Mediterranean Cruise Game Plan: Santorini, Mykonos, and the Greek Islands Without Transit Chaos

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Smart Travel – Mediterranean Cruise Game Plan: Santorini, Mykonos & the Greek Islands (Feb 18, 2026)

Hosted by Sally French & Meghan Coyle, NerdWallet Travel Experts

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Main Theme

This episode dives deep into the logistics, budgeting, and strategies to maximize your travel dollars on a Mediterranean getaway, especially if you’re considering a multi-stop trip through iconic Greek islands like Santorini and Mykonos—and want to avoid common transit headaches such as complicated ferry schedules and fragmented currencies. The hosts, along with producer Tess Viglin, draw from personal and professional experience to break down the pros and cons of land versus sea, highlight up-and-coming Mediterranean destinations, and discuss practical budgeting tools and travel-planning hacks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Travel News & Trends

Starts at 02:06

• Southwest Air Updates:

  • Starlink Wi-Fi: Southwest will start rolling out high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi in summer 2026 on over 300 planes, making in-flight streaming and video calls possible.
    • "I want to be offline. No video calls when I'm in the air." – Meghan (02:41)

• JetBlue–United Partnership:

  • Travelers can now book and redeem points on both airlines interchangeably via both websites.
    • "This is really good for travelers because it's a good way to just unlock more options..." – Sally (04:05)

• Spring Break Destinations (Google Data):

  • Most trending: Florida (5 out of top 10), Hilo, Hawaii (cultural events & volcano attraction), Asheville, NC, Southern CA cities, and Vail, CO (only ski).
    • Discussion about why some trending cities are more about airport convenience than intrinsic tourist appeal (e.g. Santa Ana near Disneyland).
    • "I would not call it a top tourist destination...but it's a great airport to fly through." – Sally (07:05)

• Search Trends:

  • Slow travel and easy travel are surging.
  • Sustainable tourism, solo travel, and AI trip planners are record-high search terms.

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2. Travel Mishaps & Tips from the Field

Starts at 09:29

• Producer Tess’s Spain Trip:

  • Endured illness, extreme rain, and transit problems, but highlighted how knowing your rights (EU compensation for delays: €250–€600) can turn a bad beat into a “consolation prize.”
    • "So the tip here is it's really easy just to do it for yourself." – Tess (12:39)
    • AirHelp, a third-party service, takes 35% for handling the process, but can be worth it for peace of mind.

• Global Entry Pitfall:

  • Remember to update your Global Entry profile with your new passport number to avoid hassles on return to the US.

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3. Why the Mediterranean Is a Different Kind of Europe

Starts at 15:11

• Fragmented Geography = Complicated Logistics:

  • Unlike Western Europe’s seamless rail network, the Med’s archipelagos and coastal fragmentation mean trains and flights often require backtracking to big hubs (Athens, Rome, Istanbul).
  • Example: Getting from Santorini to Corfu often means flying back to Athens first.
  • Ferries' downsides: Expense, unpredictability, motion-sickness, and lengthy travel times (Santorini–Mykonos: 2–4 hours, $100+).
    • "You're either committed to these ferry schedules...the ferries can be long." – Sally (34:34)

• Language & Currency Challenges:

  • Many countries, many tongues: Italian, Greek, Turkish, etc.
  • Currencies not unified (e.g., lira, lek, kuna) – can be expensive and inconvenient, ATMs charge per withdrawal, and cash often required in local spots.
    • "It can be challenging...I want to be respectful and learn the languages of all these places. I was like, no, I'm sorry, sorry. It's too much to learn." – Sally (37:10)

• Travel Planning Advice:

  • Don’t try to cover too many countries/islands. Spend longer in one area (embrace slow/easy travel).
  • Make one place your home base and take excursions from there—reduces currency/language headaches and logistical stress.

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4. Mediterranean Hotspots and Hidden Gems

Starts at 21:56, Expanded at 18:33 and 19:14

Most Popular & “Touristy”

• Major hits: Mallorca is the top tourist-magnet for overnights; also, Barcelona, Venice, Rome, and several Greek islands (Santorini, Mykonos, Zante—where there are more tourists than locals).
• Growing Stars: Albania (+277% in 10 years!), Greece, Turkey, and Croatia all up 100–147%.
  • Social media buzz over Albania’s uncrowded, sparkling beaches.

Hosts’ Top Picks (21:56–32:18)

• Cinque Terre, Italy: “Fairy-tale” coastal five-town cluster; connections by walk, short train, or ferry.
  • "It is absolutely storybook fairy tale..." – Sally (22:04)
• Sardinia, Italy: Blue zone longevity, stunning coastal/mountain mix—best explored by car.
  • "They have an unusually high rate of people who live to be a hundred." – Meghan (24:09)
• Kotor, Montenegro: Fortified coastal town, cat-lover’s haven, easy access, scenic hikes.
  • "If you are a cat person, Kotor is your spot." – Sally (25:16)
• French Riviera (Marseille): Bougie coastal escape with diverse food, culture, and hilly views; White Lotus TV connection.
  • "It is a city on the southern coast of France and it is super diverse..." – Meghan (27:34)
• Zadar, Croatia: Easy flights, fresh seafood, unique art features (wave organ, monument to the sun); gateway to national parks.
  • "They have a wave organ where it uses the sea...and the pipes fill with water and create this sound." – Sally (29:43)
• Barcelona, Spain: Sagrada Família nearly finished after 144 years; transformative to see in person.
  • "It is absolutely the most breathtaking church I've ever been inside." – Meghan (31:16)

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5. Getting Around: Land vs Sea

Starts at 33:34 and 41:04

The Challenge:

• Hopping multiple Med islands/cities is surprisingly tough; fragmented transit, unreliable ferries, and “domino effect” from travel delays.
  • "Not as easy as planning a trip to Western Europe if you are someone looking to hit multiple cities..." – Sally (15:31)

Cruise Solution:

• Cruises = the Efficient Option:

  • Sally’s 10-night Norwegian Cruise example: Istanbul–Kusadasi–Corfu–Kotor–(and more)

    • No “at sea” (filler) days; every day = new port.
    • Avoids need for ferries, regional flights, complex hotel bookings, and language/currency transitions.
    • Unpack once—floating hotel, daily destination reset, no check-in/out or dragging bags.
    • Comparable mid-scale independent travel (hotels, transit, food) costs nearly the same, but loses the convenience.
    • Cruise pricing: e.g., $6,000/2 people for 10 nights, including ‘hotel’, transit, and food.
    • Some Med towns have very limited hotel inventory (e.g., Santorini), leading to seasonal rate spikes ($900+/night for 5-star).

  • "I realized I loved cruising for how efficient it is. ...its ability to get you to places that are otherwise difficult." – Sally (41:04)

  • "You don't have to unpack in between...it's like you took a red eye flight but in the most comfortable bed ever." – Meghan (44:21)

• When to Go:

  • Shoulder season (spring/fall) is ideal; off-season = some islands/towns shut down completely.

• Cost Saving & Planning:

  • Some Med destinations are among Europe's most expensive for hotels (Greece, Italy, but #1 is Switzerland).
    • Example: Santorini 5-star hotel avg = $940/night, Mykonos = $498, Mallorca = $408.
    • Budget-luxury options: Kotor ($177), Istanbul ($159), Crete ($154) (based on 5-star hotel pricing).

