Explora Journeys Explora I - Adriatic & Aegean

Where this cruise calls, day by day

8 ports and 2 sea days over 9 Nights.

1. Day 1

   Venice

   ItalyDepart

   Since August 2021 ships above roughly 25,000 gross tons have been barred from the Giudecca Canal and St Mark's Basin, so the classic sail-past no longer happens. Large ships now berth at Porto Marghera, the industrial port on the mainland edge of the lagoon, and transfer passengers in; many lines moved turnarounds to Trieste or Ravenna. Only small vessels still use the Stazione Marittima.

   • The Basilica di San Marco and the Doge's Palace, both worth a pre-booked slot
   • The Gallerie dell'Accademia and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection on the Dorsoduro bank
   • The Rialto market early, before the day-trippers land
   • A vaporetto the length of the Grand Canal - the cheap version of the sail-in you no longer get

   Getting ashore

   Large ships berth at Porto Marghera on the mainland and transfer passengers by bus and boat; only ships under the tonnage limit still reach the Stazione Marittima in the lagoon.

   Best months

   Apr-May and Sep-Oct (summer is hot and packed, and Nov-Jan brings acqua alta)

2. Day 2

   Dubrovnik

   CroatiaPort

   Dubrovnik's walled Old Town is small, hard-surfaced and steep, and on a two-ship day it does not cope - which is why the city capped cruise arrivals. Ships berth at Gruz, about 3km round the headland, so you arrive by bus or taxi rather than stepping out at the gate. The wall circuit is what people come for and it earns the ticket, but it is a 2km loop with almost no shade.

   • The city walls circuit - roughly 2km, stepped, shadeless, and about EUR40
   • The Stradun, the Rector's Palace, and the Franciscan monastery pharmacy of 1317
   • The cable car up Mount Srd for the view down onto the Old Town and Lokrum
   • A boat across to Lokrum island, or sea kayaking beneath the walls

   Getting ashore

   Docked at Gruz, about 2.5km from the Pile Gate; ship shuttles run to the gate, local buses 1A and 1B take ten minutes, and the walk is 35 minutes along a busy road.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug means heat on the walls and the worst of the crowding)

3. Day 3

   Kotor

   MontenegroPort

   The approach is half the day here: ships work 28km up the Bay of Kotor and through the Verige strait, only 340m wide at its tightest, past Perast and near-vertical limestone before tying up. Kotor is a compact Venetian walled town at the head of the bay, and the berth is a hundred metres from the gate - which also means a very small town absorbing everything a large ship unloads.

   • The walls climb to St John's Fortress - 1,350 steps and 365m up, ticketed, with no shade
   • St Tryphon's Cathedral, consecrated in the 11th century, and the Old Town lanes
   • A boat to Our Lady of the Rocks, the man-made islet off Perast
   • The switchback road up to Lovcen and Njegos's mausoleum, or Budva and Sveti Stefan

   Getting ashore

   There is only one usable cruise pier, a two-minute walk from the Sea Gate. The first ship in takes it; everything arriving after that anchors in the bay and tenders.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot and the fortress climb is punishing)

4. Day 4

   Corfu

   GreecePort

   Corfu was Venetian for four centuries and then British for fifty, and the Old Town shows it - tall shuttered Italianate terraces, a cricket ground on the main square, and an arcaded promenade the French put up. The island is green and wooded in a way the Cyclades are not. The cruise terminal is a couple of kilometres from the Old Town, an unremarkable walk or a short shuttle ride.

   • The Old Fortress and the Liston arcade on the Spianada, the largest square in Greece
   • The Achilleion, the palace Empress Elisabeth of Austria built above Gastouri
   • Paleokastritsa - the monastery on the headland and the coves beneath it
   • Kanoni, with the Vlacherna monastery and Mouse Island offshore

   Getting ashore

   Docked at the cruise terminal about 2km from the Old Town; a shuttle runs to the port gate, and it is a 20-25 minute walk from there along the waterfront.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Corfu gets far more rain than the Aegean islands, so shoulder season can be wet)

5. Day 5 · At sea

6. Day 6

   Santorini

   GreecePort

   Santorini is a flooded volcanic caldera, and the towns sit on the rim some 300m above where your ship anchors - which is the whole logistical problem. There is no cruise berth, so you tender to Skala below Fira and then queue for a small cable car, walk up 588 steps, or ride a mule. Arrivals are now capped to thin the crush, but the cable car remains the bottleneck in both directions.

   • Oia on the northern tip, and the caldera-edge path that walks there from Fira
   • Akrotiri - a Bronze Age town buried by the eruption and excavated under a modern roof
   • Assyrtiko tasting at the caldera-facing wineries, Santo Wines and Venetsanos
   • A caldera boat to the crater of Nea Kameni and the warm springs at Palea Kameni

   Getting ashore

   Tender to Skala, the old port below Fira, then the cable car up the cliff - queues of an hour each way are normal on busy days, and the alternative is 588 steps. Excursion tenders often land at Athinios instead, where coaches wait.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-Oct (Jul-Aug is hot, packed, and Oia at sunset is shoulder to shoulder)

7. Day 7

   Mykonos

   GreecePort

   Mykonos is the Cyclades at their most commercial - a whitewashed town that has been a fashion and nightlife destination since the 1960s, with prices to match. Most ships berth at Tourlos, about 2km north of Chora, though when the schedule is full some anchor and tender straight into the old harbour. For many passengers the real draw is next door: Delos, the uninhabited sanctuary island, is a 30-minute boat ride.

   • Delos - the ancient sanctuary of Apollo and its Terrace of the Lions, by boat from the old port
   • Little Venice, the Kato Mili windmills, and the church of Panagia Paraportiani
   • Beach time at Psarou or Platis Gialos, or the party beaches at Paradise and Super Paradise
   • Ano Mera and the Panagia Tourliani monastery, away from the crowds

   Getting ashore

   Two options: most large ships dock at Tourlos (New Port) 2km from town, with a paid shuttle bus or water taxi into Chora; when berths are taken, ships anchor and tender into the old harbour, which lands you in town on foot.

   Best months

   May-Jun and Sep-early Oct (Jul-Aug is crowded and expensive, and the meltemi wind can cancel Delos boats)

8. Day 8 · At sea

9. Day 9

   Athens (Piraeus)

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   Athens (Piraeus) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore
10. Day 10

    Athens (Piraeus)

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    Athens (Piraeus) port guide: where ships dock and what to do ashore