Boat To and Bus From Oia

[jspirit]

We booked online with Santorini Planet one week before our cruise and had very good service from Loukas.

 

He confirmed my reservation by email but noted that he thought I had booked for the wrong date. When I got on board the ship I confirmed that a change had been made in our itinerary. When I emailed Loukas at Santorini Planet to make the correction he assured me that he had already taken care of it!

 

When we arrived at the dock Loukas was there with signs advertising his service. He had our prepaid voucher that we brought with us exchanged at a desk there and we boarded a boat which took us and a few other people to the dock below Oia where a small, new bus was waiting to take us to the area in Oia where the tour buses wait for the cruise ship tours. From there we were on our own.

 

When we were ready to return to Fira we walked back to the drop-off spot where another small, new bus was running every hour on the hour. The driver would drop us off either near the end of the street to go to the cable car or down the hill near all the scenic restaurants.

 

The tickets were 20euros for the boat and bus transfer, either prepaid reservations or purchased on the dock. I would think as the season heats up having a reservation would be the way to go but was not necessary the day we were there. The cable car ticket was not included.

 

Thanks for the report and glad it all worked out well for you.

Wasn't the cable car ticket for the return supposed to be included in his 20 euro package?

[Holly2]

I had the impression that was offered as an opening special. How much is the cable car ticket? Do they take credit cards?

[mollymac]

We were told the cable car ticket was a promotion that no longer was available, and that the ticket had a brochure with discounts at some merchants instead. The cable car ticket was 4 euros.

[Holly2]

If you take the cable car, do you still need to take a bus also?

[mommamd]

Holly2, I believe the bus takes you from Oia to Fira and then you can either take the cable car, the donkey or walk down to the tender docks.

[Holly2]

Thanks. I think there are only two ships in port so hopefully the line for cable car won't be too long.

[the admiral12]

I went to the NST office and they said they had to have 14 passengers to offer a boat. On the good side of things, the cable car had a very short line so we just did that both ways and rented a car from Hertz. It seemed like the best way to do it when there are only one or two ships in port.

[canagal]

Hi- any idea of the # of passengers on your port day? Our day in Sept is about 4000 I think. Celebrity Silhouette, Azamra Journey and a smaller one. Hoping we can get up the cliff for a 9am tour start?

[NickAndysMom]

So, does anyone know - - - if we pre-pay our reservation with Loukas at Santorini Planet, does that guarantee that our boat will go, even if there aren't 14 people?

[Holly2]

I was wondering that also. But I think Loukas has set times and we arrive at noon and have to tender...

[the admiral12]

It was the Ruby Princess and a smaller Azmara for most of the day. MSC showed up in the afternoon but they were going counter cyclically to the others.

[love_the_sea]

So, does anyone know - - - if we pre-pay our reservation with Loukas at Santorini Planet, does that guarantee that our boat will go, even if there aren't 14 people?

 

I just looked at the Santorini Planet web site and there is a disclaimer that if there are not enough people then the boat won't go and your money would be refunded through PayPal. I found nothing that said how many were required.

[Tara Jane]

I don't see anything on their website about what you are referring to. What am I doing wrong? Please help as it sounds great, we are going in September.

[love_the_sea]

I don't see anything on their website about what you are referring to. What am I doing wrong? Please help as it sounds great, we are going in September.

 

Below is what I just now copied from the web site. You have to actually pretend to do a booking to find out the cost, etc. and pick one of the times and click on "details" . This isn't a particularly user-friendly site. But their service does seem to beat waiting in line for the cable car or taking a very expensive ship tour just to get to Oia. I hope more people post their experience with them as the summer goes on.

 

Transfer To Oia 09:30am

 

• Transfer to Oia by Speedboat & return to Fira by bus

  
   
  Departure from the old port of Fira by speedboat to reach in only 12 minutes Ammoudi bay at the bottom of the picturesque and traditional village of Oia. There the partner agency will do the transfer by bus from the small harbor until the tourist parking of the village. The pickup point of the bus to reach the capital of Santorini, Fira, will be at same place. In Oia you will have 1 – 2 – 3 or maximum 4 hours of free time, every hour after the arrival it is available a transfer by bus as well included in the ticket, from Oia to Fira. In Fira the free time depends from the departure time of the last tender to return back on your cruise ship. For all the clients who buy our ticket are available discounts in Oia until the 20% in restaurants, jewelers and shops.
   
