Santorini

This island, also known as Thira, belongs to the of the Cyclades, a group of islands that are around the fabled island of Delos. The arrival to this island cruise offers a beautiful picture with the typical white buildings of the Greek islands. Despite being one of the busiest stops in the area, Santorini has no port to dock a cruise ship. The only way to reach the island is by Tender. The cruise captains, when they have this stop in their routes, make every effort to arrive early to anchor as close as possible to the island.

The main town is Fira, which is the classic image of any photo of Santorini. In the north of the island you can find the village Oia (pronounced Ia), from where you can see the most beautiful the sunset around the world.

FIRA

Tenders leave you in a small port in the southern part of the island only if you take the ship's excursion. This small port is the only one that can be reached by car or bus.

If you decide to visit Santorini by your own, the tender will leave you in the little port below Fira. Once there are three alternatives:

OPTION 1: CABLE CAR It's a nice ride with an approximate cost of 4 € per trip

OPTION 2: DONKEY You can make the climb by donkey (negotiating price). I highly recommend not doing the way down by donkey. The steps of the stairs are high, and I've seen tourists fall down from the donkey easily. Another drawback is the "stink" that lets the donkey on your clothes, so if you're scrupulous or you love the clothes you wear, I recommend the cable car option

OPTION 3: GO UPSTAIRS There are nearly 600 steps to Fira with the added difficulty of overcoming the "gifts" left by the donkeys on the road. This is a good alternative when you go down and takes about 15 minutes

OFFICIAL EXCURSIONS: The typical excursion includes Oia and Fira. First stop is usually a tasting of "Vinsanto", the sweet wine of the area. Then they take you to Oia and back to Fira again. There you'll enjoy some time for shopping and return to the boat by your means. The ticket down on the cable car is usually included in the price of the tour. For me, the view on a clear day of the Caldera from the site the Vinsanto tasting is perfect. It seems that the islands were floating in the void ...

 

CALDERA

ALTERNATIVES: Few. You can climb up to Fira and a walk, rent a bicycle or motorcycle, but both bikes and the few taxis that are usually reserved by other tourists.

WHERE TO EAT: Although there are local food places, it is normal that the hour you reach Santorini does not match the food or the dinner time. It's better to have lunch or dinner on the ship. I recommend taking a local beer or a Greek coffee (is an unique drink...) in a bar near the entrance of the cable car. This place has three advantages: You can control the queue of the cable car, have a nice view over the caldera and observe the tourists going down on the donkeys (it can be funny)

SHOPPING: You can find in Oia and Fira lots of souvenir shops. Santorini is a good place to buy some jewels specially gold.

IMPORTANT: Please note that there will be a long queue (half an hour on average) for the cable car. It´s possible that you concur with other passengers of other cruise ships, because they all have similar hours of departure.

FIRA