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6. Listener Q&A: Travel Loyalty Status on Work Trips

Starts at 52:43

• Question: If all your travel is on a corporate card (not earning your own CC points) and your points/status are scattered, which programs/strategies can help?
• Advice:
  • Credit Card Route: Amex Platinum grants gold hotel status + lounge access (regardless of airline flown).
    • "This maximizes your odds of actually being able to access the lounge." – Sally (54:10)
  • Low-Night Status: Choice Hotels gives elite status after just five nights—good for those booking across brands.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "It's like you took a red eye flight but in the most comfortable bed ever." – Meghan, on the cruise (44:21)
• "You don't want to learn Greek for one day, but learn Greek for 10 days and make it count." – Sally (40:54)
• "Go when the people are not going. So typically shoulder season, possibly off season, but...some of these beach towns...close entirely." – Sally (48:57)
• "The best way to go to Santorini, I am telling you, is a cruise." – Sally (51:07)
• "I think we had some really spot on predictions in our episode earlier in the year. One of them was slow travel." – Meghan (08:23)
• On booking compensation after EU flight delay: "The tip here is it's really easy just to do it for yourself." – Tess (12:39)

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Time-Stamped Segment Guide

• 02:06 – Southwest & JetBlue/United airline news
• 04:46 – Spring break trending destinations, Google travel trend data
• 09:29 – Tess’s Spain “Murphy’s Law” trip, EU compensation, Global Entry tip
• 15:11 – Why Med trips are logistically harder than Western Europe
• 18:33 – Med overview: countries, which are rising, top tourist hotspots
• 21:56 – “If you could pick three Med destinations…” Game (Cinque Terre, Sardinia, Kotor, etc.)
• 32:33 & 33:34 – Why transit is tough: geography, language, currency, seasonal closure, and transit constraints
• 41:04 – Sally’s cruise log: port-to-port efficiency, budget breakdown, and “cruise vs. DIY”
• 48:57 – When to go for best price/experience, hotel cost breakdown
• 52:43 – Listener Q&A: maximizing travel rewards when on work travel

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Practical Tips & Takeaways

• For Smooth Mediterranean Hopping:

  • Cruises are often the best value and least stressful way to pack multiple islands/countries into one trip without backtracking, transit chaos, or repeated packing/unpacking.
  • If traveling independently, limit yourself to one or two base cities/islands, and explore from there to minimize logistical headaches.

• Money-Saving Strategies:

  • Book during “shoulder” seasons (May/Sept/Oct) for the best prices and thinnest crowds.
  • Use credit cards with no foreign transaction fees, especially in countries with non-euro currencies.
  • When in doubt about learning a local language, aim for one that's most relevant to your main destination.

• Travel Planning:

  • For infrequent-flyer status seekers, consider hotel programs like Choice for easier status, or Amex Platinum for automatic status/lounges.
  • For EU flight delays/cancellations, file your own claim directly with the airline before using third-party services like AirHelp.

• Destination Inspiration:

  • Don't sleep on emerging destinations like Albania and Kotor for beauty, value, and uncrowded experiences.
  • A cruise’s “floating hotel” can be the ultimate hack—especially for places with little lodging (like Santorini).

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End of summary – For the full, engaging banter and added research links, tune in to Smart Travel: Upgrade Your Getaways wherever you get your podcasts!

Transcript

[A]

The following is a paid sponsorship, not an endorsement by NerdWallet's editorial team. Today's episode is sponsored by Bilt. You've heard me talk about Bilt as a loyalty program that lets you earn points on rent wherever you live. And they just leveled up even more. As of 2026, renters and homeowners can also earn up to 1.25x points on their housing payments. This is thanks to Bilt's three new credit cards, the Palladium Card, Obsidian Card, and Blue Card. All three can turn your housing payments, rent or mortgage into flexible rewards so you can choose the card that fits your lifestyle without missing out on points. And exclusive built points can be redeemed at top airlines and hotels, Amazon.com purchases, future rent payments and more. Built points have also been ranked by top publications as the industry's most valuable points currency. Your housing payment is most likely your biggest expense. Make it your most rewarding. Find the card that fits your lifestyle and apply today at joinbilt.com smarttravel that's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T.com smarttravel make sure to use our URL so they know we sent you. Terms and limitations apply subject to approval and eligibility. Built cards are issued by column N, a member FDIC pursuant to license from MasterCard International Incorporated.

[B]

Picture this, Sally. You're standing in Santorini at sunrise, watching the sky turn pink over the caldera from the historic town of Fira. That day, you hike to multiple different towns in Santorini, and the next morning you wake up in Mykonos, an entirely different island in Greece.

[A]

Wait, Megan, you're literally describing the trip. I just did.

[B]

I know. Today we're cruising around the Mediterranean to talk about must dos and logistics. Welcome to Smart Travel, a deep dive into the tips, tools and tactics to maximize your travel dollars. I'm Megan Coyle.

[A]

And I'm Sally French.

[B]

And we're the travel nerds ready to help you plan your next big trip. And that trip might be the Mediterranean. Today, we're talking about how to optimize your travels there to save money, but more importantly, time.

[A]

But first, our disclaimer, and that is that we will talk about a few credit card companies that are nerd wallet partners in this episode. That does not influence how we discuss them. The benefits, terms and fees mentioned were accurate at the time of posting, but things can, of course change. Some offers may have expired by the time you're listening. For the latest details, follow the links.

[B]

In the episode description Southwest Flyers, we finally have some good news.

[A]

Yes, finally. Southwest just announced it is bringing Starlink WI fi on board. That's starting this summer.

[B]

That means you'll get WI fi that can actually handle streaming. It's like the fastest wifi you can get on an airplane right now.

[A]

Southwest already does offer free WI fi to its Rapid Rewards members. That is its free to join loyalty program. But what makes this newsworthy is that this is going to be a big speed boost. They say that Starlink is good enough to stream live sports, to upload files and dear Lord, I'm not sure if I want this, but to actually take.

[B]

Video calls, I do not want this. I want to be offline. No video calls when I'm in the air. The first Starlink equipped aircraft enter service this summer and Southwest expects more than 300 planes to have it by the end of 2026.

[A]

Listeners of this show for sure have to know by now about Southwest's big bout of changes. Those are the things like assigned seats, no more free checked bags. There's new extra legroom options, which means not all seats on Southwest are created equal anymore. Many of those changes have been controversial, but I think this will be a net good for everybody.

[B]

Now more updates in the Blue sky partnership between JetBlue and United.

[A]

With this, for the first time, you can now book eligible flights operated by either airline directly on JetBlue.com or United.com and you can do this using cash points or miles.

[B]

So for travelers with points, you can redeem JetBlue points for United flights or vice versa. United miles for JetBlue flights. This is going to open up redemption options, particularly for people who have a credit card with transferable points that can transfer to JetBlue but not United or the other way around. So now people with a card that earn city thank you points, for example, can transfer points to JetBlue and book those United flights or Bilt rewards members. You know, one of my love hate relationships. With loyalty programs built, rewards members can transfer points to united to book JetBlue flights.

[A]

I knew you were going to try to throw a Bilt reference in there. Now this news builds on last year's news of reciprocal earning and redemption. That's where you could earn and redeem rewards across both carriers. Now looking ahead, the two airlines plan to add the ability to book itineraries where layovers where one leg might be on a United flight and then the next leg might be on a JetBlue flight. This is really good for travelers because it's a good Way to just unlock more options for getting to your final destination.

