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What do people do in Santorini? Past/Future Cruisers??


readytocruise2009

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The next time you are in Santorini' date=' you must go to Mama's. I am sure they will be able to give you your waffles.[/quote']

 

Thank you very much for the suggestion. We will be in Santorini , Good Lord willing, 11 June 2010. :)

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Can anyone give us an idea of costs associated with "doing it on our own"?

 

Cable car prices, taxi prices to Oia and cost of nice lunch overlooking the sea?

 

I really don't remember the costs, but that means they were not high enough to stand out. If I had to guess - I'd guess the cabs from Fira to Oia were around 20 euros, and lunch at a wonderful cafe overlooking the cliffs and water in Oia wasn't too expensive. We took a morning ships tour to another part of the island which got us ashore early, driven up the cliffs, and dropped off in Fira by noon or so, and left with a cable car return ticket. We spent the afternoon going to Oia on our own.

 

We'd done this as we heard it helps a lot when the island is crowded and the cable car can get backed up in the morning. On our day we were the only ship there so it wasn't too bad, but we enjoyed it anyways.

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We had an amazing day in Santorini on a semi-private catamaran that took us around the island and gave us lunch. The 5 hour boat trip was followed by a private car to Oia for 2 hours. It was not nearly as expensive as what I paid for private tours in other European cities and it may have been the best cruise day that I've ever had. This tour was booked through santorinisailing.com.

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There are two museums: The Archaeology Musem & the Museum of Ancient Firs--of the two, it seems the latter would be better -

 

-I will post on the port bd too, but wonder if anyone has been to both. They apparently sell a combo ticket but we may only have time for one of them...we have an early excurion & also want time to sit at a Taverna .

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What do people do in Santorini? Past/Future Cruisers?? Are there private services that get you where ship is tendered? Not sure what to do there??? Thanks

 

 

We took the ships excursion for the volcano climb and swim in the hot springs. It was a great time, but very strenuous walk to the top of the island in the center of the bay. This was in the morning and geve a beautiful view of Santorini. The swim in the springs felt great after the climb. Do it in the morning, as it would be too hot in the after noon. They excusrion ended at the bottom of the tram on Santorini at noon. Took it to the top, lunch at a great Greek restaurant and then explored the shops. Had a beer overlooking the bay at an outside bar. My wife and daughter took the bus out to the end of the island to Oia (had to see where they filmed Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants), while my son and I decided to walk down the donkey trail back to the ship. Do not do this under any circumstances. Also, do not ride the donkeys up or down. It is a hot, smelly, disgusting experience that another passenger described to me as the worst experience of her life!

 

Beautiful place and lots to do.

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Thank you very much for the suggestion. We will be in Santorini , Good Lord willing, 11 June 2010. :)

 

That is my birthday so enjoy celebrating it for me in one of my favorite ports :)

 

One thing to keep in mind is that the funicular cannot accommodate too many people at the same time so there is often a long wait for it to go down the caldera. I would allow at least two hours before the ship leaves to start waiting for it.

 

With this in mind, I would recommend seeing Oia, which has amazing views, first, and then going to Fira.

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Take the bus to Oia very very cheap. Or better yet rent a scotter ($50). Its fun. Lunch over looking is anywhere from $25-$150. Depends what you like and what you drink. Don't miss it...Cable Car can't remember but I think about $3.5

 

The bus is very cheap! Only 1.2 Euros per adult EACH way.

The cable car costs 4 Euros per adult EACH way.

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I really don't remember the costs, but that means they were not high enough to stand out. If I had to guess - I'd guess the cabs from Fira to Oia were around 20 euros, and lunch at a wonderful cafe overlooking the cliffs and water in Oia wasn't too expensive. We took a morning ships tour to another part of the island which got us ashore early, driven up the cliffs, and dropped off in Fira by noon or so, and left with a cable car return ticket. We spent the afternoon going to Oia on our own.

 

We'd done this as we heard it helps a lot when the island is crowded and the cable car can get backed up in the morning. On our day we were the only ship there so it wasn't too bad, but we enjoyed it anyways.

