Corfu, Mykonos and Santorini visits - any recommendations?

[Anita55]

Hello!

 

I will be on a cruise in July, visiting Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu in Greece with my family. There will be 7 of us (2 adults + 7 youngster from 15 to 20 yrs old).  I am reading may posts and reviews as I want to make the best out of our stay and I am not reassured!  We do not want to spend a LOT of money on boat excursions and prefer to organize our tours ourselves.

 

For Corfu, I'm thinking of using taxis (it seems we will need 2) - does anyone have a reference??? There are so many to chose from.  We would like to tour the island and visit beaches as it will be very hot in the middle of summer.  Any other recommendations are welcomed!  We will be there from 8am to 3pm.

 

For Santorini, I must say I am a bit discouraged!  We will be at port from 1:30pm to 10pm, along with many other cruise ships!!!  I don't want to wait hours in line to get on the cable car... and it seems like walking up (or down) the stairs is not a very good option.  I was thinking of walking from Fira to Oia, but in the heat, not sure it's the best idea.  Any recommendation to make our day in Santorini a memorable one?

 

For Mykonos, it seems that other than walking around with our fellow cruisers, there is not much to do. We will be there from 1:30pm to 9pm.  Any recommendation for a nice beach?

 

I'm open to any suggestion!  Off the beaten path is also good for us!

 

Thank you!!!

[realnice46]

Santorini was a mess, so take a ships tour which tenders you to other port where buses are waiting. Only ships tour use other port, you will take cable car back down but the wait will be shorter. Alternative is from where the tender everyone else where cable car is you can take a boat to Oia wither bus back ti Fira included for 30 euros per person. NCL tender process was very slow, ships tours had priority. They were still calling tender numbers 4 hours after anchoring.

[edinburgher]

On 6/19/2024 at 2:33 PM, Anita55 said:

For Corfu, I'm thinking of using taxis (it seems we will need 2) - does anyone have a reference??? There are so many to chose from

We, and others from our RC used Corfu Taxi Private Tours?.  The owner has red hair which makes him quite distinctive in Greece. We had three or four taxis and all followed the same route and stops and travelled in convoy.

[AlaskaGoer]

On 6/19/2024 at 9:33 AM, Anita55 said:

Hello!

 

I will be on a cruise in July, visiting Santorini, Mykonos and Corfu in Greece with my family. There will be 7 of us (2 adults + 7 youngster from 15 to 20 yrs old).  I am reading may posts and reviews as I want to make the best out of our stay and I am not reassured!  We do not want to spend a LOT of money on boat excursions and prefer to organize our tours ourselves.

 

For Corfu, I'm thinking of using taxis (it seems we will need 2) - does anyone have a reference??? There are so many to chose from.  We would like to tour the island and visit beaches as it will be very hot in the middle of summer.  Any other recommendations are welcomed!  We will be there from 8am to 3pm.

 

For Santorini, I must say I am a bit discouraged!  We will be at port from 1:30pm to 10pm, along with many other cruise ships!!!  I don't want to wait hours in line to get on the cable car... and it seems like walking up (or down) the stairs is not a very good option.  I was thinking of walking from Fira to Oia, but in the heat, not sure it's the best idea.  Any recommendation to make our day in Santorini a memorable one?

 

For Mykonos, it seems that other than walking around with our fellow cruisers, there is not much to do. We will be there from 1:30pm to 9pm.  Any recommendation for a nice beach?

 

I'm open to any suggestion!  Off the beaten path is also good for us!

 

Thank you!!!

 

What cruise line?

 

I can only speak for Santorini, but either book an excursion to get off the boat early... or make sure you know the procedure to get a very early tender ticket.

[NCteacherlovescruising]

We booked an NCL excursion to avoid the line for the cable car but all excursions were canceled due to wind. It ended up being a blessing I disguise because the line for the cable car went fairly quickly, maybe 30 minutes or so, and we found a private tour once we were at the top. It was 6 hours, he showed us all around the island, took pics for us and only charged 70 euros pp (we were a group of 5) in a nice Mercedes Sprinter and had ice cold water for us. We all loved our day and have gorgeous pics of the island. 

