Santorini: DIY Itinerary Options & Transportation Suggestions for Limited Daylight?

Hi all,

We're in port on Reflection (3000 pax) from 2pm to 10pm with sunset around 6:30pm. That probably only gives us at most four hours of daylight after tendering in. Looking for advice for how to spend the time in port and what the best transportation strategy would be for our situation.

- I'd like to spend time strolling in Oia. This is probably our main destination.

- I'd also to see the Akrotiri excavations but I think this would be too aggressive as I don't think we have enough daylight to give this site enough time with the travel time to & from Fira & Oia.

- From dusk until we tender back, I figure we could grab a late meal and wander Fira.

If if don't do Akrotiri, are there any other suggestions to supplement time between Fira and Oia? (Saw the winery option but that's probably a fallback option)

Transportation

There'll be four of us.

Walking: I'd love to hike from Fira to Oia but it's essentially not an option due to time constraints

ATV: I don't think we want to rent ATV's. Not our thing.

Car: I like the flexibility but I'm not sure if we'll get full value (cost of 50E-100E for the day?) of one with our time in port. How are the roads for driving at night? And how late do the rental places stay open?

Public Bus: This is likely our preferred option but I've read they can get crowded. MSC Fantasia (3200 pax) & Oceana Nautica (684 pax) are in port from 8am to 6pm. I'm hoping we won't have any problems with capacity in the evening.

Taxi: This would likely be our backup option if for example we miss a bus.

Any advice or suggestions appreciated. TIA.

We took the bus to Oia in October. it was crowded. There was one RCI ship with us (Crown Princess). I would think the passengers on the ships with you would already be to Oia by the time you are looking for a bus.

It was about 1.5 Euros pp each way. It was a great ride and Oia was beatiful.

FYI-According to website I found, sunset is not until 8:50 P.M.-not 6:30.

Milhouse: Disenbarking for independant arrangements on Santorini is very slow. All ships tender passengers to Santorini. The ship will first disenbark all passengers on ship excursions. These tours tender to a completely different location where busses can get to the waterfront. As a non-ship tour passenger you don't even get tendered there and can't get off until that process is done. Sometimes the ship itself moves to the main tender area (with the cable car) after these passengers are off.

Therefore, just because the ship gets there at 2pm doesn't mean you will be able to get off then. It's very frustrating so be prepared for that. On a HAL cruise (OOdam) in 2009 it was at least an hour after arrival before "non-ship tour" passengers were allowed to the tenders. There are other posts on these boards about this process so you can learn more.

Some take ship tours in Santorini just to get off earlier and have more time on the island.

We were back again on Windstar in 2012 and did a day I think you might enjoy....but we had all day and there was no delay getting off a small salboat. We took the cable car up to Fira and found a cab. We made a deal with the driver: For 70 Euros he would take us out to Akrotiri and wait for us. It only takes about 45 minutes to see it well as its not that big...but vey well done. Get there if you can.

He then drove us back past Fira and dropped us where you can access the Fira-Ioa walk from the road. It's about 1 hour walking time away from Ioa. It was great to walk along the cliffs and down into Ioa.

After wondering around Ioa for a while we had dinner at Sunset Taverna which is located in the harbor below Ioa. There are steps down to the harbor near the furthest point in Ioa. It's a great experience to eat there as it is less "touristy" than the restaurants up in Ioa.

If the sunset really is much later than you originally thought, you might be able to do some of that (or all) if you want. Santorini is a wonderful place, very unique and beautiful. Enjoy!

Hi all,

 

We're in port on Reflection (3000 pax) from 2pm to 10pm with sunset around 6:30pm. That probably only gives us at most four hours of daylight after tendering in. Looking for advice for how to spend the time in port and what the best transportation strategy would be for our situation.

 

- I'd like to spend time strolling in Oia. This is probably our main destination.

- I'd also to see the Akrotiri excavations but I think this would be too aggressive as I don't think we have enough daylight to give this site enough time with the travel time to & from Fira & Oia.

- From dusk until we tender back, I figure we could grab a late meal and wander Fira.

If if don't do Akrotiri, are there any other suggestions to supplement time between Fira and Oia? (Saw the winery option but that's probably a fallback option)

 

 

Transportation

There'll be four of us.

 

Walking: I'd love to hike from Fira to Oia but it's essentially not an option due to time constraints

ATV: I don't think we want to rent ATV's. Not our thing.

Car: I like the flexibility but I'm not sure if we'll get full value (cost of 50E-100E for the day?) of one with our time in port. How are the roads for driving at night? And how late do the rental places stay open?

Public Bus: This is likely our preferred option but I've read they can get crowded. MSC Fantasia (3200 pax) & Oceana Nautica (684 pax) are in port from 8am to 6pm. I'm hoping we won't have any problems with capacity in the evening.

Taxi: This would likely be our backup option if for example we miss a bus.

 

 

Any advice or suggestions appreciated. TIA.

You might want to check out this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1669030

It has a lot of information on the boats from Fira to Oia right off of the tender dock.

Also, OP is right - looks like sunset on the day OP is in Santorini is 6:37pm local. Daylight might be limited, but then again, you can watch the sunset in Oia before heading back to Fira!

Hope this helps!

is there a way to check how many ships will be in port on May 29 2013?

is there a way to check how many ships will be in port on May 29 2013?

