Santorini Island, Greece: Just Got Back

Santorini Island, Greece

Santorini was the only port where every ship has to tender. And not only must you tender into the small port, you then need to find a way to the top of the 700-foot cliff that greets you upon arrival. Of course, once you're up there, you also have to find a way down. You have four choices:

• Ride the cable car (€6 pp, one-way, 3 minutes after you've boarded). There are only two sets of cars (one going each direction) with six cars per set, each seating six passengers. Upside: quickest option, and they offer great views. Downside: can be scary, and the lines are known to reach over two hours (especially coming back down in the afternoon) since they can only service about 600 passengers in each direction per hour.
  
• Walk the 588 steps (Free, about 15 to 25 minutes). I understand it's not as bad as it sounds as long as you watch your step and take it slow. There are lots of opportunities to rest. Upside: cost, exercise, and great photo opportunities. Downside: you're taking the exact same route as the donkeys, so you need to avoid the donkeys and their droppings.
  
• Ride the donkeys (€5 pp, one-way, 10 to 15 minutes). There are dozens of healthy-looking donkeys and mules that allow you to ride in the old traditional way. Upside: it might be better than standing in a long line, or walking. Downside: can be frightening, uncomfortable, and you'll smell like the donkey you rode in on. (Our ship's cruise director vehemently discouraged passengers from riding the donkeys).
  
• Take speedboat to Oia and bus back to Fira. (~€25 pp, one-way, over 60 minutes). Upside: avoids all of the above. Downside: might only be one way, takes a long time, is costly, and you still have to get down. This is really only a good option if all you want to do is visit Oia and Fira.
  

According to the ship's officers, the heaviest tender time was expected to be between 8:30 am and 11:00 am. We avoided prime time and simply went straight to Deck 2 at 7:00 am when the ship was cleared and caught the first tender to shore. From there we waited about 5 minutes to board the cable car.

Once up top we explored a little then met our tour guide. We joined a fellow traveler's tour that he set up in advance with Santorini Tours. It was a private 6-hour Santorini sightseeing tour in an air-conditioned minibus with a driver and a tour guide for only €42.50 pp (plus tip) for the 12 of us. Our guide provided us a lot of good information about the island and its history. She took us to lots of picturesque lookouts and photo opportunities.

We started in Fira and in no particular order, we enjoyed stunning caldera views from the cliff-terraced villages of Imerovigli and Oia; visited the Prophet Ilias Monastery at Santorini’s highest view point; saw the famous blue dome churches; visited the old towns of Emporio, Megalochori, and Pyrgos; and saw both Red Beach and Black Beach. We covered the island pretty thoroughly. By mid-afternoon the group was hungry and opted to enjoy lunch at Forty One which is located on the black sand beach --- instead of doing a wine tasting (€10 pp); and we ran out of time to check out the Akrotiri excavations (€12 pp).

Complete, very detailed review of entire cruise and precruise preparation:

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/eastern-mediterranean.html

Santorini is beautiful.

Thanks for posting your pictures and comments.

Thanks for the detailed feedback.

Thank you for sharing your lovely photos and particular details upon returning from your cruise. It’s always helpful to get immediate feedback from member. Welcome back!

Thanks. It's a very pretty island.