Santorini in September

[greg898]

I've read all the horror stories with about Santorini and am trying to figure out the best way to enjoy it as stress-free as possible. We're going to be there mid-September on the Royal Princess (7AM-7PM) and it looks like the only other ship in town that day is the Jewel of the Seas.

 

We're mostly only interested in Oia but Santo Wines would be nice to visit as well. There's a Princess shore excursion for $80pp that does those two stops and would probably be the most stress free but I think it only gives us 45 mins at each stop which doesn't seem like much. Plus the added cost of doing a ship excursion.

 

Ideally, I'd like to save the money and explore on our own but between reading about the busy cable car and catching a bus back from Oia, it has me somewhat worried. 12 hours in port with only one other ship does seem like a fair amount of time though. Should I be worried with that much time to work with? And can we easily get to Santo Wines on our own if we decide to do it in addition to Oia?

[brunello22]

We were in port with one other ship as well, so we felt very lucky!

 

We got off the ship as early as we could and went straight to Tony's Car Rental to pick up our car (booked well in advance). We went straight to Oia before the tour buses and crowds arrived, so we had plenty of time to stroll around at our leisure.

 

Once the crowds arrived, we left and then drove around to various wineries (cannot remember the names) and different beaches.

 

At the end of the day, we ended up at the brewery (Yellow Donkey beer) and made it back to Fira with plenty of time to return the car, stroll around, and catch the last tender back to the ship.

 

Santorini is rather easy to navigate on your own.

Edited January 5, 2017 by brunello22

[Skai]

We were there last September.

 

12 hours in port is plenty of time for a stress-free visit on the island

 

We took the boat/bus/shuttle-back-to-Fira option. There are two companies that provide this service located right where the ship's tenders dock. -- Search this forum for more info on them.

 

It is important to note that Oia is a very small town with only a handful of main pedestrian walkways. Being that it has been labeled as a 'must-see', even w/ only a couple of ships in port, it will be overwhelmingly crowded from about 10a on to the early afternoon w/ many ship tours, DIYers from the ship and the local tourist population mulling about.

 

It is advised to get as early of a start as possible to be able to enjoy a little bit of the town before the masses show up. If not Elite(priority tendering), this would mean planning on getting down to the lounge to grab tender tickets ASAP. Go early, as they start handing out tickets well before the scheduled time for the actual tendering to start. As it's a popular destination, there will be a lot of shipmates with the same "early bird gets the worm" idea. If this seems like it might be stressful, skip going early and be prepared to not get to shore until later in the morning.

 

We had considered renting a car from Tony's, and noticed their location on the way back -- after having been dropped near there by our return shuttle. We decided that the boat/shuttle transfer would be more convenient for maximizing our time in Oia. Keep in mind that it is a little bit of a stroll(10-15 minutes) to get to Tony's from the cable-car station. Though, while waiting 10 minutes for the boat to Oia to fill up and leave, we noticed that the line for the cable-car going up wasn't that long, and was moving at a pretty good speed early in the morning.

 

Oia in the AM for a few hours(45 min. is not enough), then the shuttle back would allow for plenty of time to grab a taxi in Fira for a visit to the winery in the afternoon.

 

It deserves noting that while Santorini is well-know for its wine, truth be told, it's notoriety is more based on its location then its actual quality. Yes, there are some OK Greek wines to be found, but most are rather mediocre. That stated, Santos winery does have a nice terrace sitting on the rim of the caldera to take in the world-class view.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Skai

[greg898]

We were there last September.

 

12 hours in port is plenty of time for a stress-free visit on the island

 

We took the boat/bus/shuttle-back-to-Fira option. There are two companies that provide this service located right where the ship's tenders dock. -- Search this forum for more info on them.

 

It is important to note that Oia is a very small town with only a handful of main pedestrian walkways. Being that it has been labeled as a 'must-see', even w/ only a couple of ships in port, it will be overwhelmingly crowded from about 10a on to the early afternoon w/ many ship tours, DIYers from the ship and the local tourist population mulling about.

 

It is advised to get as early of a start as possible to be able to enjoy a little bit of the town before the masses show up. If not Elite(priority tendering), this would mean planning on getting down to the lounge to grab tender tickets ASAP. Go early, as they start handing out tickets well before the scheduled time for the actual tendering to start. As it's a popular destination, there will be a lot of shipmates with the same "early bird gets the worm" idea. If this seems like it might be stressful, skip going early and be prepared to not get to shore until later in the morning.

