Santorini and Mykonos

[P&M_LTC]

Hi Everyone,

 

Now that we are going to Santorini and Mykonos instead of Istanbul, what is worth seeing on each island? Are there any good tours or can these be done on our own on foot from the ship.

 

Has anyone found a good tour?

 

 

Thanks

 

P&M:)

[Sea Belle]

We're doing the Sept. 30 on the K and have the same changes. I'll be interested in the answers also. :D

[kazu]

OMG - Santorini is gorgeous. Get a private tour (buses can't get where the private tours go) and enjoy. It's exquisite.

 

Mykonos is wonderful.

 

Of course they are different from Istanbul but they are really wonderful ports IMO.

 

You are really going to enjoy them. JMO :)

[carolmacey]

We did Mykonos in 2005 with DH's parents. We walked into town, all flat along the beach. Very pretty. Walked out to the windmills, etc. Stopped for great Baklava.

Very easy day.

 

 

Have done Santorini several times. First visit was with a tour company. Picked us up at top of cable car. Had 8 of us in a van. Saw lots. Can't say who, but I'm sure there are many available.

Best part of Santorini in my opinion is the town of Oia, pronounced Eeya. This is the town in ALL the photos of Santorini. Walking through the streets is fun. Oia is one of my favorite places in the world.

You can take a local bus, but it is an adventure. I would suggest a cab, also at the top of the cable car. I do not suggest the donkey ride up the hill, so pray that the cable car is working. Don't worry if lines seem long, they move pretty fast.

Have a great day!!

[navybankerteacher]

Mykonos is an easy do it yourself walkabout, while Santorini calls for a tour, or at least a taxi ride, up to Oia - the quintessential Aegean island town -- gleaming whitewashed buildings with sky blue domed roofs.

 

If you are tempted to ride the donkeys rather than the cable car (or walk) up from tender landing, do it on the way up - I saw three people slide down the necks of their downward-slanted mounts and land on the dung-covered path.

[FRANKIEDNYC]

:) During the Grand Med 2016, we took the donkey ride up the hill. It was so much fun and one of the highlights of the whole trip. However We didn't have the nerve to take one down.

[UPNYGuy]

In all of our cruises, Santorini is still our favorite port. Mykonos is up there too. You will love it! Pay attention, and you will see Sea Diamond's resting place. It is close to where the ships moor. It is currently surrounded by a large oil net. Sea Diamond (if you aren't aware) is a cruise ship that hit the caldera wall and sank.

[serendipity1499]

Mykonos is an easy do it yourself walkabout, while Santorini calls for a tour, or at least a taxi ride, up to Oia - the quintessential Aegean island town -- gleaming whitewashed buildings with sky blue domed roofs.

 

If you are tempted to ride the donkeys rather than the cable car (or walk) up from tender landing, do it on the way up - I saw three people slide down the necks of their downward-slanted mounts and land on the dung-covered path.

 

:) During the Grand Med 2016, we took the donkey ride up the hill. It was so much fun and one of the highlights of the whole trip. However We didn't have the nerve to take one down.

 

My First cruise ever was a Greek Islands cruise many many years ago ..Santorini & Mykonos were two of my favorite places..

 

If you are so inclined, agree that you should ride the donkey's up not down.. I did it when I was much younger & loved it.. It is not a soft ride, :eek: but it was so much fun.. Now that I'm older, I probably would stick to the cable car..LOL

[Vict0riann]

We did a tour to the island of Delos from Mykonos. It was amazing. The whole island is an open-air museum. I'm not sure if it can be done privately, we did a ship's shore excursion.

[Cruising-along]

In Santorini we took the cable car up and walked to a nearby rental car agency. As we waited for the paperwork, an elderly woman (mother of the owner) treated us to some wine from their own vineyard. :D We spent the day driving to a winery and browsing, shopping and lunching in Oia. So very beautiful, one of my best port memories.

 

In Mykonos we took the Delos tour through the ship. Another fantastic day, ruins and beautiful cats in Mykonos everywhere. I was in heaven and never wanted to leave. :)

[cruisemom42]

Ferries leave several times in the morning from Mykonos to Delos and return again at regular intervals from Delos to Mykonos, so it is easy enough to do this on your own if you want. The tickets are sold from an office on the main road in Mykonos Town (facing the water). You can purchase just the ferry ride or you can purchase a tour.

 

On Santorini, if you want to go to Oia, you no longer have to go up the cliff to Thira first (via donkey or cable car), unless you want to. There is a ferry that takes you from where the tenders land over around the island to Oia. You still have to take the bus back to Thira and the cable car back down to the ship at the end of the day. Santorini also has some impressive ruins of a bronze age settlement at Akrotiri that are worth seeing.

