Santorini, independant trip

Last Sunday were we in Santorini on the Serenade of the Seas. We prefer to take independant tours and I had been to the island once before in 1976. We disembarked around 9.00, no queue for the tender that early and no tickets are required. Later, after say 10.00am the queue to use the cable car was very long.

Arriving on the shoreside dock around 9.10 we spotted a sign offering trips to Oia by boat. The company was called Dakroutos. The cost was 20 Euros each for a boat trip to Oia, a mini bus transfer up the hill to the village, a couple of hours there and then a bus transfer to Thira. We needed to pay 4 Euros for the cable car back down but that makes it the equivalent of only 16 Euros for the trip as we had not had to pay for the cable car ascent.

We waited for the next boat as they run on the hour. It was a lovely wooden sailing boat but did the journey using engines not sail. It was a very pleasant 35 minute sea journey and Oia is a very nice village, much more like 'Thira was in the 70s. The main town was like a zoo when we got there. With 5 ships in 'port' it was over-run. We stood inline for 35 minutes to go down by cable car around 1.00 pm and some people later queued for an hour.

A trip I highly recommend.

That sounds very nice to me. Was the bus transfer from Oia back to Thira a standard public bus that you caught at a bus stop separate from the tour provider? Or did they provide their own bus as part of it that you were guaranteed seating on at a specific time?

The bus transfer was not in a public bus. The driver was at the place where we had been dropped off and we had to give him the form we had received when we purchased our tickets. I understand from friends who took the public bus it was very crowded. Our driver waited till all who had been on our sailing arrived, and there were plenty of seats, many left empty.

Does the boat offer a one-way trip in the opposite direction, from Oia to Fira, do you know?

That sounds good! Unfortunately we didn't notice that option when we visited 10 days ago. I got lots of help from these boards when planning our cruise so I'm sharing our experience here if anyone is interested.

There were two ships when we visited. Our all-aboard was 430pm. We got on shore just after 9am, but there was already a line at the bottom of the cable car and the wait was about 30mins. Once we got to the top, finding the bus to take to Oia was easy enough. The local bus (cost was 1.6 Euro per head one way) was a nice air-conditioned coach with comfortable seats.

We took a photo of the timetable and caught the 135pm bus back. Now the ride back was quite chaotic. There was no bus stop as such, so when the bus came people just scrambled to get on. I believe everyone did get on, but the bus was packed full with seated and standing passengers. There was no wait for the cable car ride down in our case - I believe that's because the other boat had already left, but I imagine the line can get very long if there are a couple of ships there, or closer to the all-aboard time.

Even though we visited in early May it was already quite warm. So if you are visiting in warmer weather you may well want to take the boat option, which sounds like a great deal compared to any cruise line's excursion.

TMLAalum,

Sorry, don't know if they do one way return trips but I imagine they would as the boat has to sail back to pick up the next passengers. You could try researching the company I mentioned in the OP.

we are going to be in Santorini in 2 weeks.....how long was the bus ride from fira to oia...or reverse? also do you know if there are beaches closeby? also did you do any shopping?

The bus ride was about 15 minutes. I don't know about beaches, it is a volcanic island, so if there are any they will be black(ish) sand. As for shopping, the whole town is full of shops. Oia has nice Art galleries and some classier places but what I saw of Thira it was full of tourist stuff and the usual cruise type shops selling diamonds etc.

Thank you.....can't wait.... i hope getting off the ship is easy and doesnt take as long as many have said....Santorini is one of my bucket list places....less then 2 weeks!

TMLAalum,

Sorry, don't know if they do one way return trips but I imagine they would as the boat has to sail back to pick up the next passengers. You could try researching the company I mentioned in the OP.

Didn't find the company you mentioned but did manage to find and book Anemos boat charter captained by Stathis, a Greek-American. We will be picked up in Ammoudi port, just below Oia, given a 2 hour tour, and dropped off in Fira port. His boat holds 12 and my group of 6 will be joined by 6 others from our roll call. He's been very responsive to my emails and, to reserve him, I sent 25% of the 200euro total cost via Paypal.

What a relief to not have to worry about bus or taxi and then cable car, donkey or downhill trek dodging dung.

