When on a cruise there are many things that can really make or break your getaways and for many, it is what they do on shore that will live long in their memories for good or bad reasons.

Certainty for me, it is the case that when planning a cruise holiday, it is all about the destinations the ship will visit, so I really want to make the most of my time onshore.

My favourite type of port is one where you can simply walk from your ship and head off exploring on your own, without the need for a shore excursion.

Whether that is due to the port been compact enough to explore on foot or because it has a decent public transportation network, if I can, I will simply head off and exploit really want to head away from the port to see or do something away from where the ship as docked.

There are some places where that just isn’t feasible and then there are some places where to do what I want to do will need me to book a shore excursion.

That tends to lead you with 2 options, book an independent tour or book a shorex through the line and whilst there are plusses and minuses to both, I have found over the years that booking an independent tour is often the best way to.

Not only are they often much, much cheaper but you normally travel in a smaller group and have more time where you are visiting.

If you have never tried booking independently or if you are new to cruising and trying to decide how to book your next shore excursion, this is the list for you as I take you through the top 10 tips for booking excursions independently.

Our Top 10 Tips for Booking Excursions Independently

Group Size

This maybe something you haven’t really thought about in the past and maybe you are unsure of just why it is important, but it is something that I have found from personnel experience to often be a game breaker.

Something that often ruins things for me when booking shore excursions with the cruise lines is the amount of people who go on the shore excursion with you.

Not is it the case that at a minimum, you are on a large coach full of fellow travelers but sometimes you will get multiple coaches leaving the ship to go to the same place at the same time.

Even if you choose a ‘small group’ excursion, they will still often arrive at the same time as the hoard of coaches, so the place you want to explore will be full of people.

Whilst it isn’t often to the same extremes, when you book an independent tour your really need to think about the group size you are booking with.

There are usually 3 different categories of excursion in this regard, firstly you have a private tour where you only travel with those in your party, then there are small group tours which usually seems around 8-10 people head off on a minibus and then there are large groups, where you head out with a coach full of people.

As people who like to take a back seat and relax on holiday, me and my wife have found a private tour to not to be to our taste whilst large groups keep the same problem of places been busy when you get there, so for us, a small group excursion has always proven to be the best.

Even if you are heading to the same place as the coaches from the ship, you will often get their first and have plenty of time to enjoy where you are visiting before the crowds from the ship arrive and on a minibus, you get to know the other son your tour and you also don’t need to worry about rushing back to the coach before somebody takes your seat!

Know Your Timings

Timing is everything when it comes to shore excursions, and we are not just talking about knowing when to be at your ship- which is of course probably the most important!

Firstly, you need to know how long you have in port and if you have time to do the excursion that you are looking at doing.

Remember to take into account that it will often take 30 minutes to clear the ship after your arrival time and another 30 minutes to get from the ship to your meeting point, with even longer needed if you are at a tender port.

You then need to look at how long you have at the places you are heading for, so you need to make sure your trip offers long enough to see and do what you want to do.

Many excursions will head to more than one place and there is nothing more frustrating than somewhere you want to experience been nothing more than a photo stop.

Lastly, you need to think about the time you get back at the ship, if you are scheduled to get back just in time for final boarding, you may feel rush but you may also want to have some spare time to walk around the port area before reboarding your ship, especially if you are in a smaller port where you can see some of the town or village you are in.

Check Cruise Line Offerings

This may sound counter productive but before booking an independent tour, we always check to see what the cruise line offers.

It is a great way to get some piece of mind as to what can be achieved whilst onshore as if the line gives 4 hours, for example, for a shore excursion but the tour you find only allots 2 hours for it, you probably should keep looking.

You also know if the tour you are looking at is good value or not when checking against what the line has to offer plus you can also check when the coaches from the ship expect to see off and get where you are going.

If you can choose your own time to be picked up, you can make sure you set off before the coaches to get their first.

Do Your Research

I have mentioned different parts of researching a shore excursion in just about every point in this list but for this point, I am referring to researching what you want to see and do whilst on shore and find the excursion that matches what you want the most.

Whilst the headline of a shore excursion maybe that you go to abc the small print may show that you spend most of your time at xyz and the worst excursions ar eons that take you away from where you want to be to take you shopping at overpriced tourist traps!

Check the small print, find reviews online from people who have done the tour before and ask questions of the tour operator before booking if you have any concerns.

Use an Intermediary

One of the big worries that people have about booking a shore excursion with a local agent or provider is that you are handing over your payment details and personnel information to someone or a company that you don’t know.

99% of the time there are no issues, and they can be trusted as much as any company you pass information onto at home but all it takes is for you to find that 1% and you could have huge issues.

There can be a happy medium however and that is to use an ‘intermediary’ service that take your booking and pass it on to a local operator.

Many of these are owned by travel giants and you should be able to trust them and whilst they may add on an extra cost for them to make some money, it will still be far cheaper than booking through your cruise line, who is all honesty, just do the same thing but with a much bigger add on.

Our shore excursions page features a decent list of such service and can be found at our shore excursion page.

Check Booking Conditions

One aspect of booking directly with the cruise line that many people say stops them booking independently, is that if you don’t dock at a port and have booked with the line, you get a full refund on your excursion.

There are many local operators who offer the same kind of guarantee or offer the chance to cancel up to 24 hours before hand, which is great for any port and scheduling changes.

Make sure you understand the booking conditions before you book to make sure you don’t get stung paying a big bill and having no experience if things don’t go to plan.

Check Reviews

As with the majority of things you by when you cannot be there in person, you really should check the reviews of the excursions you are looking at.

Don’t just rely on the reviews that feature on the booking website, of course, make sure that you check independent review websites such as Tripadvisor or Cruise Critic to get an overall view of the experiences of past cruisers.

Ship Time and Shore Time

This is something that can catch you out at the last second as whilst you may take all of the time in the world to make sure that you have plenty of time to enjoy your day with a reputable company, a simple mix up can prove costly.

The time onboard your ship is sometimes different to the time on land, so make sure you are aware and then the tour operator/driver is aware to make sure you don’t get back to the ship ‘on time’ only to find it has set sail.

Double Check What Is and Isn’t Included

Every trip and every operator offer a different level of service as to what is and isn’t included for your day of exploring.

If you are heading off to an attraction, museum or historical site, there will likely be a fee to enter which some tours include in the cost and some don’t.

Some will also include food and drink which is great for longer journeys whilst some will just give you time to buy something to eat at an extra cost.

Make sure you know what you are getting for your money and what extra costs may be involved.

Too Good To Be True

If you come across a tour that offers more than you ever think you could do when onshore and it been at an incredibly great value price, the chances are that there is a reason for that.

Sadly, there is a chance you will get scammed, and nobody is at the port to welcome you but more than likely, you will set off for what you think will be a great day only to be formed into paying extra costs and more than likely taken from shop to shop.