Our experience and some tips for Santorini including tender boats and cable car ride

[alpencoolcruiser]

Hello All, my first ever visit to Santorini was during our recent cruise on Virgin Voyages at the end of May this year. I was surprised to learn to get to those pretty villages was not as straight forward as I expected and all ways to get up there seems to involve a lot of time and when not planned could turn out nightmarish instead. So here is what I hope to be a helpful video from tender boat to cable car and where other options are as well.

 

[alpencoolcruiser]

Blog post with more details and information now published. https://zeweekendtraveller.com/index.php/europe/greece/from-santorini-old-port-to-fira/

 

[alpencoolcruiser]

12 hours ago, alpencoolcruiser said:

Blog post with more details and information now published. https://zeweekendtraveller.com/index.php/europe/greece/from-santorini-old-port-to-fira/

 

We went up and down with the cable car with zero queues both ways : we just went on through but it is all about the timing of choosing when to disembark. Seeing Santorini was really cheap too - the return tickets for the cable car was provided by Virgin and the bus from Fira to Oia only costed 1,60 Euros each way and what we got was a lifetime of photo memories

[CruiserBruce]

Nice video, brought back memories. 

 

I guess the message is either go ashore after the rush...maybe long after the rush. Or go when there isn't other ships visiting?

[alpencoolcruiser]

3 hours ago, CruiserBruce said:

Nice video, brought back memories. 

 

I guess the message is either go ashore after the rush...maybe long after the rush. Or go when there isn't other ships visiting?

Right - but i think the ideal time is around lunch when people want to come back , then go. 😄 

 

[alpencoolcruiser]

Next up...  How to take the public bus from Fira to Oia 

https://youtube.com/shorts/-dvqd9xdPfM?feature=share

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by alpencoolcruiser

[alpencoolcruiser]

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Edited July 7, 2023 by alpencoolcruiser
wrong window

[mapleleaves]

On 7/4/2023 at 9:57 PM, alpencoolcruiser said:

Right - but i think the ideal time is around lunch when people want to come back , then go. 😄 

 

 

Glad this timing worked for you, but that doesn't mean you cracked the code!  🙂 That wasn't my experience.

 

I think people need to look at the big picture.  It's not just HOW MANY ships are in port with you, but also what time they arrive and depart.  Their arrival and departure times create the biggest impact.  And even then there's no guarantee what your situation will be.

For instance, we arrived at 1:30pm, had tender #3.  The only ship in port when we arrived was a COSTA from 7am - 4pm with 2800 pax.  Realistically we shouldn't have had a long wait for the cable car. The only people ahead of us would be our fellow pax from tenders 2 and 3.  The Costa pax wouldn't be standing in a long line when they had to be back onboard in an hr.  Yet we waited 2 hrs for the cable car !! Got to Fira at 4pm!  

We considered the speed boat but it sat there for an hour waiting for more pax.  We didn't expect to be waiting another hr for the cable car.  So in hindsight we should have taken the boat. Walking the steps wasn't an option.

We wandered around Fira for awhile taking photos of the views and churches, then went to the bus station. The bus to Oia leaves every 30 minutes. We had just missed it. Never saw a taxi.  We didn't want to get stranded in Oia so we decided to watch the sunset from the ship. Returned to the cable car around 7pm.  No one in line! The Costa ship had already left.  It was wonderful to watch the lights slowly coming on across the cliffs. The view from the ship was awesome. 

My original plan for Santorini was to take a basic NCL excursion to Oia, but it was sold out.  There was room on the Spanish speaking tour .... should've taken it. 

Santorini is a tough port.  I thought we'd be ok  since our only neighbor was Costa and it's hours didn't seem impactful. But geez, were we surprised. 

My advice is to take ships excursion to get TO Santorini, then be VERY mindful of the departure times of the other ships when you plan your return.  

 

 

 

 

[majmaj4]

Does anyone know if you are waiting for the cable car do they start giving priority to the ships that are about to leave?  
 

my ship is scheduled 7-5,  there are a few 2-3 other boats that are there 8-6 ish.  I am trying to figure out how early I would need to be in line.  I would be concerned about the donkey/donkey poop obstacle course down the hill.

[alpencoolcruiser]

3 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

 

Glad this timing worked for you, but that doesn't mean you cracked the code!  🙂 That wasn't my experience.

 

I think people need to look at the big picture.  It's not just HOW MANY ships are in port with you, but also what time they arrive and depart.  Their arrival and departure times create the biggest impact.  And even then there's no guarantee what your situation will be.

For instance, we arrived at 1:30pm, had tender #3.  The only ship in port when we arrived was a COSTA from 7am - 4pm with 2800 pax.  Realistically we shouldn't have had a long wait for the cable car. The only people ahead of us would be our fellow pax from tenders 2 and 3.  The Costa pax wouldn't be standing in a long line when they had to be back onboard in an hr.  Yet we waited 2 hrs for the cable car !! Got to Fira at 4pm!  

