Overtourism has become a 21st-century curse, turning the joy of travel into an intolerable endurance as flounder under a flood of visitors. lines are regularly singled out as the main culprits of this unsatisfactory state of affairs and are the easiest and most obvious target, despite the continuing growth of and meteoric rise of Airbnb. However, it’s when they pull into ports to disgorge thousands of passengers for the day, as anyone who’s queued for the cable car at Santorini’s capital Fira can testify when even one or two are in town.

It is estimated that nearly 11 million cruise passengers will visit popular Mediterranean destinations this July and August, with some of the most sought-after spots attracting up to 25,000 a day. An unlikely source, in the shape of sustainable women’s clothing brand Nomad the Label, has crunched the numbers, looking at cruise schedules in ports including Dubrovnik, Santorini, Palma de Mallorca and , to calculate the busiest and quietest days in each. This has enabled the company to pinpoint the best and worst times to visit, including precious days when no ships are scheduled to dock, thus enabling other travellers to avoid the worst crowds, or conversely when multiple ships are due, bringing thousands of extra day-trippers.

Nomad’s founder Louisa Warman said its analysis showed that more needs to be done to address chronic overcrowding during peak season. “Hopefully our research can help tourists planning to visit some of these .