Didn't find the company you mentioned but did manage to find and book Anemos boat charter captained by Stathis, a Greek-American. We will be picked up in Ammoudi port, just below Oia, given a 2 hour tour, and dropped off in Fira port. His boat holds 12 and my group of 6 will be joined by 6 others from our roll call. He's been very responsive to my emails and, to reserve him, I sent 25% of the 200euro total cost via Paypal.

 

What a relief to not have to worry about bus or taxi and then cable car, donkey or downhill trek dodging dung.

I think it might have been a mis-spelling. I did a bit of searching and found Dakoutros Bros. We will be in Santorini in November and this looks like a good option if they are still running the trips at that time of the year.

Bewer... Thanks for being so diligent and finding the name of the company in Santorini! We will be arriving in July on Celebrity's Soltice, and from what I've read, it's crazy nuts trying to take the bus from Fira to Oia. As we very much want to see Oia, this sounds like a fabulous alternative. I've contacted Dakoutros Brothers and hope we'll be able to work something out. Thanks again for your diligence... omg I LOVE all the people on CC who are so wonderful with sharing information! Any suggestions for a winery to visit in Santorini?

Bewer... Thanks for being so diligent and finding the name of the company in Santorini! We will be arriving in July on Celebrity's Soltice, and from what I've read, it's crazy nuts trying to take the bus from Fira to Oia. As we very much want to see Oia, this sounds like a fabulous alternative. I've contacted Dakoutros Brothers and hope we'll be able to work something out. Thanks again for your diligence... omg I LOVE all the people on CC who are so wonderful with sharing information! Any suggestions for a winery to visit in Santorini?

My pleasure. Glad I could help. Like you I love all the help I get from CC. I'm going to contact Dakoutros too and see if his trip will fit in with our 2pm arrival in November. I agree this sounds like a great idea for our time in Santorini.

This is who we booked with for the reverse itinerary from Ammoudi below Oia back to Fira port-www.santorini.com/sailing/anemos-boat/.

If it hadn't have been for Cinnamon's starting this thread, we'd never have thought of returning via a chartered boat!

Our cruise leaves out of Athens. We have been there before, so we are only arriving one day early.

We would love information about transportation to town and to the port. Also, we would appreciate infoormation on modern styled hotels in Athens.

Thank you.

Sorry, the above ended up on the wrong thread.

Morning Bewer,

I was wondering if you've had any luck with contacting Dakoutros Brothers. I've sent them several emails and haven't heard anything. If you don't want to discuss via CC, my email is rkent314 at aol dot com. Thanks and have a great day!

Last Sunday were we in Santorini on the Serenade of the Seas. We prefer to take independant tours and I had been to the island once before in 1976. We disembarked around 9.00, no queue for the tender that early and no tickets are required. Later, after say 10.00am the queue to use the cable car was very long.

 

Arriving on the shoreside dock around 9.10 we spotted a sign offering trips to Oia by boat. The company was called Dakroutos. The cost was 20 Euros each for a boat trip to Oia, a mini bus transfer up the hill to the village, a couple of hours there and then a bus transfer to Thira. We needed to pay 4 Euros for the cable car back down but that makes it the equivalent of only 16 Euros for the trip as we had not had to pay for the cable car ascent.

 

We waited for the next boat as they run on the hour. It was a lovely wooden sailing boat but did the journey using engines not sail. It was a very pleasant 35 minute sea journey and Oia is a very nice village, much more like 'Thira was in the 70s. The main town was like a zoo when we got there. With 5 ships in 'port' it was over-run. We stood inline for 35 minutes to go down by cable car around 1.00 pm and some people later queued for an hour.

 

A trip I highly recommend.

Do you think you could use US dollars? I've read that there are lots of places that will accept US cash for euros.

My pleasure. Glad I could help. Like you I love all the help I get from CC. I'm going to contact Dakoutros too and see if his trip will fit in with our 2pm arrival in November. I agree this sounds like a great idea for our time in Santorini.

We get in at 2pm also. Celebrity Equinox, 10-15-12.

Please post here what you learned about such a late arrival. Thanks.

Morning Bewer,

I was wondering if you've had any luck with contacting Dakoutros Brothers. I've sent them several emails and haven't heard anything. If you don't want to discuss via CC, my email is rkent314 at aol dot com. Thanks and have a great day!

