Mykonos and Santorini Question

We booked a Celebrity Cruise for next October. Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Messina, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Rhodes and Valletta Malta. Plenty of stops to see ancient ruins.

On Mykonos, I am debating on an excursion to Delos with the balance of the day in town. Definately want photos of the windmills. Knowing that we will be seeing many antiquities, should I consider seeing Delos versus spending the entire day in and around town?

Likewise, on Santorini, there is a Akrotiri Ruin tour that then goes to Oia then Fira. Is the ruin stop worthwhile versus spending the day in Oia and Fira?

Lastly, if we don't do any ruin tours, is it easy to see the towns on our own? Need to figure out how to get to Oia then to Fira and down the cliff to the ship.

Any comments are appreciated.

I'd skip Santorini ruins. SO many other nice things to see there. If you aren't ruined by Athens, then a quick ships tour of Delos is quite nice. The whole tour should be done and dusted in 3 to 4 hours. That leaves you plenty of time I'm Mykonos town, from where it is a 15 minute stroll to the windmills ( one of which you can view from the inside for a small fee).

If you skip Delos, just hang around Mykonos town and soak in the atmosphere. Fabulous high end shopping. And a few quirky artsy boutiques. And great modern design jewelry...

In Santorini, there is a cable car that takes you to the top of the cliff to Fira/Thira. The bus station is an easy walk and has buses going to Oia and back quite frequently. Less that 2 euros per person one way. Buses also go from that station out to the black sand beaches which we enjoy doing in the afternoon after we have visited Oia in the morning.

To return to the ship, the cable car also goes down :) Alternately, you can walk down the donkey path if you don't have limited mobility issues. We have done this every time we have been in Santorini. You do have to avoid piles of donkey poop and watch your footing (the places where they have patched the path with cement are slick-just avoid them), but there are beautiful views. Occasionally, people ride the donkeys down the path, so you need to be aware when they are coming up behind you.

We booked a Celebrity Cruise for next October. Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Messina, Mykonos, Santorini, Athens, Rhodes and Valletta Malta. Plenty of stops to see ancient ruins.

 

As an afficionado of ancient ruins, I'll give that statement a "sort of".... If you're really diligent you can find some ancient ruins in Barcelona, on Rhodes (in Lindos' somewhat rebuilt acropolis), and in Valletta, but they aren't what most folks would consider fantastic examples of ruins -- well, except for the prehistoric ruins on Valletta.

Of the sites you list, the best Classical historic sites will be in Athens (Greek and Roman), and Mykonos (Delos -- Hellenistic and Roman), with the Greek theatre in Taormina a scenic plus.

On Mykonos, I am debating on an excursion to Delos with the balance of the day in town. Definately want photos of the windmills. Knowing that we will be seeing many antiquities, should I consider seeing Delos versus spending the entire day in and around town?

 

What is your schedule in Mykonos? If you have a full day, you should have plenty of time to visit Delos (recommended in the a.m. especially in summer as there's little shade) and then Mykonos town. Full disclosure I am not a shopper, but I've visited Mykonos twice and the town is really just a pretty conglomeration of jewelry shops, hotels, and restaurants catering to tourists. I'd go stir crazy spending more than an hour or two there. That's plenty of time to walk the windy streets and snap some scenic photos.

 

Likewise, on Santorini, there is a Akrotiri Ruin tour that then goes to Oia then Fira. Is the ruin stop worthwhile versus spending the day in Oia and Fira?

 

I've always been intrigued by the Thira volcano explosion and the civilization on the island that was wiped out by it, with its ties to the Cretan/Minoan civilization. But the ruins at Akrotiri can be underwhelming unless a) you are fairly knowledgeable and bring some notes, and/or b) you have an excellent guide to paint the picture for you. The ruins are not easy to interpret otherwise and most of the "finds" have been removed from the site. I do recommend that you visit the museum in Thira itself where you can see some of the frescoes. (Some of them are also in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens and still others that you might have seen in TV specials are still under restoration and are not viewable anywhere at present.)

The building covering the ruins at Akrotiri has an interesting history and (the latest version) is very nicely done, if those things interest you....

Lastly, if we don't do any ruin tours, is it easy to see the towns on our own? Need to figure out how to get to Oia then to Fira and down the cliff to the ship.

 

Any comments are appreciated.

