SANTORINI: ? OIA TO FIRA by bus or taxi ?

Just yesterday, I have been intensely warned about the difficulty and ordeal to timely get from OIA to FIRA when independently visiting OIA and returning by bus or taxi via Fira to the ship for departure.

Last year's experience encountered by family members was that, despite attempting to leave OIA several hours prior to sailing, it was impossible to get a taxi, local transit buses were infrequent and filled to the hilt; steadily increasing l o n g e r lines were waiting endlessly for the next buses to arrive. Impatient crowds were rudely pushing and shoving dangerously to get on the bus, which again left the majority behind and waiting again.

Apparently, the challenge is getting from OIA to FIRA on land in a reasonable time without getting trampled to death by a drunken, undisciplined mob.

Has anyone independently undertaken the bus or taxi trip from OIA to FIRA recently, returning in time to the cruise ship.

If so, please would you be so kind to share your experience, mentioning also the # of ships in port that day, the departure time, duration and means you traveled with from OIA to FIRA.

Thank you.

I've backpacked all through the Greek islands and have been to Santorini x4. Do it miss Oia if at all possible!! Fira is the main city and they have a central bus terminal with buses going to Oia every 15-20 mins, frequent and very cheap. Most folks want to watch the sunset from Oia which is one of the must-sees on the island but if you are jot catching the evening bus back, should be ok. Take an afternoon bus back after walking around, shopping, drinking a frappée at a cliff side cafe and then spend the rest of the day in Fira which also has shops, restaurants, views, etc!

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You can take a tour van - office is a travel agency adjacent a corner terrace café near the top of the cliff path/cable car (not the one right by the cable car). Book when you get there, if there's not one leaving shortly spend time in Fira & return to the office at the appointed time. Trip allows something like 90 minutes in Oia, plus a photostop part-way back.

Don't recall the cost but it wasn't mega (10 to 15 euros?).

Not as cheap or flexible as a bus, but a guaranteed & civilised ride.

That was daytime, don't know about evenings.

JB :)

Ours was no problem, 2pm, 3 ships in port, later August. Was there a line? Yes, but the bus took everyone. Oia is the start/end of the bus line, so the bus will be empty.

Some looking down this board would reveal the boat to Oia, bus back option, which, as I understand it, is a bus just for those that have taken the boat to Oia. Might be worth looking into.

Ours was no problem, 2pm, 3 ships in port, later August. Was there a line? Yes, but the bus took everyone. Oia is the start/end of the bus line, so the bus will be empty.

 

Some looking down this board would reveal the boat to Oia, bus back option, which, as I understand it, is a bus just for those that have taken the boat to Oia. Might be worth looking into.

Also looking into this for our Santorini stop in less than 30 days, but haven't been able to actually find any info on the boat to Oia and bus to Fria option. I heard it used to be on PlanetSantorini, but it is not showing any more...

Also looking into this for our Santorini stop in less than 30 days, but haven't been able to actually find any info on the boat to Oia and bus to Fria option. I heard it used to be on PlanetSantorini, but it is not showing any more...

Did you look at this thread just down the board:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1824415&page=2

Hope this will answer both yours and the original question. We visited Santorini last September, as you got off the tender there is a very small bay with a few kiosk's, it was at one of these we got our ticket for the boat trip round to Oia and the bus fare back to Fira. If I remember correctly the bus runs every hour, we decided to get the last but one bus back, as we were eating in Fira. We got to the bus stop about 15 mins before it was due, and there were no problems. No one got left behind.

We were there last June and took a taxi from Oia to the black sand beach and then a bus back to Fira .

For the boat to Oia, you can contact NST, the boat mans union. Don't need to reserve in advance.

Hope this will answer both yours and the original question. We visited Santorini last September, as you got off the tender there is a very small bay with a few kiosk's, it was at one of these we got our ticket for the boat trip round to Oia and the bus fare back to Fira. If I remember correctly the bus runs every hour, we decided to get the last but one bus back, as we were eating in Fira. We got to the bus stop about 15 mins before it was due, and there were no problems. No one got left behind.

Thank you all very much for your helpful input- I will definitely use the boat/pre-paid 'tour' bus option, if available --

my concern was more, if that option does not exist, or no bus other than the scheduled public transit bus goes ........ how is the demand then met by local transit .......

guess, time will tell......

again,

thanks so much.

Have you considered renting an ATV. It was not very expensive, only about 32 euro I think a year ago, and in my mind it was the best way to see the island hands down. There's a main road that runs in a circle around the whole island, so navigating is easy, and there are also a lot of signs to Oia or Fira along the road. By the time we made it up the cable car we had about 5 hours on the island, so we drove to Oia, had an amazing lunch in Neptune's, took in the breathtaking sites, stopped by a winery on the way back, and then ended up walking down the stairs to the ship since the line for the cable car was kind of unruly. It was worth it every minute, and I would do it all over again the same way in a heartbeat, except that I would be the first person off the ship to have more time on the island! Santorini is my favorite place in the world!

Thanks so much , I will look into it.

