Santorini Tours

Can anyone recommend a good private tour in Santorini that goes to the volcano and Oia? At least Oia if anything.

Right now we are signed up for the ship's excursion to Fira and Oia for $79, but we know we can find something better....any help would be greatly appreciated. :o)

Thanks...someone else recommended that website to me as well. I think I will contact them and see what they say. :o)

When we were just in Santorini - we came up to Fira (we walked up) --- at the top near the cable car exit (around the corner) there is a car rental office that also has tours. We paid 12 euro each for a 2 hour tour that went to a small church, a port below Oia and Oia. It was very quick - but, I think they have longer ones too.

I've now been to Santorini twice. The first time I took the cable car both ways. The second I rode the mule up and took the cable car down.

You can take a bus from Fira to Oia for very little money, but you do need correct change. It's about a 10 minute walk in Fira to the place where you catch the bus, and people will gladly give you directions.

This is a lot less expensive than a car or cab unless you want to stop along the route.

 

This is a lot less expensive than a car or cab unless you want to stop along the route.

The low cost of the bus is great, but there are quite a few other places that are very scenic on Santorini. It's really a wonderful (and easy) island to explore by rental car, so the cost of it (~40-50 euros) is money well spent for those who want to explore beyond Fira-Oia.

The low cost of the bus is great, but there are quite a few other places that are very scenic on Santorini. It's really a wonderful (and easy) island to explore by rental car, so the cost of it (~40-50 euros) is money well spent for those who want to explore beyond Fira-Oia.

I know you're right which is one of the reasons I just have to return!!:D

I know you're right which is one of the reasons I just have to return!!:D

Me too .. we were ready to move there we enjoyed it so much!:)

do you remember the name of the car rental company?

do you remember the name of the car rental company?

Tony's Car Rental. http://www.santonet.gr/rentals/tonys/

CintiPam (a frequent poster here) used them recently, so you might want to search 'Tony's' in "Search This Forum" at the top of the Med Forum Page (under the page numbers) to find a recent post by her about renting from him.

If you need an automatic, be sure to specify this.

Thank you! :o)

Tony's Car Rental. http://www.santonet.gr/rentals/tonys/

 

CintiPam (a frequent poster here) used them recently, so you might want to search 'Tony's' in "Search This Forum" at the top of the Med Forum Page (under the page numbers) to find a recent post by her about renting from him.

 

If you need an automatic, be sure to specify this.

Yes, I just used Tony's last month because Europecar, whom I happily used last year, closed its downtown Fira location and now is only at the airport. When you book, he sends you a good map showing his location only about 150 yards from the cable car terminus. And our dealings with him and his family that day in Santorini were pleasant.

Be sure to book ahead if you need an automatic, like I do, because when we picked up our car at 10 AM in June, several people who needed an automatic were told that none were available. The cost was 40 Euros (plus a few Euros of gas we put in before returning it).

I really enjoyed the freedom the car provided to set our own schedule and to continue to explore this lovely island. Driving is very easy once you leave the congestion of Fira, there is little traffic on the island, and there is free accessible parking everywhere.

If you do rent, I recommend that you go to your local AAA office and get an International Driving Permit for $15 (and good for one year). Even though we have never had a Greek car rental agency ask to see ours (we also rented a car last fall in Katakolon to go to Olympia), if you have any contact with the Greek police and cannot produce one, you will pay a very hefty fine.

I didn't know AAA had an international permit. I think I will opt for that just in case....$15 is a lot cheaper than a hefty fine!

We have booked a car with Tonys. For those who have rented a car and drove around are there places in particular that you think we should see. Other than Oia of course. Did you drive all around the island?

Thanks

Mary

We have booked a car with Tonys. For those who have rented a car and drove around are there places in particular that you think we should see. Other than Oia of course. Did you drive all around the island?

Thanks

Mary

Hi Mary,

We explored a lot of the island during our day there. Some of the things that we did during our day (we had the car from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m.)

• From Fira, we headed south to the town of Akrotiri, then took the road past Ancient Akrotiri, and went to the Red Beach. There is a parking area at the end of the road, and from there you can hike over to Red Beach.
  
• When we left Red Beach, we drove along the road to the west of Akrotiri to the lighthouse (spectacular views of the caldera).
  
• From the lighthouse, we drove to Perissa Beach ... DH went for a swim and I watched enviously.
  
• Pirgos was our next stop ... this is a wonderful town to explore on foot (you can park on the main street and walk up through the maze of streets to the top of the town .. more great views!
  
• Continued on road past Pirgos towards the east, which took us up a winding, narrow mountain road to Mount Profitis IIias (this was a scary drive, one that I would recommend skipping.)
  
• We backtracked along the main road through Fira to Imerovigli where we stopped to walk around and enjoyed seeing the whitewashed houses on the caldera and more spectacular views.
  
• Next stop was Baxedes Beach just to see it ... not a great swimming beach, at least on the day that we were there.
  
• We left our visit to Oia until later in the afternoon (once the tour buses had left) ... we arrived there around 4 p.m. and drove down to Amoudi Bay where we spent a couple of hours ...had dinner at a Taverna and walked the short distance along the bay to see the views.
  
• We were back up in Oia with about a half hour to spare before watching the sunset there.
  
• Back on the road as soon as the sun had set, in order to get the car back by the 8 p.m. deadline.
  

Santorini Map: http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg-2006/1647_santorini.jpg

A really wonderful day!:)

Thanks for the great info Susan. We are in port from 7 to 7. I imagine we have to head back with plenty of time to get to the tender. I am really looking forward to Santorini. The photos I have seen are so pretty.

Mary

We are planning to rent a car for the day on Santorini. Is parking a problem anywhere? Are there paid spaces or us oarking free?

We have been 3 times now to this gorgeous island….

Our first trip Akrotiri was still closed - very disappointing for my husband. So we hopped in a taxi on the main road and went to Oia. * note we were there the stupid 2 pm to 10 pm time frame.

Second trip we hopped in a taxi again but headed to the opposite end of the caldera and visited Akrotiri. Very much worth the drive over - site was amazing and the views while driving over were nice too……we were almost the only ones there and the site is quite large. We then went back to Fira and visited the archeological museum - very impressed even though it is a bit small. Then a wonderful lunch overlooking the caldera……. some shopping and back to the ship. * note we were there from 8 am - 6 pm.

Third trip we did the same as the first trip as again we were there 2 - 10. Whoever thought that was a good idea needs to rethink that !!!! Do to the fact that you have to tender AFTER all the tours you don't really get off at 2 ! And sunset was at 8 (ish) so not a lot of real time there…… BE SURE AND GET IN TENDER LINE EARLY !!! I was first in line our last trip (just a few weeks ago) so got off as early as possible.

I don't think you can really go wrong heading in either direction - views are everywhere.