Mykonos and Santorini planning. Input appreciated.

[yoolykeme]

Hey there.  Going to be hitting both Mykonos and Santorini on next week's cruise.  Wanted to ask for some insight.  Bringing my mom with me, but she is cool lol.

 

Mykonos (11 hrs in port) looks like it's more of a beach place, with the towns being underwhelming, so I thought that a good idea would be to take a boat to Delos, spend a couple of hours, then back to Mykonos, take a bus to Mykonos Town/Chora for lunch, then take a bus to whatever the crazy party beach would be for a couple of hours, then back on the boat.

 

Would you have any insight on which Delos boat providers are out there, and if my idea of bussing to town and beach, then back to the port make sense?  Also, which is the fun party beach?

 

 

Santorini (12 hrs in port) looks like bussing to Fira and Oia for the day, then back.  Should I fit in anything else?  

 

Please and thanks.

 

[Over from NZ]

We used this company and they were awesome. https://www.santorinidailytours.com/all-of-santorini-in-6-hours-private/

 

It covered a lot of the Island including Oia, the beaches, a winery etc and finishes in Fira. And of course, with the commentary of the guide. It has gone up in price a lot.. but hasn't everything and hey, how often do you get to go to Santorini!! 🙂 

 

If I could have changed it.. I would do the same tour.. but see if he could drop you in Oia at the end so that you had more time there. And then catch a bus back to Fira to get back to the ship. 

 

 

[carlmm]

Your plan for Mykonos sounds excellent.

 

As you have 12 hohes on Santorini I would recommend to include one of the major important historic sites in your plan, potentially with a ship's tour as there is usually a stop at another port early for these tour guests only: 

Akotiri, more than 3500 years old

Or

Ancient Thiera

[Hlitner]

I think you do not understand the situation in Santorini.  Unless you decide to take one of the ship's excursions you will be tendered ashore to a small pier area just below Fira.  Let me stress that only the ship's excursions will be tendered ashore to a different place (Athinios) where they can board buses.  But when you go on your own you will find yourself in this small area (below Fira) where you have a few options.  1.  You can take the donkey ride up to the top (Fira) which is not something most elect to do.  2.  You can take the cable car up to Fira (you do need to buy a ticket at the station).  or 3.  You can look for a boat tour (on the pier complex as you leave the tender area.  One of these boat tours is a boat that will take you over to a small pier below Oia and than get you up to Oia via a mini-bus or van.   If you are planning to go to Oia (on your own) we suggest this option.  The boat ride is nicer than treking to the Fira bus station and you avoid the cost and waiting in line for the cable car (not to mention the long walk to the bus station and waiting for the bus.   The boat tour (which you buy right at the small boat) also includes a return bus ride back to Fira.   Those buses usually run on a schedule which they will give you at the boat.  

 

If you do not want to buy the boat tour over to Oia (from below Fira) than you must make your way up to Fira via the donkeys, cable car, or a long uphill walk (be careful to avoid the donkey poop).  Fira and Oia are both walking towns so wear comfy shoes.   If you do decide to use public buses from Fira (there are multiple routes) you might want to ask someone to point you in the direction of the bus terminal (it is about a 15 min walk from the top cable car station) unless you have a decent map or a working phone (with GPS maps).  The buses that leave from Oia do generally keep to their schedule (which is posted at the bus terminal and can also be found online).  Right next to the bus terminal is the main taxi parking area for those that want to get a taxi from Fira.  Taxis are not cheap, but a reasonable option (especially if you have 4 to share).  The last time we were on the island (Aug 2021) a taxi to Oia (from Fira) was about 25 Euros.  The buses are reasonbly priced, but do involve the usual waiting (and sometimes crowding).  

 

Another option is to rent a car or a 4 wheel ATV vehicle.  The availability of rental vehicles is pretty limited (especially for cruisers) so if this is a goal you should book well in advance.  There are multiple rental agencies and we have no favorite.  Whoever has the vehicle and an office in Fira (generally a 10-15 min walk from the top cable car station) is good enough for us.   Having a rental vehicle does give folks a lot of flexibility to go anywhere on the island without waiting for buses.  The biggest downside to a rental vehicle is finding parking (and dealing with the road congestion) around Oia.  For Fira there is a decent parking lot/area on the end of town near the bus terminal.

 

Hank

[yoolykeme]

Okay, so what you are saying is that unless I take a cruise ship-sponsored excursion, we will have to endure some extra travel in order to get to the public area in order to take public transport or an independent tour guide, correct?.  That may prove difficult, since I'm going to be with my elderly mother.

[Hlitner]

On 7/6/2022 at 11:49 AM, yoolykeme said:

Okay, so what you are saying is that unless I take a cruise ship-sponsored excursion, we will have to endure some extra travel in order to get to the public area in order to take public transport or an independent tour guide, correct?.  That may prove difficult, since I'm going to be with my elderly mother.