[B]

That's called a mixed itinerary. We love more options. If it's with two different airlines, you have maybe shorter layovers and easier flight.

[A]

Paths, especially when it involves using your points on the other airline more easily as well.

[B]

And all this comes just in time for spring break, which is next month for many people. Google just released its list of top trending US Destinations for spring break this year. Sally, want to take some guesses?

[A]

Ooh. I mean, is this new stuff or just where everyone always goes? Because if the latter, I would say the usual suspects are Florida and Mexico.

[B]

Yeah, these are in the U.S. so not Mexico.

[A]

Oh, okay.

[B]

U.S. and trending, which has the biggest growth? So, yeah, could be places that people sort of know about but are becoming very popular.

[A]

Ooh, what's getting the biggest growth? Oh, man. In the US I'm still going to say Florida.

[B]

Okay, very good. Florida. You are absolutely right. There are, I think, five places from Florida on the spring break trending destinations list. It's.

[A]

Out of how many destinations?

[B]

10. 10 top trending ones. So Sarasota, Florida, Panama City, Florida, Punta Gorda, Florida, Fort Myers, Florida and Tampa, Florida.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

5 out of the 10 are in Florida. I knew. I knew it was Florida, Megan.

[B]

And they're all on the west coast of Florida, so people really want the Atlantic side of Florida.

[A]

So what are the five cities that are not Florida?

[B]

The number one top trending destination is actually Hilo, Hawaii on the Big Island.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

And I think the reason there is because Hilo has a really awesome festival in April. It's kind of right around spring break. And there's a huge hula competition, a parade that goes through Hilo. It's a huge cultural celebration in Hawaii.

[A]

Megan, you know why else Hilo's trending? Did you hear about that big volcano eruption of Volcanoes National Park?

[B]

Yeah, it's still going. There are these huge lava like eruptions coming from the earth at Kilauea.

[A]

I can't believe I forgot about that. Okay, we're all going to the Big island for spring break.

[B]

I love it. Some other places are Asheville, North Carolina, which is known for their craft brewing scene, and some random Southern California destinations, in my opinion. Long Beach, California and Santa Ana, California.

[A]

Okay. Is this based on airports, though? Not actually cities to visit?

[B]

Okay, that was my exact thought as well. I was like, are people Googling Santa Ana because they want to visit Orange county or are they Googling it because that's an airport that's closest to where they're actually going in Southern California.

[A]

Yeah. So we should set up. I grew up in Orange county and I worked at the Orange County Register in Santa Ana. Shout out. Santa Ana. I would not call it a top tourist destination. They do have a hip and happen in downtown that is up and coming. But I'm not sure I would recommend anyone really go out of their way to go to Santa Ana. The reason why people go there is John Wayne Airport is I believe in Santa Ana or Irvine. But it is in Santa Ana. It's in, it's in Santa Ana and you're going to John Wayne Airport to go to Disneyland or visiting someone else.

[B]

Like maybe the beaches in Orange county. Visiting family. It's a great airport to fly through if you want to avoid the chaos at lax. But yeah, I'm not sure that it's actually like the city to be in for spring break.

[A]

No shade to Santa Ana. We love you Santa Ana.

[B]

And the last destination that is on the list, it just slid in there right at number 10 is Vail, Colorado. That one's interesting because it's the only ski destination on the list right now.

[A]

And a bougie one at that.

[B]

So if you are trying to save money on your spring break travel, you're actually in a really good time to book flights. The lowest prices for spring break flights are usually about 43 days before departure. That is literally right now if you are going on spring break in late March or early April.

[A]

Megan, was there anything else spicy in that Google data?

[B]

I thought you would love this. I think we had some really spot on predictions in our episode earlier in the year. One of them was slow travel. You know I was talking about the term easy travel because wow, once easy travel becomes a most searched travel trend on Google, I will know I've made it. But slow travel is pretty close. Slow travel hit an all time high at the end of 2025. So as a search term people are trying to figure out how they can do this with their travels. Some other big search terms, places to solo travel. So I think solo travel is going to be huge in 2026. Sustainable tourism. This is particularly popular for people who are based in Hawaii or maybe are vacationing there and are searching on Google. Sustainable tourism and Last1 is AI travel planner. Everyone is using AI to plan their whole trips now. And so that one reached a record high in January.

[A]

I don't hate it. I actually did use AI to give me some recommendations of where to go in Hong Kong. This may. As long as it's not An AI Customer service representative. I'm fine with it.

[B]

Yeah, not yet. All right, so like we said, we're talking about the Mediterranean today. And perfect timing. Our producer, Tess Viglin, just got back from a European adventure, including a few days in Barcelona. Welcome back, Tess. How was it?

[C]

Thank you. Thank you. How was it? Um.

[A]

Ooh, this doesn't sound good.

[C]

No, you got. You know, not every trip is the best ever. Right? Well, I've been calling this one the Murphy's Law trip.

[B]

Oh, no. What happened?

[C]

Oh, God, you guys, what didn't happen? I was in Spain for most of this trip. I got sick twice. First with a stomach bug, and then a week later with this nasty cold. They were having some of the worst rain in years with flooding in places, including in Andalusia, where it was chucking down so hard I couldn't see through the rental car windshield. We turned around and abandoned a day trip to Ronda. Shortly before I left on the trip, there was this massive train crash that basically took out all the travel around Seville. So I had to fly from Seville to Valencia in order to get a train to Barcelona, and I had a six hour delay at the airport in Seville. All in all, I had, like, five lost days.

[A]

Well, Tess, you do know that I am an optimist, and I say you gotta have the bad trips to appreciate the good trips. And also, I'm optimistic. There had to have been something good about this trip. So tell us.

[C]

Well, I mean, it was in Spain, which is spectacular. Madrid, Seville, Barcelona, they are all gems. So there's that. And then I did two glorious days in Paris, which is never a bad idea. It was absolutely sparkling and beautiful. But I wanted to share a couple of things that happened that might be useful for other travelers, including the aftermath of that delayed flight on Iberia Airlines.

[B]

Were you sitting in the airport eating churros? What was happening during that layover?

[C]

Yeah, I was. For six hours, I was eating churros. No, I hope not. But. So when I finally arrived in Valencia, I exited the luggage area to go get the train to Barcelona, and there was this woman there handing out a sheet of paper saying if your flight was delayed or canceled, you could potentially get reimbursement because of EU laws. Bueno. Later, I looked again at the sheet of paper, and it was offering help with getting that reimbursement. And then, of course, they would take a cut of it. So instead, I went online, looked up the laws, and yes, there is compensation available. And depending on the length of delay and flight distance, you can get anywhere from €250 to €600.

[A]

Tess, I've done this, I've gotten money and I've used the company to help me. Did you do that too?

[C]

I probably should have, since I wouldn't even have known about the policy otherwise, but I did not. Instead, I googled Iberia flight delay compensation, very basic. And that took me to an online form on the Iberia website where I just had to put in my booking details. And a few days later they wrote and said I would get €250. So then I just filled in another form with my bank info. Should get it in probably a week or two. And right now that's about $296. And that's far more than the ticket itself. So the tip here is it's really easy just to do it for yourself.