[edinburgher]

On 7/1/2024 at 12:03 PM, edinburgher said:

For Corfu, I'm thinking of using taxis (it seems we will need 2) - does anyone have a reference??? There are so many to chose from

Referencing my post #3, I  should have added that we were all very pleased with the taxi tours.  The company responded to enquiries promptly, they know the most scenic routes and stops, and importantly know what can be included within the port times. we all paid cash on the day at the end of the tour, although I don't know if that will have changed since then. they have a website. Corfu Taxi Private Tours band it used to have a photo of the owner on it. Dimitris was his name.

[cruisefam38]

edinburger, we have been able to secure a reservation with Corfu Taxi Private Tours during our stop there while on a Med cruise with Oceania this August.  Prompt, clear communication thus far.

Thank you for sharing your perspective.

[edinburgher]

3 hours ago, cruisefam38 said:

Thank you for sharing your perspective.

Thanks for acknowledging as not everyone does.

 

Hoping your tour goes as well as ours did. Good or not so good, maybe you would be kind enough to post a few words about your experience as others may be interested for future Corfu port calls.?.

[cruisefam38]

19 hours ago, edinburgher said:

maybe you would be kind enough to post a few words

I don't know..,,.. that's a lot of responsibility. 

[Hlitner]

Regarding "walking from Fira to Oia,"  that would still mean you need to get up to Fira via the cable car, donkeys, or walking up the donkey trail.  Those stra

 

nge port hours, for your cruise, might actually work in your favor.  By the time you tender ashore, there may not be much of a line for the cable car.  And the 10 pm departure, is also a plus since the cable car rush is normally in mid to late afternoon.  Keep in mind that most ships arrive in the morning (between 7 and 9) and depart late in the afternoon.

 

Mykonos,  Again, NCL is planning strange port times (seems to be a habit with NCL) which eliminates the ability to visit nearby Delos.  With a 1:30 arrival we agree that your best option is to simply enjoy Mykonos town.  If your ship tenders, they will drop you in town, from where you can walk.  If docking, there are various options for getting into town (i.e. shuttle bus, taxis, walking, shuttle water taxis, etc).

 

Corfu - You should be able to find taxis at the port.  You might want to ask the drivers to show you some of the island and drop you in Corfu Town where you can walk around, eat/drink, and later make your way back to the port (via taxi, long walk, etc).

 

Hank

[mskaufman]

In Corfu, there were plenty of taxis right outside the port.  Most preferred a longer/larger fare to the beach but we got to the old fortress.

 

In Santorini (last week) we had the same 1:30 to 10 pm timeframe.  Took a ship excursion so we got to the port without the cable cars.  We were also wary of the cable car line but just after 5pm, we walked right on.  No guarantee that will be your experience.

[udamom]

On 7/5/2024 at 2:46 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

e found a private tour once we were at the top. It was 6 hours, he showed us all around the island, took pics for us and only charged 70 euros pp (we were a group of 5) in a nice Mercedes Sprinter and had ice cold water for us. We all loved our day and have gorgeous pics of the island.

Any chance you know the name of the person or company that this person worked for? or was he just an independent taxi person trying to find a fare that day?

We will be in Santorini in Sept and because of the cable car situation it is hard to figure out hoe to book a time to be picked up for tours

 

thanks

Trish

[NCteacherlovescruising]

2 hours ago, udamom said:

Any chance you know the name of the person or company that this person worked for? or was he just an independent taxi person trying to find a fare that day?

We will be in Santorini in Sept and because of the cable car situation it is hard to figure out hoe to book a time to be picked up for tours

 

thanks

Trish

Here’s a copy of his business card. 
 

[udamom]

12 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

Here’s a copy of his business card. 

Thank you! 

