Santorini vs. Mykonos - which would you choose?

[mickeysgal]

Hi to all -

Our first Med cruise we did an NCL Gem out of Barcelona and did the western med itinerary. This time, for our 30th anniversary, we'd like to do an eastern Med. out of Venice. Would prefer to try Celebrity this time - Silhouette - 7 night cruise so that we can add on a few days prior or after in Venice. We're looking at two itineraries specifically. Work and vacation days won't allow for an longer cruise. Can't decide between Santorini or Mykonos. Want it all - but realize that we can't have it all. I know that NCL does a 7 day that does both, but we've sailed the Gem class before a few times and want to really try another ship and another line. For those that been to both ports - can you help me by giving me your opinions between Santorini vs Mykonos? I want that romantic Greek island feel. The ports all look so enticing and I just can't decide.

[texancruzer]

Well for me there is no contest here......

 

SANTORINI.

 

Have been to both twice. While Mykonos is nice - Santorini is WOW.

 

First visit we took the donkeys up the cliff, hailed a taxi on the main road and went to Oia. We arranged for the driver to pick us up at a later time and take us back to Fira. We had dinner there and then got in line for the cable car and took the tender back to the ship. Really nice day. Just relaxed, roamed around and enjoyed the amazing scenery.

 

This last trip (in October) we took the cable car up (once on the donkeys was enough for dh :D) and then again hailed a taxi and went the opposite direction to Akrotiri. It was closed our first visit so we wanted to be sure and go this time. It was amazing. Very old but the site is huge and all covered very nicely. We were there with only about 15 other people...... the taxi waited for us and then took us back to Fira. We found a wonderful restaurant on the very edge of the cliff way up and had a great lunch. Then walked a few blocks back to the archeological museum (most things from Akrotiri but some from other sites on the island) and then we shopped a bit and then got in line for the cable car and back to the ship.

 

There are so many other things to do here......winery tours, beach days, hot spring swims etc etc. but the most splendid thing is the view of the caldera. Very romantic with all the white buildings, blue domes etc.

 

PS: You will love love love Celebrity and Silhouette. We have done Solstice, Equinox and recently Silhouette - all gorgeous wonderful ships - our favorite !

Edited December 14, 2013 by texancruzer

[paul929207]

I vote for Santorini too

[mickeysgal]

Well for me there is no contest here......

 

SANTORINI.

 

Have been to both twice. While Mykonos is nice - Santorini is WOW.

 

First visit we took the donkeys up the cliff, hailed a taxi on the main road and went to Oia. We arranged for the driver to pick us up at a later time and take us back to Fira. We had dinner there and then got in line for the cable car and took the tender back to the ship. Really nice day. Just relaxed, roamed around and enjoyed the amazing scenery.

 

This last trip (in October) we took the cable car up (once on the donkeys was enough for dh :D) and then again hailed a taxi and went the opposite direction to Akrotiri. It was closed our first visit so we wanted to be sure and go this time. It was amazing. Very old but the site is huge and all covered very nicely. We were there with only about 15 other people...... the taxi waited for us and then took us back to Fira. We found a wonderful restaurant on the very edge of the cliff way up and had a great lunch. Then walked a few blocks back to the archeological museum (most things from Akrotiri but some from other sites on the island) and then we shopped a bit and then got in line for the cable car and back to the ship.

 

There are so many other things to do here......winery tours, beach days, hot spring swims etc etc. but the most splendid thing is the view of the caldera. Very romantic with all the white buildings, blue domes etc.

 

PS: You will love love love Celebrity and Silhouette. We have done Solstice, Equinox and recently Silhouette - all gorgeous wonderful ships - our favorite !

 

Thank you - we are very much looking forward to sailing on Celebrity. Been on the bucket list for far too long.

[Oh away I go!]

I vote for Santorini too - Love sitting in a resturant looking over the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon...:D

[John Bull]

Mykonos is very easy, very laid-back, very clean & smart & pretty, way better than most Greek islands. Great for a lazy day.

 

Santorini is much much more spectacular, but the penalty is the lines to get up or down the cliff, and perhaps the transportation between Fira & Oia.

