Port call · HISTORICAL TOURS

The 15 History Days Ashore Worldwide That Earn Their Price

24 tours  ·  from $24 a head

Good history days ashore fill up a season ahead and the great ones go first. Below: the 15 to book early, what each includes and how they differ.

Kona Shore Excursion: Sea Turtles, Historic Kona & Coffee - At a glance
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Kona Shore Excursion: Sea Turtles, Historic Kona & Coffee

1.Kona Shore Excursion: Sea Turtles, Historic Kona & Coffee

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 324 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $149Our pick

Meet your guide at Kailua Pier for a small-group Kona tour covering Greenwell or Bay View Farm, St. Benedict’s Painted Church, a local lunch stop, and Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. Guides such as BJ, Kelvin, Rusty, Marissa, and Jessica add island history and local context. Turtle sightings are possible but never guaranteed.

“The tour was amazing, learned lots of local history and saw turtles!! Kelvin was an awesome tour guide.”

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Food Tasty and History Tour in Civitavecchia - Starting with coffee at Largo della Pace
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Food Tasty and History Tour in Civitavecchia

2.Food Tasty and History Tour in Civitavecchia

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 256 reviews · 3 hours (approx.) · from $82Top rated

Spend about three hours walking Civitavecchia with a local English-speaking guide such as Roberta or Raffaella. Begin with coffee and pastries, then explore the Roman port, medieval squares, market, old Ghetto, and underground walls. Tastings include pizza, bruschetta, arancini, cheese, meats, bread, wine, and more. The group is capped at 15.

“This is one of the best food tours I've ever been on, if not THE best. Roberta shared so many interesting facts and history of the area. We've previously just travelled through the city to/from the port and Rome and so glad we took the opportunity this time to explore and enjoy this food tour. Highly highly recommend!!”

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Tauranga Shore Excursion: History & Kiwifruit Tasting – 4 Hours - Tauranga harbor and the Port of Tauranga
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Tauranga Shore Excursion: History & Kiwifruit Tasting – 4 Hours

3.History & Kiwifruit Tasting – 4 Hours

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 146 reviews · from $65

Spend four hours with a local driver-guide such as Russell or Emile, visiting Mount Maunganui, Tauranga’s harbor and port, Minden Lookout, and a working kiwifruit orchard. Expect small-group transport, local history, photo stops, and tastings of kiwifruit, avocado, and locally sourced tea.

“It’s a good experience to get to know the area if your here for a short time.. I think it could be done on less than 4 hours but Russell didn’t want to rush they. He was pleasant.”

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Nassau Shore Excursion: Half-Day Historical Sightseeing Tour - Climbing the 65 steps at Queen’s Staircase
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Nassau Shore Excursion: Half-Day Historical Sightseeing Tour

4.Nassau Shore Excursion: Half-Day Historical Sightseeing Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 70 reviews · from $145

Explore Nassau in a small group van with a Bahamian guide such as Nikki or Tyrone. Visit the Rum Cake Factory, Queen’s Staircase, Graycliff Chocolatier, John Watling’s Distillery, and the Pirates of Nassau Museum, with samples, bottled water, and port pickup included.

“Tyrone did an amazing job! Made the tour fun and added anything to it we wanted. Extra time was even added to stop at souvenir shop. At the end he even drove us in front of our condo to drop us off. Book with Tyrone!”

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Civitavecchia: Historical and Culinary Walking Tour - Starting at Largo della Pace
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Civitavecchia: Historical and Culinary Walking Tour

5.Historical and Culinary Walking Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 61 reviews · 3 hours · from $80

Walk Civitavecchia with an English-speaking local guide such as Roberta, Raf, or Alessia. Expect old-town lanes, port history, a café stop, market tastings, pastry, pizza, bruschetta, cheese, cold cuts, wine, and a final spread. This is a history-led food walk, not a full restaurant crawl.

“The guide, Raf, was AWESOME!!! The food was DELICIOUS and PLENTIFUL!!!”