Yes:

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Greece/805-Santorini_Island/May_2013/

The Pacific Princess (7am-6pm), Celebrity Reflection (2pm-10pm), MSC Fantasia(8am-6pm), and Oceana Riviera (8am-6pm) will be in port that day.

One nice feature to note: Click on your ship's name, and you'll see all of her port stops and the ships in port on those days. Much faster than looking up each port separately.

Hope this helps!

Yes:

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Greece/805-Santorini_Island/May_2013/

 

The Pacific Princess (7am-6pm), Celebrity Reflection (2pm-10pm), MSC Fantasia(8am-6pm), and Oceana Riviera (8am-6pm) will be in port that day.

 

One nice feature to note: Click on your ship's name, and you'll see all of her port stops and the ships in port on those days. Much faster than looking up each port separately.

 

Hope this helps!

Thanks so much for the info. This will help me decide whether or not to take a ship's tour that day in santorini.

We will be visiting Santorini in November on the Celebrity Equinox and we are going to take the ships excursion so that we can be one of the first ones off the ship. They take us to Oia and end up in Fiara where we can catch the cable car down in plenty of time to do whatever we want to do.

The excursion covers everything that we want to do and you get to be first off the ship. Works for me.

Hi all,

 

We're in port on Reflection (3000 pax) from 2pm to 10pm with sunset around 6:30pm. That probably only gives us at most four hours of daylight after tendering in. Looking for advice for how to spend the time in port and what the best transportation strategy would be for our situation.

 

- I'd like to spend time strolling in Oia. This is probably our main destination.

- I'd also to see the Akrotiri excavations but I think this would be too aggressive as I don't think we have enough daylight to give this site enough time with the travel time to & from Fira & Oia.

- From dusk until we tender back, I figure we could grab a late meal and wander Fira.

If if don't do Akrotiri, are there any other suggestions to supplement time between Fira and Oia? (Saw the winery option but that's probably a fallback option)

 

 

Transportation

There'll be four of us.

 

Walking: I'd love to hike from Fira to Oia but it's essentially not an option due to time constraints

ATV: I don't think we want to rent ATV's. Not our thing.

Car: I like the flexibility but I'm not sure if we'll get full value (cost of 50E-100E for the day?) of one with our time in port. How are the roads for driving at night? And how late do the rental places stay open?

Public Bus: This is likely our preferred option but I've read they can get crowded. MSC Fantasia (3200 pax) & Oceana Nautica (684 pax) are in port from 8am to 6pm. I'm hoping we won't have any problems with capacity in the evening.

Taxi: This would likely be our backup option if for example we miss a bus.

 

 

Any advice or suggestions appreciated. TIA.

You may be interested in a ship excursion that solves the transportation problems and also gives you a chance to see the museum housing Akrotiri's artifacts. We did this last fall. We were tendered to the new harbor where we met a bus that took us to the winery for tasting (the wine was good and the olives were fantastic) and amazing views of the caldera. We then headed over to Oia for time on our own (we ate in a cliff side cafe, shopped and wandered around). Then, we were taken to Fira and dropped off on our for the rest of the visit in port, where we could shop and visit the Prehistoric Museum, which houses the artifacts from Akrotiri. They gave us tickets for the funicular and we had no wait to get down to the old harbor to catch a tender back. It was a great day.

We will be visiting Santorini in November on the Celebrity Equinox and we are going to take the ships excursion so that we can be one of the first ones off the ship. They take us to Oia and end up in Fiara where we can catch the cable car down in plenty of time to do whatever we want to do.

The excursion covers everything that we want to do and you get to be first off the ship. Works for me.

What's the name of your excursion? We're on the Reflction in May

Thanks

Yes:

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Greece/805-Santorini_Island/May_2013/

Unfortunately the site is incomplete. For example, Azamara Journey's May 23 visit isn't listed. So view with that in mind.

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What's the name of your excursion? We're on the Reflction in May

Thanks

It is called "Village of Oia and Santorini Island". We are going in November. This is the place that I want to go the most. It is just georgeous. They have two times listed. 9:15 am and 1:15 PM. I am going to go for the 9:15 am so we have more time to do what we want and don't have to worry about catching the cable car down at the last minute and wait so long in line.

I wonder if you do choose the ships excursion do they have to wait until you are back on board to depart.?????

Yes:

http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Greece/805-Santorini_Island/May_2013/

 

The Pacific Princess (7am-6pm), Celebrity Reflection (2pm-10pm), MSC Fantasia(8am-6pm), and Oceana Riviera (8am-6pm) will be in port that day.

 

One nice feature to note: Click on your ship's name, and you'll see all of her port stops and the ships in port on those days. Much faster than looking up each port separately.

 

Hope this helps!

Be aware that very few if any of the European lines, and none of the luxury lines are shown on this web site. You might have five or six more ships than this site is showing.

It is called "Village of Oia and Santorini Island". We are going in November. This is the place that I want to go the most. It is just georgeous. They have two times listed. 9:15 am and 1:15 PM. I am going to go for the 9:15 am so we have more time to do what we want and don't have to worry about catching the cable car down at the last minute and wait so long in line.

I wonder if you do choose the ships excursion do they have to wait until you are back on board to depart.?????

Thanks. That's the one I reserved also. We arrive at 2pm and the tour

is set for 2:15. That will get us off the ship first.