From Barcelona to the Bosphorus, the sea is the itinerary.
Which catamaran actually stops long enough to swim. What a day out to the Blue Lagoon costs in August. Whether the Bosphorus is better at sunset or after dark. Reviews of the boat trips you can board right across the basin.
Four boat days that settle a Mediterranean itinerary.
A caldera, a lagoon, an archipelago and a grotto. What each one costs to board, and what the people who sailed it say.
01The caldera dayVolcanic Islands Cruise with Hot Springs VisitOut of Santorini to the volcano and the hot springs, with the caldera wall going up 300 metres behind the stern.
02The lagoon dayCruise to Comino, Crystal Lagoon, and Blue LagoonSliema to Comino, where the channel is shallow enough to read white from the deck. Take the first sailing and swim before the fleet arrives.- 03The island dayFull-Day Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands Cruise with Lunch and DrinksThree of the Elaphites out of Dubrovnik with lunch aboard. The day that talks everyone into coming back with a skipper.
04The grotto dayIsland Boat Trip with GrottosRound Capri to the sea caves, the Blue Grotto rowed into flat on your back when the swell lets the boats in.
Six Mediterranean coasts, and the best day afloat on each.
Volcanic islands in the Aegean, grottoes under the Amalfi cliffs, a thousand Dalmatian islets, the Balearic anchorages, a strait with two continents on it and a lagoon between two Maltese islands. Start with a coast and work down to a boat.
The four coasts that carry the Mediterranean boat calendar.
Each of them sails a different kind of day. What every coast is for, and the lowest per-person fare on it as things stand.
★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · From the Port of Kos: Full Day Boat Cruise to 3 Islands
GreeceCaldera cruises, hot springs, and swim stops written into the timetable.
ItalySea caves under the cliffs, lagoon islands, and the Amalfi coastal run.
SpainCatamarans straight out of the city harbours, then the Balearic coves.
CroatiaFive islets before lunch, a blue cave, and a walled port to tie up in.
Every one of the 998 boat trips on the site →
This sea keeps its best water inside the rock.
Limestone all round the basin is undercut into caves and arches where light comes back up through the water and the whole chamber turns blue. Small boats go inside when the swell allows, and the hour you sail decides the colour.
The most popular boat trips on the Mediterranean.
Every boat trip on the site →The sailings more travellers take than any others in the basin, and what earns each of them the slot.
1
Bosphorus Dinner Cruise & Show with Private Table
Review of Istanbul’s Bosphorus dinner cruise, with yacht views, Turkish shows, a three-course meal, drinks, seating tips, and practical advice.
From · $28
Read our review →
2
Boat Trip: Glimpse of Murano, Torcello & Burano Islands
from $29
3
Daytime or Sunset Sightseeing Cruise & Audio Guide
from $8
4
Bosphorus Dinner Cruise & Turkish Night Show
from $28
5
Volcanic Islands Cruise with Hot Springs Visit
from $29
6
Murano & Burano: Boat Tour with Guide & Glass Factory Visit
from $23
7
Burano, Torcello & Murano Boat Tour w/Glassblowing
from $28
8
5-Hour Catamaran Cruise with Lunch & Swim
from $69
In the Aegean the boat is the road between islands.
Day boats string the Cyclades together, the caldera is only properly seen from the water, and Crete keeps its best lagoon at the far western end of a long drive. Book the crossing, not the coach.
Every Greek boat trip →
Croatia sails more islands in a day than anywhere else on this sea.
A thousand-odd islets between Zadar and Dubrovnik, the Blue Cave on Bisevo, and a speedboat culture that reaches five of them before lunch. The walled towns are the harbours here, not the destination.
- 1Blue Cave Small-Group Boat Tour from Dubrovnikfrom $84
- 2Full-Day Dubrovnik Elaphite Islands Cruise with Lunch and Drinksfrom $78
- 3Blue cave, Mamma Mia and Hvar, 5 islands speedboat tourfrom $111
What a day on Mediterranean water actually costs.
Every trip on the site, grouped by the per-person fare. A good number of the best days afloat here come in under the price of dinner ashore.
Harbour cruises, the Bosphorus, lagoon ferries and the short hops out of the ports.
The full-day standards: a catamaran with lunch and a swim ladder, the small-group Blue Cave boats, an island cruise with the meal aboard.
