Santorini - private tour or ship tour to Oia

Hello!

We were in Santorini for the first time 6 years ago. Fortunately, a couple from our roll call warned us of the huge lines getting back to the ship...the cable car and the tender. She had arranged a charter boat from Amoudi back to the pier, so we only had to wait for a tender. It was fantastic! The boat took us to the volcano and hot springs. We want to do something like this again for our upcoming cruise with our kids. However, the charter boat we used is no longer in business. Does anyone know of another charter boat that was used recently?

I am waiting on answer to exact same question

I found a tour that offers private tender therefore avoiding cable car line ups.

That's what we plan on doing in Santorini May 3, 2018.

https://www.katakolon-express.com/santorini/privatetour.htm

It looks like this tour company, like others, does not offer water taxi / tender back.

Like most others, it drops you off near the cable cars at Fira.

Aga25, Most all cruise ships will offer a similar tour, with water taxi over to the port below Oia... but you would get priority tender.

Cruise ship excursions, booked thru the cruise line, are allowed to water taxi over the the newer port below Oia.

The advantage to this would be a smaller tour group, or an actual Private Tour.

I am wondering if it is possible to find a private tour who works with the private water taxis to provide water taxi BACK from the newer port below Oia to the port. Not just dropping everyone off at the cable cars.

It looks like this tour company, like others, does not offer water taxi / tender back.

Like most others, it drops you off near the cable cars at Fira.

 

Aga25, Most all cruise ships will offer a similar tour, with water taxi over to the port below Oia... but you would get priority tender.

Cruise ship excursions, booked thru the cruise line, are allowed to water taxi over the the newer port below Oia.

The advantage to this would be a smaller tour group, or an actual Private Tour.

 

I am wondering if it is possible to find a private tour who works with the private water taxis to provide water taxi BACK from the newer port below Oia to the port. Not just dropping everyone off at the cable cars.

I am wondering about this also. Sent an inquiry.

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I am wondering about this also. Sent an inquiry.

 

 

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Hi

That is a great idea, maybe there are other boats that can take us back to old port. I will inquire with our tour operator if this can be arranged otherwise we may be walking down with the donkeys.

Agata

The line today for the cable car went nearly through the town. We waited 90 minutes.

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The line today for the cable car went nearly through the town. We waited 90 minutes.

 

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Oh no! Well thanks for the warning!

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The line today for the cable car went nearly through the town. We waited 90 minutes.

 

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This might be avoided if there are fewer ships and also don’t even try to come down until the ship before yours departs.

The line today for the cable car went nearly through the town. We waited 90 minutes.

 

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How many ships in port this day?

How many ships in port this day?

I looked it up when I saw this post. Looks like there were two to me. There are going to be three in the morning and two in the afternoon when we go. Yikes!!

How many ships in port this day?

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My MSC ship is going to be in Santorini from 8AM to 2PM. I wonder what shore excursions will they offer. The ones listed are 4 hours long but with the ship being 6 hours anchored I don't know if that's too risky.

My MSC ship is going to be in Santorini from 8AM to 2PM. I wonder what shore excursions will they offer. The ones listed are 4 hours long but with the ship being 6 hours anchored I don't know if that's too risky.

If it's a ship's tour there should not be any risk, they won't leave without their tour people.

If it's a ship's tour there should not be any risk, they won't leave without their tour people.

You still have to make your way down independently if you’re on a tour. Just make sure you’re in line for the cable car with time to spare.

Are there any tours in Santorini that don't involve the cable car and its long line?

Are there any tours in Santorini that don't involve the cable car and its long line?

very difficult due to geography of island

ships tours tender to separate area to catch coaches that snake up caldera but on return deposit you at top of cliff where option is cable car or walk down donkey path

My MSC ship is going to be in Santorini from 8AM to 2PM. I wonder what shore excursions will they offer. The ones listed are 4 hours long but with the ship being 6 hours anchored I don't know if that's too risky.

MSC have a reputation for short in port times according to private tour operators we have used

makes it difficult to allow extra time especially in Santorini where can be very long lines for cable car or a

smelly walk down donkey path to get tenders back to ship

Are there any tours in Santorini that don't involve the cable car and its long line?

The only thing to do is stay where the tenders drop you and have a drink and a bite to eat. It is not very nice down there compared up top or especially Oia. Oia is worth any aggravation or smelly mules.

Are there any tours in Santorini that don't involve the cable car and its long line?

Where the tender drops you off is a small docking area, nothing else. There is another port where there is bus access if you don’t want to take the cable car. If you take a cruise ship excursion, that should be where the tender takes you. Otherwise, there are companies at the tender dock that you can pay a fee to. They will boat you to the other dock, bus you to oia, then have return buses available for thira. But either way, you’ll have to wait in a long line to cable car back down. If you wish to avoid the cable car all together, I wouldn’t even bother getting off. The dock area is nothing.

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July 7 Venice-Rome Celebrity Constellation-On this cruise with my wife- Just arranged for semi private tour in Santorini to try to avoid crowds. Check out Greektraveling.com “The Oia experience with boat right off dock to Oia then walk around independently for a couple hours then mini bus tour to winery with tasting, pictures at vistas then back to Fira by our ship. Tour company well reviewed and price

88 Euro per person, We need minimum 6 people for tour to go.

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Gary44

After reading your post we are considering the same tour. How did you find out about it we will be there in October on the Eclipse. 8 prefer non ship tours but want to know they are highly recommended and reputable. Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

We were considering the ship excursion “Oia on your own” but this only gives us 90 minutes in Oia. We feel we would want approx 3 hours in Oia to really get a flavour of the town and appreciate the sights over a glass of wine. Any thoughts for those who have been to Oia would be appreciated.

Thanks for that info. We will probably just get the Oia on your own excursion, it's fairly inexpensive and we like to wander at our own pace! Being the first tender definitely will make a difference!!

 

 

 

Thanks again!!

Two years ago we did the ship tour and we soooo wished we had done it all on our own! We only had a very short time like 90 minutes! If friends had not been waiting on us back at the bus we would have skipped the rest of the tour and found our own way back to the ship! We loved Oia!

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We were considering the ship excursion “Oia on your own” but this only gives us 90 minutes in Oia. We feel we would want approx 3 hours in Oia to really get a flavour of the town and appreciate the sights over a glass of wine. Any thoughts for those who have been to Oia would be appreciated.

We just did this and truly enjoyed it. We had plenty of time to wander around, shop, take photos and sat down for coffee. We then went to Fira and took a cab to the Santo Winery for their wine tasting - FABULOUS! We had a short time in Fira after that and kind of wish we had more there.

We felt we had enough time to wander Oia and really enjoyed the winery in Fira!

We were on this cruise late April/early May and booked a private tour from https://www.katakolon-express.com/. We were very happy with the tour and the guide. We had a private tender therefore did not have to wait in line for the cable car going up. The tour started with Oia which was great as we were there before other tours and it wasn't very crowded. With a private tour you can decide where you spend most time and Oia is definitely worth every minute.