 

The cabs cost 15 Euros from Fira to Oia. Establish the cost BEFORE taking the taxi.

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We just returned from the Solstice Eastern Med Cruise that sailed on 8/17. (For UK people that's August 17th ;)). We missed the sailing in Rome due to a broken airplane and then a long weather delay, so we had to fly to Santorini to join the ship. It was great, we arrived in Santorini at 6:30 AM and the place was deserted. We walked the cliff side trail from downtown almost to Oia. Watched the sunrise over the hills. Beautiful sites. One absolutely amazing thing - We were escorted by a set of dogs, who one at a time led the way. After about 20 minutes, each dog seemed to pass us off the another dog who then led us down the right paths. Same thing happened going back. Don't know how they knew where we wanted to go, but they were always in front of us and always took the right fork in the path. Best part was they refused the tip we offered!

 

Walking the cliff side trail from Fira to Oia sounds like something we would love to do. Do you know approximately how many kilometers or miles roundtrip to walk the trail between Fira and Oia? We like to walk a lot of miles while in port.

 

Thanks for your information.

 

Kathy

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Oia is of course a must. We spent a couple of nights there in one of the delightful cave accommodations: private terrace with amazing views. Good restaurant (very popular with locals) in midtown area. Old sea-captain's house with charm and swell food. Can't recall name, but everybody knows about it. One of our finest meals in Greece was at a simple (but not cheap!) fish restaurant right on the water down from Oia at the far end of the island. Steep walk, but you can drive down on a fairly scary road. Great shellfish, octopus, you name it, and your table is just a few feet from the wine-dark.

 

The other absolute must is a visit to the site of Akrotiri. The volcanic explosion, as at Pompeii, preserved the town, and it's now roofed over for protection. Restoration and excavation still much in progress, but for an insight into the daily life of an ancient place (not at all grand), it's practically a unique experience.

 

Skip Phera. Class-A tourist trap these days. Try the local wine. Watching the sun set from Oia is a crowded, dusty event. Maybe for once.

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We've been to Santorini on two different cruises and absolutely loved it. Both times we rented a car with another couple. It was inexpensive and easy to do on the main street in Fira. It ran us about $35 a couple some years ago.

We then drove to Oia and parked and walked. Then drove on around the island to the lower side and the black sand topless beach. We ate lunch at the beach. Then drove to a winery on the way back and enjoyed the wine tasting. This is all very easy to follow on a map. We left walking around the shops for last after we returned the rental car. We never had long waits for the funicular - lucky, I guess.

Enjoy it! We would go back in a minute.

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We just returned from the Solstice Eastern Med Cruise that sailed on 8/17. (For UK people that's August 17th ;)).

 

We missed the sailing in Rome due to a broken airplane and then a long weather delay, so we had to fly to Santorini to join the ship.

 

It was great, we arrived in Santorini at 6:30 AM and the place was deserted. We walked the cliff side trail from downtown almost to Oia. Watched the sunrise over the hills.

 

Beautiful sites. One abosutely amazing thing - We were escorted by a set of dogs, who one at a time led the way. After about 20 minutes, each dog seemed to pass us off the another dog who then led us down the right paths. Same thing happened going back. Don't know how they knew where we wanted to go, but they were always in front of us and always took the right fork in the path.

 

Best part was they refused the tip we offered!

 

Shopping was also great once the shops opened. Lots of private attention and some long coversations with the locals.

 

Very pleasant.

 

Yes agree with the comments re Santorini however just want to let you know that we do realise there aren't 17 months in a year and we also say 2 pm or perhaps 14.00 hours , only joking enjoyed your post especially as Santorini is our favourite place :)

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Walking the cliff side trail from Fira to Oia sounds like something we would love to do. Do you know approximately how many kilometers or miles roundtrip to walk the trail between Fira and Oia? We like to walk a lot of miles while in port.

 

Thanks for your information.

 

Kathy

 

Kathy, it depends on whether you are a slow or fast walker, and it depends on how many photostops you make. It is a HUGE walk.

