Santorini by rental car

[steveg]

We're renting a car for the day on our imminent cruise on the Grand Princess.

We were in Santorini last year off the Millennium and visited Oia and a winery. We want to go back to Oia, one of the most beautiful places we've ever been but also want to see the Red Beach, the black sand beach, Pyragos and Akrotiri (which was closed last year). Some have mentioned difficulty in getting to the Red Beach? What should we expect and should we wear sneakers instead of sandals? Is it dangerous? Any other recommendations about seeing Santorini via car would be appreciated. We don't want to visit a winery - it's not our thing, but went last year with another couple who wanted to go.

 

Thanks for all suggestions.

 

steveg

[ketelhut]

Steve, when are you on the Grand? We will be on the 10/29 cruise. I have also read Santorini might be a good place to rent scooters (Vespa's) since the traffic is not bad. You have been there, what do you think about riding a scooter around Santorini? I will be interested to see what responses you get since we have not booking an excursion there & will be on our own; walking, driving, scooting or on donkey's :eek: .

[wanttoseetheworld]

I wouldn't recommend renting scooters in Santorini...too many curvy roads and lots of cliffs. I would be scared of wrecking lol. We rented a jeep in Santorini and had a great time, the map we had didn't really work but we were able to follow the street signs and made it to all the locations we wanted to go to. The red beach is quite a drive but it's worth going there. I don't know what you know about red beach but it's quite a climb to get to the actual beach. I wore sandles but tennis shoes aren't a bad idea because the rocks are steep and once you get to the beach the stones will get in your sandles. It's not dangerous to rent a car and drive you just have to be careful and alert to their signs. We ended up going the wrong way on a one way street but we survived lol. Santorini is pretty and if you get lost I really don't think you'll mind because of all the scenery you'll see. Make sure you go to Ammoudi, it's at the bottom of Oia and it's small fishing town, it makes for some great pictures. Also there is some good shopping close to the cable cars, after we turned in our jeep we just walked the streets and found some cool stuff. Have a great trip!!!

[ketelhut]

wanttoseetheworld, thanks for the information. Other threads have mentioned Red Beach and it sounds interesting. We've driven the back roads of Italy & had fun getting lost. Did you reserve the jeep before you left on the cruise? What rental co. did you use & would you recommend them?

[YAC]

In order to rent a scooter, you need a motorcycle license! I inquired about whether we need an International Driver's Permit (IDP)in Greece - the car rental place informed me that it's better to have one, but it's okay without one! Since we will be doing a 1 1/2 day driving tour to Normandy and then a 1 day driving tour from Venice and through Austria via Verona, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Danube River, Vienna, and Graz before the cruiseship, we ended up getting the IDP for $10 from AAA. All you need is 2 - 2" passport picture (sign it on the back), fill out the application and they'll give it to you on the spot! In terms of car rental, the average cost for 1 week ~ $1200 for a van, but I was able to get it for $700 - just happened to be surfing one day and Hertz had it on special for that one day only! I hope this helps! :D

[goingtomed]

Renting a car in Santorini is easy. No int'l DL required. Just your US DL and a credit card. Driving is a bit of an adventure but not really much of a problem. Would also recommend a car or a jeep over a scooter. Scooters don't look very comfortable. By the way you do not need a motorcycle license to rent a scooter.

[Misojiru]

For those of you who have rented a car in Santorini.... did you book the car rental ahead of time, or can you just rent a car when you get to the port?

 

Is there a tour book you would recommend for Santorini and Mykonos?

[suni]

I am confused...should we set up a rental prior to arriving in Santorini???

[Cardinal22]

and they said it was the best part of the entire cruise. They were able to get to a lot of places and they seemed to have more zip than scooters.

[wanttoseetheworld]

We didn't set up our rental ahead of time, we just walked to the rental place, picked out a jeep and were on our way. There were a lot of car places, I don't think you'll have a problem getting a car/jeep/scooter for the day. We didn't get to Santorini until the afternoon because we did the volcano/hotsprings tour in the morning and went back to the cruise ship and changed into dry clothes and there were still vehicles left for us to rent.

[Hau'oli]

I am confused...should we set up a rental prior to arriving in Santorini???

Suni ~ We were on RCCL~Brilliance in 2003 and having been there before, decided to rent a car. There is a street not far from where the cable car lets you off in Fira as you head up the steep crater walls from the pier. This street has several rental car companies. We just walked up to 2-3 companies and negotiated a price for a car. Based on great info from CC people, I did get an International Driver's License from AAA so it made it a breeze to rent.

 

Do not miss Oia as it is soooooo charming and a great place for photos back at Fira (main town) across the rim of the crater. You also will be able to get super photos of your ship way down in the crater of the volcano. There is a road that goes below Oia down to a very small harbor...One way down and one way up so cars need to cooperate. What a hoot! Turning around at the bottom was very interesting.

