Santorini-Village of Oia

[Loracpin2]

We know the Village of Oia is a must see. Does anyone know if there are local guides meeting the tenders who offer tours or should we take the ship's tour?

 

Thanks.

[Hlitner]

Its kind of silly to take a tour of Fira (Thira) or Oia. In both cases, the only way to explore is to do it on foot. Oia is a very small residential village which you can actually see across the cliffs while looking from Fira. You can get there very cheaply (about 1 Euro) by taking the local bus from Fira to Oia (you can get bus info at any of several info stands in Fira) and it only takes about 10- 15 min. Another option is to take a taxi although I do not know the fare. Keep in mind that Santorini is very very tourist friendly and many locals speak some English. Its a fun island with lots of good food, wine, and shops.

 

Hank

[corkpopr]

take the tender to shore and then take the funicular up 900 ft to the top of the island. wander around town and when you are ready go down to the road and take a bus or cab to Oia. just wander for a couple of hours on you own. since it is the end of the island just grab a bus back to town and then back to the ship the same way.

[Sea Day Cruiser]

Could someone describe the funicular ride for me? Is the car pretty enclosed? I'm with a person who is afraid of heights and I don't know if she could do this or not. Walking up or down isn't an option, so I think the funicular is our only choice, but I don't know if she's going to be able to do it either.

[tom_uk]

Here's a link to some pictures I took of Oia & Fira in June this year. The Oia ones are no's 2 to 9, I think.

http://www.*****/travelpage/aspgallery/view_ad.asp?Ad_ID=2515

 

We did the Celebrity excursion (Oia, & a winery, and finishing off in Fira town) but it would have been as easy to do it on our own. One advantage of the excursion: the tender is not to the landing area below Fira/Thira, but to a different 'port' around the caldera, where a road comes down to the sea and a bus meets you. This avoids the early morning queues for the cable-cars. Or the donkeys. And the excusions we were on included the ticket for our return via the cable-car.

[Joanne G.]

Could someone describe the funicular ride for me? Is the car pretty enclosed? I'm with a person who is afraid of heights and I don't know if she could do this or not. Walking up or down isn't an option, so I think the funicular is our only choice, but I don't know if she's going to be able to do it either.

 

The cars are enclosed. Everything worth seeing in Santorini is at the top of the steep cliffs. It can be a little unnerving, but the ride is short.

[jstducky]

Definitely just take a local bus (really a nice motorcoach) from the bus terminal in Fira over to Oia. Its about a 20-30 minute ride and only costs 1,10 Euros per person. The city is small enough to walk around and explore for a few hours on your own. Its all really simple to do and almost impossible to get lost.

[cadreamer]

Does anyone recall how frequently the buses come? Is Oia the end of the line?

[Liv4cruzin]

Keep in mind that although the cars of the funicular are enclosed, the top 2/3's are all glass. For those who are comfortable w/ that, the view is spectacular. On the ride up/down you can see the winding path of steps that one could walk or take the donkey ride. I hear the donkey ride up is less scary than going down. And watch out for scraped knees/legs along the way. The donkeys sometimes get too close to the side walls.

[jstducky]

Does anyone recall how frequently the buses come? Is Oia the end of the line?

 

When I got to the bus station at Fira, the bus for Oia was leaving immediately so I hopped right on board and didn't notice the bus schedule.

 

However, when I returned from Oia to Fira, I did take a look at the bus schedule there, and basically the bus from Oia to Fira runs every 30 minutes during the daytime.

 

Yes, Oia is the very end of the line. You can't miss it. I beleive they will force you off the bus because that is all the bus fare you are paying for. Besides the ticket seller in the bus annouces outloud all of the bus stops as you approach them.

[Hlitner]

The funicular is a train-like car that rides up and down the hill on train tracks. You will always be on solid ground...although the hill is rather steep.

 

Hank

[cadreamer]

jstducky - Thank you for the bus specifics. I have one more question since we mentioned a ticket seller. Do we buy the tickets on the bus? We are really looking forward to our trip to Oia. Have you seen the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants? It was filmed in part in Oia and you see all the beautiful views from the town in the film.

[jstducky]

I loved Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Its amazing.

 

Here's one thing I'll say about Santorini, all the movies and pictures in the world can't capture the beauty of this place. If a picture is worth a thousand words, well then Santorini is worth a million and only a thousand can be captured in pictures. It was the most beautiful place on our cruise.