 

We had considered renting a car from Tony's, and noticed their location on the way back -- after having been dropped near there by our return shuttle. We decided that the boat/shuttle transfer would be more convenient for maximizing our time in Oia. Keep in mind that it is a little bit of a stroll(10-15 minutes) to get to Tony's from the cable-car station. Though, while waiting 10 minutes for the boat to Oia to fill up and leave, we noticed that the line for the cable-car going up wasn't that long, and was moving at a pretty good speed early in the morning.

 

Oia in the AM for a few hours(45 min. is not enough), then the shuttle back would allow for plenty of time to grab a taxi in Fira for a visit to the winery in the afternoon.

 

It deserves noting that while Santorini is well-know for its wine, truth be told, it's notoriety is more based on its location then its actual quality. Yes, there are some OK Greek wines to be found, but most are rather mediocre. That stated, Santos winery does have a nice terrace sitting on the rim of the caldera to take in the world-class view.

 

Thanks for your input! And yes, the main reason I want to go to Santos is for the views lol. That's why I said it would be nice to see but not a "must see". Do you happen to have an approximate idea how much a taxi would cost to get there? And would the driver wait for us or are there usually taxi's waiting at Santos to take people back to Fira?

[Skai]

We didn't take any taxis on Santorini, but I've read that they're more common in Fira, not so much in Oia for the return.

 

I imagine that one could arrange a pick-up time with a driver or have the winery call for one. Depending on how long one wanted to stay at Santos, I imagine paying for one to wait, could be a little pricey.

 

Keep in mind, there are great views from almost anywhere on the rim of the caldera.:)

[Fey]

Santorini is very nice in September, although overcrowded.

We didn't like Santo. Felt like in one of the most crowded places of all. And you have to wait for a waiter and then for the bill for ages.

We were on a private tour, thanks God, and the guide took us to 2 family wineries. And then, as we were also asking for Santo, she took us there. And then we saw the difference, and were happy she saved us from this waste of time. Yet she said the quality of wine is not that good. And you can get their wines in all the shops in island.

And the cost of the wine tasting! We paid less in 2 private wineries from what we would have paid in Santo! So, our guide saved us twice :D

The conclusion is that even in Santorini, even in September you can find good places with no crowds. But these places are known to the locals, and you need a car to go there. Good bus services in the island but either you do not fit in the bus or you'll spend half of your day waiting for them here or there.

[FunInTheSun9]

Hi Fey. Who was your guide in Santorini and how did you book them?

[Hlitner]

Unless there are multiple ships at Fira (at the same time) the Cable Car up....is usually not a big problem. Because tendering takes some time, that process tends to meter the cable car lines. The big cable car problem can happen in mid-late afternoon when many cruise passengers are trying to get down at the same time. The oft untold truth is that all the cruise lines are aware of the problem and do not strand passengers. The ships usually have somebody at the top cable car station making sure that everyone gets down. If the line causes major delays, the ships will simply delay their departure. That being said, folks should get to that cable station early enough to avoid the stress of wondering. As to taxis, they are easy to get in Fira...if you simply walk to the main taxi parking area (located right before the bus station. Getting a last minute taxi back from Oia is risky...because there are often no taxis waiting at Oia

 

There are also multiple local rental car agencies located in Fira....and this is another option for those that want to explore the island beyond Fira and Oia. Rental cars are usually pretty inexpensive (assuming you can drive a manual shift) so it pays to shop around online for the best rates.

 

Hank

[internetwhiz]

We got a small group from our Cruise Critic Roll Call together on a Viator tour. There were eight of us. It was under 60 Eu each. It was a personal tour, so together we decided where we wanted to go, and it was wonderful.

 

Viator uses third party vendors, so Santorini Day Tours did ours. Our guide/driver was wonderful. He had us get over on the first tender, and the cable car wasn't an issue going up. We did our shopping at Oia. Upon return to the port, thee was a line for the cable car but it wasn't bad. We had an amazing day. Everything I wanted it to be. The eight of us enjoying not driving or having to fret over logistics. We enjoyed an amazing, authentic lunch with an amazing view. . A picture from Oia. We were there in October.