If you close your eyes and imagine being on the typical Greek island, imagination may take you on a trip to Santorini. White houses interrupted by blue domes, the smell of gyro and of suvlaki, infinite cliffs that are lost in the intense blue of the Mediterranean ... yes, Santorini is so beautiful that it seems like a dream.
But, like all dreams, Santorini has some trap. In our case, the trap came with shriveled eyes and selfies sticks everywhere: if we hoped to enjoy alone one of the most romantic places in the whole world, reality received us with a few shrieking Chinese who took pictures of everything that was wagging. (and what not). Still Santorini we liked a lot. It is inevitable to fall for their beauty.
We visited it during the IV stop of the cruise, just after Venice, Split and Corfu. The expectations we had were high and who wasn't? Who has not ever dreamed of being inside one of the most typical postcards of Greece?
Tip: if you have more time to explore the island see everything you can see and do in Santorini 🙂
Santorini, one of the jewels of the Cyclades, is really not an island but a small archipelago of 5 islets (Fira, the one we all call Santorini, Thirasia another inhabited islet and 3 more uninhabited islets). But it wasn't always that way ... in the past there was only one island, Thera, in a circular way. And an important detail: Thera was a volcanic island, so you can imagine what happened ... Indeed, the area suffered numerous earthquakes and volcanic explosions, being that of 1600 a. C so strong and powerful that it destroyed much of the ancient Thera, transforming it forever. Life was exterminated instantly, the caldera of the volcano collapsed under the force of magma, the waves filled it and the topography of the island took on its current sickle-like appearance. Historians say that this eruption was one of the largest in the last 10,000 years, which was so terrible that the rumble of the volcano could be heard even in Scandinavia itself and that the ashes that were suspended for months caused the temperature to drop throughout the Mediterranean area.
Apparently the eruption was so violent that it produced a series of tsunamis capable of destroying the Minoan civilization of Crete. Truth or legend? What is true is that the landscape we can see today gives an idea of how terrible the explosion could have been. From Oia and Fira the views of the volcanic caldera are absolutely stunning, not to mention the immense cliffs, the living proof of the strength of the eruption.
In 1950 Santorini suffered another 7.6 earthquake on the Ritcher scale. 48 people died and a good handful of houses, churches and other buildings were completely destroyed. The truth is that if you think about it, it's pretty worth it ...
At the end of the article you have a useful info part with tips on how to organize your cruise scale in Santorini to the fullest, but first we will tell you several things: what to see and do in Santorini in half a day, what to see and do in Santorini with more time, the good, the bad and the ugly of this little Greek paradise.
Your cruise will stay on the high seas and will take you, in small boats, to the old port of Fira, or Thira (the largest city in Santorini). Here you can do two things: or go up to Fira or go to Oia, the most famous and beautiful town of Santorini.
advice: as the landing is somewhat slow try to be among the first to do so. We had to meet at the theater of the cruise to get a ticket with the number of descent ... go pick it up well before the agreed time: we went about 10 minutes ahead of time and had been distributing the tickets for half an hour -_-
Once in the boat you will be taken to the old port of Fira, here you must decide what you want to do:
1) If you want to climb to Fira, you can do it in a funicular that for € 5 that will take you to the town in 3 minutes, you can also walk through the 500 and peak steps that separate the port from the town, or ride a donkey, Although it seems to us a savage and an inhuman tourist ... please do not get on a donkey!
2) If instead you want to visit Oia before, you will have to hire a tour (we pray that there would be boats that, without a tour in between, left at the port of Oia, but we had no luck). So we decided to hire a "tour", which really only included transportation:
- Outbound by boat from the old port of Fira to the port of Oia (15-20min).
- Bus from the port of Oia to the center of Oia (5 min).
- Bus from the center of Oia to the center of Fira (20-25min).
Navigating the caldera of the volcano ... and hoping to get to Oia soon.
It cost us € 15 (in 2016). We did not bargain because it gave us the feeling that the price was hyper closed (it was also full of people waiting to leave and we did not want to miss the opportunity to leave as soon as possible). If you do not want to play it, there is a somewhat more expensive but safe option: for € 25 you have this cruise tour.
Tip 1: There are two agencies that sell the 'tours', from our experience the second one called Dakoutros (the furthest from the port) is better, it is the one we hire. We met several travelers who were on the other ship that had them waiting 1 hour to leave for Oia and when you are on a cruise ... time is of the essence.