Hi lovesthebeachx4

I was about to ask you the same question. I've only sent one email via the contact on their website. That was several days ago and like you I haven't had a reply. I'll try again and keep you posted. In the meantime anyone out there in CC land ever managed to make contact with them?

With the lack of response from Daktorous, why not give Stathis a try?http://www.santorini.com/sailing/anemos-boat/

He responded very quickly to my query and also was so helpful to one of our roll call members joining us in our sail back from Oia to Fira, who has a seafood allergy, about restaurant choices in Ammoudi and Oia.

Didn't find the company you mentioned but did manage to find and book Anemos boat charter captained by Stathis, a Greek-American. We will be picked up in Ammoudi port, just below Oia, given a 2 hour tour, and dropped off in Fira port. His boat holds 12 and my group of 6 will be joined by 6 others from our roll call. He's been very responsive to my emails and, to reserve him, I sent 25% of the 200euro total cost via Paypal.

 

What a relief to not have to worry about bus or taxi and then cable car, donkey or downhill trek dodging dung.

This sounds very interesting. Is it 200 euros for the boat, or 200 euros for your group of 6? I assume it's alos related to 2 hours as opposed to 3, right?

Our plan is to hike to Oia, have lunch there, and then we could use a boat for a return (and I imagine an opportunity to see a few other places). Is this in keeping with what you've arranged for? It sounds quite promising.

This sounds very interesting. Is it 200 euros for the boat, or 200 euros for your group of 6? I assume it's alos related to 2 hours as opposed to 3, right?

 

Our plan is to hike to Oia, have lunch there, and then we could use a boat for a return (and I imagine an opportunity to see a few other places). Is this in keeping with what you've arranged for? It sounds quite promising.

The 200 euros is for 2 hours on the boat. It accommodates 12, so our cost per person is @17euro. Our plan for the day is to do the Celeb excursion that goes by separate tender to Athinios port, then to a winery/Oia where we will ditch the shorex, wander around, and then head down to Ammoudi port for lunch at Dimitri's or Katina's for a fresh-caught, choose-your-own fish.

Our roll call has been very active, so I knew of at least 6 others who had a plan similar to our group of six, and asked if they wanted to join us and return to Fira port via boat with a cruise thrown in. All of us had been concerned about getting back to Fira from Oia via bus/taxi and the cable car queue, so they were glad to have this alternative.

There are quite a few steps from Oia to Ammoudi, but not nearly as many as from Fira to the ship tenders, and with you two being 'hikers' (my initial plan had been for DH and I to hike from Fira-Oia, but the tender/cable car issue led to the plan described in paragraph 1) those steps are nothing!

If it hadn't have been for Cinnamon's starting this thread, we'd never have thought of returning via a chartered boat!

My pleasure! In fact, if I had known thatThira had become so commercialised since my previous visit in 1976, we would have returned from Oia by boat. As it was we rather enjoyed the journey back by private bus as we were able to view the lower ground on the opposite of the island to the cliffs, see the fertile areas and spot the airport. I gather it was so crowded on the service bus that sightseeing out of the windows was nigh impossible.

Do you think you could use US dollars? I've read that there are lots of places that will accept US cash for euros.

Sorry, but why would you try? Surely you will be in other places that use the Euro. You will get a far worse rate of exchange trying to use $US in shops than if you get them from a bank or ATM. You can always use credit cards in shops for purhases over, say $15-20, to limit the amount of currency you need, but travelling in other countries without having their currency is slightly insulting to the locals.

My pleasure! In fact, if I had known thatThira had become so commercialised since my previous visit in 1976, we would have returned from Oia by boat. As it was we rather enjoyed the journey back by private bus as we were able to view the lower ground on the opposite of the island to the cliffs, see the fertile areas and spot the airport. I gather it was so crowded on the service bus that sightseeing out of the windows was nigh impossible.

 

 

Sorry, but why would you try? Surely you will be in other places that use the Euro. You will get a far worse rate of exchange trying to use $US in shops than if you get them from a bank or ATM. You can always use credit cards in shops for purhases over, say $15-20, to limit the amount of currency you need, but travelling in other countries without having their currency is slightly insulting to the locals.

Cinnamon,

I was mostly concerned that I might have spent all my euros and was just wondering if US $ were accepted. I have seen some tours that do accept US money. Who knows, euros are not exaqctly setting the world on fire and they keep going down in value. It was just a question, but thanks for your concern.