 

The first part is easy. There are paved paths that wind between the hotels, which will be above and below you. Then you come upon more open space. The path is not paved, but easy. After you reach the lone church, it becomes quite hairy from there to the end. It is like mountain hiking, winding,rocky, dirt paths on top of the cliffs. You have to be very careful. It's difficult to watch every step and look at the magnificent view at the same time. I was relieved when it was over! We stoppped at the first hotel at the beginning of Oia (Villa something) and had a tall glass of freshly squeezed OJ and called for a taxi to take us back.

 

For us it was a total of about 5 hours! I would not count on less than 3 1/2.

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If you want an adventure take the donkey ride up to the town. Otherwise, take the funicular which is quick and easy. Then you can walk the town and then rent a car to see the island. In the town, about a 3 minute walk from the funicular, we found a restaurant overlooking the sea and had a wonderful Greek lunch. It was beautiful.

 

For all animal lovers out there...

http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/102837/Santorini-donkeys-still-suffer

Best to get the cable car

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Santorini is perhaps one of the BEST ports we ever went to. We rented a car and drove the island - it was super easy. The car rental was just a short walk from the funicular - then we drove to Oia. DO NOT MISS THIS TOWN. It is what you see when you see photos of Greek islands with the white buidlings and bright blue roofs. WE found a little restaurant on one of the hills overlooking the me and ate a great lunch and sipped wine all afternoon. Great little shops too. Not to be missed - easy to get to (although the roads are curvy and on steep hills). Have fun!

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Kathy (TourDeCruise):

 

Sorry I haven't responded earlier. We have been with relatives over the Labor Day weekend.

 

I just checked my photos which are time stamped. We started on the trail near the entry to the finicular at 7:15 AM and reached the lone church at about 8 PM. We are fast walkers and walk every chance we get. Meandering rate is about 4 miles an hour, which would apply here as we stopped occaisionally to chat with the natives and take pictures. We were at a restaurant back in Thira at 9:10.

 

As CantStopCruising pointed out, we did not go all the way to Oia, once the paved trail stopped so did we.

 

Could have gone further, but we we kind of tired from 3 days of almost non-stop travelling.

 

So it was a great two hour walk for us, and very easy.

 

The other point, the trail is narrow, so we found later in the day as the crowds arrived it was a much slower walk as you could not easily pass those in front who wanted to stop and enjoy the view.

 

In any case I would highly recommend this if you enjoy walking. Wear good shoes and bring some water.

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Thank you, Cantstopcruising and LongTimeTvlr, for your replies. We exercise every day including when on cruises and always bring hiking shoes on a cruise.

 

This walk to Oia sounds fantastic and just what we would like to do on our next (unplanned at this point) cruise to Santorini.

 

Thanks again!

Kathy

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Kathy (TourDeCruise):

 

I just checked my photos which are time stamped. We started on the trail near the entry to the finicular at 7:15 AM and reached the lone church at about 8 PM....

 

For us UK folks, I guess it should read 8 AM.;) Sorry, couldn't resist a wee joke.

 

We had a great time ashore too. We didn't walk the full distance by any means, but it's worth doing part of it to get away from the buzz, and the views are spectacular. Totally agree about getting ashore early. We got a 10 AM bus to Oia, and the behaviour of some visitors who barged their way on was disgraceful. The earlier bus was probably better, and the return journey was fine. If you like a good view and a thrill, sit on the right side of the bus to Oia, or the left on the way back. We didn't, but the faces of some of those that did said it all because the road has some pretty steep sides.

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Hi,

We were in Santorini a few years back and took a private tour with this group. Their contact is:

http://www.thiratours.com/.

We had Nikos as our driver and we also had a chance to meet Anna. They were the best! We had a super all day tour.

Nikos totally designed the tour around what we wanted.

My daughter went to Santorini with some friends a year later and also had a wonderful experience.

If you decide to use them, please tell them that Debbi says hi. (I was with my husband Joe and my 87 year old dad Charlie and his wife Jeanne.) We were there on a cruise on the Galaxy.

Hope this helps,

Debbi

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