[A]

Stolen consolation prize. And that's also interesting because I've always been terrified that these airlines are so sketchy about getting back to you. So I actually did use a company. But Iberia got back to you?

[C]

They did, yeah, pretty much right away, like within, I would say 48 hours.

[A]

So I. I kind of feel like a sucker now. So I had a flight canceled and I used a third party service. It was called Air Help. And Air Help was excellent. They made everything super simple. I just submitted my flight details and then they went through and hand the rest. And I never had to do anything except wait for an email saying that my claim was approved. I got about $1,400 in compensation across two tickets for my husband and I. Air Help does take a service fee which is 35%. So I actually did not get the full 1400 dollars. I ended up getting about $900. And personally, I do value my time and I was really nervous that if I didn't use Air Help, I would be in some back and forth horrible phone tree whatnot with airlines. So I was like, I will pay $500 to not deal with the phone tree.

[C]

That's completely understandable. And frankly, there probably are some airlines in Europe where you wouldn't want to deal with it. But I do have to say that Iberia, for all of the six hour delay that I had to deal with, they were really quick on this.

[A]

Yes. I'm so glad you got the full money, especially after everything you went through, Tess, the sickness, the rainstorm, all that, get that full money, you go, Tess.

[B]

And Tess, how long would you say the whole process took you, including like researching what you had to do? Was it like 20 minutes of looking it up?

[C]

Yeah, Half hour.

[B]

Okay, awesome.

[C]

So one more quick tip for you guys.

[B]

Let's hear it.

[C]

So I have Global Entry. Totally worth it. A lot of travel credit cards will pay for it as a benefit, as you guys know. So I'm going through customs on the way home and I go to the Global Entry line and the machine, you know, you just stand there and it takes your facial recognition, it says, I don't have Global Entry.

[D]

What?

[A]

What?

[C]

Well, I got a new passport last fall because my old one was about to expire. And you need to tell Global Entry your new pass port number. So they did still let me through, but not without a bit of stink eye. So I fixed it when I got home. All you have to do is go online. It's easy. But definitely make sure that you do that if you have a new passport number.

[A]

And that's also a good reminder. Everyone should just check and see when their passport expires because they do expire, and you don't want to be running too close to a trip with an expiring passport.

[C]

Amen.

[B]

All right, now, speaking of European trips, we're going to dive into our tips specifically for traveling the Mediterranean. That's up next.

[A]

We wanted to do this segment because in late 2025, I went to all sorts of Mediterranean countries. Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and Turkey. One, I want to talk about my trip, but two, I want to do this episode because it really occurred to me that the Mediterranean is not like the rest of Europe.

[B]

How so? Are you talking weather, food? What's so different about it?

[A]

I mean, there is that, but I was really coming at it from a geographical angle. Planning a trip to the Mediterranean is not as easy as planning a trip to Western Europe if you are someone looking to hit multiple cities in one trip. I do think it is way harder to do it if it's a Mediterranean trip.

[B]

You think the logistics are a little bit more complicated? All right, we'll go into that. And another reason to talk about this part of the continent is that the Mediterranean is getting tons of more travelers.

[A]

That is correct. According to an Oxford economics report from December 2025, the rate of year over year growth for travel to southern and Mediterranean European destinations is expected to by 6%. That is up from 3% in 2025.

[B]

And what are the top countries that people are going to? I have a big guess, and it's probably Italy.

[A]

Okay, that is a good guess. Speaking of Americans specifically, since I'm guessing that's where most of our listeners are from, three of the top five most Visited European countries overall sit on the Mediterranean. That's according to data from the International Trade Administration. So the destinations. Number one, I'm going to make you guess because it's not Mediterranean, but number two is France. Then. You got it. Number three is Italy, and then Spain is number four. So let's go back. What do you guess number one is?

[B]

Oh, like the top visited country in.

[A]

For Americans.

[B]

Yes, for Americans. Oh, it's the uk.

[A]

Oh, my gosh, you're so good. I guess you were literally just there.

[B]

And, like, they speak English. I think it's a good first, you know, first country for Americans to go visit outside of the US Maybe we'll.

[A]

Do a UK Episode then later. But I also want to say the Mediterranean has a bunch of other great countries that do not necessarily get a lot of US Tourists, or at least not yet. For example, I am a huge Croatia fan. That is the 17th most visited country in Europe among Americans. And Turkey is number 20. So we're going to talk about some of these underrated countries.

[B]

So let's list what countries and territories actually sit in the Mediterranean.

[A]

All right, geography lesson. Starting from the southern European coast, coming from west to east, there is Spain, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Cyprus, and Turkey.

[B]

Then in western Asia, it consists of Turkey. Yes, Turkey twice. Because it's both on Europe and Asia. Cyprus. There's also a British overseas territory on the island of Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Palestine.

[A]

And then on the northern African coast, swooping back from east to west, there's Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.

[B]

For this show, we're only going to focus on the southern European coast. Since the region is so huge, we could not possibly cover it all in one episode.

[A]

Megan, I am not optimistic we could even cover all the European parts of it in one episode.

[B]

Definitely not.

[A]

I do want to talk about Morocco at some point, because I know a lot of people go there attached to Spain trips. I actually have done that myself. And Barako is so fun. The craziest thing I did in Morocco was I ate a camel burger.

[B]

Ooh. Okay. Was it good?

[A]

Yeah, it was. It was, like, maybe a little chewier, but talk about very interesting food. So we'll talk about that on another episode. But for now, let's talk about where people are going in the Mediterranean. In 2023, the Spanish island region of Mallorca had by far the highest count of nights spent in tourist accommodations by international tourists. That means a lot of people coming out of the country, going in specific.

[B]

To Mallorca that makes sense to me. I know so many people who've gone to Mallorca in the past couple of years. It's actually a really popular place for a destination wedding. Oh yes, I am interested because it is kind of like the Hawaii of Spain, right?

[A]

Yeah, it's really beautiful. Really beautiful beaches. I did Mallorca attached to the Morocco trip, so we'll dig into that later. Other places that are popular for international tourists are Barcelona, Venice and Rome. I know Italy is so hot, as we mentioned. Spain, also really popular.

[B]

That makes sense. I hit all three of those on the cruise I did in the Mediterranean not last year, but the year before.

[A]

As far as the countries that are seeing the most growth, there is Spain, France and Italy that are always crowded. I think they always will be crowded. But I want to look at the countries that weren't crowded and now people are going to them. Especially because we hear this buzzword, I guess, where people say, I want to go to the place off the beaten path. So as far as these off the beaten path destinations, I'm thinking about someplace like Alban Megan. Albania has seen a 277% increase in travelers between 2013 and the summer of 2023. That's according to OAG Schedules Analyzer. It's basically this company that uses airplane sea data to see how many more people are coming into that place.

[B]

My hunch is that people have seen on social media like some of the pictures of the beaches in Albania and they go, I want that. It's beautiful turquoise water and it is so much less crowded. I mean, if you ever look at a picture of an island in Greece or even Croatia and you see so many people and then you see the Albania photos, you're like, okay, I would rather be there in the Mediterranean.

[A]

Okay, well it's already growing, so go to Albania now before all the other people figure it out. You mentioned Greece. Greece has seen 147% growth over the past 10 years. Turkey and Croatia have also seen over 100% growth. So all these places, even if they weren't crowded before, they are definitely getting there.

