Viking Mediterranean Cruise: Venice to Athens Deep Dive

We're taking you port by port through our Viking Ocean European voyage from Venice to Athens, sharing the beauty, culture, and culinary highlights that made each destination unforgettable. CHAPTERS 00:35 Embarking on the Mediterranean Adventure 02:39 Exploring Venice: Pre-Cruise Experience 08:19 Venice Tours: Highlights & Culinary Delights 12:30 Murano & Burano: Glass & Colorful Canals 14:32 Is Chioggia Worth Exploring & Getting There by Bus from Venice 19:17 Exploring Piran, Slovenia 22:07 Zadar, Croatia: National Park Excursion 26:12 Dubrovnik: An Impressive Walled City with Film History 30:18 Montenegro: Scenic Views & Thrilling Excursions 33:50 Corfu: A Rainy Adventure 36:03 We Were Olympians! (Visiting Olympia) 39:47 The Change of Events for Santorini that Shocked Us 42:43 Athens: Cultural & Antiquity 45:20 Additional Vital Info for Viking Excursions 46:02 Disembarkation & Viking Transfer to the Athens Airport 48:31 Final Empires of the Mediterranean Cruise Impressions You'll discover what to do during a pre-cruise stay in Venice (and why getting around isn't as easy as you'd think) and how to get to Chioggia to embark on your cruise. Explore charming hidden gems you might not know about, like Piran, and experience the breathtaking views and cultural treasures of iconic ports like Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Santorini (you’ll never guess what happened that day), Olympia, and Athens. We'll walk you through our favorite excursions at each stop, including third-party tour options we experienced firsthand. We share the unique aspects that made each destination special, and give you honest insights about the challenges and surprises we encountered. Whether you're planning your own Mediterranean cruise with Viking Ocean, deciding which ports and excursions to prioritize, or dreaming about this historic and scenic itinerary, you'll get our perspective on what makes this Empires of the Mediterranean vacation so spectacular and how to make the most of every magical moment. The links below will help supplement this episode and take you to the tour companies we used to book excursions when we didn’t go through Viking: • We love Walks and Devour tours - search the Venice options to see what piques your interest. We highly recommend the “Venice in a Day” tour and “Venice at Sunset: Cicchetti, Food & Wine Tour”: https://sometimessailing.com/swfu • The Tour Guy made it possible for us to visit Murano and Burano from Venice in a half-day: https://sometimessailing.com/67mk • Shore Excursions Group has a guarantee that they’ll have you back to the ship before all-aboard time. We did excursions with them in Zadar, Dubrovnik, and Corfu: https://sometimessailing.com/aici • Pack an AirFly for your cruise so you can go wireless on excursions: https://amzn.to/4om6IPN • Book your excursions via Viking before your cruise in My Viking Journey: https://sometimessailing.com/my-viking-journey-what-to-expect-after-booking-cruise/ • Interested in taking the public bus to get from downtown Venice to Chioggia to board your cruise? We took the guesswork out of it, so you don't have to doubt how to do it! https://sometimessailing.com/how-to-get-from-venice-to-port-of-chioggia-italy/ • Is there a lot to do in Chioggia? We answer that question...with visuals: https://sometimessailing.com/is-there-a-lot-to-do-in-chioggia-italy-guide-veneto/ • Athens isn't on the water, so the cruise port you'll actually dock in is at the Port of Piraeus. Here is vital info about what there is to do there and how to get from Piraeus to the historic city center in Athens: https://sometimessailing.com/athens-cruise-port-piraeus-things-to-do/ Be sure to search our podcast for additional Viking episodes, like: • Inside Viking Ocean Cruises Food & Beverages Experience: https://youtu.be/rSLdEuZF-8k • Viking Ocean vs. River Cruise: Same or Totally Different?: https://youtu.be/rSLdEuZF-8k