 

Anyhow, you buy the tickets on the bus. As soon as the bus leaves the station, a ticket seller will come around to each seat and ask you where you are headed to, give you a price and then you give him the money. That's it. Very easy.

[JLC@SD]

If you want a unique experience....ride the donkeys up the hill. It is a spectacular view and lots of fun. When we were there on the Grand it was 3 1/2 euros to ride them up the hill.

[chasetf]

If you want a unique experience....ride the donkeys up the hill. It is a spectacular view and lots of fun. When we were there on the Grand it was 3 1/2 euros to ride them up the hill.

And this is the view you get on the way up. :D

[kkon]

I've decided to cancel my Silhouette tour of Oia and Santorini and DIY. But I have a couple of questions. I understand that the ship's tender lets passengers off at another port near the caldera. How does one get from that point to the bus stop which takes you to Oia? Once in Oia, I assume I can take a bus back to Fira for a visit and then get back on the bus which can take me to the cable car or walk down the hill. Is this correct? Any advice is deeply appreciated. Thank You!

[Three hills]

@kkon

 

Santorini is very easy to do it on your own. We were there last August and we really enjoyed ourselves. We got out of the ship early. The tenders takes you right next to the cable car or if you choose you can climb the stairs up it's about 400 steps and also there's another option you can ride a donkey up. Then it's a nice walk in town, you can't get lost because it's very small. Keep walking the main road on your left until you can get to the bus depot. Most of the locals speak English, so they can help you with directions. Take a bus to Oia. It's a very small town but wonderful. White painted houses with blue rooftops. Take lots of pictures. Go early because buses tend to get crowded later on the day especially if there's more that one ship anchored. Buses run frequently every 20 or 30 minutes. Then you can catch a bus back to Thira. Since we had a long day in Santorini we took another bus to a black sand beach, spend a couple of hours there and took another bus back to Thira. All in all I really enjoyed Santorini and am planning on visiting again this Summer.

[Wiltonian]

Lots of info about Santorini on the Greek ports forum, unsurprisingly. ;-)

 

Stuart

[4774Papa]

We avoided the huge lines for the donkeys or cable car by taking a great ship's tour that included a winery. We saw the entire island.

You can DTY Santorini, but it can be very crowded if other ships are there as well. Santorini is special, make the most of it.

My Daughter and her family went DTY and never made it to Oia. The lines for the bus were huge, no taxis. It is over three miles to walk.

[texancruzer]

Lets simplify this.

 

You have two options:

 

1. Ships tours tender to a different location - one where the buses can get down the cliff face. They are tendered off first to this location. If you take a ship tour you will be dropped off AFTER the tour in Fira and given a ticket to take the cable cars down. It is included in the price of the tour. There is no going back the way you came.

 

2. Then the ship moves over a bit and lets everyone else (DIYers) off near the cable cars/donkeys/steps.

 

If you use option 2 and DIY you can explore on your own. You have some options here too:

 

1. Walk to the main road and hail a taxi.

2. Wak to the main road and down a bit and take the bus

3. Walk to the main road and rent a car/scooter

4. Walk to Oia (yes there are those who have hiked it) but most don't walk back due to time constraints

 

On our first trip to Santorini once up on top, we hailed a taxi while walking to the bus. Dh decided he liked that idea better. We negotiated a price with the driver to drive us to Oia and give us a few hours and then return and pick us up. We did NOT pay him a dime until he returned us safe and sound in Fira. Easy peasy.

Another note: we did this after I explained to him that sometimes there was a free for all when trying to get on the bus to come back….. he didn't like the sound of that. Now it can also be a challenge getting a taxi back if you havent arranged one like we did. Not impossible but if a lot of ships in port then obviously harder.

 

On our second trip we also hailed a taxi but this time headed the opposite direction to the other end of the island to Akrotiri - the ancient Minoan ruins. They were closed the first visit and dh was very happy they reopened in time for our 2nd visit. We again negotiated to drive over, have him wait and then return us to Fira. Akrotiri was amazing…..and almost deserted ! We got to see a different part of the island while driving over and back too.

 

He dropped us off near the archeological museum where many items from Akrotiri and other sites have been taken. Then a GREAT lunch overlooking the caldera and some shopping and then to the cable car line :( It goes fast tho and then back on the ship.

 

Hope all this info helps.