Santorini Ferry boat to Oia?

[aussie cruzer]

Thanks, Aussie Cruzer! Hope you're having a great trip. :)

We are on the Reflection. .

..great ship & itinerary

[aussie cruzer]

Ferry takes 20 mins to Oia port.

 

 

 

 

[Xpto]

You can pay extra 5 Euro and include cable car on return to ship for 20 Euro all up

 

Hi,

Will be in Santorini next August with the Jade and we follow with attention all the posts regarding to Santorini.

Are you sure we can buy the ticket to the cable car when you buy the transfer to Oia? This is a wonderful news, because we don´t need to be in the queue to buy the ticket. I guess we can save some time when returning to ship!

Thanks for all the information and photos you share,

[Boscodog]

Aussie Cruzer

 

Your pictures are fantastic. This really gives me an excellent idea of what to expect when we go to Santorini in August. It seems very easy and we will take the speedboat to Oia first thing and then make our way back to Fira. Your picture even shows the zig zag trail down which I think we will tackle too. Other than the heat and the donkey situation, I don't think the walk down will be too bad.

 

Enjoy your day and the rest of your cruise. We are also sailing on the Reflection.

[aussie cruzer]

Aussie Cruzer

 

Your pictures are fantastic. This really gives me an excellent idea of what to expect when we go to Santorini in August. It seems very easy and we will take the speedboat to Oia first thing and then make our way back to Fira. Your picture even shows the zig zag trail down which I think we will tackle too. Other than the heat and the donkey situation, I don't think the walk down will be too bad.

 

Enjoy your day and the rest of your cruise. We are also sailing on the Reflection.

Thanks.

 

The walk down was easy....just follow signs for old port.

 

You can buy tickets for return trip on cable car....we did ,but didn't use them,we walked down....around 30 mins.

 

Cheers for everyone who posted on this thread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aussie cruzer]

Hi,

Will be in Santorini next August with the Jade and we follow with attention all the posts regarding to Santorini.

Are you sure we can buy the ticket to the cable car when you buy the transfer to Oia? This is a wonderful news, because we don´t need to be in the queue to buy the ticket. I guess we can save some time when returning to ship!

Thanks for all the information and photos you share,

You can buy tickets before.....but I'm not sure if you skip the queue as walked back.....easy if your relatively fit.

[Xpto]

You can buy tickets before.....but I'm not sure if you skip the queue as walked back.....easy if your relatively fit.

 

I already had that idea but with 2 daughters (9 and 3 years old) I’m not sure if that would be a good idea.

 

 

Thank you for your help.

[Host Jacquelyn]

Thanks.

 

The walk down was easy....just follow signs for old port.

 

You can buy tickets for return trip on cable car....we did ,but didn't use them,we walked down....around 30 mins.

 

 

Thanks so much for posting the pictures! They really help in planning. A few questions:

 

1. After the speed boat lets you off, is there a bus waiting to take you to Oia or did you need to wait long?
   
2. From Oia, how often does the bus run back to Fira? Is there a long line?
   
3. Was there anything worthwhile to see in Fira?
   
4. Was there an advantage to buying the cable car tickets in advance?
   

[aussie cruzer]

Thanks so much for posting the pictures! They really help in planning. A few questions:

 

1. After the speed boat lets you off, is there a bus waiting to take you to Oia or did you need to wait long?
   
2. From Oia, how often does the bus run back to Fira? Is there a long line?
   
3. Was there anything worthwhile to see in Fira?
   
4. Was there an advantage to buying the cable car tickets in advance?
   

Is was more ferry than speed boat....their was a 100 metre walk up a hill to reach buses lined up...their were around 4 buses waiting for everyone.

 

5 minute drive up to the main bus terminal in Oia and buses leave every hour back to Fira from terminal.

 

Fira has some nice shops and restaurants overlooking the ships and the walk down the donkey track was easy if you wear the correct shoes.

 

I grabbed a large beer from shop at start of track 2 Euro and had a leisurely walk.