 

I agree with the other posters about NOT renting scooters. Plus, depending upon when you go, the sun is extremely potent so you must be cautious of sunburns.

 

Here is an interesting web site on Santorini (Thira): http://www.travel-to-santorini.com/place.php?place_id=3

 

Have fun as it is probably my favorite port in the world!!

[mmmmm]

We rented a car this June - reserved ahead as I was too nervous to leave it to chance. The red sand beach was one of my favorite stops. The beach is very near Akrotiri, though much too far to walk from there in my opinion, especially with the heat and better things to do with your time on Santorini. There is a small parking lot for the beach, and from there it's a bit of a walk and climb but not terrible, and well worth it. I think sandals might make it a little tricky. It was really beautiful and even though we didn't stay long, it was great to see. My kids went in the water with their shorts on since we didn't come prepared.

[Tania]

Just returned from the Greek Isles on the Grand and renting a car on Sabtorini was arguably the best day of our trip. After dealing with crowds on a constant basis, we felt as though we were alon in the world once we got out of Fira.

 

I had pre-booked a car because I needed an automatic with Tony's Rent-a-car. He thought we had booked for the previous day so no car. He brought us to a competitor who gave the car for the same rate, Manos.

 

We went to Oia (pronounced IA) but the real jewel as others have stated is Ammoudi, simply follow the signs north of OIa. The road down isn't as bad as some describe and there's a parking lot too. We did some wine tasting before heading out for the beach. I wanted to hit Kamari but my navigator (brat daughter) brought me to Pesseria (SP) which had little tavernas lining it and lots of parking. We rented a parasol and two loungers for an afternoon in paradise. Quite windy though...did we tan! I'd recommend bringing cold water to the beach from one of the shops...if you have a collapsible cooler, maybe even something from the Horizon Court. The black sand is blistering hot so some foot protection bewteen the lougers and the water will come in handy. I was surprised that the water was as cool (but comfortable) as it was compared to the bathwater on Aruba.

[sbc98grad]

We were on the Galaxy 7/25 and were with another couple who rented a car in Santorini. It was a nice option, but we had great difficulty finding parking in Oia and ended up returning to Fira early in the day. Santorini was far from my favorite port, but we had a great time exploring the island. Incidently, they arranged the car at Tony's before we arrived.

[Queenk2]

Hi Tonya..remember backing up???? Never have I laughed so hard! Difficult ot park??? More likely impossible!

[piper]

A friend of ours recommended this bar. Has anyone been there? The view (from the web site looks FANTASTIC!)

[Tania]

Queen,

 

It wasn't that bad:) We parked for about 45 minutes and there were cars waiting to take my space. Guess we were lucky.

 

The most curious things were the cement steps leading into the water. People were swimming so I guess it was a simple feat.

[Queenk2]

We almost DROVE down those steps! LOL!

[rasyad]

We sailed on Galaxy 7/25.

 

We rented a car from Tony's. Went to the mount near Pyrgos where you can get a fantastic view of the whole island. After that, we headed for Oia, no problem whatsoever finding parking and then back to Fira. Too many things to see in such a short time!!

[Queenk2]

Rasyad,

Tonya,Tom Robert and I had LOADS of fun...but couldn't park...where did you find a space???

[Susan-M]

For those who rented with Tony - did you pick up your car first thing in the morning & was there a line up? He opens at 9 a.m. - we arrive in port at 7 - I'd like to be in and out of his office as quickly as possible, so any suggestions are welcome.

thanks,

[Queenk2]

No line up! But the paper work is slow!

Karen

[Tania]

The biggest problem was getting off the ship...tenders were full...best to get off as early as you can. Remember you still need to take the cable car to get to Thira. And walk to Tony's is further than his literature says and it's uphill...

[rasyad]

We were down very early and managed to get the 1st tender boat. We were at his place slightly before 8:30 am and he was open. He had some problems getting our requested jeep but he managed to arrange another one from other rental company at the same price. It meant some delay but I recall hitting the road before 9am.

 

Queen,

 

We managed to park in Oia in a small square on the main road around what seems to be the town center area. There was a supermarket just accross the road, and the sea view street was just 50 yds from where we parked. I noticed though that by the time we left, all parking space was full.

[jrkfrk]

The biggest problem was getting off the ship...tenders were full...best to get off as early as you can. Remember you still need to take the cable car to get to Thira. And walk to Tony's is further than his literature says and it's uphill...

 

Tania: How much "further that his literatrue says" and how much "uphill" - is there a rental car company closer to where you get off the cable car that you remember passing?

 

Thanks for all your information!

 

Fran