[B]

Which destinations are touristy? Like which ones are attracting both locals and non locals.

[A]

So the definition of what is touristy is kind of interesting because you have the places where a lot of tourists come into. But I almost wanted to find touristy as the places where there's not a lot of locals. But then there's an overabundance of tourists. So most of the people that you're going to encounter in that place are tourists. So the number one is Zante. It's an island in Greece. This is wild. They had nearly 150,000 tourist nights per 1,000 residents in 2023. So that, to me, indicates you're not going to meet a lot of locals if you go to Zante. Other ones that sort of fit this bill are Montenegro. They had 133,000 tourist nights per 1,000 residents. Also, a lot of Greek islands fit this bill. Santorini and Mykonos also have a really high rate of tourists relative to people who actually live there.

[B]

So, Sally, let's talk about all these different places in the Mediterranean. If you had to pick just three, where are you going?

[A]

Ooh, this is a fun game. All right. I think, you know, my number one is Cinque Terre. This is a wonderful place on the Italian coastline. It actually means five towns. And so it is five little tiny villages that are all connected. And it is absolutely storybook fairy tale. In fact, the Pixar film about the sea monsters, Luca, is also inspired by Cinque Terre. So may seen it before on. On a movie if you've never been there in person. And these five towns are all connected by either walking path, by a little train. The train is super short, or you can even ferry between the five. And it's very common to visit all five in one day. And I have done that.

[B]

That would be if you're rushing through all five towns. But I actually spent three nights in Chinchic Ferry and tried to spend, like, at least one day in each one. And it was. Was so much fun. I really appreciated kind of figuring out the different vibes. They're very close together, like you said, but they do have a really different character.

[A]

I'm surprised you spent a whole day I. The towns are kind of small, but you must leave no stone unturned. You must go into every single shop.

[B]

Totally. Okay. I would pick for a place to go in the Mediterranean. Another beach destination, this one. Let's go with Sardinia because it's another Italian island.

[C]

Wow.

[A]

We're giving Italy a little too much love here.

[B]

Italy is just so good. The food is incredible, and this island is actually quite large. You actually need a car to get around most of it.

[A]

So that would not be Cinque Terre. Do not try to do a rental car in Cinque Terre.

[B]

Yeah, there's no place to park. It's very hilly.

[A]

Oh. So cars for Sardinia.

[B]

Cars for Sardinia. And the best thing about this is it's an island, but it has so many different types of areas. So you could go to the mountainous area in the interior of the island and go to vineyards, drink wine. That's actually where one of the blue zones in the world are. Do you know what a blue zone is?

[A]

Oh, I, I know the blue zones. These are the people who basically live forever. And yeah, I'm like, whatever they do, I want to do that.

[B]

They have an unusually high rate of people who live to be a hundred. So that's something I'm interested in. I want to know how they manage that.

[A]

Well, I, I think they say the secret to living forever is that you walk a lot. So is there a lot of walking in Sardinia?

[B]

Yeah, I mean, you can hike. It's just part of their culture. They live in these small towns and socialize, walk to town, that kind of thing. There's also a lot of beaches. Obviously it's an island and these beaches are so beautiful. One of the most popular things to do is to take a boat tour out to even smaller, tinier islands off the coast and snorkel, you know, get in the water. It's. It looks so beautiful.

[A]

Now, you mentioned the food was really good and I know food is key for these blue zones people. So what do you think was different about the food in Sardinia versus other parts of Italy?

[B]

I think they have a very plant based type of diet.

[A]

That's the secret.

[B]

And they also have a special type of wine that apparently helps them live forever.

[A]

That's the secret. I think they say that's not the secret anymore, but I'm here for it. Shout out Sardinia and your wine.

[B]

Okay, where are you choosing for your next place in the Mediterranean?

[A]

I'm taking y' all to Kotor, Montenegro. This is a surprisingly easy place to get to because it is on the water. So you can take a cruise there, you can boat there. It is also really close to Teyvat airport, which is basically a 15 minute drive to Old Town. So when you're going to Kotor, there are a few different places you can stay. There are some of the bigger beach resorts farther away from Old Town, in which case you would need to drive in or you can just spend time in Old Town. And it is that classic. Exactly what you would think of Fortress. There's a bunch of shops within the Old Town. There are also a bunch of cats. If you are a cat person, Kotor is your spot. In fact, they have a cat museum. Cats are considered lucky in this country. They are viewed as guardians. There's this whole legend they saved the town from the plague, which I don't even think that's a legend. That just seems like a good fact because they were able to control the rat population. So the people of the cat. I went to a cafe and it was not a cat cafe in the sense of you hear about those in Asia, but there are just these cafes and the doors are open and the shop owners don't mind if the cats just wander in and they come sit on your lap. It's very lovely. Aw. And then, you know, I love hiking, and the best hiking on Earth is here. The top hike that people do is the hike from the middle of Old Town to the latter of Kotor Trail. This takes you up a mountain, a bunch of switchbacks. You pass by this cheese shop and there are goats that are affiliated with the cheese shop that are just also wandering up and down the mountain. Unbelievable. Highly recommend going there. And one of those more underrated places. It's also just about a two hour drive to Dubrovnik, and I know that's one of the most popular places to go to. So if you're doing Dubrovnik, maybe consider doing a road trip down to Montenegro for a day or two.

[B]

That sounds really fun. All right, My next destination is the French Riviera.

[A]

Ooh. So bougie. Megan, you are way bougier than I am. I knew you were going to pick this.

[B]

It looks incredible. And of course, it is the new destination for White Lotus.

[A]

Oh, I'm going to throw White Lotus in this.

[B]

I love White Lotus. I need to be everywhere they're going to.

[A]

So next season is French Riviera.

[B]

French Riviera. Now that's a pretty large area. There are a lot of places you could go in the French Riviera. It's known for its beautiful coastline. Yes. Being a little bougie.

[A]

Oh, a little.

[B]

And honestly, there are enough different places in the French Riviera that I think you could find what you like. The place I recommend is Marseilles. It is a city on the southern coast of France and it is super diverse. I went there and I was like, wow, I'm in heaven. I could eat Asian food, I could eat Moroccan food. I could eat literally anything in just one food hall. And it's a very hilly type of city. So you're, like, walking up all these steps and in between the buildings, you can see the water and just amazing views of the city. So I recommend using Marseille as a base and kind of learning more about the culture there because it's so diverse and how it got so many different religions and People from different countries all there.

[A]

Wow. I'm kind of sold. I've never heard of this. It always felt like it was too busy for me. But this seems intriguing, no?

[B]

Marseille, I think is very accessible for people. And then there's also a lot of other options. Mentone for like, the beauty of that city. And then there are also a lot of cute villages along the coast as well that are worth maybe taking a little day trip to and go on the beach.