 

Two very different islands.

I'll vote for both.

 

JB :)

[librarylady19]

I vote for Santorini too - Love sitting in a resturant looking over the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon...:D

 

Sounds great - we will be there in May. Any suggestions for a place to have drinks with a view?

[John Bull]

Sounds great - we will be there in May. Any suggestions for a place to have drinks with a view?

 

Right by the cablecar top station at Fira.:)

 

We found the bars in Oia over-priced.

Perhaps they're trying to solve Greece's economic problems all by themselves ;)

 

JB :)

[mskaufman]

We absolutely loved Mykonos. However, if you can only do one, the vote is Santorini.

[travelinmama]

Texancruzer or anyone else who has done Santorini on your own- we are going in June on NCL and I am so excited to visit Santorini. The photos are amazing.

 

We are interested in doing something on our own (I don't want to pay those cruise ship prices for a tour). I would love to do exactly what Texancruzer did

"First visit we took the donkeys up the cliff, hailed a taxi on the main road and went to Oia. We arranged for the driver to pick us up at a later time and take us back to Fira. We had dinner there and then got in line for the cable car and took the tender back to the ship. Really nice day. Just relaxed, roamed around and enjoyed the amazing scenery."

 

I heard that NCL only allows those on tours off the ship first and others often have to wait hours to get a tender. Does anyone know if this is true? Anyway, where do you get the donkeys? (are they at the port waiting or do you have to arrange this with a company ahead of time?) Also, do they take you all the way to the top?

 

How long to get to Oia? I would love to watch the sunset and have dinner in Fira but we are supposed to be back on the ship at 7pm so I doubt that would work. Thanks for any suggestions

[John Bull]

Texancruzer or anyone else who has done Santorini on your own- we are going in June on NCL and I am so excited to visit Santorini. The photos are amazing.

 

We are interested in doing something on our own (I don't want to pay those cruise ship prices for a tour). I would love to do exactly what Texancruzer did

"First visit we took the donkeys up the cliff, hailed a taxi on the main road and went to Oia. We arranged for the driver to pick us up at a later time and take us back to Fira. We had dinner there and then got in line for the cable car and took the tender back to the ship. Really nice day. Just relaxed, roamed around and enjoyed the amazing scenery."

 

I heard that NCL only allows those on tours off the ship first and others often have to wait hours to get a tender. Does anyone know if this is true? Anyway, where do you get the donkeys? (are they at the port waiting or do you have to arrange this with a company ahead of time?) Also, do they take you all the way to the top?

 

How long to get to Oia? I would love to watch the sunset and have dinner in Fira but we are supposed to be back on the ship at 7pm so I doubt that would work. Thanks for any suggestions

 

NCL may not be the same, but most ships tender their tour passengers to a different pier - about a mile & a half south of their mooring - where the ferries berth at Thira port. There, a road winds down to the sea so tour passengers transfer direct to their buses. Our ship, and we noticed another, used local boats for that operation, which meant that ship's own tenders were used for the much shorter (10 minutes) transfer to the jetty below Fira. So in theory independent passengers should not be badly held up by tour passengers.

(you mention hearing that NCL gives priority to tour passengers - was that specifically about Santorini?? All cruiselines give priority to tour passengers at other tender ports, but like us you may find it's different at Santorini)

 

From that tender jetty below Fira, where there is no road, independent passengers have four options:

- on the cablecar. There may be a significant line to go up, depending whether you're amongst the first independents off your ship & when any other ships are tendering. Cablecar takes no more than 2 minutes.

- on donkeys (being pedantic here, but they're actually mules). Again, there may be a line, the ride up the zig-zag path takes mebbe 15 minutes. You just join the line, I've never heard of any pre-booking being possible. They take you virtually to the top. If you can manage the ascent by donkey, you can manage the last hundred yards or so on foot.

I'd guess that seriously over-weight folk may be refused, the handlers do seem to take good care of their animals.

