Confused about Greece Ports

We are on Royal Caribbean cruise to Santorini and Olympia. I am unsure about what to do in these ports. We don't want to drive in Greece so we are not interested in car rentals.

For Santorini, I know we want to visit Oia and Fira. I know that we can take the cable car to the top of the hill and then take a bus to Oia. I have also seen that you can take a boat at the harbor although I have heard stories about people getting stranded. I am not sure which one is better but it seems to me that the bus is better. We want to spend some time in Oia and then go back to Fira, take the cable car back down the mountain or walk if it is too crowded and then go back to the ship after exploring Fira a little bit. I also have heard that there are ruins to see but I am unsure where they are in relation to the two towns. Also is there a good place to get souvenirs and also a quaint place to eat? We are not interested in any way in wineries.

In Olympia, our ship has several excursions, one with just transport to the port, another with a dancing show and another with a tour of the historic area. Does anyone have any experience with any of these? I understand that the town of Katalon is very small and there is not much there. I understand that the ruins take about 2 hours. Not sure what else is here.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you.

I can only help with Santorini as I have not been to OLympia.

Have not taken the boat to Oia as our focus was on top of the caldera……

Our first trip there we took the donkeys up. Was something I am glad we did but once is fine. We then walked to the main road and hailed a taxi. We negotiated a fare for him to take us to Oia and then pick us up a few hours later to take us back to Fira. I had read that the bus can be a real zoo on the return and there are regularly more people than there is room on the bus and lots of pushing and shoving - not my idea of a nice day on Santorini. We did not pay him until he returned us to Fira so we knew he would show up…. :)

Our second trip we took the cable car up and then did the same thing but this time our taxi took us to Akrotiri (the Minoan ruins). He waited for us while we toured the ruins and then returned us to Fira dropping us off near the Archeolgical museum where all the items from the ruins are. We then found a great restaurant with views of the entire caldera and had a wonderful lunch. We shopped a bit in Fira and then returned to the ship.

Now to answer your questions….

Oia is at one end of the island and the ruins, Akrotiri, are at the opposite ends with Fira in the middle. This map should help you get your bearings.

http://www.santorini.us/santorinigreece.net.map.gif

There are tons of shops for souvenirs and many places to eat. You can get lots of recommendations but the trick is to find them …… Fira is not like what you are used to…… mostly small winding pedestrian walkways. Lots of uneven stairs and inclines/declines. Its just easier to pick one with a great view and enjoy.

Hope this info helps and enjoy Santorini !!!

The ruins (Akritori) are in the opposite direction from Fira as is Oia. While it is possible to do both using island buses (if you have a long port day) you might want to just skip the ruins. Santorini is a very tourist oriented island where English is widely spoken, there are many fantastic views, the food is good, and shopping is plentiful.

As to Katakolon, it is a tiny fishing village with little to interest most cruisers. There is one small main street with some shops (nothing outstanding) and a few restaurants/cafes. Most first time visitors elect to take a tour (or go on their own) to Olympia which is famous for its history with the ancient Olympics. We think the ruins at Olympia (primarily a grassy field) are underwhelming, but the co-located museum is quite interesting. Some of us do enjoy renting a car here and just driving in the region (we enjoy parts of the coast line).

Hank

Very good advice. I think I like the idea of the taxi better than the bus as I worry about getting back to the ship on time. If I were to get the taxi driver to take me to Oia, then pick us up an 1 1/2 hours later, what would be the reasonable fee for that? Did you have a problem with finding someone to speak English?

For Katalon, it sounds I could take the ship's transportation to Olympia for $19pp and then do a self guided tour there, perhaps Rick Steves. It sounds like 2 hours is enough there. The ship has a shore excursion that has Greek dancers, but I am not sure if anyone knows how good that shore excursion is.

Thank you.

Public transportation: ktel-santorini.gr. Tix are 1,50 to 2,50€. Buses depart for Oia (25mins.) twice hourly, usually on top & bottom of hour, 1,60€. Taxi is 15-20€ one-way.

Bus to Akrotiri leaves about once/hour & takes 30min., 1,80€. Have to walk back up road minute or two after being dropped at bus stop.

The above is info I found on Cruise Critic or other sites. Rates may have gone up a little since this info was compiled.

You probably already know this, but don't cut the getting back down to the tender location too close. When there are multiple ships calling on Santorini, there can be a wait for the cable cars. You can check sites like cruisett.com to see if other ships will be there when yours is.

Oia is so beautiful.

Just keep in mind that the taxis on Santorini are not cheap. The last time we were on the island a one-way taxi between Fira and Oia cost about 25 Euros. Not sure if they will negotiate on a slow day, but it would be worth a try.

Hank

I looked up the port load on the day we are there and I think it is 4087 so a large amount. Not sure with that amount if we would have a hard time with taxis or buses. I don't care if the bus is crowded. I just want to make sure that I can get back on.

We thought we would walk down the steps in Fira if the cable car line was long.

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I looked up the port load on the day we are there and I think it is 4087 so a large amount. Not sure with that amount if we would have a hard time with taxis or buses. I don't care if the bus is crowded. I just want to make sure that I can get back on.

We thought we would walk down the steps in Fira if the cable car line was long.

 

 

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Santorini was a tender port for us and it takes a long time to get all those people off the ship.We took the ship excursion to Oia just so we could get off the ship on time. I was glad we did because I heard later that many people were not able to get off until afternoon. The ship excursion took us to Oia,a winenery and back to Fira and dropped us off. We then spent time in Fira and walked to the cable car to get back to the ship.It started to rain while we were waiting in line. The line was very long and there would have been no way to take the stairs back as they were a mess.I heard while waiting in line that people had not been able to get off the ship until afternoon as there was a shortage of tenders.We were on Celebrity and rather then use the life boats as tender boats they chose to give the locals some business. Some of the boats were very interesting when it got rough in the bay.:eek:

Santorini was a tender port for us and it takes a long time to get all those people off the ship.We took the ship excursion to Oia just so we could get off the ship on time. I was glad we did because I heard later that many people were not able to get off until afternoon. The ship excursion took us to Oia,a winenery and back to Fira and dropped us off. We then spent time in Fira and walked to the cable car to get back to the ship.It started to rain while we were waiting in line. The line was very long and there would have been no way to take the stairs back as they were a mess.I heard while waiting in line that people had not been able to get off the ship until afternoon as there was a shortage of tenders.We were on Celebrity and rather then use the life boats as tender boats they chose to give the locals some business. Some of the boats were very interesting when it got rough in the bay.:eek:

I'm not 100% positive, but I think Santorini requires the use of local tenders. Was Celebrity able to use their tender boats (just not the lifeboats, which are usually a little different)? I thought local tender boats were the only way to go.

Just in case anyone reading this doesn't know, I'm also pretty sure Santorini is a tender port for ALL cruise ships, big and small. If you're going on a ship's excursion you will likely be tendered to the ferry port that is a bit south of what's generally called the "old port" where the donkeys and cable car start. There is a road (long and winding, not for walking!) up to the top from the ferry port dock so that people can get on buses to be driven to Oia and other places. After a ship's excursion, from what I've heard, everyone gets left off in Fira to sightsee and take the cable car back, although I suppose there may be exceptions. If you're going on your own, generally Santorini's tender boats go back and forth between the dock near the donkeys/cable car and the cruise ships out in the caldera.

I think of the donkey path as an option if the cable car line is long, but have never thought of what might happen if it's raining - thanks!

In Katakolon, we pre-arranged a private driver to bring us around.

Here is a short video showing snippets of our day.

[YOUTUBE]cPcXi0GYUX0[/YOUTUBE]