Tip 2: They told us that every hour (ouch) a bus left from Oia to Fira, but in our case it was not like that ... or at least at the beginning, when at 17 o'clock we asked where the bus was for Fira, they told us that there was ... we had to wait for the one at 18. We rode a monumental chicken, ok just me (Lety), and it didn't help but when Rober very diplomatically managed to talk to the one who accompanied us on the bus from the port of Oia to the city from Oia ... I don't know how but stopped a minivan that took us to Fira. Moral: don't go on a cocky tourist, speak things calmly and they will be solved. If they don't solve, ride chicken ... that also works sometimes 😛
Tip 3: We do not recommend hiring the cruise excursion, it can be done by free or organized means like us for much less money, and no time is gained (we saw how many people who had hired the cruise were still waiting at the port for the rest to arrive from the group to start the tour).
Half a day is almost nothing, things as they are. But as always you have to try to get the most out of everything ... we assure you that, even on a cruise scale, you will be able to get to know the most important of Santorini.
OIA
Oia is the most famous, emblematic and flirtatious town of Santorini. The typical image of the island is taken from the center of this village made of alleyways, blue domes, white houses and bougainvillea. Come on, that is absolutely essential and if you have to decide between visiting Oia and any other site ... Oia, without any doubt.
FIRA
We could also visit Fira, the largest city in Santorini that offers a spectacular panorama from a cliff 250 meters above the sea. The truth is that we could not travel as much as we would have liked: arriving from Oia and with the hours we had time to see the church of San Juan Bautista, stroll a little and nothing more. We decided to walk down (30 ') to enjoy more of the views, although the slope is full of burritos, with their consequent shit and the steps are somewhat slippery, but we do not regret it. Of course, if you go with the hour attached to the ass, you may want to pay the € 5 of the funicular to use the time to learn more about the capital of Santorini.
In the port there are several bars (not cheap) with Wi-Fi, in case you want to connect and have a beer before returning to the cruise.
Santorini is an incredible site, even more beautiful live than in magazines (and that can not be said anywhere). We visited Oia and Fira and we were looking forward to more. Anyway, finding ourselves in front of the Mediterranean Sea, surrounded by white and blue houses and Orthodox churches is something that made us tremble with emotion: we always dreamed of being there and there, unexpectedly, we were.
Rush. The worst thing about traveling by cruise is this: that it is not you who decides how and when to spend your time ... and it is a very negative point, at least for us who are used to traveling slowly. We would have loved to have more time to explore, not only Oia and Fira, but the whole island.
Another negative point is that the island is VERY touristy, if you want to enjoy it to the fullest and discover its most private and authentic side we advise you to stay several days and rent a motorcycle or quad to ride it (at night the atmosphere has to be quite quieter and relaxed, although in high season you do not have many illusions ... Santorini is one of the most visited Greek islands and you will have to share it).
Just don't forget to enjoy a cold beer in the port of Fira before returning to the ship 🙂
The donkies. Or rather, those who get on donkeys (donkeys are wonderful). No, seriously, at this point we do not understand how there are still people (and not a few) who decide to contribute money to continue with this tourist at the expense of poor animals. That many local people live thanks to this does not seem like a good justification. Donkeys are not pack animals either. If you do not want to walk up / down there is a cable car that takes you for € 5 (the same price as going up / down on donkey). Please do not be part of this 'circus'.
What cruise to hire?
We went in Costa neoRiviera of Costa Cruises.
How to climb to Fira from the port?
There are three options:
- Cable car: it costs € 5 each trip and leaves in the heart of Fira. It is taken from the same port and it is not necessary to book
- Walking: we only go down, but there are people who do. It takes 45 minutes to go up and down about 3o
- On donkey: absolutely a savage, but know that it exists and that you can avoid it. Paying to exploit the poor animals will cost you € 5.
How to get to Oia from Fira?
If you have chosen to go directly to Fira on foot or by cable car, you should know that there are local bus services that connect these two cities in half an hour. They leave every little time and the price is € 1.80.
Tour in Santorini: Oia and Fira by boat and bus
On arrival at the port there are several companies that offer exactly the same at the same price € 15: boat to the port of Oia (20 minutes) + transport to the town by bus (5 minutes) + transport to Fira by bus (25 minutes) . We advise against the first agency, people ended up going down and asking for the money back because they had them waiting for an hour waiting for more people to arrive. We went with the second with Dakoutros and well, it came out fast (although you have to complain!), Yes, then there was no bus at 17 and if at 18 ... this will make it very clear, from where the bus leaves to Fira and what hours.
If you want to have guaranteed tour place, book this.
Visit of Santorini for free
If you do not have too much time we recommend the € 15 tour, but if you have some more time and want to visit Santorini for free, you can. Walk up (45 minutes) from the port to Fira, from there you can take an urban bus (30 minutes, € 1.80) to Oia and return a while later (€ 1.80). Then you can go down again by walking down. It is not a bad idea to replace the first walk up by the cable car (3 minutes, € 5)
