Getting to Fira by Taxi from Port - is it possible?

[LoloChar]

Hi Everyone,

 

My parents, sister and I are on a cruise in May that is stopping in Santorini. My parents are able to walk but do have some difficulty with mobility and walking the steps up to Fira, taking a donkey or waiting in long lines to get the cable car won't be options for them. Is it at all possible to get a taxi at the port we dock at that can drive the back roads up to Fira? I know taxis do stop in the larger port, but it sounds as though our ship docks at the smaller port where we are tendered in. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Lolo

[Hlitner]

Hi Everyone,

 

My parents, sister and I are on a cruise in May that is stopping in Santorini. My parents are able to walk but do have some difficulty with mobility and walking the steps up to Fira, taking a donkey or waiting in long lines to get the cable car won't be options for them. Is it at all possible to get a taxi at the port we dock at that can drive the back roads up to Fira? I know taxis do stop in the larger port, but it sounds as though our ship docks at the smaller port where we are tendered in. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

Lolo

 

Most cruise ships tender into the smaller port area where there are no taxis (or roads). The only options for getting up to Fira are the cable car and donkeys. The lines for the cable car are usually not more then a few minutes because the flow of people is essentially regulated by how fast tenders can get in and out of the dock. Some of the cruise ships do have island excursions where they tender passengers (only on their excursion) into the commercial port where they can board buses or vans to tour the island, so your parents might want to explore if this is an option on their particular cruise.

 

Hank

[anniversay/grad trip]

We were in Santorini last August (very very hot) and I am not a great walker. But, the line up for the cable cars moves very well, and we were up in less than half an hour (we also sat on the benches as we moved along). There are signs that point you in the direction of the main street and you have about a 10 minute walk once at the top. But, it is leisurely and there are plenty of shops and visual aids to help you along. Once you are on the main street there are literally dozens of car rental agencies all competing for your business. It is very cheap to rent a car for the day and the road to Oia from Fira is very direct. If driving is an option I would definately rent a car for the day and explore the island. That way you don;t miss any of the sights and your parents enjoy a leisurely day all for about 50-60e.

[texancruzer]

Just one other point tho......the tiny "streets" or pedestrian walkways in Fira are not level. They are uneven cobbles and some are quite steep as they go up and down.

[fengkycar]

We visited Santorini last year on the Costa Fortuna. Our excursion tendered us to the commercial port, where we were picked up by coach and driven straight up to Oia. The coach then returned to the commercial port.

 

We took this excursion as we only had limited time in Santorini (Santorini and Mykonos were on the same day). The other excursion tenders left VERY early in the morning (a technical stop), then our excursion left at a more reasonable hour, and ONLY THEN could those passengers not taking Costa excursions take tenders across to the old port (with the donkeys/cable car). That meant they only had 2 hours max on Santorini.

[cruisemom42]

We visited Santorini last year on the Costa Fortuna. Our excursion tendered us to the commercial port, where we were picked up by coach and driven straight up to Oia. The coach then returned to the commercial port.

 

We took this excursion as we only had limited time in Santorini (Santorini and Mykonos were on the same day). The other excursion tenders left VERY early in the morning (a technical stop), then our excursion left at a more reasonable hour, and ONLY THEN could those passengers not taking Costa excursions take tenders across to the old port (with the donkeys/cable car). That meant they only had 2 hours max on Santorini.

 

This illustrates what I've said many times here -- Costa and MSC tend to "short" passengers on the time they have in port. When you are trying to decide on a cruise, look carefully at the actual itinerary (when the ship arrives and departs) not just at the ports visited. I'd hate to have only 2 hours (!!) in Santorini....

[tom_uk]

This illustrates what I've said many times here -- Costa and MSC tend to "short" passengers on the time they have in port. When you are trying to decide on a cruise, look carefully at the actual itinerary (when the ship arrives and departs) not just at the ports visited. I'd hate to have only 2 hours (!!) in Santorini....

 

Agreed - many of the 7-night itineraries out of Venice are rushed - the problem is that it's a long way down the Adriatic and then back up at the end.

 

I've haevn't ever really studied Costa's itineraries in great detail, but I know that MSC's western Med itineraries are better than their eastern Med ones.

[fengkycar]

We had little choice as to which cruise to take - it was part of our 4 week European honeymoon and the Costa cruise was the only one that fit with our dates and itinerary. It would have been nice to have a full day each in Santorini and Mykonos, like we did with the other ports (Bari, Katakolon, Rhodes, Dubrovnik).

 

That said, we really enjoyed it. It was very eventful (only one sea day, between Rhodes and Dubrovnik) but it gave us a taster of the Greek Islands and most importantly made my husband happy as he is half Greek!

 

We would sail with Costa again, without a doubt!

[LoloChar]

Thanks so much for your replies! We will defiinitely take your tips into consideration.

[pjcruise]

We were in Santorini last August (very very hot) and I am not a great walker. But, the line up for the cable cars moves very well, and we were up in less than half an hour (we also sat on the benches as we moved along). There are signs that point you in the direction of the main street and you have about a 10 minute walk once at the top. But, it is leisurely and there are plenty of shops and visual aids to help you along. Once you are on the main street there are literally dozens of car rental agencies all competing for your business. It is very cheap to rent a car for the day and the road to Oia from Fira is very direct. If driving is an option I would definately rent a car for the day and explore the island. That way you don;t miss any of the sights and your parents enjoy a leisurely day all for about 50-60e.

 

Travelling in August is it safe to say that we can get a car when we arrive in Santorini without pre booking? We drive a manual car so no worries about that.