See my comments above. Delos and Akrotiri are very different sites (not least: Akrotiri's ruins are about 1500 years older, dating to the Bronze age....)

We were in Santorini a few months ago. To avoid long lines for the tenders and cable cars, we took the ship's tour to the Akrotiri ruins. We had an excellent guide who explained everything. The tour then continued on to Oia and ended in Fira where we were able to spend the remainder of the day. If you go to Akrotiri, I agree that you should go to the Prehistoric Museum in Fira where a number of frescos and artifacts from the ruins are located. The tour included tickets to the cable car to get back to the tenders. Whatever you decide to do, allow yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship as there are long lines for the cable cars.

Since Santorini is a tender port you are much better off doing a ship's tour since they tender all of the ship's tours a good hour ahead of everyone else. The last time we were there we tendered to a dock where the buses were waiting and they drove us up the hill and on to Oia. That meant no standing on line for tenders, no standing on line for the cable car going up and no walking the trail up and dodging donkey droppings and no riding smelly donkeys. The tour was pretty cheap and well worth it in Santorini. I am not a big fan of ship's tours or any big bus tours but this is a place to do it. We will be back in October and plan to do the same thing even though we are now Elite and have tender priority.

You can take the advice of Mr Click below but book it privately when you arrive at the dock, they sell tickets there for a return trip. I have no idea what we paid but I am sure that it was considerably less than the ships tour.Oia is a beautiful place, enjoy your cruise.

Rosalyn

You can take the advice of Mr Click below but book it privately when you arrive at the dock, they sell tickets there for a return trip. I have no idea what we paid but I am sure that it was considerably less than the ships tour.Oia is a beautiful place, enjoy your cruise.

Rosalyn

Is there some confusion here?

Ships' tours are tendered to Athinios, the ferry port where the road comes down to the sea. As far as I'm aware (but stand to be corrected) tenders to Athinios are only for those on ships' excursions.

Independents are tendered to a pier below Fira. From there you have the choice of going up the cliff by cablecar, or on the zigzag path on donkeys (being pedantic, they're actually mules) or on foot (not too bad for coming down, but a hard slog going up).

Or by taking a local boat from that pier to Oia - is this the option you chose, cruisaholic??

Regardless of which option you choose to get onto Santorini, there are no tenders back from Athinios and no local boats back from Oia to the pier below Fira.

Everyone, including those on ship's tours, has to go down the cliff to the tenders at that pier - by cablecar or down the zig-zag path.

Lines for the cablecar back to the pier can take an hour or considerably longer, depending on the size of your ship and how many ships are departing at about the same time (they usually do their best to stagger departure times). Holding a ticket doesn't give you priority.

Very few donkeys are used for passengers going down the zig-zag path. The alternative of walking down takes 25 to 30 minutes. It's not arduous - the path is broad, with a waist-high wall both sides and the steps are shallow. But, as per the posts of tomatospice and Mr Click, there will be donkey droppings - by that time of day they'll be dry & easy to avoid but the wind can occasionally whip up little clouds of the stuff, which is unpleasant. And some of the path's stones are super-smooth and slippery, even in dry weather - again easy to avoid, but best hold on to the rail or your companion. I've no idea what the path is like in wet weather or in the dark.

For those who are decently mobile I suggest you arrive at the top cablecar station 45 to 60 minutes before "last tender" time. If you're concerned that the line is too long, walk down.

For those who can't face the zig-zag path, you can find out what other ships are leaving at about the same time (in advance via cruise websites, but more reliably by asking folk from those ships while you're there) and give yourselves plenty of wiggle-time.

JB :)

Now that JB has straightened out the tender issues lets talk about the ruins. Unless you are planning on a partial beach day on Mykonos, visiting Delos is a good way to spend a couple of hours...and then finish your port day just walking around Mykonos Town and perhaps relaxing in a cafe. There are actually some decent shops in this small town. Had to laugh when we found a decent jewelry store that had branches in Mykonos and Dallas! 2-3 hours in town is enough for most folks unless you plan on having a long lunch.

As to Akritori, if its part of a tour that includes both Oia and Fira, and you really have a strong interest in ruins, then you might find it interesting. These ruins are very compact (contained in a single structure) and are from the Minoan period. These ruins have even more significance if you have ever visited Crete and visited Knossos and the terrific museum in Iraklion (where they have quite a few artifacts found on Santorini).

Hank