Santorini - Hire Guide or DIY w/rental car??

[KathyU]

I need some opinions... we (husband, 2 teenage sons and me) are in Santorini 7am-3pm on 23 June. After reading all the threads, I can still not decide whether it would be best to either hire a local guide to drive us around and see sights, or just rent a car and see things ourselves. I do know we don't want to take public transportation (bus). We are interested in tourist sites/villages/scenic stuff or anything else that teenages would like. (but, not a winery ;o)) I found a guide who will take us around for 40Euro per hour, and was thinking have him take us to the sights for a few hours and then drop us off in Oia for lunch. Or should we just rent a car and see things on our own? Dang, do I sound wishy washy, or what? Help!

[Susan-M]

We rented a car for our day on Santorini and had the car from approx. 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., but I have mixed feelings about recommending it for the amount of time that you'll be there. You'll probably be able to pick the car up and be on your way by about 8:30-9 a.m., and would probably want to return it no later than 1 to give yourselves enough time to get back to the ship...so you would end up having the car for about 4 1/2 to 5 hours. In that time you could go to Oia (I would go there first, hopefully ahead of the tour buses) and then head south to the lighthouse (at the end of the road, West of Akrotiri), and then to a beach (we enjoyed the short hike to Red Beach - at the end of the road south of of Akrotiri, and also stopped at Perissa Beach.) Also went to Pyrgos. I think you could choose a few of those sites for your time there. (We didn't visit a winery either, as we live in a wine region here.) http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg-2006/1647_santorini.jpg

 

On the other hand, a 4 hour tour with a private driver who is familiar with the island, may end up costing you only twice as much as the rental car, and could be money well spent for the convenience and efficiency of getting around. You mention having him leave you in Oia for lunch, but rather than do that and have to take a taxi or bus back (or have him wait at the rate of 40 euros per hour), I would get him to drop you off back in Fira and have lunch there.

 

Not sure if that is any help, and I can understand your problem with trying to decide.:)

[KathyU]

Thanks Susan! Your inputs were a big help. We will be using a private guide. I'm figuring Santorini will be our favorite port, so we want to make the most of it. Much appreciation for your posting. Kathy

[Susan-M]

You're welcome Kathy. Good decision ... I think you'll really enjoy your time there! Fill us in when you get back.:)

 

p.s. I would take bathing suits and towels and have a quick dip at one of the beaches.

[ScTrny1]

Thanks Susan! Your inputs were a big help. We will be using a private guide. I'm figuring Santorini will be our favorite port, so we want to make the most of it. Much appreciation for your posting. Kathy

 

Kathy,

Would you mind telling who you went with for your Santorini guide? We will be there in July, and we're thinking we might want a guide as well.

 

Thanks-

Sherry

[zannie]

I am interested in obtaining a great guide as well. We will be on RC Splendor leaving Venice on the 16th. If anyone is interested in pulling our sources together for a guide, contact me!

[KathyU]

We booked a guide through santorinicarhire.com

 

I don't have the name of our guide, yet. They will meet us in Fira and can start early if we arrive earlier... we have no idea how long it will take us to get to Fira, off the ship and up the mountain..so they seemed flexible on when we would start tour.

 

I found this company recommended on several CC posts. They charge 40Euro an hour and needed a 40E deposit. They were very ammendable to changing the itinerary...we didn't want to do winery tour.

 

I'll review the tour when we get back.

 

Hope this helps.

[frequent floater 1]

Good Morning,

 

Is Akrotiri still open to the public? I had read recently that the large covering had fallen or was destroyed by wind, elements, and that it has not been replaced. Is the site open and just exposed to the elements now? It's been several years since I last visited Akrotiri and it was an impressive archaeological site, sure want to see it again when we have a port call in July. Efharisto

 

FF

[numbersix]

FF:

 

We were there in 2004, and visited Akrotiri, and were glad we did. The accident, I believe, happened in 2005 or thereabouts. We returned in 2008, and it was closed to the public. I understand it is still closed. Being such a major archaeological site, it's hard to understand why it can be so difficult to garner any up-to-date information on the site, but my understanding is that it is still closed. Things move verrrrrry slowly in that part of the world...with 5000 years of history, what's a few years/decades here or there?!