[A]

Wow. I love it. Great wreck. I would never really consider French Riviera, but thank you for sharing that one. I'm going to send you over to Zadar, Croatia. I said I love Croatia and Zadar is one of my favorite spots because they have the airport right near the city center. So pretty accessible to get to. We got to talk about the food. A lot of really good fish. This was the first place where I ever ate squid in ink risotto. Even if you're a picky eater, it's so good. It's black, it's squid ink, but it just tastes really creamy. You gotta do that. And the reason I'm recommending this is it has similar energy to Dubrovnik, which everybody knows as the Game of Thrones city. And it is so overpopulated. But Zadar, not so much. They still have the Roman ruins. They have a walkable old town. There's a clock tower you gotta walk up to, but way less crowded. Also really interesting art. They have a couple art installations. One is a wave organ where it uses the sea so you walk above it and the pipes fill with water and create this sound of an organ is really amazing. And then that's the audio art installation. And then nearby there is a visual art installation is the monument to the sun. And it's this amazing 300 multi layered glass plate of something that sort of looks like a solar system. So there's plates that you can go stand all across and. Good way to learn about the solar system or just be wowed by how beautiful it is. Everyone goes to watch the sunset there.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

I need to see the wave organ because, you know, I'm an audio gal, so I need to hear what this audio art installation is like.

[A]

Yeah. And you don't necessarily need to spend a ton of time as Zar, but what I like about it is it is a really good home base to other great places in Croatia. Probably the top one that you might know is Plitvice Lakes National Park. That is a series of waterfalls and they look like a little fairyland. It's not big waterfalls. It's these little waterfalls and they have bridges that you walk over all of them. There's also Kirka national park is a little bit closer and that also has bigger waterfalls. So if you want to do that national parks hiking trip, I would say Zadar is a great sort of kicking off point.

[B]

If you're a waterfall person. You got to go.

[A]

Yes, exactly. Where are you sending us, Megan, for your last pick?

[B]

Last one. Let's go home with Barcelona. It is so popular already for us tourists. But I just want to point out the Sagrada Familia, the most famous church in Barcelona, maybe one of the most famous churches in the world.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is supposedly almost going to be finished this year. Actually, I think it'll be mostly finished this year, 2026. It has been under construction since 1882 and it's actually the 100th anniversary of the architect Antoni Gaudi's death. So this architect never got to see his dream cathedral fully realized and constructed. But they're trying to finish up all the scaffolding and all that stuff so that they are ready for the 100th anniversary of his death and can celebrate the this beautiful structure. It is absolutely the most breathtaking church I've ever been inside. Even if you're not religious, it is a piece of art. It is like so colorful. It is massively tall and you really do feel more connected to the heavens, to nature, to every, even the people in the church. I just felt like it was a transformative experience to visit inside of it. And I'm really excited for everyone who gets to visit when it's finished.

[A]

Should I wait until it's finished or should I just go now?

[B]

You might as well just go now. It's pretty much almost done. All right, we'll have more in a moment. Stay with us.

[D]

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[A]

About what makes this area of the world so different and maybe even challenging to visit. I mentioned that its geography is particularly fragment, and I know a lot of people think when they go to Europe, it's so easy to get around on the trains when I go to Europe. And that is definitely true in Western Europe for most of the places that you're going to. But I think the rules are different here in the Mediterranean.

[B]

Yeah, you have to think about the geography. Like, if you're going to an island, obviously you can't take a train there. So you have to really think ahead in terms of how you're going to get between multiple places. And some of them are also pretty mountainous, so it might not be the most time efficient way to get there if you're taking a lot of trains around the mountains. But let's talk about some of the destinations that are accessible through major hubs. That would be places like Athens, Rome, Istanbul. Like, you could basically fly to big airports like those and be able to visit, you know, major cities in the Mediterranean.

[A]

So it does make sense. You could easily do a trip maybe where you go to Athens and you also go to Rome. The challenge is if you want to go to Santorin and you want to go to Cinque Terre, then what ends up happening is you're going to have to then go back and connect through these other places. So if you're going to Santorini, it can be difficult to get a flight to even another Greek island. If you want to go to Corfu, you might have to then go from Santorini back to Athens and then fly from Athens to Corfu. So it can be challenging to get between these smaller destinations. Even if it's short as the crow flies. It's not short as the airplane flies because there are not flights between those. They're also separated by water. And fairies can be an intriguing option. But I find that you're either committed to these ferry schedules, the ferries can be long. If you're someone who maybe gets a little motion, sick or seasick, that might not work for you. And even the fairies take a long time. So, for example, the ferry from Santorini to Mykonos, it takes about two to four Hours, depending on if you do the high speed one or not. And. And still it's expensive. Prices are going to be about $100, possibly more during the peak season or if you again go for that high speed ferry.

[B]

And I've heard that they're not totally dependable. Is that right? I've never taken a ferry in the Greek islands.

[A]

Well, I haven't either because I did a cruise style. We will talk about why I do think cruise style is the best. But yes, I do think with the ferry, you're very limited to their schedule and you have this pressure to be back on time. And then also just the amount of stuff that you can take with you might feel a little more challenging and on a ferry. So do keep that in. The other thing that we should talk about in terms of fragmentation is not just the geography, but the languages.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, there's a lot of different countries in the Mediterranean. They're all speaking different languages. And so if you're going to visit multiple countries with different languages, that means you might need to do a little bit more prep, you know, get on duolingo a bit more before your trip and try to pick up a few more words in different languages so you can get around more easily.

[A]

It can be challenging. So I did a trip where we just did Italy and we did Rome, Florence, Milan, all the places. And I'm crushing duolingo every night. I'm learning all the words. But this latest trip I did, where it was Italy, I'm like, okay, I can refresh my Italian. I've learned a little bit. But then there's Greek. Yo, Megan, you tried to learn Greek before? No.

[B]

Even looking at it, I'm like, I'm not sure what to do with that.

[A]

Yeah, shout out people who speak Greek. That seems such like a challenging language. And then also I'm trying to learn Turkish and I want to be respectful and learn the languages of all these places. I was like, no, I'm sorry, sorry. It's too much to learn. So that can also be challenging. And if it's important to you to learn the language, which I think generally it is. Also, currencies are fragmented.

[B]

There are a lot of countries using the euros. So Croatia just joined the euro area in 2023. I know a lot of people who went as soon as it became easier to go there because they already had euros.

[A]

Meanwhile, I have a bunch of leftover Croatian. I think they're kunas that I've got left over in my drawer collecting dust.

[B]

You can frame them or Something.

[A]

And then a lot of these countries have their own currencies, so Turkey's got their new Turkish lira, Albania has its own currency, to name a few. And so what makes this challenging is when you go to these countries, there are many places that might take cash only. And so then you find yourself having to go to the ATM and you don't know how much money should I take out? $50? A hundred? 200? How much do I take out? I don't know how much I'm going to spend. Am I going to go crazy at the coffee shop or just get an espresso and be good? Then, as I mentioned, I have all my leftover Croatian money. And then you end up left over with this money, and what are you going to do with it? Also, ATMs typically might charge a fee, so it might be common for no matter how much money you pull out, the ATM might just charge a $3 fee. So now you're paying that $3 fee for all the different countries you're going to, as opposed to. I kind of like when all the countries are on the euro and I don't mind having leftover Euros, because I know I'll spend those.

[B]

Again, this is a good time to use your credit cards with no foreign transaction fees because. Because then you don't have to worry about that leftover cash or paying the extra fees. I went to Gibraltar just for one day, and they're British, so they use the British pound. And I honestly didn't even bother going to an atm. I was like, all right, I'm just gonna go to places that accepted this credit card, so that way I don't have to deal with the leftover money.

[A]

There's a real nerd wallet tip for you, Megan, coming through with that. So what are the sort of TLDRs out of this whole fragmentation part?

