Hi I will be going to Greece on a cruise and the ship stops in Santorini for about 12 hours. what fastest and cheapest way to get off the hill. can anyone who has been to Santorini let me know how much a taxi or private care will cost to go up the hill to the top of Santorini. Has anyone took the steps before and is it a long process.
thanks
The cruiseships usually dock at Fira, there you can take the cable car up, a donkey or walk the 700 steps up.
There is no road to the dock where you will be tendered ashore. Your options are walking up 600+ donkey poo-covered steps or taking the cable car. Each step is 4-5 strides deep so it takes a lot of effort. Please DON'T ride the poor abused donkeys!
Until last August there was also the option of taking a water taxi from the tender dock straight to Amoudi Bay below Oia. The ticket price, €20, included a shuttle van up into Oia and a bus ticket back to Fira. From Fira you have to walk down the steps or take the cable car. This water taxi was discontinued because of unspecified "legal issues" and so far there's been no indication that it has been re-instated, but if it has that would be the best way to avoid the long lines for the cable car ride. The cable car only takes 36 passengers at a time, and if more than one ship is in port that day it can take a very long time to get up the cliff. I've read complaints of as much as a 2-hour wait. Good luck, I hope it all works out!
Cruise ship calendar: http://www.santorini.net/information/cruise-ship-calendar
Tempelton once you get to the top do you need a cab to get around or can you just walk everywhere on your own
Thank a lot for the help, once I get to the top will I need to hire a taxi to get around or can I just walk around everywhere on my own
You can walk around Fira easily enough but you'll need to take a bus or taxi to explore other areas of the island.
I wouldn't call it "exploration", more like "drive-by", but if all you want to do is get an eyeful of the island 10 hours will suffice.
that's an interesting link in #2, brotherleelove, I didn't realise the ships are running to such habitual schedules. looks as if Wednesdays are always a bad date to visit when there are regularly 10.000+ cruisers compared to Mondays/Tuesdays which can be considerably less busy. probably not as important during high season, however in the shoulder seasons I guess it might make a difference to some visitors, no? ;-)