Santorini boat to OIA

Has anybody done the boat trip to OIA from the cruise dock this year?

I was wanting to know whether the trip includes a bus trip to the top of the hill at OIA and also whether it includes a private bus back to FIRA.

Any information would be greatly appreciated

I would like to know about this as well. We are there next month and the boat and bus trip sounds ideal. Hope someone can give us some info. :)

Di

Yes, it includes

1) boat to Oia

2) shuttle bus up to the top of Oia

3) shuttle bus back to Fira

You can find more info on this thread :)

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1824415

Yes, it includes

1) boat to Oia

2) shuttle bus up to the top of Oia

3) shuttle bus back to Fira

 

You can find more info on this thread :)

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1824415

Thanks very much for the info, sounds great, just what we want :).

Di

Thanks very much for the info, sounds great, just what we want :).

 

Di

You're welcome. You will love Oia - it was easily the highlight of our cruise in Greek Isles. I'm jealous you're going there soon!

Be sure to check the passenger load for the day of your visit and plan your trip accordingly.

At the port of Santorini, it really pays to do your reseach beforehand and know what to expect in advance.

Enjoy your cruise :)

thank you

You're welcome. You will love Oia - it was easily the highlight of our cruise in Greek Isles. I'm jealous you're going there soon!

 

Be sure to check the passenger load for the day of your visit and plan your trip accordingly.

At the port of Santorini, it really pays to do your reseach beforehand and know what to expect in advance.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

Thanks you, I'm sure we will enjoy it. There's three ships in port that day but we won't be rushing to get anywhere, we just want to have a relaxing time and soak up the scenery.

Di

When you tender in to Sanatorini head to the right and look for the light blue sign--Union Boatmen of Santorini--easy to find --they sell the tickets---they usually wait until they get a mini bus load (for the Oia end) before they sail ---they will drive you up the hill and drop you off--they point out the pick-up spot for the bus to Fira--these can be bigger busses depending on time and crowds---they drop you off at the back side of Fira where you have a short walk thru town to either the funicular or stairs

Paul

We just got back from cruise, and did the boat to Oia. It was the best way to see both towns. Oia was least crowded getting there early. By the time we were leaving, there were hoards of people funneling into town.

The only slight snag we had was locating the right bus to take back to Fira. Make sure you ask exactly where they are going to pick up as there are many busses in the area all involved with different tours.

Have a great trip!

When you tender in to Sanatorini head to the right and look for the light blue sign--Union Boatmen of Santorini--easy to find --they sell the tickets---they usually wait until they get a mini bus load (for the Oia end) before they sail ---they will drive you up the hill and drop you off--they point out the pick-up spot for the bus to Fira--these can be bigger busses depending on time and crowds---they drop you off at the back side of Fira where you have a short walk thru town to either the funicular or stairs

 

Paul

Thanks for that, sorry not answered sooner but have been busy. It sounds like it's going to be better checking out Oia first and then back to Fira. We are also looking forward to taking the cable car back down :).

Di

Hi, Can you please tell me how to check what ships are in port on the same day as our ship

Hi, Can you please tell me how to check what ships are in port on the same day as our ship

Check out this site http://ports.cruisett.com/ put in your month and year, click on the country and port, then just look for the date your in port :).

Di

Thank you for your reply have just gone to the site,hope it doesnt change before we go next May as there are not many ships in port with us

www.santoriniplanet.com

Boat-Fira to Oia, Bus up from boat dock to Oia, shuttle bus back to Fira from Oia.

Look under tab "Tours" for info

Think they only run at set times and you need to book in advance

We did this just last week. There were two companies offering this near where the tender docked. 15 Euro per person covered the boat ride, the bus ride up, and the bus ride back to the cable car area. They told us the three times the bus left to go back to the cable car/port and we could show up at the designated spot any of those times. We had a good snack/light meal and drinks in Oia and used some free internet at the restaurant. One of our favorite ports- beautiful, and easy to DIY.

Thanks bhcruiser, sounds good and very reasonably priced as well. We are really looking forward to it, especially after seeing all the photo and hearing all the wonderful stories about it :)

Di

We did this just last week. There were two companies offering this near where the tender docked. 15 Euro per person covered the boat ride, the bus ride up, and the bus ride back to the cable car area. They told us the three times the bus left to go back to the cable car/port and we could show up at the designated spot any of those times. We had a good snack/light meal and drinks in Oia and used some free internet at the restaurant. One of our favorite ports- beautiful, and easy to DIY.

Thanks for the info. We have booked the boat ride to Oia when we are in Santorini later in October. As I understand it, they wait until they wait until they have a full load to leave regardless of whether or not you have a reservation for a particular time. Can you tell me how many passengers the boats hold roughly? We are booked on the earliest transfer and don't really want to wait that long as we're anxious to spend as much time in Oia as possible. Thanks!

There seemed to be two different companies selling the 15 euro tickets for boats to Oia near the tenders by Fira (they could have been affiliated, but I don't know). We just asked them each how long until the next boat left and went with the one that said their boat was leaving in a couple of minutes. The boat held 50-75 people or more and was about half full or less when it left, and it did leave within five or so minutes. You could sit in the boat under cover or on the upper deck and we sat on the upper deck- great views. I think we all fit in one tour bus to go up the hill when we got to the Oia side of the island. They gave us a voucher to pay for the bus back to Fira.

We did this two weeks ago and booked through Santoriniplanet beforehand. We had to choose a time and almost missed our boat because it took so long to get the tender from our ship. I don't think it's necessary to book ahead of time because there is more than one company that offers the boat service. I would just get on the next one leaving. It was nice to get to Oia before the crowds. Just as you're leaving to take the bus to Fira crowds of people are heading into Oia. We took the cable car back down to the ship and the wait wasn't too long.

We just returned from the Ruby Princess to the Med. Santorini was the place I most wanted to visit and it did not disappoint. No need to book tickets in advance for the transfer to Oia. But DO GO! It is spectacular ! The boat was just a short walk from the tender. We got on and waited 15 minutes for the boat to fill. The ride to the bus was beautiful! Quick bus ride and easy drop,off point. They told us,the bus returned to Fira on the hour,however we got there about 12:40 and they loaded up a smaller van and took off, we were a little confused about finding the cable car down but a nice shop keeper pointed us in the right direction. We were very lucky that it was a quiet day in Santorini for cruise ships. I urge you to do this!

We did this two weeks ago and booked through Santoriniplanet beforehand. We had to choose a time and almost missed our boat because it took so long to get the tender from our ship. I don't think it's necessary to book ahead of time because there is more than one company that offers the boat service. I would just get on the next one leaving. It was nice to get to Oia before the crowds. Just as you're leaving to take the bus to Fira crowds of people are heading into Oia. We took the cable car back down to the ship and the wait wasn't too long.

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We did not take the boat - we took the inter city bus. We were the first group of tender passengers - were the first to take the funicular up and got the first bus to Oia ($2.00 Euros each way). Heck, we must have got to Oia at 8:15 am There was no one there!!! How lovely it was!!! Spent at least 1.5 hours there. Took tons of pictures - no selfie sticks to worry about. No pushy people at all. Then the tons of other cruise passengers arrived. Some had done the boat, and bus and all there were then were self sticks everywhere. It was time to make our way back by bus to the central station and grab another bus to Red Beach for a couple of hours of sunbathing and people watching. Easy as pie. Santorini, can't wait to return.