We considered the speed boat but it sat there for an hour waiting for more pax.  We didn't expect to be waiting another hr for the cable car.  So in hindsight we should have taken the boat. Walking the steps wasn't an option.

We wandered around Fira for awhile taking photos of the views and churches, then went to the bus station. The bus to Oia leaves every 30 minutes. We had just missed it. Never saw a taxi.  We didn't want to get stranded in Oia so we decided to watch the sunset from the ship. Returned to the cable car around 7pm.  No one in line! The Costa ship had already left.  It was wonderful to watch the lights slowly coming on across the cliffs. The view from the ship was awesome. 

My original plan for Santorini was to take a basic NCL excursion to Oia, but it was sold out.  There was room on the Spanish speaking tour .... should've taken it. 

Santorini is a tough port.  I thought we'd be ok  since our only neighbor was Costa and it's hours didn't seem impactful. But geez, were we surprised. 

My advice is to take ships excursion to get TO Santorini, then be VERY mindful of the departure times of the other ships when you plan your return.  

 

 

 

 

That is right and exactly what I did - as I wrote in my blog post that I checked the other ships' schedule to decide when to go on shore. Of course it is not a sure thing and we got lucky without any queues both ways. 

[alpencoolcruiser]

13 minutes ago, majmaj4 said:

Does anyone know if you are waiting for the cable car do they start giving priority to the ships that are about to leave?  
 

my ship is scheduled 7-5,  there are a few 2-3 other boats that are there 8-6 ish.  I am trying to figure out how early I would need to be in line.  I would be concerned about the donkey/donkey poop obstacle course down the hill.

I'm afraid I don't know and hope someone would have an answer for you - but I definitely would spare plenty of buffer for getting down eg more than 2 hours. The stairs should be your backup option though. 

[mapleleaves]

39 minutes ago, majmaj4 said:

Does anyone know if you are waiting for the cable car do they start giving priority to the ships that are about to leave?  
 

my ship is scheduled 7-5,  there are a few 2-3 other boats that are there 8-6 ish.  I am trying to figure out how early I would need to be in line.  I would be concerned about the donkey/donkey poop obstacle course down the hill.

No one watches the line or manages it.

If there are a few ships in port, cruiseline employees MAY be there and will be communicating with the ship about the length of the line.

[Vineyard View]

Wow. This all sounds like such a frustrating set up that the officials in Santorini have taken no control over. After reading these threads it just seems sad that these many ships are allowed in a day. It doesn’t really sound like it’s set up for a port that you look back on and say “what a great day that was” - instead I hear “the lines were really bad and it was so crowded, etc…”. Kind of takes the excitement right out of visiting Santorini. At least unless it’s winter months. Maybe then. 
I am glad that you all have posted your experience though. It helps set realistic expectations. 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Vineyard View

[alpencoolcruiser]

If Santorini is high on your places to visit, then I would suggest choosing a cruise that would stay in port longer and not a rushed visit: We were on the Virgin Voyages - Greek Island Glow and they stayed from 9am - 10pm which then gives you more flexibility to plan your visit. 

[alpencoolcruiser]

On 7/8/2023 at 5:55 AM, Vineyard View said:

Wow. This all sounds like such a frustrating set up that the officials in Santorini have taken no control over. After reading these threads it just seems sad that these many ships are allowed in a day. It doesn’t really sound like it’s set up for a port that you look back on and say “what a great day that was” - instead I hear “the lines were really bad and it was so crowded, etc…”. Kind of takes the excitement right out of visiting Santorini. At least unless it’s winter months. Maybe then. 
I am glad that you all have posted your experience though. It helps set realistic expectations. 

Knowing the situation in advance can really help to plan for it. We had a great day and I got some fantastic shots there. Here is a very short video of Oia. 

 

 

[zdcatc12]

On 7/9/2023 at 4:19 AM, alpencoolcruiser said:

If Santorini is high on your places to visit, then I would suggest choosing a cruise that would stay in port longer and not a rushed visit: We were on the Virgin Voyages - Greek Island Glow and they stayed from 9am - 10pm which then gives you more flexibility to plan your visit. 

Our Celestyal is from 0700-0030 and, as of now anyway, only has one other ship in port that day.

[alpencoolcruiser]

Santorini blog post is live 

https://zeweekendtraveller.com/index.php/europe/greece/seeing-santorini-in-a-few-hours/

[aeb9]

On 7/4/2023 at 12:13 AM, alpencoolcruiser said:

We went up and down with the cable car with zero queues both ways : we just went on through but it is all about the timing of choosing when to disembark. Seeing Santorini was really cheap too - the return tickets for the cable car was provided by Virgin and the bus from Fira to Oia only costed 1,60 Euros each way and what we got was a lifetime of photo memories

@alpencoolcruiser what time did you disembark from the ship? thank you! 

[alpencoolcruiser]

15 minutes ago, aeb9 said:

@alpencoolcruiser what time did you disembark from the ship? thank you! 

we disembarked at 13:00