Santorini

We visited Santorini last fall on Celebrity Reflection. I still enjoy looking at photos we took of this beautiful island. It's hard to take a bad photo. Do not miss a stop at Oia for even more excellent views. Word of caution for shoppers: Avoid "Jupiter", a store in Fira that specializes in ceramics and jewelry :( (unless you carry your purchases with you back to the ship). We paid for 2 ceramic pieces that were to be "shipped free" back to our home in US. 10 months later and still no delivery. Based on comments and reviews on internet this is a recurring problem with this merchant. Numerous emails and phone messages have received no response, Buyer beware!

What about a sailing trip? There are several companies I have found online that will pick you up from the top of the cable car, drive you to their port, do a 3-4 hour tour with lunch and swimming, some with hot springs, then bring you back. The food reviews well on tripadvisor, as do the cruises. You can see Oia from the water, the red and black sand beaches, and the lighthouse. We are seriously considering doing this. Seems like a fun, laid-back way to take in the views and cool off.

Santorini is absolutely stunning and we found lots to do!

 

If you just stay in Fira you will miss so much - especially the fantastic views and blue and white houses and churches set against the background of the caldera. It's spectacular.

 

We hired a car and drove to Oia before all the crowds, had a walk and took in the views, sat with a relaxing drink and left before the ship tours arrived. Then we drove right across the island to the other side and found a beach. The sand is black and volcanic and very hot but the water was clear and calm. If you like beaches then hire a car and go straight there. There were chairs and parasols for hire.

 

We only had a short time there, about 7 hours, but we managed to see a lot of the island. We rented our car from Tony and will be doing so again in a couple of weeks time.

 

Hope you have a lovey time in this exceptional place.

Is the name of the car rental Tony's Car Rental? We rented one 3 years ago and had a great time, rented it in Fira (town on top at Funicular?). Will be doing this again on our upcoming cruise. Don't stay in town if you don't like to shop. We have also done the bus and wandered around outside of town, about the island, enjoyed doing that also. Just Google Santorini and see all of things to see and do. Trip Advisor is also very good! Have fun.

What about a sailing trip? There are several companies I have found online that will pick you up from the top of the cable car, drive you to their port, do a 3-4 hour tour with lunch and swimming, some with hot springs, then bring you back. The food reviews well on tripadvisor, as do the cruises. You can see Oia from the water, the red and black sand beaches, and the lighthouse. We are seriously considering doing this. Seems like a fun, laid-back way to take in the views and cool off.

You don't even need to go to the top of the cable car. There are several companies operating right where the tenders drop you and offering several different options.

We did a 3 hour tour last week with one of those companies. We sailed to the hot springs, jumped off the side of the boat and swam into the hot springs (not that hot really ;) ) we then sailed to the volcano and climbed to the top with an amazing view and with a guide who gave us information at several stops along the way.

We paid 18 euros and Celebrity were charging $85 for the same excursion (the only exception being that there was a cable car pass also included if you want to go up to the top after the excursion). The ship's excursion boat was also a lot more crowded.

This was a great trip for anyone who has been to Santorini before and wants to do something different, or avoid having to go up to the top.

This was the company we used and they offer a number of different options, including the transfer by boat to Oia and bus back (which we did with them last month) http://www.santorini-excursions.com/

Santorini is SPECTACULAR! I was just there the beginning of July. We took the donkeys up the cliff which was definitely an experience!!! I would just take the cable car up next time if I ever get the opportunity to return to Santorini, but I am glad we did it. We then walked around Fira until we found a 4-wheeler rental store. We quickly had a 4 wheeler and got to explore the island at our own pace. We traveled from one end to the other! We went and saw the black volcanic beach. The sand was really hot because it's black, and the water was a bit chilly for our liking, but we didn't really feel like having a beach day when we had the ATV waiting for us and so many gorgeous sites to see. We also passed many other beaches. We checked out the bay whose name is escaping me below Oia. and then found a nice restaurant with incredible views in Oia. All of this was found by just driving around. The roads are very easy to navigate. We also passed Santos Winery, but decided not to stop since we were having such a great time riding around taking in the views. To top it all off, our ATV only cost 25 euros!!!

Did you both share the 4 wheeler or do you each have to have one? Also how do you park them if you want to go into a store - are they safe to leave?

So if you're the fourth ship there, anything to avoid??

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