 

Kevin

[nonrev1]

We used Santorini Car Hire and they were wonderful. We wanted to see as much of Santorini in the short time and odd hours we were there as possible. ( 4:00pm - 11:00 pm) By the time we got to the top of the Funicular it was 5:00 pm and we were on the 1st tender. The last tender back to the ship was at 10:30 pm so you had to allow plenty of time to get back down from Fira. But, with a driver, we saw it all. :) We chose not to drive ourselves because we would be there at night and did not trust driving the winding roads in the dark. Plus, it would have taken more time to pick up and drop off the rental car.

The driver was waiting for us at the top of the funicular with a sign and we were on our way.

 

Akrotiri is still closed.

[frequent floater 1]

FF:

 

We were there in 2004, and visited Akrotiri, and were glad we did. The accident, I believe, happened in 2005 or thereabouts. We returned in 2008, and it was closed to the public. I understand it is still closed. Being such a major archaeological site, it's hard to understand why it can be so difficult to garner any up-to-date information on the site, but my understanding is that it is still closed. Things move verrrrrry slowly in that part of the world...with 5000 years of history, what's a few years/decades here or there?!

 

Kevin

 

Thanks for the update'; I agree it is difficult to get up to date info. Sounds as if it's all about funding. Things certainly move slowly in that part of the world but unfortunately MY clock is ticking fast these days.....lol

[nonrev1]

You are right - It is hard to get good information. We were there in 2007 and they said it would open in a few months. We were so bummed that we just missed seeing Akrotiri. Well - flash forward to 2010 and it is still closed and we were told that there is no information on opening again.

Someone was killed on the sight when part of the roof fell in.....so, they are probably very nervous about opening it to the public. There is also a funding issue.

[Mooder]

We had a wonderful experience with http://www.oceanwavetours.com/. Dimitris maintained excellent contact via internet and Gabriel, our guide, was terrific! One of the great benefits is that he knows the timing so, for instance, he had us see all the sites and be in Oia in time for the sunset. Plus, we felt he gave us a feel for everyday life we wouldn't have gotten driving ourselves.

 

Enjoy!! It is wonderful!

[KathyU]

We did book a driver/guide through santoricarhire.com and unfortunately I cannot recommend this company. Our guide was Fortis (I think I'm spelling this correctly) and he seemed only interested in dropping us off so he could do his own thing. He initially just wanted to drop us off at Oia and said he'd be back in 2 hours to get us. I said we'd only need 45 minutes and this seemed to annoy him. (we're not shoppers and wanted to see other sights on island, during our short, short stay) He drove us to other areas of the island and gave us virtually no information about sights we were seeing. He never volunteered any historical facts or items of interest about the island. I had to almost prod him with questions about the island, as he never volunteered any information. Needless to say, Santorini was going to be my favorite port and turned out to be my family's worst stop of this cruise. It's amazing how one guide can ruin a port. Sorry, to say I cannot recommend this company. I hope others have had better experiences.

[Susan-M]

We did book a driver/guide through santoricarhire.com and unfortunately I cannot recommend this company.

 

Sorry to hear that your time on Santorini was such a disappointment. Where else did he take you besides Oia ... the lighthouse, Pyrgos, beaches, the monastery? Hopefully you saw some spectacular scenery that will leave you with better memories, once the dismal memories of the driver/guide have faded.

[KathyU]

Susan,

He also took us to a beach town, SE of Fira. He dropped us off and pointed out a good resturant and then left (He returned in one hour to retrieve us) He later told us he lived in that town. I can't remember the name of the town, but it wasn't memorable. The town had black sand beaches. We saw nothing else on Santorini. We got back to Fira and the cable car was stopped due to high winds, so we walked down. It's incredible that we paid him 120 Euro for the 3 hours. Definately a major rip-off.

[Susan-M]

It's incredible that we paid him 120 Euro for the 3 hours. Definately a major rip-off.

 

Agree. It sounds as if you hadn't worked out an itinerary in advance with the company and it was just left up to the driver to take you wherever. I would only book a driver and/or guide with a plan in place of where we are going. He was definitely wrong to do what he did, but things might have worked out better if you had provided a list of places that you wanted to see....or did you do that and he ignored it?