How much money should I budget for tours?

[Loverofcrafting]

I am due to go on a West med cruise - ports around - Spain, France, italy. 

 

We don't usually do the ships excursions because they can be expensive.  We prefer walking out from the ship/docks and going private. 

 

How much money would I need to budget for each day for - taxis/private tours?   - would 120 euro each day be enough? 

[Essiesmom]

First, you have to decide what you want to see, and how to get to it.  I suggest you get a copy of Rick Steves’ Mediterranean Cruise Ports.  He describes your ports and what there is to see/do in the time you have to do it.  And how to do it yourself, and how much it might cost.  He doesn’t cover many of the islands, such as Mallorca, Sicily, Malta, and the Greek islands, but they are covered in other of his travel books, and by Lonely Planet.  
   Guidebooks and websites can tell you what entrance fees might be charged for some of the sites.  Some ports you can just walk off, others require a shuttle as attractions are an hour or more away.  We were long retired seniors and in new ports, usually booked half day basic tours from the ship.  But many places we just walked off and wandered.  We took the train to Rome and walked…a lot.  With a map.  We rode the subway in Barcelona, wandered all over Venice.  
it takes research.  Join the roll call for your cruise and see what your fellow guests are planning.  EM

[wowzz]

Unlike the Caribbean,  for example,  there are fewer tour guides touting for business in European ports. 

If, for example,  you want to see the Alhambra in Grenada,  there is no point looking for a tour when you get off the ship in Malaga.

You need to do some research in advance,  decide what you want to do, and then look for tours, and pre-book.

However,  nothing wrong with just wandering around Malaga,  Seville,  Marseilles etc,  getting a little lost, having a drink in a pavement cafe, and just relaxing. 

It is not compulsory to visit as many tourist sights as possible! 

[wowzz]

39 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

 But many places we just walked off and wandered

My sort of holiday ! 

We had a weekend break in Seville (we lived in Spain at the time). Had dinner in the city,  about 10pm, and walked back to our hotel about midnight.

Came across a local bar, where all the locals  were  drinking and chatting. We got a table,  bottle of wine, and spent two hours just absorbing the atmosphere.  We remember that evening more than any museum, tourist attraction etc.

[MWarren3549]

2 hours ago, Loverofcrafting said:

I am due to go on a West med cruise - ports around - Spain, France, italy. 

 

We don't usually do the ships excursions because they can be expensive.  We prefer walking out from the ship/docks and going private. 

 

How much money would I need to budget for each day for - taxis/private tours?   - would 120 euro each day be enough? 

That seems to be very low.  We did Barcelona to Venice in 2013 ...  we chose to do NCL ship excursions because we had NO idea/information of what to do in these countries or how to go about doing it.  NCL is VERY expensive on shore excursions ... but that's the bullet we bit for the cruise.  

 

[Nebr.cruiser]

You will need to do a lot of research--the port of call boards on these forums and your roll call will help--but I think you should easily be able to do most tours in that price range.  It was quite a bit less when we last toured in the Med, but that was some time ago.   Private (just you) tours will of course be more expensive than groups of 6-15 or so.

 

Guidebooks and other online research can narrow down what you want to see as well.  We never take ship tours unless absolutely necessary because of logistics, ie a difficult port where it might be iffy to get back to the ship in time.

[Mary229]

For Spain just walking around I think 120 euros a day would be an adequate budget.  I use Alltrails and found very good local’s city walking maps, if you pay the premium account fee you have the ability to download the maps for offline use.  
 

i find tours in Spain fairly cheap and there are some cities with walking tours for tips. Sometimes   I take the “free” tour then hire the guide for the rest of the day 

Edited October 2, 2022 by Mary229

[Essiesmom]

How many of you are there, and do you plan on having a meal or snack?  That may significantly affect your budget.  EM