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Santorini Cable Car

Cruisin Sal

By Cruisin Sal,
in Greece Ports

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ILoveScotland

ILoveScotland

Posted
Posted
Once you are on the cable car, it takes about 5 minutes. Goes by quickly.

 

 

This is true, but sometimes the line of people waiting to get on the cable car can is pretty long, especially going down. So, that needs to be factored in when returning to the ship.

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SandG

SandG

Posted
Posted
This is true, but sometimes the line of people waiting to get on the cable car can is pretty long, especially going down. So, that needs to be factored in when returning to the ship.

 

That really depends on how many ships are in port that day and the timing of the port stop. I've read some real horror stories. But the day we were there, we were the only ship in port and we didn't experience any line at all. Still, it's better to play it on the safe side.

 

Sue

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ILoveScotland

ILoveScotland

Posted
Posted
That really depends on how many ships are in port that day and the timing of the port stop. I've read some real horror stories. But the day we were there, we were the only ship in port and we didn't experience any line at all. Still, it's better to play it on the safe side.

 

Sue

 

You're right, of course. The first time I was there we had almost no line. The second time I had to wait about 30 minutes.

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CintiPam

CintiPam

Posted
Posted

The best thing to do is check the cruiseship port times, which is posted on the following website at the beginning of each month for that month:

 

http://www.santorini.info/cruiseboats

 

When we visited in June, there were only a few small ships like ours there, with a huge cruise ship arriving in the afternoon (scheduled for 1 PM, but we saw them from our lovely lunch spot in Oia arriving in Fira around 2 PM), so we knew that there would be no cable car problem and could plan accordingly.

 

Enjoy lovely Santorini!

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CintiPam

CintiPam

Posted
Posted
Thanks for the info. I will be in Santorini late October. The port schedule doesn't go that far. We arrive at 7am. I have a 12 noon bus tour. I would just like to take the cable car up and come back down.

 

Sally

 

As I stated in my post, the port schedule for the month only is posted at the beginning of that month. Because your cruise is in late October, you will be able to check the schedule in early October, so you will have some time still to make your plans.

 

If you have extra time before or after your bus tour, I highly recommend that you visit the Museum of Prehistoric Thira in Fira (where the cable car is) near the bus station. This modern museum is the best place to see actual Akrotiri artifacts (such as the famous wall paintings and a great solid-gold goat) now that the site itself is closed (other than the very small exhibit at the National Archaelogical Museum in Athens). The museum is well-labeled in both Greek and English, and also has great a/c and restrooms!

 

Enjoy your day in Santorini.

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PenelopeCorelli

PenelopeCorelli

Posted
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One thing to factor in for timing is the tenders thing. I don't know if all ships tender, but I believe they do. In Santorini the government requires cruise pax to use the Greek tenders, which are large, and all usually goes well, but of course tour people are first, and everyone else on succeeding tenders usually gets in the cable car line. Going up was not a problem, as we were on one of the first tenders (secret for CC readers: go to tender ticket distribution early. By the time the announcement is made for other pax to get tickets, many will already have them.):)

 

However, (yup, always a however), getting back was ridiculous. Bring a book to read in line. On our stop, the last tender was to be at 4:30. So when would you want to line up to avoid the crowd? 3:30? Yes, along with the hundreds of others with the same idea! :eek:The line to the cable car stretched along the street for a couple of blocks. After we went down to the tenders, another equally long line, of course, since we all had to get on them. Did I mention it was HOT?! Sun blazing.(Bought an ice cream bar while we waited). The strange thing was that it seemed that the Santorini tenders weren't doing anything. There were 5 of them hovering in the water - now it was 4:15. They seemed to hover until 4:30, when people started getting on. We could have been mistaken, but one thought was that the Greeks there had a contract with the ship until 4:30pm, after which time their rates went up! :eek::confused:So at 4:30 the boats wre loaded and we all got back inside the ship by about sailing time:5pm. So we didn't sail on time that day.:rolleyes:

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  • 3 weeks later...
sjpo

sjpo

Posted
Posted
The best thing to do is check the cruiseship port times, which is posted on the following website at the beginning of each month for that month:

 

http://www.santorini.info/cruiseboats

 

When we visited in June, there were only a few small ships like ours there, with a huge cruise ship arriving in the afternoon (scheduled for 1 PM, but we saw them from our lovely lunch spot in Oia arriving in Fira around 2 PM), so we knew that there would be no cable car problem and could plan accordingly.

