Getting confused about the ship excursions to Oia to avoid cable car

[budmeister]

Hi,

 

I booked a ship excursion to Oia to avoid the cable car issue as I have a private excursion. I thought that meant somethin like a tender type boat to Oia. Then I read about a bus when you get off the small boat, which made me think the tender type boat does not go directly to Oia. My actual destination is Vista Yachting- the blue dot on the top right of the pic. Does the small boat leave me a a better location than taking the bus to Oia? Would there be transportation from the small boat to where I am going? Is Athinios port by any chance where the small boat leaves us? 

Thanks for any help. I thought I had it all planned out until I read about the bus! 

 

[MeHeartCruising]

7 hours ago, budmeister said:

Hi,

 

I booked a ship excursion to Oia to avoid the cable car issue as I have a private excursion. I thought that meant somethin like a tender type boat to Oia. Then I read about a bus when you get off the small boat, which made me think the tender type boat does not go directly to Oia. My actual destination is Vista Yachting- the blue dot on the top right of the pic. Does the small boat leave me a a better location than taking the bus to Oia? Would there be transportation from the small boat to where I am going? Is Athinios port by any chance where the small boat leaves us? 

Thanks for any help. I thought I had it all planned out until I read about the bus! 

 

 

What exactly does the ship excursion say it will do?

 

Typically, ship excursions tender passengers to Athinios port where they meet buses that take you to the excursion locations.  After that is done, the ship repositions to the Old Port where they tender the rest of the passengers to the cable car lower station.  At this cable car location, there is usually a private boat (or 2) that sell tickets to Oia.  These boats are not part of any ship excursion.  These are the boats that generally sit there until they are full.  Once they are full, they head toward Oia.  Included in this boat is a bus ride from the port below Oia (it is not Athinios!) up to Oia.  They also, I think, include a ticket for the public bus ride back to Fira (the upper town where the cable car ends).

 

The map you posted indicates that you want to get to Fira.  I think your fastest route to get up there is via the cable car or the donkey path.  Or take a ship excursion that brings you back to Fira (most do) in time to meet your appointment.  With your long day in port, perhaps that is what you had in mind.

[Hlitner]

An option used by some is to book a ship excursion that takes them to Oia.  Once at Oia. some will leave their excursion (always tell your guide you are leaving) and can than do their own thing (stay as long as you please).  From Oia, you can take the regional bus back to the bus terminal in Fira.  Otherwise, you can stay with your excursion and go where they go.

 

What you read is correct.  There are no ship excursions that go directly from the ship to Oia.  The bus ride from Athinios (where you will be tendered) to Oia is usually about 30 minutes (it can be longer if traffic is congested around Oia).

 

Hank

[Vineyard View]

20 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

An option used by some is to book a ship excursion that takes them to Oia.  Once at Oia. some will leave their excursion (always tell your guide you are leaving) and can than do their own thing (stay as long as you please).  From Oia, you can take the regional bus back to the bus terminal in Fira.  Otherwise, you can stay with your excursion and go where they go.

 

What you read is correct.  There are no ship excursions that go directly from the ship to Oia.  The bus ride from Athinios (where you will be tendered) to Oia is usually about 30 minutes (it can be longer if traffic is congested around Oia).

 

Hank

We are also trying to figure out Santorini if we stay with the itinerary we are on. It includes a high count of ship pax that day as well. We aren’t ship excursions people and often do what you suggest. Is the regional bus frequent and direct, or multiple stops?  Approximately how long does it take?  Do you know if cabs are available and if that makes sense?  Thank you. 

Edited July 10, 2023 by Vineyard View

[Hlitner]

3 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

We are also trying to figure out Santorini if we stay with the itinerary we are on. It includes a high count of ship pax that day as well. We aren’t ship excursions people and often do what you suggest. Is the regional bus frequent and direct, or multiple stops?  Approximately how long does it take?  Do you know if cabs are available and if that makes sense?  Thank you. 

The entire situation with Santorini sucks (for lack of a better word).  That island has become the poster child for "overtourism."  At one time it was among our favorite cruise ports, but these days I could  care less if we ever returned via cruise (we would fly to Santorini or take a ferry for a several day stay).

 

Many folks are booking excursions out of desperation to avoid the cable car snafu (at least one-way).  If you do decide to DIY, than our best advice is to try and get on the earliest tender.  Once ashore (the small port below Fira is actually called Skala) you will normally have 4 options.  1.  Wait in the queue for the cable car.  2.  Take a donkey up the road to Fira.  3.  Walk up the road/steps to Fira and 4. Get one of the private water taxis to Oia (they depart from the same area where the tender drops you at Skala).

 

As to taxis, their main parking/staging area in Fira is located just before you get to the bus depot.  There are usually some taxis parked in the large lot and they used to charge about 25 Euros to go to Oia.  I assume it now costs more!  Getting a taxi back from Oia (they usually pick up at the same place as the bus) can be difficult.  Sometimes there will be a taxi waiting at Oia, but many times there are no taxis.  DO NOT DEPEND ON GETTING A TAXI BACK FROM OIA IF YOU MUST BE SOON BACK AT THE FIRA TENDER PIER!   The buses back to Fira (from Oia) are dependable (they can sometimes run a little late) but these buses are first come-first serve and can get completely full!   We always suggest that DIYers plan on getting back to Fira at least 2 hours before their last tender and be prepared for a long queue to get the cable car back down to Skala.