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Cruise Shore Excursion - Private Tuk Tuk Tour to the Historic Center - Views at Passeio das Virtudes and Porto’s upper city
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Cruise Shore Excursion – Private Tuk Tuk Tour to the Historic Center

6.Cruise Shore Excursion – Private Tuk Tuk Tour to the Historic Center

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 47 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $106

From Leixões Port, your private tuk tuk and local guide take you through Porto’s steep lanes, river viewpoints, churches, bridges, gardens, and historic squares. Expect live commentary, a small Port wine tasting, and guides such as Ana, Fabio, Gonçalo, and Gabriella. Entry fees are extra, and the famous Livraria Lello needs advance planning.

“We had difficulty reaching the operator about a meeting time. Both Viator and I left numerous messages, requesting a meeting time and detailed instructions for a meeting place. We were on a cruise and would have preferred to get this resolved before leaving home. Finally the night before the tour, we received an email with all of the details we required. So glad we did because our guide and driver, Fabio, was excellent. We had the perfect overview of Porto. One note of caution, if you want to go into the famous bookstore, you must buy a skip the line ticket online. The regular ticket lines are huge and there…”

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Invergordon Cruise Excursion - Castle ,Whisky and History Tour - Struie and the Millionaires View
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Invergordon Cruise Excursion – Castle ,Whisky and History Tour

7.Invergordon Cruise Excursion – Castle ,Whisky and History Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 37 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $212

Travel from Invergordon with a kilted local guide such as George, Alastair, or Sara, stopping at Struie’s Millionaires View, Dunrobin Castle, Loch Fleet, Dornoch, and Balblair Distillery. Expect a small group of up to eight, port pickup, Highland stories, scenic drives, and time for local food, falconry, wildlife, or extra stops when the schedule allows.

“The trip was excellent. Our guide, George was fantastic. He was knowledgeable and was explaining the entire journey. Because we had some time at the end, George tried to get us to a distillery but unfortunately was unable to contact the other party. A fun trip nevertheless!”

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Cruise Ship Shore Excursion of Historic Kona - Key points to know before booking
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Cruise Ship Shore Excursion of Historic Kona

8.Cruise Ship Shore Excursion of Historic Kona

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 33 reviews · 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $79

Travel from Kailua Pier in a small, air-conditioned group to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, St. Benedict’s Painted Church, and Royal Kona Coffee. Guides such as Kawika, Lincoln, and Dean add local stories along the way. The 3.5-hour trip suits Pride of America passengers who want historic Kona highlights without risking a late return to the ship.

“Visiting the painted church was worth the trip. Very interesting history surrounding the church. Our guide was friendly and provided us with a great deal of information about Kona's history and culture. He did a wonderful job! The length of the excursion was perfect as it gave people enough time to spend time exploring the town of Kona after the tour.”

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We Love Livorno : Cultural Tour - Inside Fortezza Vecchia
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We Love Livorno : Cultural Tour

9.We Love Livorno : Cultural Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 26 reviews · 2 hours 30 minutes (approx.) · from $28

Spend about 2.5 hours seeing Livorno through local eyes with Claudia and, when needed, an English-speaking companion. Expect Fortezza Vecchia, market and seafront sights, local transport tips, and snacks such as torta di ceci. This private tour favors everyday Livorno over Pisa or Florence, though English quality may vary.

“Claudia was communicative through the process and met us on time. She had another person come along "Sam" who was to be her translator, as we requested an English tour. Sam was a younger (early 20's) guy, and was a few mins late. While Claudia was well dressed, Sam appears as if he just crawled out of bed. It was also very obvious he was sick and wiping his constantly running nose. His translating skills were terrible as well. Fortunately, we had one person in our group that spoke Italian and could translate Claudia's narrative for us. Sam was useless, and although we tried making conversation with him, he was…”

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Liverpool Heritage, History, Culture Walking Tour-Shore Excursion - Waterfront streets and Liverpool on screen
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Liverpool Heritage, History, Culture Walking Tour-Shore Excursion

10.Liverpool Heritage, History, Culture Walking Tour-Shore Excursion

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 21 reviews · 2 hours 15 minutes (approx.) · from $37

Meet guides such as Carl, Michael, Pam, or Peter at Liverpool Cruise Terminal for a 2-hour-15-minute walk through maritime landmarks, the Three Graces, Royal Albert Dock, Beatles sites, Castle Street, and historic churches. Expect a city overview rather than a dedicated Beatles tour, with cobbles and about four miles of walking.