[take us away]

Agree with the tour of Delos. It is easy to do by yourself as you can take the ferry across and pick up a tour guide at the ruins. Loved the cable car in Santorini and the donkeys going up was a unique experience.

 

This may help: Tom has some great suggestions and information on several ports including Mykonos and Santorini (which are too large to attach).

 

tomsportguides.com/port-guides.html

[Tropic]

We just got back from an extended cruise in the Med. We visited Santorini twice (have been there twice previously) and we visited Mykonos once (have been there once previously). On our this cruise our first visit to Santorini was a disaster for everyone. There were three major cruise line ships visiting the same day. All was a little difficult especially Oia due to large crowds... then the real kicker was the 1 1/2 wait in line to go down the gondola... ugh!

Fortunately on the second visit we were the only ship and what a difference a week or two can make. We love Santorini, but the luster can wear off when the island is inundated by more than can be handled reasonably. Our first three times we have rented cars and covered the island ending with Oia... our last visit was just a lazy visited to the island just walked the shops and enjoyed the views. It helped out hearts to recover from the previous "three ship" visit.

 

As for Mykonos there is now a dock a little way from the village, but there is bus and sea taxis to right at the town and yes the town itself has not changed much and there is an excellent walking tour (see local maps) of the village and spots on the other side to sight and have a refreshing drink while enjoying being right next to the sea with great views of the famous wind mills. Our ship visited Rhodes twice as replacements for Turkey port. We love the old city with it ancient fortress city just across from the ship dock with myriad street of merchants, eateries and tree covered plaza with refreshing seating from the med. sun.

[catl331]

We took a ship excursion on Santorini. The ship left us off on the commercial pier where we climbed up the hill on a bus. The tour took as around the island. Oia is the blue roofed town that is always in photos. Other passengers were left at the bottom of the donkey ride or chair lift ride. One can also walk up the hill but donkey's seem to make quite a few droppings on the path!!

 

Returning we were picked up by the ship's tender and taken out to the ship off shore. This was at the same point we started our tour. We had the option of walking back down at our own leisure or using the lift in town also. Do NOT miss Santorini! Mykonos has a webcam so check it out. There are quite a few restaurants along the beach as well as shops. Nice people there. Great local food. Look up on the masts of the fishing ships for octopi stretched out to dry. Oh, charcoal grilled octopus is delicious!! Beware of Ouzo!:)

[RMLincoln]

We took a ship excursion on Santorini to the Akrotiri ruins, a very amazing place. he tour then took us to Theira where we went to the excellent archeology museum (not the one on the tour, a better one). The day was great up to that point.... but then to get back to the tender pier we had a 1.5 - 2 wait for a cable car, so we walked down the donkey path, about 45 minutes, unpleasant at best, dangersous walking at worst. Plus it was breathlessly hot in October. But so glad we got to see what we saw - like no where else!!

 

Our cruise had to skip Mykonos due to heavy chop, hope to see it someday. Have a great cruise. m--

[sail7seas]

Mykonos is ss b eautgiful it is a vfeasgt for the eyes. Wee loved igt so much, eww dcidn'gt want tgo be inside to eat so the four of us orderereed our meals to go. gthe place we ate edid not have an oudor pation. 'to gbo and we agte sitting on gtthe sea wall. It was glorious.

[bphman]

My wife and I toured Mykonos and Santorini 5 years ago and both are fantastic. In Santorini, we rented a Smart car from, I believe, Tony's and drove around the whole island. They were very helpful and gave us maps and pointed out different sites. We started by driving to Oia which is one of the most beautiful towns. This is the stereotypical Greek towns with the blue dome churches and the groups of donkeys walking the streets. We then went to the other end of the island and stopped at three different wineries and the hosts were most gracious. The wine wasn't good but the wineries were fun. We then went to the beach and had the freshest fish you could possibly have. The people were lovely. We took a slow route back to Fira and stopped at many shops along the way and stopped for a nice cold Mythos beer.

 

In Mykonos we walked around and, of course, got terribly lost. It is very easy to do since the streets were like intersecting corkscrews. Always look for the windmills as your landmark to the port. We had lunch right by the water and the famous pink pelican came in looking for handouts. It was really fun. Just don't try to touch him. He doesn't like it.

 

It is a shame with what is happening in Istanbul.. It is a truly fascinating and historical city and, hopefully, things will get better although I don't hold out much hope. Kusadasi and Bodrum seem to be isolated from all of this unpleasantness and are very picturesque. Hopefully peace will prevail again.