- walk up the zig-zag path. Sharing the path with the donkeys, and it's very long & steep - not recommended except for seriously-macho types. The walk would take me about 3 weeks :D

- a boat direct from the tender jetty north to Oia, I guess around 4 miles by boat. There's a road up from the Oia jetty to Oia town & a shuttlebus is included in the fare (about 15 to 20 euros?). It also used to include a shuttlebus from Oia back to Fira but I think that's no longer included.

 

The cablecar, and the donkeys at the bottom of the zigzag path, are just a few yards from the jetty. The Oia boat shares the jetty.

 

Coming back to the ship:

- Cablecar. You will definately join a line, anything up to a couple of hours depending on other ships' timings. Once on the island, its worth asking passengers from any other large ships what their "last tender" time is, & plan accordingly - but if you need to use the cablecar, the potential for a long line will seriously shorten your day. If the line is long but you're happy to use the path down, you can cut things more closely.

- walk down the zigzag path. Took us about 30 minutes. Not arduous cos gravity is on your side, and virtually no donkeys. But some stones are very smooth & slippery so you need to hold on to the rail/wall - or find someone soft to land on ;). Piles of donkey droppings can easily be avoided, but by now they've dried & the wind can create the occasional unpleasant dust-devil.

- ride a donkey down. The donkeys don't like going down & very very few are available. Don't rely on that option without checking, unless others chip in on this thread.

- boat from Oia. Sorry, don't know whether they're available for the return to the tender jetty, perhaps others can advise.

Do bear in mind that your "last tender time" is when you need to be back at the tender jetty. Not when you need to be back on the ship, & you don't need to allow any extra time to allow for a line for tenders. If necessary, tenders will continue to run after "last tender time" to mop up the line.

 

Oia is about 15 to 20 minutes by road, but if by local van (and taxi, if you wish) you'll probably have a ten-minute stop or two for the views over the caldera.

 

Check out the photos on GoogleMap & GoogleImages. Plenty of photos of the donkey path at Fira and the ferry pier at Thira. Good old google tends to mix up them all up :rolleyes: but they'll give you an idea of things

 

I'm no expert. Just telling you my experience, others may know better than I. ;)

 

JB :)

Edited December 16, 2013 by John Bull

[travelinmama]

Thanks so much, John Bull. That info is a huge help. It sounds like we don't need to book a tour from the ship (something I really don't want to do). I'm thinking that it is easy enough to do on our own.

 

I appreciate your advice.

[ROCruiser]

Santorini! Mykonos is nice and if you go to Delos it's wonderful but still can't top Santorini, IMHO.

[Grumpy100]

We just got back from Celebrity Equinox and went to both ports. We had beautiful weather in both ports. If you want more laid back and quieter then I would pick Mykonos. Sort of cute.

But if you want to be wowed with the scenery then Santorini is definitely the place to go.

In Mykonos we were the only ship so it was not real busy in town.

In Santorini we had 4 ships there altogether so it was very, very busy.

So busy that you could hardly walk the streets in town. I got some awesome pictures from the cliffs.

I would also depend on how many ships are in town when you are there.

If there is a way to find out before you book then I would go for the less crowded port.

Happy sailing.

You have great shopping in each place and the streets in the towns are alot the same as far as that goes. Restaurants you have alot in both.

But, scenery you will definitely be wowed in Santorini.

Happy sailing. :cool::cool::cool:

[drarill]

Mykonos is very easy, very laid-back, very clean & smart & pretty, way better than most Greek islands. Great for a lazy day.

 

Santorini is much much more spectacular, but the penalty is the lines to get up or down the cliff, and perhaps the transportation between Fira & Oia.

 

Two very different islands.

I'll vote for both.

 

JB :)

 

The Reflection does both!! The OP can go to Venice before or after Rome…

Edited December 21, 2013 by drarill

[mickeysgal]

The Reflection does both!! The OP can go to Venice before or after Rome…

 

I wish we had that much time to spend. Reflection is 10/11 nights without the trip up to Venice. Vacation time is limited next year with other prior commitments already. Was hoping to keep to a 7 day cruise plus the pre or post visit to Venice. Ugh.

[dogs4fun]

Mykonos is very easy, very laid-back, very clean & smart & pretty, way better than most Greek islands. Great for a lazy day.