“Visite agréable et instructive, non fatiguante. Le guide est sympathique (en léger retard , à recommander”

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Shore Excursion: Wonderful Heritage Day Cruise at Halong Bay - Sung Sot Cave gives the day its main walk
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Shore Excursion: Wonderful Heritage Day Cruise at Halong Bay

11.Shore Excursion: Wonderful Heritage Day Cruise at Halong Bay

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 19 reviews · from $79

Sail from Ha Long International Cruise Port through UNESCO-listed Halong Bay, passing famous limestone islets before visiting Sung Sot Cave and Luon Cave by kayak or bamboo boat. A Vietnamese set lunch, bottled water, guide, entrance fees, and return port transfer are included. Guides such as Johnny and Mr. Son have earned special praise for their care and clear explanations.

“Probably one of the best tours I’ve ever taken with Viator and I have taken many. This tour is a Gem. If you are looking for the true Asian experience. We highly recommend this tour. You get taken to a cruise ship called ambassador that is very Read more”

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Casablanca Full Day Shore Excursion Cultural Tour - El Hank Lighthouse and the Atlantic edge
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Casablanca Full Day Shore Excursion Cultural Tour

12.Casablanca Full Day Shore Excursion Cultural Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 13 reviews · from $289

Spend about 10 hours seeing Casablanca with a private guide and air-conditioned vehicle. Visit Hassan II Mosque, El Hank Lighthouse, Bab Marrakech, the old medina, Corniche, Quartier Habous, and Mohammed V Square. Port pickup and drop-off are included, while the mosque’s interior tour costs extra.

“Guide's knowledge and respect for multi-cultural and religious society .”

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Private Etruscan History Tour from Civitavecchia: Tarquinia and Tuscania - Tarquinia’s medieval center and Santa Maria di Castello
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Private Etruscan History Tour from Civitavecchia: Tarquinia and Tuscania

13.Private Etruscan History Tour from Civitavecchia: Tarquinia and Tuscania

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 12 reviews · 8 hours (approx.) · from $361

You’ll leave Civitavecchia with a private driver and visit Tarquinia’s Etruscan tombs, museum, medieval center, and Santa Maria di Castello, then continue to Tuscania for its basilicas, museum, and countryside views. The pace is flexible, though driver-guide quality can vary. Emmanuele, Manuel, and Frederico are praised by name.

“Tarquinia and Tuscania are very interesting, but the tour provided very little information. The driver was great and very polite, as a driver - but we were expecting more of a tour with local information, etc. Driver didn't even have a lunch recommendation in Tarquinia or places to visit. We ended up having to scramble with Google to make our own "tour"”

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Hambantota Shore Excursion: Village and Cultural tour - Remote villages and the question of what you will actually see
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Hambantota Shore Excursion: Village and Cultural tour

14.Hambantota Shore Excursion: Village and Cultural tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.8 · 9 reviews · from $60

You’ll leave Hambantota Port with a private guide for a five-hour look at village life, temples, countryside, wildlife, and local food. The route can be shaped around a village visit, safari, or non-safari outing. English, German, and Russian guides are available, though clear English may vary.

“It wasn’t quite as we thought as there was no visit to a village but a rather lengthy visit to a temple which incurred a long walk in our socks. We loved the drive, the countryside and the beach. The driver was very kind and drive very safely.”

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Shore Excursion to Historic Kerikeri including Lunch - Meeting your van at Waitangi Wharf
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Shore Excursion to Historic Kerikeri including Lunch

15.Shore Excursion to Historic Kerikeri including Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 6 reviews · 4 hours · from $125

From Waitangi Wharf, join a small English-speaking group of up to 11 for a four-hour tour through Kerikeri. See Rainbow Falls, the 1819 Mission Station, Stone Store, Kemp House, and the Waitangi lookout. Enjoy lunch with local beer or wine at the Plough & Feather, then sample handmade Makana chocolates. Guides have included Derek and Bill.

“Derek was an amazing tour guide. He made our day extra special. We had plenty of time at each stop and lunch was fantastic! Thank you Derek and Malarkay tours for a great day!!!”

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