  IF THE ARE NOT PEOPLE ENOUGH TO RUN THE EXCURSION THE FULL AMMOUNT OF THE TICKET IS REFUNDABLE ONLY BY PAYPAL
  
  

  
  

[bella27]

however it seems to say you only have a few hours in santorini.. can that be true or am I misreading?

thanks, morgan

[Holly2]

Only a couple of hours in Oia, as long as you want in Fira.

[love_the_sea]

however it seems to say you only have a few hours in santorini.. can that be true or am I misreading?

thanks, morgan

 

It says maximum of 4 hours in Oia....maybe because of bus schedules....but that is plenty of time; it is a small village. Then in Fira you are limited only by the time of your ship's tender and of course allow plenty of time to go down in the cable car. How much will depend on how crowded Fira is.

[NextOne]

Just got back from a cruise that included Santorini. After we tendered in, we went straight to the NST office. Their service, for 20 euros per person, included the fast boat to Oia,a shuttle bus up the hill to the town, and then your choice of a return trip by boat or a shuttle bus back to Fira.

That worked for us, and allowed us as much time as we wanted to spend in Oia before taking the shuttle bus to Fira.

[NickAndysMom]

NextOne, thanks for the report. Sounds perfect!

 

Can you tell me, when you purchased your ticket was it necessary to decide at that time whether you would come back by boat or bus? Just wondering if we'd be able to play it by ear & decide once we're in Oia.

[love_the_sea]

Just got back from a cruise that included Santorini. After we tendered in, we went straight to the NST office. Their service, for 20 euros per person, included the fast boat to Oia,a shuttle bus up the hill to the town, and then your choice of a return trip by boat or a shuttle bus back to Fira.

That worked for us, and allowed us as much time as we wanted to spend in Oia before taking the shuttle bus to Fira.

 

I have seen "NST" in some other posts on this thread....what is that and where is the office? Thanks. This seems so much better than paying in advance or taking a cable car and then a bus to Oia. I was just about resolved to do the ship tour even though I didn't want to. Thanks for the post.

[NextOne]

The NST office is on the way to the cable car. They are plainly marked and the tenders all had flyers advertising them, too.

You didn't have to make a choice about the boat or shuttle until you were ready to return.

NST is essentially the boatsmen's union in Thira. They control most of the boat activity in the old port.

Hope this helps!

[NickAndysMom]

Thanks so much for the great info! So happy that we can decide how we'd like to go back when we're ready to leave.

 

Only a month to go before we leave on our cruise!!!

[lavalleem]

We are three weeks out from our voyage and I have been trying to Ce up with a DIY for santorini that would get us to Oia. What a wonderful option! Thank you for sharing.

 

 

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[Holly2]

Trying to decide what we would miss if we take boat both ways. Read that the bus ride is pretty, but not much I want to do in Fira and I definitely don't want to wait for cable car...

[NickAndysMom]

Holly2,

 

We were there 3 summers ago. LOVED Oia! Very scenic. Could have done without Fira. I've attached a picture of what it was like. (I hope it comes through. I've never done that before.) The crowds were overwhelming. I believe we were the only ship in port.

 

We did a ship's tour that included a bus ride to Oia & back to Fira. I don't remember being bowled over by the views from the bus. What we saw in Oia eclipsed everything. You do get a nice view of your ship from Fira, but not worth the 2 hour wait we had for the cable car, IMHO.

 

When we are in Santorini this July we're planning to take the speed boat back from Oia. The only thing that might change our plan is that half of our group has not been to Santorini before. They might opt to go to Fira. I hope they don't talk us into joining them! ;-)

 

Please let us know your experience when you return from your trip. Whichever way you decide to go, I'm sure it will be memorable. Are you on the ship right now? Bon Voyage!