Santorini excursion to oia from reflection.

[hsbro]

Has anyone done the excursion to oia from the reflection. If so do they tender directly from ship to new port and then bus to oia? Or are you tendered to the old port and then boat to new port? Trying to make it easy and avoid crowd a little.

 

 

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[Iamthesea]

We did this excursion (Oia On Your Own) last month. You are tendered from the ship to the new port, where the buses await to take you to Oia.

 

We did not feel that we would have enough time to explore in Oia, so we told the tour guide that we were staying longer and taking the city bus back to Thira. This worked out great! Be warned, though. Once back in Thira, the line for the Cable car was really long. We walked down the switchback stairs instead. ;)

[hsbro]

We did this excursion (Oia On Your Own) last month. You are tendered from the ship to the new port, where the buses await to take you to Oia.

 

 

 

We did not feel that we would have enough time to explore in Oia, so we told the tour guide that we were staying longer and taking the city bus back to Thira. This worked out great! Be warned, though. Once back in Thira, the line for the Cable car was really long. We walked down the switchback stairs instead. ;)

 

 

 

Thanks. Planning to walk down too. Hopefully the donkey poo factor won't be too bad.

 

 

 

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[SargassoPirate]

Our best day in Santorini was when we skipped all ship excursions, rode the cable car up in the morning, walked all over the town, walked the donkey trail back down, and then had a late seafood lunch with some adult beverages at a little seafood restaurant within sight of the tender station. We caught the last tender back to the ship. We were on OUR schedule all day, went where we felt like going, had some nice coffee in a little coffee shop, and as long as we caught the last tender we were OK.

 

The more we cruise, the less we enjoy the ship's excursions.

[hcat]

There was a recent thread on this topic with a variety of info..If you can use the search feature on your device, you may want to look for it,,

[Iamthesea]

Thanks. Planning to walk down too. Hopefully the donkey poo factor won't be too bad.

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Just be VERY careful. We saw several people falling. Some of the worse areas were where the steps narrow at the turns. Stay wide! Also watch for the donkey behinds (they kick). They will also run right into you (if you are in THEIR path) and can ram you into the sides of the walls.

 

Our best day in Santorini was when we skipped all ship excursions, rode the cable car up in the morning, walked all over the town, walked the donkey trail back down, and then had a late seafood lunch with some adult beverages at a little seafood restaurant within sight of the tender station. We caught the last tender back to the ship. We were on OUR schedule all day, went where we felt like going, had some nice coffee in a little coffee shop, and as long as we caught the last tender we were OK.

 

The more we cruise, the less we enjoy the ship's excursions.

 

If you missed Oia, you missed the prettiest part of Santorini! The ship's excursion that we had was only transportation to get to Oia. That would have been at least a 2.5 hour walk from the cable car. But I know what you mean about having a leisurely day. We did something similar in Katakolon, Greece many years ago. Everyone was going to see the Olympian ruins. We stayed at the port and had a fabulous Greek lunch, with beer, overlooking the sea and the ship. :D

[4774Papa]

We did a wonderful excursion that included a trip to a winery at the south end of the island with a wonderful view. Also, we were the first to leave the ship and ported at Athenos instead of where the cable car is located. We saw the entire island, including Oil, the eastern shore and Thera.

[Iamthesea]

4774Papa - We did the same excursion, twice, on two prior visits to Santorini. Lovely winery! :) For this last visit, we decided to skip that portion and go straight to Oia.

 

Note that excursions are really not the first off in Santorini anymore. Celebrity still tells the passengers that, but it's no longer true because the ship anchors in one spot and tender boats from both the old (cable car) and the new (Athenos) piers come out to the ship to collect passengers at the same time. We had experienced the same as you on our two prior visits (ships stops near Athenos to tender excursion folks. Then the ship moved on nearer the cable car pier to let the remaining passengers disembark to tenders.) That's no longer the procedure.

 

Our excursion bus traveled up, and then went through Thira town to get to Oia. We ended up being stuck in traffic for a good while. While waiting, we saw several passengers from our ship walking around town. They had used the cable car to get up.:confused: So had we disembarked off the ship early, and tendered directly to the cable car pier, we could have made it up to the top and caught a public bus to Oia. We would have arrived at Oia about the same time as the excursion buses (maybe earlier)... and saved some money! If we cruise to Santorini again, we will remember the change and do things differently. ;)

[Easterncommand]

Hi,

We did the tour off the boat last year and done the winery etc,not a bad tour but by the time you had a coffee and sandwiches in Oia it was time to get back on the bus. I am not sure if the water taxis are up and running again but you can get a fast speed boat around to Oia for about 20€ which includes the bus ticket back. The advantage of this method it gets you into Oia before the tour buses arrive and means you are not shuffling like sheep around town and you can enjoy the sites without the pushing and shoving.

 

Harry

[hurwitz5]

We took the cable car up to the town and then took the bus to Oia, a beautiful place. We took a cab back to town and took the cable car down to the tenders. IMHO, walking up or down the donkey paths is NOT a good idea. I don't like cable cars, but the ride is 5 minutes each way and is safer than the donkey paths.

[Iamthesea]

Hi,

We did the tour off the boat last year and done the winery etc,not a bad tour but by the time you had a coffee and sandwiches in Oia it was time to get back on the bus. I am not sure if the water taxis are up and running again but you can get a fast speed boat around to Oia for about 20€ which includes the bus ticket back. The advantage of this method it gets you into Oia before the tour buses arrive and means you are not shuffling like sheep around town and you can enjoy the sites without the pushing and shoving.

 

Harry

 

That's why we leave the tour and stay longer in Oia. So nice and peaceful after most of the tourist leave. Once, we felt like the only people left there. We also saw a wedding and photo session taking place!

 

During this past trip, there were several large ships in port. To bide our time until the tourist thinned out, we had drinks and a snack at a rooftop bar. Still, we were not the only tourist left in Oia when the tour buses departed. So we walked to the windmill point, had a drink at one of the hotels (expensive!) and no one was around.;)

 

Going back was a breeze. Waited about 5 minutes for the public bus. While crowded, it was a nice bus and an inexpensive fare. We got off at the stop before getting into Thira and walked the rest of the way in. Had a late lunch and drinks at a roof top restaurant that we had been to before.

 

We took the cable car up to the town and then took the bus to Oia, a beautiful place. We took a cab back to town and took the cable car down to the tenders. IMHO, walking up or down the donkey paths is NOT a good idea. I don't like cable cars, but the ride is 5 minutes each way and is safer than the donkey paths.

 

As long as you are cautious and take your time, it's a great walk down. Lot's of exercise! But if you do as my son-in-law did..ran down in a span of 10-15 minutes while filming with a Go-Pro...you may find yourself in trouble. Thankfully, he did not have any incidents. Just hope that he didn't cause any. :o

[hsbro]

Hi,

 

We did the tour off the boat last year and done the winery etc,not a bad tour but by the time you had a coffee and sandwiches in Oia it was time to get back on the bus. I am not sure if the water taxis are up and running again but you can get a fast speed boat around to Oia for about 20€ which includes the bus ticket back. The advantage of this method it gets you into Oia before the tour buses arrive and means you are not shuffling like sheep around town and you can enjoy the sites without the pushing and shoving.

 

 

 

Harry

 

 

 

Thanks for the info. We are doing this exactly for that reason, to avoid some chaos. Our excursion does not include winery which is fine with me.

 

 

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