In the case of Santorini this is the unavoidable fact.  Since only cruise line excursions use that small Athinios port (where folks can get off the tender and directly onto a tour bus) all the other options leave you on your own at that tiny port area that lies below Fira.  Getting to the cable car is a very short walk (less than a city block) but then there can be a queue and accessing the cable car (which is actually a series of connected cars) means dealing with some steps (up and down).  There is no way to directly access a vehicle (i.e. bus/car) from that small port area.  Independent guides (if you can find one) will generally arrange to meet their parties somewhere near the upper cable car station.  

 

Let me be very clear that Santorini, on your own, is an challenge for anyone with mobility issues.   If your Mom has issues with walking (and climbing some steps) than you should give serious consideration to a cruise line excursion.  However, keep in mind that even most excursions do involve a fair amount of walking since most visit Oia, Fira (both towns can only be navigated on foot), the ruins at Akritori (also involves some walking), etc.  On the other hand, going on your own does mean you can slow down the pace and take frequent breaks be it at a cafe or just sitting on a bench or wall

 

Hank

[pdmlynek]

On 7/6/2022 at 8:31 AM, Hlitner said:

...

But when you go on your own you will find yourself in this small area (below Fira) where you have a few options.  1.  You can take the donkey ride up to the top (Fira) which is not something most elect to do.  2.  You can take the cable car up to Fira (you do need to buy a ticket at the station).  or 3.  You can look for a boat tour (on the pier complex as you leave the tender area. 

...

 

 

 

I am not sure if it an option for @yoolykeme's elderly mother, but for most people there is another option: one can also just walk up to Fira.  It is just 600 stairs. 

[pdmlynek]

On 7/5/2022 at 11:26 PM, yoolykeme said:

Mykonos (11 hrs in port) looks like it's more of a beach place, with the towns being underwhelming, so I thought that a good idea would be to take a boat to Delos, spend a couple of hours, then back to Mykonos, take a bus to Mykonos Town/Chora for lunch, then take a bus to whatever the crazy party beach would be for a couple of hours, then back on the boat.

 

Would you have any insight on which Delos boat providers are out there, and if my idea of bussing to town and beach, then back to the port make sense?  Also, which is the fun party beach?

 

 

Like @carlmm wrote, this is a pretty reasonable rough draft of a plan.  A few points, though:

 

(1) Your ship will either dock at the New Port (37.4656°N 25.3227°E), or you'll tender to the northern side of the Old Port (37.4510°N 25.3268°E).  You should be told before the cruise which it will be, but in either case, there may be last minute change.

 

(2)  The New Port (or New Marina) is built about 2.5 km north of Mykonos Town.  There is nothing around it.  When you get off your ship, your first order of business is to get yourself to Mykonos Town.  From there, you can see Mykonos Town, catch a ferry to Delos, rent a car to sightsee Mykonos Island, or catch a bus to parts of Mykonos Island.  To get from the new Port to Mykonos Town, you'll need to walk, take a bus, or take a waterbus. 

 

More to come.

 

 

 

[pdmlynek]

Regarding the Buses on Mykonos:

 

There is a good network of buses in Mykonos.  Unfortunately, they may be are infrequent, or full.

 

There are two bus terminals in Mykonos Town: “Old Port” 37.4509°N 25.3286°E on the north side of Mykonos Town, and “Fabrika” 37.4429°N 25.3298°E on the south side of town.  The Old Port and Fabrika are 1.2 km, 0h15 walking from each other. 

 

Note that Old Port bus terminal is on the north side of Old Port; you still have to walk along the Old Port to get to Mykonos Town which is on the south side of Old Port. 

 

Fabrika bus terminal is really not a terminal, but a place close to an intersection where a bus can pull over.  You may not even recognize it if you are not paying attention.  Please use the above-given coordinates to locate it.

 

When you take a bus, make sure that you know which terminal in Mykonos Town you are to use.

 

You do not write when you'll be there, and schedules change frequently, but there are typically 15 bus routes on Mykonos:

 

New Port < – > Old Port (5 min)

New Port < – > Fabrika (10 min)

New Port < – > Airport

 

Old Port < – > Agios Stefanos Beach (20 min)

Old Port < – > Ano Mera (a town inland; 20 min)

Old Port < – > Kalafatis Beach (25 min)

Old Port < – > Elia Beach (25 min)

Old Port < – > Kalo Livadi Beach (25 min)

Old Port < – > Panormos Beach

 

Fabrika < – > Airport

Fabrika < – > Platis Gialos Beach (20 min)

Fabrika < – > Ornos & Agios Ioannis Beaches

Fabrika < – > Paradise Beach

Fabrika < – > Paraga Beach

Fabrika < – > Superparadise Beach

 

More at: https://mykonosbus.com/bus-timetables/ 

[yoolykeme]

Delos is mainly ruins, right?  I'd like to go, but I think my mom will be so tired of ruins by then lol.

