Search 1,000+ pages, voyages, ports, guides, and comparisons.

EXPLORA II · Mediterranean & Western Europe

5 nights, Civitavecchia (Rome) to Málaga

January 14, 2027 – January 20, 2027 · 5 nights · 5 stops

Explora's name for it: A Journey Through Cliffs, Islands and Andalusian Light

Five nights, five ports, no sea days. This is a one-way line from Civitavecchia to Málaga that crosses the western Mediterranean fast, with a hop down to Cartagena on Colombia's Caribbean coast in the mix. Amalfi is a tender port: you anchor in the Gulf of Salerno and shuttle to the Marina Coppola pier, with Piazza del Duomo about a one-minute walk away, so the climb up the stepped lanes behind the cathedral to Atrani is the whole point. Cagliari berths roughly 800 meters from the center, an easy walk up to the Castello citadel if you wear real shoes for the cobbles. In Cartagena you walk out through a 700-animal aviary that is free to ship passengers before you ever reach the walled town.

This itinerary rewards people who want to be off the ship and into a city every single day, on foot wherever possible. Two of those days are gateways more than destinations: Civitavecchia is really about Rome, a 45 to 60 minute regional train each way, and that day belongs to the train and the Colosseum, not the port. If you want slow mornings and sea days, this is the wrong sailing. If you want compact, walkable old towns back to back with one fortress city thrown in, it is well shaped.

Explora II is all-suite and all-oceanfront.

Civitavecchia (Rome) (open port guide)Civitavecchia (Rome)Amalfi (open port guide)Cagliari (Sardinia) (open port guide)Cartagena (open port guide)Málaga (open port guide)Málaga

The itinerary, port by port

5 calls over 5 nights, Civitavecchia (Rome) to Málaga. Open any port for my full day-ashore guide, what to see, when to go, and how the day actually runs.

Getting there: Flights to Civitavecchia (Rome) (FCO) are already bookable for these dates. I watch the fare for booked clients so you book at the right moment. When to book your flights →

  1. Embark
    Civitavecchia (Rome)

    Civitavecchia is Rome's deepwater port, a working harbor about 80 km northwest of the capital, and for most travelers it is the gateway rather than the destination. Port guide →

  2. 2
    Amalfi

    Amalfi is the namesake town of the Amalfi Coast, a former maritime republic wedged into a ravine where the mountains drop straight to the Gulf of Salerno. Port guide →

  3. 3
    Cagliari (Sardinia)

    Cagliari is the capital of Sardinia, a layered Italian port city where a medieval hilltop citadel, the Castello, looks down over the harbor and the arcaded Via Roma runs right along the waterfront. Port guide →

  4. 4
    Cartagena

    Cartagena is Colombia's old Caribbean fortress city, a UNESCO-listed walled town of balconied colonial houses, plazas, and the largest Spanish fort built in the Americas. Port guide →

  5. Disembark
    Málaga

    Málaga is the working capital of the Costa del Sol and the birthplace of Picasso, and its old town packs a Moorish hilltop fortress, a 1st-century BC Roman theater, and an unfinished Renaissance cathedral… Port guide →

Fares on this departure, decoded

Reading the fare fine print is the job. Here's what this sailing currently carries:

Invitation to Discover More
Explora's discovery fare, available across most of the calendar. Onboard credit where the offer applies.

The ship and your suite

This sailing is aboard EXPLORA II, all-suite, every suite with a private ocean-front terrace. Suites run from the entry Ocean Terrace to the Owner's Residence; the right tier depends on how you travel. Compare suites → · What's included →


Keep exploring

Want this voyage priced for you?

Send me the dates and the suite tier you have in mind and I'll come back with a confirmed live number and my read on the sailing within two hours. Best available price, and I make it worth more.

Book a 30-min Pre-flight or send your dates