Santorini question for those who've been there...

[slobopolis]

Is it easy to catch a bus to Oia in Thira? Just a little concerned that everything will be in Cyrillic which we can't read. Is it easy to figure out which bus is the one to Oia?

[Cruise Junky]

Very easy. The cruise line will give you a little map, but it's basically straight through the town to the main road and then head right. We just asked the bus driver's if they were going to Oia and hopped on. Interesting ride though - they can get pretty busy, but really easy to do, nothing to worry about.

[Bassethound]

Is Cryllic easier to decipher than the notes at teh bottom of the page???:p

 

Actually, plenty of people speak English, they have to to handle all of the tourists from the UK

[drwong]

From the cable car station, head right along the seawall towards the Cathedral. Make a left at the Cathedral, walk past the Archeological Museum, and look for a big open parking lot with a little convenience stand. That's the city bus depot. (pit toilets are immediately behind the stand). Various island buses will pull into the depot - the bus to OIA runs every half-hour (You can recognize the "OIA" sign in the bus's front window because the Greek letters for Oia are the same as the English ones).

 

Once the bus gets moving, a teenaged kid will work his way down the aisle selling tickets. He can make change if you only have Euro paper currency. Most passengers will be going to Oia, which is at the end of the route, but he can only sell you a one-way ticket. You'll have to buy the return ticket on ride back to Thira (which looks like "OIPA" in Greek, with a line through the middle of the "O").

 

Just make sure you've budgetted enough time for the return bus ride - it can take up to a half-hour, and there might be a big crowd at the cable car terminal if there are other cruise ships in the harbor.

[slobopolis]

Thanks, I will be printing out this thread!

[Aussie Gal]

The bus is very cheap. I think it only cost 0.99 euros. Make sure you have Euros with you. It doesn't take long to get to Oia, only about 20 minutes or so.

 

We found the price of food in the restaurants at Oia much more expensive than in Thira. When we visited, it was October and full of tourists.

 

Jennie

[tsfan12]

We were a family of five that took the bus- three weeks ago. Just fyi, you purchase the tickets directly in the bus (don't worry about going to the Ticket Office), and buses come every half hour. The buses do get crowded and people were pushing their way in- there really wasn't any type of line, just be ready when you see the green bus pull up with "Oia" in the front. It is easy and cheap.

[drwong]

And the bus IS crowded, especially during tourist season. You might find yourself standing up all the way to Oia if you're not aggressive in your boarding style. (we can always identify the American tourists - they insist on queuing up at the front of the bus, while the rest of us know we can use the rear entrance to board as the bus driver doesn't collect the fares as they do in the States).

[jstducky]

I was just in Santorini last week and we took the bus from Thira to Oia. It was really easy to find the bus station. When you get off at the cable car terminal turn to your right, start asking people for directions for the bus and they will point you in the right direction. As you get closer, you'll see signs that show you which way to the bus station and taxi stops.

 

Keep in mind that these "buses" that we are talking about aren't your average local bus, they are actually coaches, the same kind of coaches that tour companies use to take tourists around. There is a little kiosk when you arrive at the bus terminal, just ask them which bus to Oia and they will point you to the right one. When you board the bus, just double check with your driver that they are indeed going to Oia. Additionally, the sign in the front of the bus should state Thira-Oia.

 

The bus fare is 1,10 Euro per person, one way. If you visit Oia first in the mroning and then come back and visit Thira in the afternoon before boarding your ship, you shouldn't have any problems with crowds, as most people tend to visit Thira first and then do Oia in the afternoon.

 

Have fun!

[12B@C]

As was noted, the bus service on the island is very easy to handle and is very cheap. However, what we ended up doing (four of us) is to take a taxi to Oia as quickly as we could in the morning. That way we were well ahead of the large tourist groups. After lunch we took the local bus back. The bus stop in Oia is right in the main square and you cannot miss it.

 

You might have a look at:

http://www.*****.com/santorini.htm

[DaytonGirl]

This is the website for the Santorini bus system.

 

It has routes, times, pitctures of the buses, etc.

 

http://www.ktel-santorini.gr/

[jplewis]

Thanks, DaytonGirl for that website. It's great!

[Andym]

I think that the pictures that they show of the busses are probably the best busses they have, don't expect many of the busses to look like these. I'm sure that they are safe, but be prepared they are old and will probably be packed, but its all part of the fun and the experience, after all this is how the locals get about.