[B]

The big takeaway is that you might not want to just wing it like you can in other countries where trains come very frequently or you can always get a flight somewhere else. You have to factor in how you're going to get to these different places, what mode of transportation you need to be on, and what their schedule is. So that way you do not miss the last ferry back to the main part of the country or whatever.

[A]

Oh, no, I have to spend an extra night in Santorini. Yeah.

[B]

Although that could be really annoying.

[A]

Yes. And maybe I might recommend, rather than trying to hit a bunch of places at once, if you are going to one of these places in the Mediterranean, really intend to spend a lot of time there rather than I'm going to do one different place, a different night. I think this feeds into something that I remember you said on an earlier podcast episode where we talked about our predictions for 2026, and you said this for phrase easy travel, where people do spend longer there. And I'm thinking maybe this is the spot where you should do that.

[B]

Yeah, I mean, you won't have to worry about all these different types of currencies or language if you really take your time and get to explore a place. Like we said, the Mediterranean is huge, and we're not even talking about a ton of it on this episode. So if you just want to see at least one little part of it, I would recommend going there and spending more than a couple of days there really learning about it and. And just enjoying your time. Taking the little day trips from there, making it your home base. I think that will make a much less stressful Mediterranean trip than trying to hit everywhere in the Mediterranean.

[A]

You don't want to learn Greek for one day, but learn. Learn Greek for 10 days and make it count.

[B]

All right, Sally, so tell us about the cruise you went on in Europe last year.

[A]

So I just said, do not try to do 10 cities in 10 days. But I'm the biggest hypocrite. But I also did it the best way possible. Megan, you know that I was not a cruiser up until about the past couple of years. My stereotype of cruising is that it was really slow, it was really boring. Not something for people who really want to get out and go. This changed my mind. So in October, I sailed on the Norwegian cruise line Viva. We started in Istanbul. And the reason I chose this specific itinerary is because we did a different port stop every day. Literally 10 different places. No at sea days. Your girl is not doing an at sea day. I do not want to sit on a cruise ship for a whole day. But I realized I loved cruising for how efficient it is. And not just efficient, but its ability to get you to places that are otherwise difficult. So I mentioned that it's reasonably easy to get to Rome or to get to Athens, but it's not reasonably easy to get to Corfu, Greece. But if you're on a cruise, it is. So these ships are able to pull into ports that don't have an airport, but they do have a cruise port. And so we went to different places every day. I'm talking Kusadasi, Turkey. I love Corfu, Greece. Kotor, which is one of my recommendations of top places to Go. What is fantastic also about this is you are not screwing around with worrying about the ferry schedule, worrying about your flight. Oh, your flight was delayed and now you have this big domino effect that doesn't happen when you're on a cruise so you can spend your whole time there being intentional about the place you're at and not the airport.

[B]

Well, you do have to know when your cruise is leaving. That part you should probably stay on top of.

[A]

Don't miss the boat, otherwise you're really screwed.

[B]

Exactly. But I mean you can pack in a pretty full day when you're at port. So tell us, what did you do in your 12 hours on land during your cruise?

[A]

I'll give you a great example of that is we were in Santorini and the, the ship pulls in at 6am Hamilton and I are ready to run off the boat as soon as we can to get on the tender boat to get over to Santorini. We have the very first cable car up the hill and so we get to Fira and immediately we're enjoying this town and it's so empty. Everyone talks about how Fira is totally packed and it is when it's crowded with all the people who've come in with their ferry day trips. But we were the first people off so we enjoyed it and got a bunch of photos of us with nobody there. Then we do the hike to Oia and it's a super long hike. Everyone online says just do it one way and take the taxi back. And we are like, no, no, no, we are walking to Oia. We go there, we enjoy the whole thing. We ended up doing 20 miles because we hiked back and then we did all the wandering around 20 miles and the ship does say you gotta be back on board at 9:00pm And Megan, I'm not missing, I'm not missing the ship return time but it's like 8:45 and we're on board and, and we are so exhausted. I basically just eat some food on the ship, pass out and then I wake up the next morning and rather than stressed about what I'm going to do, I have just arrived in Mykonos and I'm ready to do it all again refreshed because I had an amazing sleep after my long day.

[B]

Yeah, it really is a floating hotel room. You don't have to unpack in between every destination. And it's like you took a red eye flight but in the most comfortable bed ever. You're just cruising and the ocean will like rock you to sleep.

[A]

Or the Mediterranean Sea it is the ultimate lie flat. I have never yet paid for a lie flat seat, but I would consider a cruise to be the the ultimate lie flat. And we should talk about the cost. Our 10 night cruise aboard the Norwegian Viva, it varies in price depending on the season that you go, but let's say roughly $6,000 for two people. That's less than $300 per person per night. This incorporates your food costs, assuming that you're eating on the ship. Of course, we did pay for a bunch of food out in Europe because I do want to eat the actual European food. But it's your hotel cost, it's your transit cost. So you're not messing around with not just the flight, but the cost to get to the flight, which means probably an Uber to the airport. And so this can be a huge savings. And then of course, if you book during wave season, travel Tuesday, sometimes last minute, you can get even better deals. So Megan, believe it or not, I actually did a little exercise because I was curious. I priced out a similar independent trip where I used mid scale hotels. So I'm talking the Hilton Doubletree kind of class of hotels in the same cities in the same nights as the cruise. I also just added the most practical transportation options. So in some places that was a ferry, like between Santorini and Mykonos. In some places it was a rental car. So I mentioned the drive between Kotor and Dubrovnik makes sense to do. I also budgeted $40 per person per per day for food, which I do feel like is conservative because on the cruise it's all you can eat. But Megan, the price was basically exactly the same as the cruise fair. But I felt like the cruise was a way better deal because of all the time savings that I was not in the airport, I was not messing around with a rental car. None of that. I just woke up in my beautiful life every day in a new city.

[B]

It's more convenient, it's less stressful. I totally believe that. I'm curious though, what about like if you were staying at more luxury hotels? I mean, could you actually save money by booking the cruise instead?

[A]

So I compared kind of a doubletree level because I would say that our cruise stateroom was also that level. We did not go all out for the cruise suite. So you do want to make sure that it's an apples to apples comparison. But what I think is really interesting is you look at some of these cities in the Mediterranean. Santorini really is the top one that comes to mind where there is such a finite amount of hotel rooms and they get really expensive. If you are going to Santorini in peak season, Easy to spend $1,000 a night on a room and that's even if you can get a room. So with a cruise you're not even having to stress. And then I even think about it from a trip planning aspect of we talked about how you're learning all these different languages to go to the different countries. But if you're going to a different city, you're also researching all the different hotels. Is this one going to scam me? Is this one nice? And with the cruise you just know you're in your same hotel room every single night and it's going to be of reasonable quality.

[B]

That's a good point. And saves you a lot of time on the planning portion of the trip as well that you don't have to go through all the logistics and the hotel search to find what you really need because that part's already taken care of.

[A]

Yeah, the amount of time that people waste. And I do this too at the hotel check in desk and then maybe you got there at one, but check in isn't until four, so you're just kind of derping around for three hours. What do you do? I'll leave my bags. But you don't have to do that with a cruise. So I actually, even if you are not a cruise person, do reconsider for the Mediterranean specifically.