 

All the donkeys I saw looked well looked after.

[aussie cruzer]

More photos.

 

 

 

 

 

[Host Jacquelyn]

Thanks for the pictures! The walk down doesn't look terrible. Was there any advantage to buying the cable car ticket in advance? I think we may just walk down, but just in case not.

[aussie cruzer]

Thanks for the pictures! The walk down doesn't look terrible. Was there any advantage to buying the cable car ticket in advance? I think we may just walk down, but just in case not.

As it turned out we paid for ticket in advance and didn't use it....lost 15 Euros.

 

If you are thinking about walking....don't buy them....my friends went back by cable car....I'll find out if they jumped the Queue by have tickets in advance.

 

We were half way down when they past us.....only 15 mins behind them.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Great news that the price has DROPPED!! We have decided to do this again; it's such an easy, nice way to visit Oia. I like the idea of pre-paying for the cable car; that should help with the line I would think. We waited in a line for about an hour last time to get down!

 

 

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[sasha6259]

You can buy tickets before.....but I'm not sure if you skip the queue as walked back.....easy if your relatively fit.

 

Hi there, so where can you buy the tickets for the cable car prior to arriving at the port. Thanks , Maria.

[Host Jacquelyn]

Hi there, so where can you buy the tickets for the cable car prior to arriving at the port. Thanks , Maria.

 

If you take the speedboat, you can pre purchase cable car tickets for the way down. I don`t think you can purchase cable car tickets prior to arriving at the port.

[FloridaTourist]

If you take the speedboat, you can pre purchase cable car tickets for the way down. I don`t think you can purchase cable car tickets prior to arriving at the port.

 

 

Was just there. True statement

 

 

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[PEKnCHUG]

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.

[aussie cruzer]

If you take the speedboat, you can pre purchase cable car tickets for the way down. I don`t think you can purchase cable car tickets prior to arriving at the port.

I asked my friends about Queue for cable car on way down......the bad news is theirs only one line and no separate line for ticket holders.

 

So no real advantage by paying earlier .

 

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[jenZ]

We just returned from our cruise, and can confirm the ferry ride is easy and fun. We took the first tender off ship at 7:15 am and found only one ferry boat ticket office open (or more properly stated, we just went to the first one we saw when walking left of the tender drop-off!).

 

This one, offered two types of tickets- €20 includes ferry, bus, and cable car; €15 for just ferry & bus. Not all in our group understood the two options as not all ticket takers explained it; however the signs were very clear. We did not wait long for the ferry to leave, but we had a group of 11 and at least 4 others were also on the ferry. I have read that they wait until they have at least 10 passengers.

 

We arrived at Oia approximately 8:15 am. The bus was at the dock level, so no walk up that steep road for us! It was a bit scary riding the bus!!!

 

The town was just waking up when we arrived so the quiet was as enjoyable as the views. We arrived just as the ship tour arrived so it wasn't crowded.

 

I did not hear any hints to set your watch to the bus times but that is good advice: the 9 of our group that took the bus back got split between two buses due to being at the end of the queue and not all got on the same bus.

 

The two of us that didn't ride the bus took the hike back to Fira. After exploring Oia for one hour, the buses from Fira started arriving and the town got more crowded quickly. So by 9:30 it was no longer a sleepy village but a tourist Mecca. The rest of our group seemed to enjoy it still and by then more of the shops were open.

 

I asked the ferry station why there was no return ferry, and was informed that it is the rule of the Port Authority. I speculate this is to keep the ship tourist revenue flow balanced between the two towns and to fund both the capital & maintenance investment in the cable car infrastructure. Fira was quite crowded at 1:00 even with less than 5000 cruise passengers in port that day.