 

Santorini is much much more spectacular, but the penalty is the lines to get up or down the cliff, and perhaps the transportation between Fira & Oia.

 

Two very different islands.

I'll vote for both.

 

JB :)

 

Yep, my viewpoint exactly.

But, I would return to Santorini in a heartbeat ... not too excited about a return to Mykonos.

Edited December 22, 2013 by dogs4fun

[Azulann]

I am the outlier.

I thought Santorini was fine for the views but the getting up the cliff and down was a nightmare. The town of Fira was wall to wall people. We ended up going up and up the side streets to get away from crowds. Nice up hill walk with views at every turn.

did not even get off ship in Nov when we stopped at Santorini. We did a spa day on board.

I love Mykonos. the town is relaxed, great cafes, little Venice, and the shopping is great. Second time we went to Delos, a 30 minute boat ride and had a wonderful guided tour at this anicent site. Came back to Myknos and had the best chicken soup and wine and bread at a cafe overlooking the harbor.

My other favorite Gr islands are Rhodes and Crete.

Edited December 27, 2013 by Azulann

[mickeysgal]

Thanks to you all. Just as I suspected it is hard to go wrong with either one. :)

[Ssislandgirl]

Hi mickeysgal,

We cruised the Silhouette last Sept/Oct. and loved both Mykonos and Santorini. We actually found Mykonos to be a lot more crowded than Santorini. I wrote about our experiences in both ports in my travel blog

 

http://pandbtraveladventures.blogspot.com

 

Lots of pictures.

Santorini should come up right away as you open the page. To view Mykonos click on the tab labeled as October 1st 2013 on the left side of the blog.

Enjoy your cruise

Happy New Year

Petra

Edited January 2, 2014 by Ssislandgirl

[lineage84]

If you want to know what ships are at port when you are ever at pretty much any port, use the below link, I put it in my cruise binder that I take with me so I know how many boats and people to expect.

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/

[mickeysgal]

If you want to know what ships are at port when you are ever at pretty much any port, use the below link, I put it in my cruise binder that I take with me so I know how many boats and people to expect.

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/

 

Thank you so very much! I remember seeing this last time we were planning a cruise but couldn't find the link.

[txbeech]

If you want to know what ships are at port when you are ever at pretty much any port, use the below link, I put it in my cruise binder that I take with me so I know how many boats and people to expect.

 

http://ports.cruisett.com/

 

I just looked - and as of today our ship is the only one listed for the day in Santorini. How likely is that to change by this June? The more I read the more excited I get! :D

[gosport11]

This site lists the cruise ships but only 1 month in advance,these are the boats that will do the transfers :) http://www.santorini-boatmenunion.com/index.php/en/

[4774Papa]

Well for me there is no contest here......

 

SANTORINI.

 

Have been to both twice. While Mykonos is nice - Santorini is WOW.

 

First visit we took the donkeys up the cliff, hailed a taxi on the main road and went to Oia. We arranged for the driver to pick us up at a later time and take us back to Fira. We had dinner there and then got in line for the cable car and took the tender back to the ship. Really nice day. Just relaxed, roamed around and enjoyed the amazing scenery.

 

This last trip (in October) we took the cable car up (once on the donkeys was enough for dh :D) and then again hailed a taxi and went the opposite direction to Akrotiri. It was closed our first visit so we wanted to be sure and go this time. It was amazing. Very old but the site is huge and all covered very nicely. We were there with only about 15 other people...... the taxi waited for us and then took us back to Fira. We found a wonderful restaurant on the very edge of the cliff way up and had a great lunch. Then walked a few blocks back to the archeological museum (most things from Akrotiri but some from other sites on the island) and then we shopped a bit and then got in line for the cable car and back to the ship.

 

There are so many other things to do here......winery tours, beach days, hot spring swims etc etc. but the most splendid thing is the view of the caldera. Very romantic with all the white buildings, blue domes etc.

 

PS: You will love love love Celebrity and Silhouette. We have done Solstice, Equinox and recently Silhouette - all gorgeous wonderful ships - our favorite !

Agree, Santorini is WOW