Santorini is NOT for anyone with limited mobility!

[flahagan]

We just returned from the NCL Jade Italy/Greek Isles cruise and we were in Santorini August 3rd.  I was pretty shocked at just how difficult it was to get around once ashore and thought it might benefit those with mobility problems to know ahead of time. 

 

We only waited about 25-30 minutes to use the cable car up to Fira, but no one said how many stairs there are to climb just to get into the cable car.  There are several sets - one of about 18-20 to get up to the ticket office, then another set of 35-40 to get to the car itself.  There are no railings or anything to hold to, so this would be very difficult for anyone using a cane or with balance/endurance problems.

 

There is a walk of about 12-15 minutes to the bus station for the bus to Oia.  On a map, it appears to be a road that you walk down but it's actually a very narrow stone pathway lined with stores and cafes.

 

The bus to Oia takes about 25 minutes.  Once there, the walkways are all stone and/or marble, very uneven and extremely slippery.  Some of the steps that lead down to restaurants don't even look possible to navigate - steep, uneven and nothing to hold to.

 

We witnessed several falls while we were on the island and 2 in our party fell.  One slipped trying to enter into a store that had a sloping marble threshold and the other fell while entering a taverna that had a very steep step with a 3" hangover.  The toe of her sandal caught the lip of it and down she went.  We were a party of seven and all of us were glad we got to see it, but if we were to ever go back we'd opt for a catamaran cruise.  BTW, we came back to the ship before sunset and watched it from the promenade deck and it was beautiful.

 

I hope this information helps.

[Cindyscruising]

Thanks for posting - lots of helpful info 

[fabnfortysomething]

13 hours ago, flahagan said:

We just returned from the NCL Jade Italy/Greek Isles cruise and we were in Santorini August 3rd.  I was pretty shocked at just how difficult it was to get around once ashore and thought it might benefit those with mobility problems to know ahead of time. 

 

We only waited about 25-30 minutes to use the cable car up to Fira, but no one said how many stairs there are to climb just to get into the cable car.  There are several sets - one of about 18-20 to get up to the ticket office, then another set of 35-40 to get to the car itself.  There are no railings or anything to hold to, so this would be very difficult for anyone using a cane or with balance/endurance problems.

 

There is a walk of about 12-15 minutes to the bus station for the bus to Oia.  On a map, it appears to be a road that you walk down but it's actually a very narrow stone pathway lined with stores and cafes.

 

The bus to Oia takes about 25 minutes.  Once there, the walkways are all stone and/or marble, very uneven and extremely slippery.  Some of the steps that lead down to restaurants don't even look possible to navigate - steep, uneven and nothing to hold to.

 

We witnessed several falls while we were on the island and 2 in our party fell.  One slipped trying to enter into a store that had a sloping marble threshold and the other fell while entering a taverna that had a very steep step with a 3" hangover.  The toe of her sandal caught the lip of it and down she went.  We were a party of seven and all of us were glad we got to see it, but if we were to ever go back we'd opt for a catamaran cruise.  BTW, we came back to the ship before sunset and watched it from the promenade deck and it was beautiful.

 

I hope this information helps.

 

I agree Santorini is a real challenge with mobility issues

starting with fact no choice but to tender

 

There is actually a lift/elevator from pier level up to cable car platform but its tucked away at back and very difficult to spot with crowds of people forming a disorderly line to get to ticket office steps.

 

We only saw it once had accessed the steps which as you say are not ideal for anyone unsteady on feet .

 

we used a private tour guide but still had to make our way to top via cable car to meet him

 

 

However he was able to drive us all over island  which has a lot more of interest than just Oia which we did find crowded and narrow slippery streets

[LondonTowner]

I always do plenty research on anywhere we go, so as I have limited mobility I have always ruled out Santorini, but thanks for the info.

[flahagan]

27 minutes ago, LondonTowner said:

I always do plenty research on anywhere we go, so as I have limited mobility I have always ruled out Santorini, but thanks for the info.

You're welcome.  I'm a retired physical therapist and am always aware of problems people might have with steps, lack of railings, uneven surfaces and such.  We came back thinking that if you lived in either Oia or Fira and became handicapped you'd probably have to move, lol.

[LondonTowner]

7 minutes ago, flahagan said:

You're welcome.  I'm a retired physical therapist and am always aware of problems people might have with steps, lack of railings, uneven surfaces and such.  We came back thinking that if you lived in either Oia or Fira and became handicapped you'd probably have to move, lol.

As we live in London we go abroad a lot and I often comment to my OH I don’t know how elderly/disabled people manage in many places. Even here in the UK where we have plenty of aid and facilities, some places are still challenging.