 

Here is my important tip.  We have never seen a cruise ship leave Santorini when they are aware of folks stuck in the cable car line (trying to get down to the tenders).  Most cruise ships will have a crew member at the top station who has a radio (or phone) to communicate with their ship.  It is common for ships to delay their departure until they can get all their folks down to the tenders.  That being said, there is always a "first time" when a Captain might actually leave on time and strand some passenger :(.   Just keep in mind that if there are 1200 folks waiting to get down to the tenders it would take at least 2 hours to move those folks.  The alternative is to walk down the donkey trail (and not slip/slide on donkey poo).

 

Hank

 

Most folks will not want to walk up so that leaves the other 3 options.  Since you cannot reserve or pre-purchase tickets on the water taxis (to Oia), we think the best option is to deal with the situation as it exists when you get ashore.  If the cable car line is not too long (it can move 600 persons per hour) than that is a good option.  The water taxi over to Oia is a terrific option if there is one of those boats that will leave shortly after you board (you need to talk with the boat operator about how long until they go).  Once at the small port below Oia, the boat operators company usually has a van/mini bus to get you up the hill to Oia (or you could walk).  

 

So lets talk about the regional public buses.  From Fira, you catch them at the bus depot which is located about a 15 min hike from the top of the cable car.  They used to run about once every 40 min (not sure of the current schedule) and they can quickly fill-up.  Here is the link to the current island bus schedule: https://santorinibus.com.  They do actually try to keep to the schedule and its about a 25-30 minute ride between Fira and Oia.  The Oia bus stop is in a parking lot right in front of the town.

 

Finding the bus depot in Fira can be a little tricky for first-timers so you might want to download a map (or pick one up when you get on Santorini).  If you are looking at Fira from the sea, the bus station is towards the right side of the town and at the inland side (which is where the main road is located).  Walking from the top cable car station to the bus depot will take you through much of Fira and you will see tons of shops and cafes :).

 

[Vineyard View]

Thank you Hank. What a pain. It’s too bad they don’t limit number of pax like Dubrovnik does now. 
So, the water taxis to Oia….are they operating with passengers only to Oia and do not bring pax back to port? It would seem like this should be return option, but what do I know. 

[budmeister]

1 hour ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

What exactly does the ship excursion say it will do?

 

Typically, ship excursions tender passengers to Athinios port where they meet buses that take you to the excursion locations.  After that is done, the ship repositions to the Old Port where they tender the rest of the passengers to the cable car lower station.  At this cable car location, there is usually a private boat (or 2) that sell tickets to Oia.  These boats are not part of any ship excursion.  These are the boats that generally sit there until they are full.  Once they are full, they head toward Oia.  Included in this boat is a bus ride from the port below Oia (it is not Athinios!) up to Oia.  They also, I think, include a ticket for the public bus ride back to Fira (the upper town where the cable car ends).

 

The map you posted indicates that you want to get to Fira.  I think your fastest route to get up there is via the cable car or the donkey path.  Or take a ship excursion that brings you back to Fira (most do) in time to meet your appointment.  With your long day in port, perhaps that is what you had in mind.

Hi,

 

The ship excursion desc. does not say, and my private excursion is at 10 am. No easy answers!

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, budmeister said:

Hi,

 

The ship excursion desc. does not say, and my private excursion is at 10 am. No easy answers!

 

The ship excursion must have some description, yes?  What is it?

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you Hank. What a pain. It’s too bad they don’t limit number of pax like Dubrovnik does now. 
So, the water taxis to Oia….are they operating with passengers only to Oia and do not bring pax back to port? It would seem like this should be return option, but what do I know. 

The authorities have tried to enforce some limits and stagger ship arrivals/departures, but the results do not seem to be very good.  The water taxis (simply small boats) are privately operated by some locals and march to their own drum (they leave when they please and even cancel when they please).  Unless they have recently changed their system, they only provide one-way from the pier at Fira to the small pier at Oia.  The last time we did this water taxi (about 2 years ago) their fare included a return bus (from Oia to Fira) which departed on a set schedule.  Their bus was a private bus and not part of the island's public bus system.  

 

We have long wondered why they do not offer a return boat option (Oia to Fira) but suspect it is because they do not operate on a set schedule.  Their philosophy seems to be that the boats sit at Fira until they are adequately full which can be 5 minutes or 2 hours!  Once they drop the folks at Oia, they turn around and head back, empty, to Fira.

 

The one recent development is that some of the ship excursions are now including a return tender from Athinios to the ship.  We think this is a good idea and if more excursions would operate this way, it would sure help shorten the queues to go down on the cable car.  That does not help those of us who dislike excursions (that would be me).  

 

By the way, since we are on the Santorini topic I should mention that some DIY folks (including me) have been known to rent a car (pick up at Fira) or what they call "Quads" to get around the island.  My only problem with a rental car is parking near Oia...which can be a major challenge. 

 

Hank

[marazul]

2 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you Hank. What a pain. It’s too bad they don’t limit number of pax like Dubrovnik does now. 
So, the water taxis to Oia….are they operating with passengers only to Oia and do not bring pax back to port? It would seem like this should be return option, but what do I know. 

They go only one way. All the services in the island have deals to give customers to each other.  So you can take the boat, but you have to use the bus and cable car to get back.

 

You know my take - fly to Santorini and skip it as a cruise port. 😁

[zdcatc12]

I read all kind of things about the "donkey path", but nothing about actually riding them to the top. Is that doable, or are they cargo haulers only?

Edited July 10, 2023 by zdcatc12

[MeHeartCruising]

10 minutes ago, zdcatc12 said:

I read all kind of things about the "donkey path", but nothing about actually riding them to the top. Is that doable, or are they cargo haulers only?

 

Oh, they are primarily for hauling tourists up the cliff (and down, I think).

 

 

Edited July 10, 2023 by MeHeartCruising