 

Enjoy lovely Santorini!

 

I must say that was an excellent tip. I there any other greek island port which has the same list/facility?

 

Thanks

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martel

martel

Posted
Posted

We were in santorini this August on our Brilliance cruise. We had hired a van for 9 people for the day , no problem with tenders very early, just walked on and our only concern was getting back to the cable car on time. We had a great day getting lost but made oia in the end, and returned to Fira at 3.15 pm. We joined the queue at 3.30 for the cable car and were back on the ship in 20 minutes. There were 3 ships in that day , 21st August, so the motto is get off early and get to the cale car by 3.30. Have a great time.:)

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Terpnut

Terpnut

Posted
Posted
By donkey or on foot about 10 minutes. The trip in the cable car takes a couple of minutes...

 

Ten minutes by foot! You definitely should consider trying out for the Olympics!:D
Our donkey ride up took precisely 14 minutes and they dropped us off a bit short of the top. So I'd say, as a fast walker myself, I could definitely do it in 10 minutes. But most people should allow 15 minutes or more--especially if you walk like a donkey (i.e. slow). :D
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CintiPam

CintiPam

Posted
Posted
Our donkey ride up took precisely 14 minutes and they dropped us off a bit short of the top. So I'd say, as a fast walker myself, I could definitely do it in 10 minutes. But most people should allow 15 minutes or more--especially if you walk like a donkey (i.e. slow). :D

 

There clearly are several posters on this thread who are in much better condition than I am!:D

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Terpnut

Terpnut

Posted
Posted
There clearly are several posters on this thread who are in much better condition than I am!

You'll just have to visit Santorini more often so you can build up your stamina! Hahaha! :D

How much does it cost and can you buy roundtrip tickets?

 

Thanks.

 

Trudy

We paid 12 Euros for two adults and two children. I believe it was 4 Euros/adult and 2 Euros/child. And you can only buy one-way tickets--no roundtrips.
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CintiPam

CintiPam

Posted
Posted
You'll just have to visit Santorini more often so you can build up your stamina! Hahaha! :D

 

I possibly could make it down the steps in ten minutes, but I sure could not make it up the steps in any condition to sightsee for the rest of the day unless I had one of those small jet packs on my back!:)

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sonogram

sonogram

Posted
Posted
We were in santorini this August on our Brilliance cruise. We had hired a van for 9 people for the day , no problem with tenders very early, just walked on and our only concern was getting back to the cable car on time. We had a great day getting lost but made oia in the end, and returned to Fira at 3.15 pm. We joined the queue at 3.30 for the cable car and were back on the ship in 20 minutes. There were 3 ships in that day , 21st August, so the motto is get off early and get to the cale car by 3.30. Have a great time.:)

 

Do you have a contact e-mail address or website for this van driver?

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breezyb45

breezyb45

Posted
Posted
Thanks for the info. I will be in Santorini late October. The port schedule doesn't go that far. We arrive at 7am. I have a 12 noon bus tour. I would just like to take the cable car up and come back down.

 

Sally

Sally,

I would like to suggest another site that might have the information you need. Try www.cruisett.com/prts.php . Hope this works for you.

Kathy

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Host Karen

Host Karen

Posted
Posted
We will be given a return cable car ticket when our tour ends..

 

Are there two lines--one for tix holders & one for those who need to buy tix OR just one line?

 

When we were there several years ago, there was just one line and it was loooong. We were originally going to purchase our roundtrip cable car tickets on the ship, but decided against it. When we returned to take the cable car back down, everyone was standing in the same line whether they had tickets or not. I recommend allowing for at least an hour to get back to the ship on time.

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