[B]

I want to mention one last thing before we get off. Why the cruise is so great. But one thing is seeing these cities and towns by water. Yes, I love leaving the port and just watching out the back of the cruise as you see the town disappear into the distance and it's. And it's like, wow, this is kind of how these places were meant to be seen. Like they are on the coast and this is how a lot of people used to get to these places. Or this is maybe how people would work and take the ferries in between them. Water is such a big part of their culture and like how they've become like these amazing destinations for people. So seeing it by water is really special. Okay, let's talk about when to go because you just mentioned that during high season some of the prices both for cruises and hotel hotels can be really expensive. So when should people go if they don't want to pay those really high prices?

[A]

Ooh, go when the people are not going. So typically shoulder season, possibly off season. But you do need to realize if you go during the off season in some of these destinations, especially these beach towns, a Lot of the Greek islands close entirely for the off season. I also want to talk about the places that are the most expensive. So Greece and Italy have the second and third highest hotel room rates in all of Europe. Megan, I'm gonna make you do another game again.

[B]

Okay, let's see.

[A]

What is the number one most expensive hotel room rates in Europe? What country has it?

[C]

Hmm.

[B]

I'm gonna go with. I'm between France or Italy. I'm gonna go France.

[A]

Oh, well, so. So Italy has third highest hotel room rates in all of Europe. Oh, wow.

[B]

Okay. What is it?

[A]

Actually, not France, it's Switzerland. Switzerland is so notoriously expensive.

[B]

Yeah, I forgot. I like blocked out Switzerland because it' I'm like, I'm not staying there.

[A]

We're not going to Switzerland on this podcast.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

But yes, Greece and Italy are 2 and 3 behind notoriously expensive Switzerland. So do keep that in mind. The other thing is that it is getting more expensive. This is wild. Mediterranean destinations saw price increases of more than 10% year over year in the first half of 2025 in terms of their hotel room rates. So to put that into perspective, Mediterranean went up 10%. The rest of Western Europe. Europe went up just 3%.

[B]

Oh, wow. Okay, so Mediterranean, super popular. And the prices reflect that now, Right? All right.

[A]

There are some destinations that are way more expensive than others. I don't want to give off this idea that the Mediterranean as a whole is super expensive because some places are, but you can really enjoy the Mediterranean by going to these cheaper places. So let's start by talking about the high end places. So I got some data from Skyscanner and they gave me the average 5 star hotel price per night. I want to share some of the top ones. We keep talking about Santorini. Finite amount of spaces, really lovely. Average five star hotel room price per night is $940. It's.

[B]

Oh my gosh. That's the average. Yikes.

[A]

Average five star. But yeah, Santorini is not your budget friendly place if you're on a budget. The best way to go to Santorini, I am telling you, is a cruise. Other expensive of places. Mykonos. Average five star hotel price, $498. And then there's Palma and Mallorca. Also Pretty expensive at $408. Average price per night for a 5 star hotel.

[B]

Yes, that Mallorca price is expensive. And again, Mallorca is one of the fastest growing tourism markets for US travelers. So that's not surprising at all that the prices are going up there.

[A]

And you know, I Think a lot of travelers are going to go this year because August 12th is the solar eclipse. So this is a hot go. It is generally expensive. 22 boutique hotels in this city and in fact 97% of beds in the city are for five star hotels. So there are not a lot of options if you are a budget traveler. Right.

[B]

Okay. Where should people go if they are looking for a budget stay but still want the luxury five star experience?

[A]

Yeah, I'm glad you asked because Sky Sienna also pulled some of the cheaper places where you can still get a five star hotel. Kotor, which I mentioned at the top of the show as one of my favorites. Five star hotel aver average price of $177. Other good ones, Istanbul $159. Crete, Greece $154. So there are options in Greece even if you're on a budget.

[B]

We hope you all make it to the Mediterranean at some point and send us your questions if you need help planning your Mediterranean trip. All right. Speaking of questions, Sally, do we have a listener question today?

[A]

Oh, we do. This came from someone who named themselves Always stuck in Economy. So our friend Always stuck in Economy Economy says, I traveled 120 nights last year, mostly for work. I book on my own loyalty accounts and keep the points and miles, but everything goes on a corporate card so I don't earn any credit card points. My work is inflexible. It's spread across different cities so my points are scattered across all the brands. I have silver or gold status at a few hotels but no real perks and zero airline status help. What do I do? Are there any airline or hotel brands that are easier to earn status without needing their COBRA branded credit card? Megan, what do you say?

[B]

Oof. This is tough because a lot of the airline and hotel lead status programs have really gone towards rewarding people who spend a lot, particularly on their co branded credit cards. They don't make it particularly easy to earn elite status without those credit cards just by staying or flying.

[A]

What I would do is, as Megan mentioned, typically to get that automatic airline status you have to spend a lot of money on the card. So it's not actually automatic, but there are some ways that you can get elite status like benefits for traveling. So one of the cards I would recommend for you is the Platinum card from American Express. It does offer automatic gold status in Marriott and Hilton programs. You have to enroll so at least you get some elite status there. And I think Hilton elite status is actually really, really good. You get food and beverage Credits, you get room upgrades, you get the early and late checkout. But another reason I like this is because you get the Loun Lounge access. Megan and I talk about how much we love the Centurion Lounges. This is one of the most widespread lounge networks. So it seems like you travel to a bunch of different airports. This maximizes your odds of actually being able to access the lounge. And I would recommend this more than something like maybe just an American Airlines card that gets you into the American Lounge or just a United card that gets you into the United Lounge because as you said, you don't want to be tied to a specific airline. So what I like about the Centurion Lounge, they don't care. If you are flying Spirit and you have a platinum card, you can still get into the Centurion Lounge. So that's what I like about that.

[B]

I hear you on the Platinum card, but if this listener already has gold status, they might not need a $900 annual fee card to be able to take advantage of the elite status that comes with the AMEX Platinum card. So what I would point out for that is if you do just want to earn elite stat status the easiest way possible without a credit card, I would recommend a brand like Choice Hotels. If you are booking all these different hotels and you're trying to strategize which brands to stay at at certain times, Choice Hotels lets you earn elite status after just five nights. So that's a really good one. If you are spread across a lot of different brands and you're trying to earn more elite status with lower requirements.

[A]

This person is traveling 120 nights per year. I think they're traveling enough to justify an $895 annual fee credit card.

[B]

I know, but this one, they have to pay for themselves. The travel they're getting is through work, so it might be different. We'll see. Let us know what you think. Email us@travel nerdwallet.com if you have a listener question. You can also send us a voice memo and we might play it on.

[A]

The show and tell us what you think about our answer. If you are Team Sally or if you are Team Megan.

[B]

And also follow Smart Travel on your favorite podcast app, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and I Heart Radio. That'll make sure that you automatically download the new episodes. And if you're listening on Spotify, you can drop us a comment right in the app or even a question.

[A]

And we do love those reviews. If you want more of this show, please make sure to give us a review. 5 stars is always welcome.

[B]

This episode was produced by Tess Biglin and edited by Nick Karismi. Claire Soci and Hillary Georgie helped with fact checking and of course, our disclaimer.

[A]

We are not financial or investment advisors. This info is provided for general educational and entertainment purposes. It may not apply to your specific circumstances.

[B]

We hope you're inspired to keep your passport full and your wallet even fuller. Thanks everyone. We'll see you next time.

[D]

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