Cruiser's Guide: Cultural Tourism & Historical Vacations

Explore with a Getaway Dedicated to History.

By Robert Schrader | Published on December 8, 2022

Who says a cruise can't be a vehicle for cultural tourism? No matter where in the world your ship docks, historic sites and cultural attractions are never more than a short bus or taxi ride away. This is as true in seemingly ordinary cities and towns as it is at bucket-list destinations like the Pyramids of Giza or Machu Picchu. Whether you're a fan of ancient chronicles or tomes written closer to modern times, continue reading to learn how history buffs can make the most of an adventure at sea.

Pura Ulun Danu Bratan temple in Bali island

How (And Why) History Lovers Travel

History-minded cultural vacations take many forms, but architecture is an important element for nearly all of them. As you traipse through the streets of ancient Rome after docking at Civitavecchia, for example, seeing millennia-old structures like the Colosseum provides a real context for the tales you read about in guidebooks and on historical plaques. This is also true when it comes to more modern history: Looking westward from the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City allows you to grapple with the gravity of popes' pronouncements over the years.

Rome Europe Italia travel summer tourism holiday vacation background

History-minded travelers also find clues in culture that survives to this day. In cities like Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Luang Prabang, Laos, for example, watching Buddhist monks on their morning procession links the religious practices of centuries past with rituals that have endured into our own time. The same is true in Jordan, where Bedouin guides take you into the Wadi Rum desert after a day at Petra, its rock-hewn edifices a monument to a now-extinct civilization. Seeing ancient customs and technology at work in the modern world can feel like traveling in time. time.

Who says a cruise can't be a vehicle for cultural tourism?

What Is Cultural Tourism? What Are The Benefits?

What is cultural tourism, and how does it differ from historical tourism? Cultural tourism is when you travel specifically to learn about a destination's culture. While culture can provide a window into the distant past, it can also be totally modern, like video game arcades in Japan and Formula 1 race car tracks in Europe. More often than not, however, history lovers prioritize the cultural traditions of yesterday that have stuck around until today — and not just for great pictures or stories to tell their friends.

As a history buff myself, I can tell you it cuts much deeper than that. Using my cultural travels as a means to understand the ancient world helps me make more sense of my own life in today's world. Travel is all about expanding your horizons, whether that's seeing mountains taller than you could ever imagine or eating foods more delicious than you ever dreamed possible. The benefits of traveling with an eye for culture and history just expands this concept into another dimension: Time.

Anatomy Of An Attraction

Tourist looking at the Parthenon. Athens, Greece.

Deeper Look At Historical Vacation Ideas

While some travelers take historical vacations in pursuit of broader understandings, heritage tourism is also a great way to dig deep into specific cultures and civilizations. Visiting the ruins of Pompeii in southern Italy is like a living textbook. As you walk in and out of volcano-doomed homes, you can often see archaeologists dusting off mosaic floors, or collections of dinnerware and cutlery arranged atop stoves and kilns that have been extinguished for centuries. Even visiting places like this as a tourist can make you feel like you're part of a dig team.

Seeing world wonders also offers first-person insight into pressing historical questions, even if you sometimes find additional questions instead of answers. The Great Wall of China for instance looks easy for a modern army to breach, though when you consider the technology used to build it in the 3rd century B.C., it's easier to accept the wall (which is "great," even by today's standards) for the revolutionary construction that it is.

Other questions you ask might be broader than any particular historical event. If your ship docks in Barcelona, you might take a food tour to learn why paella recipes are so hotly debated or how eating tapas became a Spanish custom. Calling in Sri Lanka on your cruise, you might visit a spice farm to see how cinnamon or nutmeg grows, and why both were once highly prized treasures before they became ordinary pantry staples. Take a train to Nuwara Eliya, in the heart of Sri Lanka's tea country, and you'll be surprised to learn the plant is not indigenous to the island, in spite of how central it seems to its landscape.

Llamas for hiking with at Machu Picchu, Peru. South America.

