Santorini - What is the latest on Water Taxi?

[the admiral12]

Is it still possible/a good idea to take the water taxi from Fira to avoid the cable car/donkey lines?

 

I have read the previous posts but most of them are many months old.

 

Also, I see a company called NST recommended but I cannot find a website for them. I am on the Ruby, we will be there in the morning. We will be the only ship in port according to cruisett.

[Holly2]

NST still provides the service. Just go to the boatmens union office after you get off the tender. I had an email from them confirming. please post how it goes.

Will be there on the 18 th.

[the admiral12]

Holly2, are you doing the water taxi both ways or are you coming back another way?

[Holly2]

I was told for 20 euros you take a speed boat and bus to Oia and then after two hours, you take a bus back to Fira.

There's also a new website where you can book in advance ( Santoriniplanet) but you need to prepay. I plan to stick with nST.

[NextOne]

We're just back from a cruise that included Santorini. We went straight to the NST office when we got off the tender. For 20 euros per person, NST provides the boat trip to Oia (hold onto your hat if you are on the upper deck!), a shuttle bus to take you up the hill into town, and then your choice of a boat ride back to Fira or a shuttle bus to Fira that ran every hour.

We were happy with the service, because we were able to spend as much time as we wanted in Oia, then took the bus to see some of the island between Oia and Fira.

[mskaufman]

How long did you have to wait before the boat set off for Oia?

[NextOne]

How long did you have to wait before the boat set off for Oia?

About 1/2 hour overall. About 10 minutes before we could board, because they use the same boats to tender to the ships. They had to wait until a boat was free. Then about another 20 minutes or so while they filled up the boat. I didn't think it was an excessive wait.

[asda]

About 1/2 hour overall. About 10 minutes before we could board, because they use the same boats to tender to the ships. They had to wait until a boat was free. Then about another 20 minutes or so while they filled up the boat. I didn't think it was an excessive wait.

 

Hi. Glad you had a nice day. After reading these post I emailed santorini planet who give me all the details and how to book online. But after reading your review it sounds as though you can just go to the kiosk. Is that right? What time did you go and what time did you get the bus back?

[Holly2]

Did you have to wait for the cable car inFira to port. I'd like to see the area between Oia and Fira but don't know how long to plan on getting back to ship. ( two ships in port, 8PM departure)

[DreaAST]

Did you have to wait for the cable car inFira to port. I'd like to see the area between Oia and Fira but don't know how long to plan on getting back to ship. ( two ships in port, 8PM departure)

 

When we were there last week we tried to come back down by cable car around 6:00. The line was long! The last tender is at 7:30. We are not patient waiters so we walked over to the donkey path and rode the donkeys down. We also rode them up and had no wait either way. A ton of people were walking down the path as well.

[NextOne]

It was about 9:30 when we got off the tender at the old port. From there we walked directly to the NST office, which is close to the cable car entrance.

We caught the 1:00 shuttle bus to Fira. A little after 2 we decided to try the cable car down, but the line was so long (DH hates waiting!) so we walked down the donkey trail. It hadn't rained for a few days, so we only had to avoid the fresh donkey poop - the rest was pretty well decomposed. The smell, however, is pretty strong! Also, you had to watch your step because some of the stones are worn and slippery.

Those who waited for the cable car said it wasn't a bad wait, but make sure to leave at least an hour before your ship's last tender!

[Holly2]

Thanks. Taking the boat both ways is very tempting; don't have to worry about logistics.

How much do you see between Oia and Fira? Is Fira worth seeing?

[NextOne]

Both towns will be crowded with cruise passengers. We liked the bus because you got an idea of the terrain and housing outside of the towns. We just did some shopping in Fira and then headed back to the ship. I've read that there are some lovely spots and good food in Fira, so it sounds like it would be worth visiting on another trip.

[Holly2]

We ended up not taking the boat; there was going to be a 40 minute wait and virtually no line for cable car. The boat was not going back from Oia to port that day. ( tendering was a little rough so maybe that was why).

We did price out a 3 way itinerary with NST going from port to Oia to black sand beach and back to cable car. They quoted 180 euros for the 5 of us but we didn't want to be tied to their schedule.

For our group cabs turned out to be a better value and gave us flexibility.

Wonderful place. Can't go wrong :).