PEKnCHUG

Our family of 12 got PK Travel for our private 5 hours tour in Athens. We got a private van with driver plus also got a tour guide.

 

Upon disembark, both the driver and the tour guide were already waiting for us at the exit of the port. Both can speak English very well and are very professional. Since we got a private tour, we have the time on our own terms and the driver and the guide were very accommodating.

 

I would definitely recommend PK Travel and will contact them on my next visit in Greece.

I started to post regarding our tour, but this says it perfectly. So I will say I agree 100%. Our tour guide was Georgia and all 10 people in our group thought that she was great.

I am the person that started this post, and would like to thank all those that have made posts. We are now home and letting you know the speed boat to Oia went very well.

Easy to get the boat tickets with two different companies just to the left of the tender drop off point. No lines for us when we got off the ship about 8:00am. They did say every 20 minutes but it was close to 40 minutes. I suspect that they were trying to fill the boat before leaving.

The cost is 15 euro , which includes the speedboat ride to Oia, a bus from the dock to the town of Oia, and also a bus ride from Oia to Fira.

Be aware there is a steep incline hill (maybe 1/2 block) from dock to get to the bus. Also after being dropped off in Oia they have you set your time (once an hour) as to when you want to catch the bus into Fira. We set ours for 2 hours, but really wished we had planned to stay longer. It was a great little town to roam around and enjoy the views.

I would NEVER think of walking from Oia to Fira, but hats off to those that can. :D I would not even think of doing a walk from Fira down to Oia, as it did not appear to be pedestrian friendly. But that is my thoughts.

The cost of cable from Fira back down to the tender port is 5 euro and was not sold with the speedboat ticket as we had originally thought.

Happy travels.

Currently sitting on the speed boat to Oia. Price this year is 15e plus 5e for the cable car down. Arrived on the Oosterdamn. One other ship in port but can't see the name. Line for cable car up is pretty long. Beautiful day here. ]

 

 

Thank you so much FloridaTourist. :) We have finally gotten our answer to make sure that it is running this year. Please let us know how the bus portion went.

When I checked the Santorini Excursions website today, I did not see the speed boat and bus service offered on their website. Is this something you have to contact them and inquire?

 

 

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It was not on the website, so I sent them an email. Their response was what I posted. That is the reason I am anxiously awaiting responses from anyone that has actually gone this season. Am a little nervous about cancelling other plans until someone confirms that they are running as stated.

This is the response that I received from Santorini Excursions. I am in hopes that someone will report back that they are indeed operating this season.

This kind of tour is available. It begins from the old port of Fira with a speedboat and you gonna reach Ammoudi bay in only 10 minutes. In this bay there will be a private bus which going to take you to the top of the village of Oia.

In Oia you will have free time to enjoy the famous village and then every one hour there is a private bus from the same spot that we left you and with the same ticket it goes to Fira town.

In Fira the free time depends from the departure time of the last tender to return back on your cruise ship.

In order to see availability please tell how exactly how many adults and how many children you are. Children below 6 years old don’t pay at all but please mention them. Official price is 20€ per person.

Chloe Kitty - thank you again for all the information.

Last Oct., we took the ferry to Oia. If I remember correctly, it was very inexpensive. Once we arrived a bus took us up a hill. From there it was a very short walk into town. A few hours later, we took the bus, that was part of the package, back to Fira. Very nice day.

Thank you chloe kitty, do you recall the name of the company? Did you have reservations for this or did you just get a ticket at the old port? Once in Fira, you purchased your own cable ticket to get back down the hill?

This company operated a ferry from the port to Oia (with bus included for the way back) when we were there last summer http://www.santorini-excursions.com/ They were one of two of three companies operating excursions and boats to Oia

 

You could email them to ask what their schedule will be this year.

Thank you. I will, and report findings. Happy Easter.:)

FWIW: I found a reference and link to a water taxi on a private tour site. The water taxi site had a notice that they could no longer provide services to Fira dock due to legal issues.

 

 

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Thank you Jen. I saw that too. We can keep our fingers crossed and wait to hear from those going in March and early April to see what they have found while there.

I will be there May 1 and have booked a ship tour just in case, but with the hopes of cancelling if Oia boat is running.

My question is, how do you know which size of ferry/hydrofoil that you are getting when purchasing the ticket? Are there 2 or 3 sizes of ferries?

The Ferry schedule online refers to a "High Speed Ferry", "Ferry" and "Slow Ferry". Was checking for ideas and not trying to buy online.

Tom's Port Guide says "I think size matters. Next time, I'll try to book on the biggest boats. Photo at left is one of the larger, more comfortable hydrofoil boats. "

A big thank you to Hank and others that have posted very useful tips on where and when to purchase the tickets.

My hubby can get seasick. The Bonine, wrist band and Verti-Go-Less already packed. I am thinking if we can get there fast but cut down the odds of sickness a little, I should try.

Thank you.

Peggy

Wdavid, I see that you were on Celebrity, we will be on the Constellation. I reviewed their ship tour "Village Of Oia & Santorini Island", thinking that would be a good plan B to at least getting off the ship early and heading to Oia before the crowds.

About how much time were you in Oia and how long did it take to get there? Most of the reviews say that they only had 45 minutes in Oia, if so, I can't imagine that would be enough time to truly enjoy the town.

Thank you and appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you for your input. I will hope for "perfect", but try to be careful.

You must be proud of all of your hard work. It was exactly what I was looking for too, along with SO many others. This still going for almost a year. Good Job and Thank You.

Thank you cruisequeen4ever for your input. This sounds like a great way to start our day in Santorini. I will keep fingers crossed that it is available again 2016 season.

Thank you Hank. Didn't think about the winter season. I am working our April/May cruise so I am in that mode.

Have a wonderful trip and hope to hear back from you.

Any cruisers in the last couple of months know if there is a boat from the "old port", where we are dropped off by the tender, to the Oia port?

I have searched till my fingers tips are bare. :)

Some state yes, but mostly in older posts. Then other posts and travel guides state that only ship excursions, donkey trail or cable cars are the way to leave the area. One website showed boats closed due to "legal issues".

Really appreciate any input.

Glad to hear your trip went well. We are scheduled for 4/2016 and had been a bit concerned about the Greece ports. Keep hearing not to be concerned with money nor political issues there, but would love to hear from someone that has been there recently.

Any problems or challenges?