By
Alice Chambers |
Costa Cruises will offer 10 National Geographic day tours this summer across cruises in the Mediterranean, Canary Islands and Madeira.
The shore-based tours – which will be hosted by local guides trained by National Geographic and available from June 2023 – have been designed as a responsible and immersive way for a small group of guests to experience the local cultures of the destinations that they visit.
Three of the tours will explore destinations in the Canary Islands including volcanic wine tasting in La Geria, Lanzarote, and hearing about how the region’s local farmers discovered a new method of cultivation following a series of volcanic eruptions. Guests will also be able to hike in Gran Canaria and tasting local cuisine and learn about cultural traditions in Teno Alto, Tenerife, by interacting with locals, visiting a diary farm and eating in a local restaurant.
In Italy, guests will be able to visit Mount Raschio in Rome, a beech forest protected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or learn about the preservation of sea turtles at Turtle Point in Portici, Naples.
Costa will host another two tours in Greece where guests will sample traditional food and experience island life with a local family in Mykonos and learn about Blutopis, a family-run businesses in Rhodes that encourages young scientists to stay on the island and protect its natural marine environment.
Other tours include a trip with a herbalist guide in Ibiza covering the use of wild herbs and the importance of bees for the ecosystem, learning about oyster aquaculture in Mali Ston Bay, near Dubrovnik, Croatia. Guests can also learn about the environmental impact of certain agricultural practices at Quinta Pedagogica da Camacha farm in Funchal, Madeira.
A portion of the proceeds from each experience will go towards the National Geographic Society to fund further research and sustainable programmes around the world.