Mediterranean Travels

18 days, 4 continents, and 29 stops along the way, what a whirlwind trip!  At the time we thought this might be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so we traveled by plane, train, and ship to see as much as we could!  We loved each stop for different reasons: Rome for its charm and food, Egypt for its history that is unlike anything else we have seen, Israel for it’s significance to us as Christians, and the Amalfi Coast for its beauty.  Here is how we planned for this trip and saved money while traveling around the Mediterranean!

Details:

First we found a twelve-day cruise out of Rome with our dream destinations: Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Greece, and Italy.  After price comparing between sites, we called Vacations to Go (our go-to for booking cruises).  We were able to price match the cheapest rate we found plus they added some additional onboard credit!  In addition to the cruise, we also decided to fly in a few days early so we could spend time in Venice and Rome.  We were even able to see Paris as a bonus due to our 24-hour layover during our return flight!

We had cruised many times before this trip, sometimes choosing to do excursions through the cruise line and other times going off on our own.  However, this cruise was unique, because we wanted the benefit of an organized, guided tour (similar to what the cruise line offered), but we also wanted to completely customize it and get it at a much more affordable cost.  We ended up getting to do exactly this, and it worked out beautifully!  If you don’t mind doing the legwork, we would highly recommend this “method” for your next cruise!!

1. First we made a list of exactly what we wanted to see and do at each destination.  Then we researched several tour companies with great reviews on Trip Advisor and emailed them, asking for their best price with the itinerary we wanted.  We also asked them to give us the price breakdown if other cruise passengers were interested in joining our tour.  So for example, this would look like: $100 per person for 2-4 total people in the group, $75 pp for 5-8 people, $50 pp for 9-15).
2. Once we chose the tour company and had all the details (itinerary, price breakdown, etc.) in writing, we found our particular cruise on Cruise Critic Roll Call.  Roll Call is basically a group message board where you can ask questions, offer tips, or just get to know the people going on your specific cruise.  We had never used this feature on Cruise Critic before, but it was so helpful!  After we had the details of a tour lined up, we posted all the information on the message board, and other passengers let me know if they wanted to join.  We ended up organizing five different tours, and each tour had between 4-10 other people join.  This brought the price down considerably, and we met wonderful friends along the way!  To see how we got one of these tours for completely free, check out #6 on this post.

In the end, we were so glad we chose a cruise for this trip! We were able to visit so many different places, while still getting a good night’s sleep and relaxing while we traveled from one stop to the next.  In fact, of our six all time traveling favorites, three are from this trip alone!

Notes and Tips:

• Our tour guides in Egypt and the Amalfi Coast were by far our favorite (links below under Activities).  If you are visiting either of these destinations, I would HIGHLY recommend them.
• If you are booking a tour in Greece, make sure you familiarize yourself with their tourism laws.  Only certified guides are allowed to go into the major historical sites with you.  When booking a tour, you will be given a price for a driver and an additional cost for a guide.  We made the mistake of paying extra for an escort.  Although he was very friendly and knowledgeable, he still could not walk us through the sites.  An awesome guide can make history come to life, so when you can only read the plaques at the Parthenon, it can be disappointing.

Accommodations:
Royal Caribbean’s Mariner of the Seas
Barcelo Cairo Pyramids

Activities:
Roma Card
Omnia Card
Rick Steves App
Egypt Tailor Made (Walid Fathy)
Visit Pompeii (Giuseppe)
Sienne River Cruise

If you have been able to visit any of these destinations and have a favorite, let us know!