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We were there last Thursday June 12. Three ships in port ( our Windstar boat, Seabourn & Louis). We used taxi to then from Oia ,no problem. Total round trip cost was 30 Euro.Here's our experience, along with why we taxied to & from Oia rather than using our original plan:

CAVEAT EMPTOR---SANTORINI PLANET---BOAT FIRA TO OIA THEN BUS RETURN

A warning to anyone thinking about booking the Santorini Planet transfer, boat to Oia then a return bus back to Fira.

Having a reservation & having paid your money in advance means absolutely nothing.

Over two months ago I made a reservation for two people for the 9:45AM transfer on June 12 and had pre-paid for the excursion.

My wife and I arrived via Windstar on 6/12/14, tendered to shore then walked over the Boatmen’s desk ( who actually operate the transfer). They told us that no Santorini Planet tours were being run on that day.

The Boatmen’s got Chimenta Gianluca Manfredi (from Santorini Planet) on the phone and we spoke.

He told me that the transfer runs only when a minimum of 15 people are booked.

I asked him, if he knew that the tour was not going to be run, why he didn’t send me an e-mail so that I could make alternate plans.

Mr. Manfredi gave me a lot of nonsense on the phone about why he couldn’t do.

However, thank goodness Josuf (the person at the Boatmen’s desk) couldn’t have been more helpful.

He called for us and arranged for a taxi friend to get us to Oia (for 15 Euro total) then this person arranged a return transfer back from Oia in the afternoon ( again at 15 Euro). Thank you Josuf!

As far as Mr. Manfredi, you should NOT promote yourself the way you do, accept people’s money in advance and then not deliver on your commitment. Shame on you.

To readers of this posting , again Caveat Emptor!

We were there on June 7 and there were 3 other ships there. Get off the 1st tender if you can, go up by cable car, and then you can find ATV shops everywhere. We got a 150cc for 25 euros, drove to Oia with photo stops. Oia is easy, parking is easy, and the earlier you go, the less crowded it is. After that we just drove round the island, to the beach, up the wine area etc. so easy and so so enjoyable.

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Was in Santorini with Serenade during the week. Had planned to get the boat to Oia but by 1100hrs the last boat had sailed. Up to Fira on the cable car no queue. To the bus station and got the local bus to Oia. Cost €1.60 one way. Had a couple of hours walking around Oia and then got the bus back. Just went to the square and waited for the bus. There was no problem using the bus and I would do it again.

Back in Fira I decided to walk down the steps which was great. But be warned that the cobbles are quite smooth in places and it would be very easy to take a fall. Competing with the donkeys is a problem but just push them out of your way.

I would highly recommend renting a car or ATV. It is very easy to drive around. There were 3 ships in port that day and we had no problem getting off the ship picking up our ATV and were on our way. I found the Island very easy to get around. Check out my detail report along with pictures on our day in Santorini

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We were there last Thursday June 12. Three ships in port ( our Windstar boat, Seabourn & Louis). We used taxi to then from Oia ,no problem. Total round trip cost was 30 Euro.Here's our experience, along with why we taxied to & from Oia rather than using our original plan:

 

CAVEAT EMPTOR---SANTORINI PLANET---BOAT FIRA TO OIA THEN BUS RETURN

A warning to anyone thinking about booking the Santorini Planet transfer, boat to Oia then a return bus back to Fira.

Having a reservation & having paid your money in advance means absolutely nothing.

Over two months ago I made a reservation for two people for the 9:45AM transfer on June 12 and had pre-paid for the excursion.

My wife and I arrived via Windstar on 6/12/14, tendered to shore then walked over the Boatmen’s desk ( who actually operate the transfer). They told us that no Santorini Planet tours were being run on that day.

The Boatmen’s got Chimenta Gianluca Manfredi (from Santorini Planet) on the phone and we spoke.

He told me that the transfer runs only when a minimum of 15 people are booked.

I asked him, if he knew that the tour was not going to be run, why he didn’t send me an e-mail so that I could make alternate plans.

Mr. Manfredi gave me a lot of nonsense on the phone about why he couldn’t do.

However, thank goodness Josuf (the person at the Boatmen’s desk) couldn’t have been more helpful.

He called for us and arranged for a taxi friend to get us to Oia (for 15 Euro total) then this person arranged a return transfer back from Oia in the afternoon ( again at 15 Euro). Thank you Josuf!

As far as Mr. Manfredi, you should NOT promote yourself the way you do, accept people’s money in advance and then not deliver on your commitment. Shame on you.

To readers of this posting , again Caveat Emptor!

"arranged for a taxi friend to get us to Oia (for 15 Euro total) then this person arranged a return transfer back from Oia in the afternoon ( again at 15 Euro)"

Does this mean you took a little boat from the tender dock at the base of the cable car area, both directions [and thus avoided both cable car and donkey/path]?

If so, do you have contact information to arrange this?

Many thanks.

GeezerCouple

To avoid the cable car/donkey issue in the old Skala port at Fira check out 'Agean Traveller'

Thank-you for that tip Fincabiggs. I have searched extensively for an option such as this, without luck. Is this company new? Do you have personal experience with them? I see this is your first post!

No, I have no personal experience using the water taxi, unfortunately. It all seems very disjointed considering the vast number of tourists visiting there each year. I also found a water taxi here:

http://www.privatesantorinitours.com