There’s More Ashore: Our Guide To Shore Excursions

When it comes to booking shore excursions, there are a number of options available. One of the best options is to pre-book your shore excursions online or with the help of a travel agent. If you book early, there will be more availability, which means you are more likely to get that tour you have been eyeing off. But if you can’t make up your mind, don’t fret because you will be able to book on the ship. In this case, your cruise line will guide you on what is the best process.

When it comes to picking the perfect shore excursion for you, it really depends on what you are looking for. You’ll find that your shore excursions options are surprisingly extensive, so there will be plenty to choose from. The options include guided tours, active excursions, cultural tours, shore excursions with free time and more!

Activity-based shore excursions cater to a wide range of activities and activity levels. This can include everything from snorkelling, hiking and white water rafting to spending the day at a spa or cruising on a sailboat. Some shore excursions can involve strenuous activities, so we recommend carefully reading the description of the shore excursion you are interested in to determine if the activity level suits you. 

An example of an activity-based shore excursion would be boarding a boat to do a snorkelling tour of the Great Barrier Reef.

A sightseeing shore excursion typically involves boarding a bus and heading off to see some of the highlights of your destination. Sightseeing tours will also often allow travellers to spend some time in the top shopping areas. 

An example of this would be doing a helicopter sightseeing tour of Moreton Island and seeing the 280-metre-high Mount Tempest from a whole new perspective. 

Cultural tours are more than just sightseeing. On a cultural tour, you get to the heart of a destination and have an opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture. Shore excursions like this could involve visiting a local village and learning about their customs and traditions or even tasting some of the local cuisines.

Not all shore excursions are guided, some tours simply bring you to a location and allow you to explore freely until it is time for the bus to take you back to the ship.  

An example of this would be travelling to the Blue Lagoon in Port Vila, Vanuatu where you can spend the day swimming in the beautiful clear water.