One way boat from Fira port to Oia

Has anyone done a one-way boat trip/water taxi from the Fira port to Oia? Ifso, which what company? Looking the see some of the island from the water then rent a car in Oia and return in later in Fira (and return to the port via the cable car).

Thanks for any input

Chris

Has anyone done a one-way boat trip/water taxi from the Fira port to Oia? Ifso, which what company? Looking the see some of the island from the water then rent a car in Oia and return in later in Fira (and return to the port via the cable car).

 

Thanks for any input

Chris

I haven't done it, but remember that if you go from Thira to Oia then you have to walk up to the top of the hill, or else take a long taxi ride up the hill. It's not quiet as high as at Thira but it is still a hike. This should give you a perspective looking down from Oia to the docks.

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Zqvol, isn't there a public bus that takes you from the docks up into Oia?

In Santorini all tender services are provided for all cruise lines by the Longshoremen of Santorini .

General tenders for independent travellers take you to a point where you can catch other boats to the caldera or Oia , or take the cable car up to Fira above . Alternatively one can take the donkey up a zig zag staircase, or personally walk up the 350 odd steps to Fira above. There is NO bus service or road vehicular access up to Fira from this tender landing point on Santorini .

Those booked on ships excursions ONLY are taken to a different area further down the caldera where bus access for ships tours comes to that separate tender dock .

In Santorini all tender services are provided for all cruise lines by the Longshoremen of Santorini .

 

General tenders for independent travellers take you to a point where you can catch other boats to the caldera or Oia , or take the cable car up to Fira above . Alternatively one can take the donkey up a zig zag staircase, or personally walk up the 350 odd steps to Fira above. There is NO bus service or road vehicular access up to Fira from this tender landing point on Santorini .

 

Those booked on ships excursions ONLY are taken to a different area further down the caldera where bus access for ships tours comes to that separate tender dock .

This is true for people tendered to the area below the cable car and donkeys, but I thought I had read that if you pay for the boat that takes you over to Ammoudi port (little port in the picture, which is below Oia) there is a small, presumably privately-arranged bus or van that takes you up the road and drops you off in Oia. I think that's the way the boat operates, but I haven't done it, so don't know for sure.

I would think that it might be possible to take this boat and the included bus or van up to Oia, but once in Oia, I'm not sure it's possible to rent a car. I also don't know how much of the island you'd see on the boat, as I would think that you'd just see cliffs between the port where the Longshoremen tenders drop you and the little port up north for Oia, as it's pretty far up that cliff! I would think you would probably just want to rent a car in Fira after taking donkey or cable car. There are also rental places at the ferry port, but you would not be able to get back to the ship in the afternoon, so that's out.

Personally I'd just rent a car (or ATV with 200 cc) from Hertz, Avis or Tony's Rental and drive to Oia, park and walk in Oia, and then go wherever else you want to go (winery, Pyrgos village, Red Beach, Profitas Ilias, etc., leaving plenty of time to return the car and get back down on donkey, cable car or feet. Then again, I did find boat trips around parts of the islands (including the one nearby with hot springs - can walk to top of volcano) that also go to Oia, although some people say forget the hot springs and volcano walk and just concentrate on seeing part of the island you'll be tendered to (Thira). I may have saved a couple web site links, so let me know if you want those.

Roothy please send along any websites you have. I have contacted two rental car companies, Tony's and Vazeos'. Vazeos would have the car dropped anywhere I wanted. Awaiting a reply from Tony. Sounds like the boat trip may not be worth it though. Just seeing cliffs isn't what I'm looking to see. Part of my reasoning ( for taking a boat) was to avoid wasting time waiting for the cable car but I have since researched it and we will be the only ship in port our day in Santorini, which eases the deman a lot.

Thanks for you post and info.

Chris

You're lucky to be the only ship there, and yes, that makes timing less important for you. It's the same for us (only ship there), as far as I can tell, although I wish Santorini had a port website to check to make sure! (I guess since they only have a small ferry port, there's no need for a public website, but still....) By the way, you aren't on Viking Star, are you?

I was a bit confused about how to get to Tony's, but with someone's help, I was able to see it on Google and it looks pretty easy. With Google's "What's There?" feature you can actually see the building, plus a vacant lot a short distance away with a bunch of cars in it. The rental office looks to be about a 10 minute walk from the cable car building. On Google, I also saw a Hertz dealer on the main street in Fira, closer than Tony's, but when I went online to see prices, they were a little higher, so I'll probably just use Tony. I hadn't heard of the other place you mention - let me know if they're cheaper or otherwise better than Tony's!

Tony will respond - but it took him a day or maybe 2 to respond to me.

tomsportguides.com has great guides geared toward cruisers, and he has a guide on Santorini you can print out (free). Other good sites I've found are Santorini.com (villages & PT & more) & santoriniweb.com. Cable car is 5€, takes 1200 people per hour & takes 3m. Runs about every 20m Sept./October. Lines can be long in afternoon.

Thanks. We are on Celebrity Constellation in late July.

I think Tony's is a bit cheaper but Vazeos has a bigger selection. I'm leaning towards a little convertible.

http://www.cruisetimetables.com (For ships in port)

Don't assume that you will be the only ship in port. We were there once and the supposed three ships turned into 12.

The line for the cable car is not bad. It really moves faster than you think going up. It is worse coming down because all of the people on ships tours that get dropped off elsewhere have to take the cable car down to tender.

It is also fun to take the donkeys one way, and it is no problem to walk down.

To answer the original poster question: we had done the boat to Oia transfer last year, and it was fantastic. Be aware that it's a one way boat trip, they do not take you back by boat, only back by the bus they supply.

You do not have to walk very far after exiting the boat transfer, they supply a bus to take you to the top of Oia. So no long walk uphill as other poster had commented.

Company was Dakoutros Bros, buy the ticket at the docks upon exiting your tender. There is a big sign, so you can't miss it.

The advantage for us was not having to walk up, donkey up or take the cable car ride up the mountain to Fira. The other advantage was being in Oia early before the crowds. As we were leaving, the one way walking street in was packed with tourists heading in.

They supply a bus to Fira, included in your ticket.

Just word of advise, make sure you pay attention to the meeting place of the bus, and the times that they go to Fira. Ask the driver where he will be parked to wait for you. This is because when you get back to the bus parking area, there will be many buses, but only one is valid with your ticket. May sound simple, but there was a group of us walking from bus to bus asking if it was the right bus....that took a while.

Wife was afraid of Cable car, so glad I found a way around the ride up. I did offer the option of walking down, or donkey down in Fira, but I did convince her that the 5 minute ride down was our best option, and she was fine with it once we got moving....

Thanks so much for the information on the boat to Oia. It would be nice to be ahead of the crowds. Is Oia more beautiful than Fira???