Sometimes, asking (and answering) these questions requires you to suspend disbelief. As you hike or ride a bus up to the peak of Huayna Picchu, for example, you might ask yourself "Why was Machu Picchu abandoned?" And while may have theories such as strategic choice of relocating or illness of its native population, the truth is it can be difficult to ponder this in the middle of so many of hiking tourists and locals. Oftentimes, the best option for this is to find a quieter corner of the Machu Picchu’s site, where there are more llamas around you than people, and reflect on this world wonder.

History Isn't Always Ancient

View of Christ the Redeemer with the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. South America.

But not all history is especially old — and not all history buffs are fixated on the ancient past. If your cruise stops in Rio de Janeiro, for example, you might ride the funicular up to Corcovado mountain, where the enormous Christ the Redeemer statue stands. Although the statue seems like an eternal symbol of Brazil's "Cidade Maravilhosa," it was only built in 1922. Pairing this with a cable car ride up the Sugar Loaf, which towers over the much older neighborhood of Urca, can help you piece together the story that takes Brazil into the modern era.

View of the city of Egypt with Pyramids. Africa.

The ability of cultural heritage tourism to span the recent past and the ancient past is not unique to Brazil, either. Many travelers remark about how dusty, sprawling modern Cairo has been built right up to the edge of the millennia-old pyramids. But exploring Cairo, from the "thousand minarets" of its countless mosques to its many high-rises and high-class hotels to the more understated vegetable markets and Coptic Christian Churches, paints a picture of how desert cultures have adapted and developed continuously since the time of the pharaohs. Whether it's Cairo or Chichen Itza, the stunning constructions of yesterday somehow seem even more amazing compared to the skyscrapers of today.

Nature's Wonders Are Culture, Too

Tourist snorkeling in a shallow reef. Australia.

It's easy to think of history only in the context of what people have built. However, natural history can often be just as fascinating. For example, if your cruise stops in Cairns, Australia, you'll have the opportunity to snorkel or scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef, where corals tell a story that stretches back thousands or even millions of years. Modern efforts to preserve this natural wonderland from climate change and pollution help to preserve that history for our descendants, too.

In the jungles of Costa Rica, on the other hand, you can drink in the sight of active volcanoes bubbling and rainforests strung with rope bridges. As you swim in the azure waters of volcano-heated Rio Celeste, particularly if it's not a very busy day, you might wonder how indigenous peoples even discovered such a place if they didn't know to look for it.

Another destination where culture mingles with natural history is Norway. The unique architecture and folklore of small villages within the country's finger-shaped inlets are directly linked to how difficult they were to access until about a century ago. As you sail through the fjords, either onboard your cruise ship or on a smaller excursion vessel, your guide may also explain to you how tsunamis within these waterways carved them out over the eons, and how these events (which would be considered catastrophes by today's standards) are part of the reason so many 21st-century travelers flock to Scandinavia.

Sail Through Time With A World Cruise

Geiranger, Norway, Small Boats Docked At Pier — Multiple small boats docked at a pier in Geiranger, Norway,

History buffs, no matter their particular interest or where they're traveling, are often trying to look at the world from a broader perspective. Marveling at architecture, culture, nature or archeology is a part of exploring the world and trying to make sense of it all. Booking a cruise is a surprisingly good way to facilitate this thanks to the diversity of destinations you can access during a single trip. Who says you can't take advantage of cutting-edge travel technology to delve into the past?

A cruise can be the perfect way to partake in cultural tourism. Travelers who want to see world wonders can book the Ultimate World Cruise, while shorter excursions through the Caribbean and Mediterranean can be gold mines for history-minded travelers. No matter where your next cruise takes you, or what your particular interest is, letting your curiosity guide you will always lead to unforgettable discoveries.

Written By
ROBERT SCHRADER

Robert Schrader is a writer, photographer and one of the web's original travel bloggers. In 2009 he launched his blog Leave Your Daily Hell, which has taken him to nearly 100 countries, and has since spun off niche sites focused on Japan, Thailand, Taiwan and Italy. Robert seeks to inform, inspire, entertain and empower travelers through his work, which has been featured in in-flight magazines and digital media outlets around the world. He's excited about travel's post-pandemic rebirth, and in particular the cruise industry's comeback!

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