Taking the easy approach to excursions?
If you have ever been on a cruise, you know the drill. You gather in the theater at 8:15 AM, wait for your group number to be called, shuffle down the gangway, and spend the next four hours following a lovely local guide holding up a numbered paddle.
Don’t get me wrong—we love cruising with Viking especially for the quality of the included tours in each port. On our recent 16-day Viking Malta, Morocco and the Mediterranean voyage across seven countries, we took advantage of many included excursions. Viking does a brilliant job providing a baseline overview of a new port. But when it comes to really experiencing a destination—and certainly when it comes to photographing it—we took a big step on this cruise of breaking away from the coach buses and hire a private local guide in three of the ports.
Why did we always choose the Viking Excursions and why did we change?
Safety perhaps? It’s easier, certainly, and you know you will never be left behind in a strange port wondering why the ship’s berth is empty! After 11 cruises, why did we suddenly change?
I think it was the fact that we were in Malta overnight on the ship. We had booked the Birgu by boat and foot excursion with Viking at $139 each, and then planned to do Valletta on foot, the next day. We realized that the whole of the island was going to be a mystery to us and other excursion options – Mdina and Mosta, for instance, would be another $149 each, even assuming we could fit it in.
I asked my “AI Friend” what we could do instead and received a recommendation to use a private driver for 8 hours and we could see:
- Mdina (The Silent City)
- Rabat and the Roman remains
- Mosta
- Dingli (The cliffs)
- Marsaxlokk (The traditional fishing village)
- The Birgu Waterfront
On top of that the driver realized that on our included walking tour of Valletta we would not get to visit the interior of the St John Co-Cathedral (a $179 option as part of another tour!) as it was Sunday and only worshippers are allowed inside so we changed plans and he drove us to the cathedral, explained how to get tickets and was there to pick us up after our visit. He then took us to his favorite part of Birgu and we did a short walk there as well. I’ll write much more about that in the relevant port article, but it just shows what is possible. Bearing in mind this was one week before the cruise, but we booked this trip for $470.
Once I realized just what we could do (and bearing in mind that the ship was in several ports until quite late in the evening), the next few hours of research (with my friend!) gave me a private tour of Rabat in Morocco plus a driver to take us on a driving trip over the hilly and narrow roads of Corsica. By now I was too late to cancel the Viking excursions online so my first task on arriving on the ship was to cancel those unwanted trips now that I had much better ones under my belt.
What did we learn?
I’ve already complained, in my introductory article about the Malta cruise of the habit of some passengers signing up for walking tours that are really too difficult for them and the poor guide (in Marseille on this occasion) having to adjust the route we were taking through the Panier district to avoid some steeper streets. We found that in Rabat, in Morocco, where we had a driver and then a 3-hour private guide for the city, we covered so much ground, and he was so accommodating to my occasional diversions to just take that wonderful photo opportunity! We also learned that there was never a rush to get anywhere – we were always back at the ship hours before departure. Could it go badly wrong – of course it could! It would be very prudent to always take your passport, money and credit cards with you on a private tour. If something really bad was to happen and you missed the ship, you could legally fly out of the country and to your next port and hopefully return to the ship.
So, with that in mind, here is my summary of the advantages of this and why we will definitely consider this again on our next cruise.
The Power of Pace (and Beating the Crowds)
The biggest hidden cost of a 40-person bus tour is time. You spend an inordinate amount of your day waiting—waiting for everyone to board, waiting for the stragglers who spent too long in the gift shop, and waiting in line for the inevitable group restroom break.
When you hire a private driver, your tour begins the second you step off the ship. On this last trip, having our own car meant we were walking through the silent, golden alleys of Mdina in Malta, and standing beneath the towering red cliffs of the Calanques de Piana in Corsica, a full hour before the first convoy of cruise buses arrived. You get to experience the destination as it was meant to be seen, rather than over the shoulders of fifty other tourists.
Customizing the Un-Customizable
Ship excursions are, by necessity, built for groups. They offer a set menu of the most popular sites. But what if your interests are a bit more specific?
In Corsica, I knew I wanted to photograph the dramatic red rock gorges of Piana, but I also wanted to visit the Greek village of Cargèse with its two historic churches facing each other across the valley. The cruise line didn’t offer a tour that combined both. By hiring a private driver, we simply built our own itinerary. We stopped exactly where we wanted, stayed as long as we liked, and skipped the things we had no interest in.
The Light Advantage
As a photographer, light is everything. But you don’t have to be carrying a big camera to appreciate this. Ship tours inevitably drop you at the most beautiful outdoor monuments right at high noon, when the Mediterranean sun is at its absolute harshest—washing out the colors and making everyone squint.
With a private guide, you control the schedule. We prefer to visit outdoor architectural sites and sweeping landscapes first thing in the morning when the light is soft and beautiful, saving the shaded markets, long lunches, or indoor museums for the midday heat.
The Math: Is it Actually More Expensive?
There is a common misconception that “private” equals “luxury pricing.” That isn’t always the case.
While you can always find ultra-expensive VIP tours, booking a standard private car and local guide through a platform like ToursByLocals or TripAdvisor often makes incredible financial sense. If you compare the cost of a private driver for the day against buying two premium, paid excursions through the cruise line (which can easily run $150 or more per person), the private option is often roughly the same price. If you happen to split the private car with another couple from the ship, it frequently ends up being significantly cheaper than the cruise excursion. Even with just two of us, we did so much in Malta that covering that in paid excursions would have been far more expensive.
A Few Practical Tips for Going Private
If you decide to book your own guides, keep a few logistical things in mind:
- Meeting up is easy: Private guides are very accustomed to cruise passengers. They will typically be standing right outside the port security gates holding a sign with your name on it.
- Keep an eye on the clock: The ship will not wait for you if your private tour runs late. Always build in a generous buffer and tell your driver you need to be back at the port at least 90 minutes before all-aboard time.
- The Euro Rule for Tipping: This is especially crucial for North Africa. Always bring a good stack of €5 and €10 notes to tip your drivers and guides. Do not use local ATMs in places like Tunisia or Algeria to get tip money, as their currencies are strictly closed—meaning you cannot convert any leftover local cash back to Dollars or Pounds once you leave!
- Carry your Passports and Credit cards: If the worst happens and you miss the ship, at least you will be in a position to fly to the next port to try to rejoin the cruise. A ship boarding card will get you nowhere!
While there is absolutely a time and place for the ease of a ship’s coach tour, taking control of your own port days can turn a standard vacation into a real adventure.