 

For reference about the cable car line: by 3:00 or 3:30 the line had snaked past the intersection at the restaurant with the two level large patio that overlooks the cable car (the one towards Oia; the path winds all around so not sure how many restaurants there are that overlook the cable cars) One in our party took the cable car down and two of us took the steps. ( others were still shopping!) The cable car was down in 20 minutes including waiting in line, while it took us 45 minutes to walk from the cable car line through the village and down the stairs to the dock. Ironically both parties got on the same return tender, as the tender line was quite long when our friend got down from the cable car- there were two tenders at that time, and of course, she picked the wrong one! The second tender was still waiting to leave when we got to the dock. We got right on it.

 

So if you see two tenders when you are there, pick the line for the smaller tender regardless of the length of the line- it will fill up sooner and leave sooner!

 

 

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Edited May 22, 2016 by JenZ

[bogofman]

 

 

 

The two of us that didn't ride the bus took the hike back to Fira.

 

 

 

I assume the walk back from oia to fira is not along the road the bus takes but along the crater edge between the two towns.

 

In the past we started the walk from fira along the path but turned around due to the heat in August ( brits and the mid day sun :rolleyes:) we didn't get far. ( we had just walked up in 30+ degrees)

 

is it easy to find in oia?

 

this time in September we arrive at 2pm so the walk back would be in the early evening as the sun goes down.

 

is it possible to buy just the ferry part?

 

i assume these are private buses? not the public buses, do they leave from the same place at the back of the town

 

BTW i'm sure the local bus is only a euro or two.

 

 

Does anyone know if its possible to walk up to oia from the ferry drop off? like at fira?

 

we have seen similar paths goging down from oia, but don't know if they lead to the ferry point.

 

 

so far been to santorini 4 times and never yet taken the cable car up ( always walked up)

 

 

However it gets harder each time ( getting older is no fun :mad:)

[Chairsin]

The walk from Oia to Fira only briefly comes near the road the bus uses. Most of the time you are walking near the cliff edge. And the trail is easier to find coming out of Oia -- just past an small open plaza at the edge of town you will see the trail leading slightly uphill away from town near the cliff edge.

[Bobal]

The walk from Oia to Fira only briefly comes near the road the bus uses. Most of the time you are walking near the cliff edge. And the trail is easier to find coming out of Oia -- just past an small open plaza at the edge of town you will see the trail leading slightly uphill away from town near the cliff edge.

 

How long is the walk? As in how long would it take to do it

[Chairsin]

We did it in a bit under three as we stopped to take many pics -- other have mentioned 2-4 hours.

[JVilleGal]

Beautiful but a very long hot walk... 3+ hrs or more depending on how fit you are and proper shoes!

[jenZ]

Specific answers to your questions in all caps below. Walk is long but time went fast. It was cloudy when we went so heat was not a problem but would certainly be a different experience on a summer mid-day. It took us 4 hours! We had two water/bathroom breaks and lots of photo stops.

 

Enjoy!

 

I assume the walk back from oia to fira is not along the road the bus takes but along the crater edge between the two towns. YES

 

 

 

 

 

is it easy to find in oia? YES. TOWN STOPS, HILLS BEGIN!

 

 

 

 

 

is it possible to buy just the ferry part? YES, ferry is €15. Does include bus back to Fira but as you said, that is not much

 

 

 

i assume these are private buses? not the public buses, do they leave from the same place at the back of the town. NOT SURE- two buses, one from ferry dock ( seems like it could be a private), the other bus is a public bus that runs every hour between Oia & Fira ( the €1,80 one included in your ferry ticket)

 

 

 

BTW i'm sure the local bus is only a euro or two. - €1,80

 

 

 

 

 

Does anyone know if its possible to walk up to oia from the ferry drop off? like at fira? DON'T THINK ANYONE WOULD STOP YOU! IIT IS A VERY STEEP AND WINDING ROAD. THE FERRY SERVICE INCLUDES A BUS UP.

 

 

 

we have seen similar paths goging down from oia, but don't know if they lead to the ferry point.

 

 

 

 

 

so far been to santorini 4 times and never yet taken the cable car up ( always walked up)

 

 

 

 

 

However it gets harder each time ( getting older is no fun :mad:)