[NCteacherlovescruising]

1 hour ago, udamom said:

Thank you! 

You’re welcome!  He was excellent!

[cruisefam38]

On 7/18/2024 at 11:00 AM, edinburgher said:

maybe you would be kind enough to post a few words about your experience as others may be interested for future Corfu port calls.

Corfu Taxi Private Tours:

The driver/owner Dafnis Dimitris met us at the port terminal as planned and ahead of schedule, which allowed us to begin our tour advantageously early.  Mr. Dimitris is a careful driver and informative: providing information regarding island history, olive growth and olive oil production, Corfu's economy and business climate, and personal perspectives on life and living.  He communicated well with us during the reservation and scheduling, and was proactive regarding our wishes during the taxi tour.  Since our visit occurred on August 8, a very busy tourist season was underway, and the downtown area was more crowded than we felt comfortable with, therefore we curtailed our intention to walk, and he returned us to the ship.   In short, this was a professional and cordial tour service, and our experience was consistent with the quality service that edinburgher reported earlier this summer.

A link for those interested:

https://corfutaxiprivatetours.gr/

[edinburgher]

3 hours ago, cruisefam38 said:

In short, this was a professional and cordial tour service, and our experience was consistent with the quality service that edinburgher reported earlier this summer.

Thank you for taking the time to report back on your positive experience, as  others may be interested to know that you were as pleased with this company as we were,  as there have been many changes since pre pandemic times and I didn't know what might have changed between our experience and yours.😀

 

Corfu is a really quite scenic island to visit, and we think the island tour offers more than simply staying in Corfu Town.

Edited August 17 by edinburgher

[cruisefam38]

Which is not to say that Corfu Town isn't interesting, and we had intended to spend an hour or two taking in some of the sights.  It was just that as we made our way back into the port, the driver was negotiating streets that where much more crowded than that same morning.  While not as crowded as we saw Santorini had been just a couple of days before, when we heard from other passengers how crowded Corfu Town felt to those passengers, we were glad that we had made the same decision as we had in Fira, and avoided those tourist crowds.  When we anchored in the Santorini caldera, we chose a boat ride, hike and hot springs swim on and around Nea Kammeni for what turned out to be an interesting and enjoyable excursion.

For future travelers: as experienced and knowledgeable cruisers like edinburgher and Hlitner point out, there are worthy alternatives to the apparently easily accessible main attractions in most every port, one just has to make a little effort to find and use them.

[edinburgher]

21 hours ago, cruisefam38 said:

Which is not to say that Corfu Town isn't interesting, and we had intended to spend an hour or two taking in some of the sights.

Corfu is one of the most popular Greek islands for Europeans taking their summer vacations and  in the summer months will be crowded.

On our first visit to Corfu we stayed in town and explored there, (but we were shoulder season and it wasn't as crowded as your experience)but found there really wasn't enough of personal interest to us to merit a second visit  of several hours to only the town and decided on the island tour alternative.

 

We enjoyed that more than we had expected to, in part as Dafnis Dimitris knew the most scenic spots for photos and which sights merited a stop. And as you noted, he also had great knowledge of aspects of life there which he was happy to share.  And we had 3 or 4 taxis travelling in convoy (the small group was from our Roll Call) and his vehicles were all comfortable and clean  and the drivers careful.

 

That was a great decision you made for Santorini as you successfully avoided the worst of the Oia/Fira crowded streets and you describe a lovely time, in contrast to those who describe their time there spoiled by the high numbers of other tourists.. Well done you.😀

 

Don't be surprised if this year you receive an e-Christmas Greeting from Dimitris as he sent us one for 2 or maybe even 3 years after our group tour.😀

Edited August 19 by edinburgher

[mskaufman]

Some picture videos from last month's trip

 

Corfu

https://youtu.be/njRwnvE8Oto

Mykonos

https://youtu.be/hpPrph3jR5Y

Santorini

https://youtu.be/wqaQtUl6gto