Long island days with a meal and an open bar, the Capri and Amalfi runs out of Sorrento, and a boat with a skipper to yourselves.
Island hop, sunset sail, or a catamaran with the grill already lit.
Three shapes of day carry this sea between them. The boats travellers rate highest in each, and the fare each kind starts at.
Three stretches of Mediterranean water with no equivalent anywhere.
Turquoise bays exist in every ocean. A lagoon between two Maltese islands, a strait with a continent on each bank, and a cave you enter lying flat in a rowing boat do not.
The Blue Lagoon at Comino
Comino has no cars, one hotel, and a channel between it and Cominotto so shallow that it reads white from the deck. Boats leave Sliema and Marfa through the morning and the swimming stops are the entire point of the day. By noon in August the lagoon holds a dozen hulls; the first sailing out is the only one that finds it quiet.
- 1Cruise to Comino, Crystal Lagoon, and Blue Lagoon★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 6,855 reviews
- 2Gozo, Comino & Blue Lagoon Cruise – swim & sightsee★★★★★★★★★★ 4.7 · 6,564 reviews
- 3Blue Lagoon & 3 Islands Cruise with Lunch from Split★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 5,756 reviews
The Bosphorus
A strait a kilometre wide with Europe on one bank and Asia on the other, wooden yali houses down at the waterline and a current that runs hard to the south. Fares start at the price of a coffee on the public ferry and climb to a dinner boat with a floor show. Sunset sailings turn the whole Ottoman waterfront gold, which is why they cost more than the same hull at noon.
- 1Bosphorus Dinner Cruise & Show with Private Table★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 62,058 reviews
- 2Bosphorus Dinner Cruise & Turkish Night Show★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 12,954 reviews
- 3Bosphorus Sightseeing Cruise Tour with Audio Guide★★★★★★★★★★ 4.6 · 4,704 reviews
The Blue Grotto and the Faraglioni
The grotto mouth off Capri is barely a metre high, so the last stretch is done lying flat in a rowing boat while the oarsman times the swell. Inside, light coming up through the underwater opening turns the chamber electric blue. It shuts whenever the sea gets up, and the boats from Sorrento and Naples circle the Faraglioni stacks instead.
- 1Island Boat Trip with Grottos★★★★★★★★★★ 4.3 · 4,923 reviews
- 2Gulf of Naples & Capri Sightseeing Boat Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 3,384 reviews
- 3Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue Grotto★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 3,170 reviews
Four Mediterranean boat days that will not wait.
Most of this sea can be arranged from a harbour-front table the night before. These four run on swell, on single daily sailings, and on boats that are full by mid-morning.
- 01Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue GrottoThe cave is entered in small rowing boats and closes the moment the swell comes up. Only the morning sailings get inside with any reliability.
- 02Cruise to Comino, Crystal Lagoon, and Blue LagoonOne lagoon, one small fleet, and an August timetable. The early boats are the only ones with water to swim in.
- 03Speedboat Trip to Symi with Free Time to ExploreThe Symi day boat sails once and returns once. Miss the morning departure and there is no second crossing.
- 04Cruise to Delos and Rhenia with LunchNobody stays overnight on Delos. The boats run to a fixed timetable and the last one back is not negotiable.
The meltemi cancels boats. This is where the water stays flat.
July and August send the meltemi down the Aegean and the mistral into the Gulf of Lion, and open-water sailings get pulled at a few hours notice. Straits and lagoons carry on regardless: the Bosphorus runs in almost anything, Venice has no swell to speak of, and a sheltered-bay lunch cruise sails on days the island run does not.
By coast, west to east
Venice down to Corfu, mostly by boat.
Zadar
Split
Kotor
CorfuThe newest Mediterranean boat trip reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
Saronic Islands Cruise with VIP Area Seating & Lunch
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Cruise:Portovenere and the 3 islands with aperitif included!
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Full-Day Catamaran Cruise to Poliegos and Kleftiko
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Cruise of the 2 Islands: Porquerolles & Port-Cros with stops
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Cruise, Coffee and Swimming in the Calanques of Frioul
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Guided Boat Cruise to Sirmione from Garda/Bardolino
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From Sagone/Cargèse: Scandola and Calanques de Piana Cruise
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Sunrise Balloon Flight & Sunset Catamaran Cruise
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Costa del Sol: Best Sunset Cruise from Fuengirola
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From Mandelieu: Corniche d’Or Sightseeing Cruise with Guide
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