 

So I think it'll be Chora and Ornos Beach.  Should I consider a different beach?

 

As for Santorini, it seems that even the shop excursion requires using the cable cars.  Here is an excerpt:

 

• This tour ends in the town of Fira, at the cable car station. Guests have the option of returning directly to the cruise ship via cable car (additional cost), or stay a bit longer in Fira at leisure and later take the cable car, in order to connect with a local boat transfer back to the cruise ship. On busy port days, long lines at the cable car should be expected.

 

I just saw a video of the donkeys, and now I'm sad 😕

[marazul]

6 hours ago, yoolykeme said:

Delos is mainly ruins, right?  I'd like to go, but I think my mom will be so tired of ruins by then lol.

 

So I think it'll be Chora and Ornos Beach.  Should I consider a different beach?

 

As for Santorini, it seems that even the shop excursion requires using the cable cars.  Here is an excerpt:

 

• This tour ends in the town of Fira, at the cable car station. Guests have the option of returning directly to the cruise ship via cable car (additional cost), or stay a bit longer in Fira at leisure and later take the cable car, in order to connect with a local boat transfer back to the cruise ship. On busy port days, long lines at the cable car should be expected.

 

I just saw a video of the donkeys, and now I'm sad 😕

I like Kalafatis or Paradise better.

Google "mykonos beaches" for pictures and details.

[bennybear]

Kalafatis beach

[cruisemom42]

On 7/11/2022 at 1:47 AM, yoolykeme said:

Delos is mainly ruins, right? 

 

Delos is ALL ruins. And a museum (of ruins).  I love it, it is a unique site.

 

 

18 hours ago, bennybear said:

Kalafatis beach

 

Did you have to pay extra for the wildlife or did it come with the chairs??  😲😲🤣🤣

 

 

[John Bull]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Did you have to pay extra for the wildlife or did it come with the chairs??  😲😲🤣🤣

 

 

Looks more like an altercation about just who is entitled to use that sun-bed 😂

 

JB 🙂

[bennybear]

4 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Delos is ALL ruins. And a museum (of ruins).  I love it, it is a unique site.

 

 

 

Did you have to pay extra for the wildlife or did it come with the chairs??  😲😲🤣🤣

 

 

Free with the chairs🤷‍♀️😜

14 minutes ago, John Bull said:

 

Looks more like an altercation about just who is entitled to use that sun-bed 😂

 

JB 🙂

I was a little nervous,  our Canada Geese are known as cobra chickens. 😳😂

Edited July 12, 2022 by bennybear

[cruisemom42]

6 minutes ago, bennybear said:

I was a little nervous,  our Canada Geese are known as cobra chickens. 😳😂

 

I know about that. We have some that winter in the green area (with lake) in our office park. I swear they used to lay in wait in the parking lot next to it for people to pass by, trying to get into the office in the morning....

[dani negreanu]

On 7/6/2022 at 6:26 AM, yoolykeme said:

Santorini (12 hrs in port) looks like bussing to Fira and Oia for the day, then back.

 

Our 2nd time in Santorini with the Beyond. The first time we took the "speed boat" to Oia (run by a private company), walked up 1/2 mile to the bus, to Oia, and from there, after 3 hours, to Thira. in 2014 it was 25 Euro pp. We waited quite a lot of time in the boat, until it was full.

 

I wanted to avoid sitting "duck" in a boat for half an hour or more due to the Covid situation, so this time, we opted for the ship excursion.... which is a rarity for us. 

 

The math was -- 55$ pp (including vouchers for the cable car - Athinios, Oia, Thira) vs. private speed boat (30 Euro pp + 6 Euro pp for the cable car down).

 

Yes, the ship's excursion was more expensive, but it ran smoothly, without any waiting time. For our peace of mind, it was well worth the difference in price.

 

[marshhawk]

So, do the tour buses return to the first port, or is everyone made to cable car down?  Currently we are booked on Carnival and they are not listing any excursions for Santorini or Mykonos.

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, marshhawk said:

So, do the tour buses return to the first port, or is everyone made to cable car down?  Currently we are booked on Carnival and they are not listing any excursions for Santorini or Mykonos.

Tour buses are only one-way (from the port).  All the tours of which we are aware will end by dropping their passengers off at Fira where folks will need to make their way down to the tender pier via the cable car or walking (we have never seen anyone ride the donkeys down).   I would assume that your Carnival cruise will eventually list excursions for both Santorini and Mykonos.  Excursions on both islands are pretty standard (for nearly all cruise lines).

 

Hank