to 100,000 visitors a day crowding in.
There are three ports I have not mentioned yet that suffer from big crowds that make
them among the worst ports for that reason, but I insisted Winnie have on her must-see list.
The first is Barcelona. This city of gets an estimated 12 million visitors a year. That’s
because the attractions and sights are worth it. There’s the Ramblas to stroll, quirky Gaudi
architecture, and the unfinished Sagrada Familia, which alone gets almost 5 million visitors a year.
The other is Dubrovnik. This stunning city in Croatia suffered with so many visitors,
especially cruise ship passengers, crowding into the walled city centre,
that the authorities are working on staggering calls though the day and into the evening.
Santorini is another. The capital Fira high up on the caldera has tight winding streets,
incredible views of white houses and gets rammed full in the summer.
The city of Oia close by gets crammed as people go to watch the sunset.
It’s streets throng with people and it will be hard for Winnie to get the shots of houses that
everyone going there wants to take. But again, this is port she will cherish.
My mother-in-law visited over 20 years ago and still talks about it despite the crowds.
These 3 additional ports are among the worst in the Mediterranean for crowds
but highly memorable, making them must-visit despite that.
There are though, of course ports that are both beautiful and interesting that I
suggested to Winnie she should visit from the long list of options.
There are 4 ports that stand out for me, that I suggested to Winnie.
Monte Carlo is one. To get to see this slightly surreal, and rich city is worth it.
It’s a great day walking round the harbour filled with mega-yachts,
strolling round the famous casino, and posing with the flash cars outside Hotel
de Paris (which I stayed in once by the way, over-priced and tiny room).
The next four ports are much more substantive, and favourites of mine.
Split in Croatia is an ancient town of great beauty. Walkable from the cruise port,
it is rich in history and has a wide boulevard on the ocean front with lots of cafes
to site and people watch after a city tour.
Kotor in Montenegro is another. Ships sail through a fjords-like entrance to reach the ancient city
within large formidable ancient walls. They either dock minutes from entrance,
or if busy, some will anchor and tender guests in to there.
If you are fit enough, it costs around 8 Euros to climb up the
mountain behind the city for some of the best views in the Mediterranean.
Valletta in Malta is another incredible port with a stunning
sail in. The harbour has large ancient ramparts and is possibly the most dramatic looking of
any Mediterranean port. A tour of the city and amazing architecture is fascinating.
Palma de Mallorca, while not as beautiful a port, is a remarkable city that the Spanish
Royal Family base themselves there often, as do many wealthy Spaniards.
There is a massive cathedral to explore, one of the largest and grandest in the Mediterranean.
While many of the best ports are also the worst ports in the Mediterranean,
getting to the right and must-see places in the region is hopefully what I helped Winnie to do.
If you found this interesting and want to know more about cruising in the region,
watch this video of other traps people fall into when cruising
here. Starting with the mistake almost everyone makes and regrets it. See you over there.