Santorini Cable Car

[hcat]

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.

 

Thank you Karen-- we will follow your advice.

[Terpnut]

Thank you Karen-- we will follow your advice.

Remember, if you are reasonably fit, you can simply walk down to the tender dock in about 15 minutes. I wouldn't personally need to allow an hour as a contingency because if the wait for the cable car were long, I'd just walk on down.

[Host Karen]

Remember, if you are reasonably fit, you can simply walk down to the tender dock in about 15 minutes. I wouldn't personally need to allow an hour as a contingency because if the wait for the cable car were long, I'd just walk on down.

 

That's certainly an option, but I would not want to dodge mule/donkey doo while walking down those steps. To each their own, though.

 

Karen

[cruisemom42]

My sister and BIL recently did the walk down and said it wasn't bad at all. I'd certainly consider it rather than waiting an hour in line.

[texancruzer]

There was certainly alot of doo on the stairs when we were there !!!!

 

Peeeee u :o

[JUSTTWO4FUN]

How Long does the Santorini Cable Car Take? About 3 minutes if memory serves me correct.

[bluebellA4]

I'll say . . . we did it mid August this year . . . we are mid 40's with 2 teenagers and all of us (going down the hill by foot) thought it was a living hell) . . . it was slippy dodging all the donkey poop and very very hot . . . we definately regretted not standing in the very long cable car line . . it took us a good 30 minutes and it wasn't crowded walking down.

kathy

[CoralReef]

The cable car carries 6 cars per side, 6 people per car, two sides, and I clocked a round trip at 3-4 minutes. That works out to a carrying capacity of between 1,080 and 1,440 people each way per hour, which is only about half the passengers on a single large cruise ship. Allow plenty of time!

We did walk down, and it took about 15 minutes. A little hard on the knees, but otherwise OK. There were a few piles of donkey poop, but they were easy to avoid.

[NW Pacific]

How many passengers does the cable care accomodate at one time?

[Terpnut]

How many passengers does the cable care accomodate at one time?

CoralReef's post that immediately precedes yours answers this question! :rolleyes:

[kj_connections]

Is the walk up/down easy to figure out? I mean, do I just follow the crowds of people or donkeys once I get off the cruise ship and hope to see stairs that will take me to the top/bottom?

[CoralReef]

Going up, you can't miss the stairs. Going down, if you don't see the entrance, just ask a merchant.

[Terpnut]

Is the walk up/down easy to figure out? I mean, do I just follow the crowds of people or donkeys once I get off the cruise ship and hope to see stairs that will take me to the top/bottom?

After getting off the tenders, and while looking up at Fira, the cable cars are to the left, and the donkey/walking path are to your right.

[Bufferdoo]

Where do you get the donkey ride tickets to go up? My neighbor said this is a must do! We are sailing on the Solstice 11/20.

[texancruzer]

Where do you get the donkey ride tickets to go up? My neighbor said this is a must do! We are sailing on the Solstice 11/20.

 

 

When you get off the tender the cable car is to the left and the donkeys are at the base of the steps.....believe me you can't miss the steps.....somewhat to the right. There will be a line (probably) and a gentlemen to take your 5 euros. They even have built up steps and platform to make getting on the donkeys easier. Have fun - we did !

[Hlitner]

A little "travel sense" goes a long way here. The line for the cable car (and yes, there is only a single line and having a ticket does not get you any advantage) is normally not very long and it only takes a few minutes to get on the cable car. However (and this is the big however) when there is a megaship or multiple ships in the bay, and these ships are all scheduled to leave at about the same time (usually around 6 pm) than the line will really grow at the peak time to get one of the last tenders. A little "travel sense" avoids any problem by simply taking the cable car back down an hour earlier than most of the others. If you wait until the last minute, you might have problems. As to the idea of walking down (I know this has already been posted) keep in mind that you would be sharing the path with the donkeys so you may want a nose clip and galoshes to cover your shoes!

 

Hank

[skinut]

We are on a E. Med cruise next month and supposedly the only ship in port at Santorini that day. However its a big ship with 2000+ passengers (Celebrity Solstice). Any sense as to how bad the cable car lines might be under those circumstances? thanks

[CintiPam]

We are on a E. Med cruise next month and supposedly the only ship in port at Santorini that day. However its a big ship with 2000+ passengers (Celebrity Solstice). Any sense as to how bad the cable car lines might be under those circumstances? thanks

 

Well, probably at least 50% will take the ship's tours, which tender into Athinos port, where the buses will pick them up, so you're down to less than 1,000, all of whom will tender at different times. The six cable cars, which carry six people each, operate continuously, so you probably only need to return not all at the same time as everyone else.

 

We were there with a ton of cruise ships last September, and it took 40 minutes wait up the cable car, zero minutes back down; and then again in June, with the big ship not arriving until 2 PM, it was zero minutes both up and back down.

[Hlitner]

A single 2000 passenger ship would not be too bad, especially in the shoulder September season. However, you still want to allow some extra time to get back down to the port on your return. We generally like to be in line about an hour before we have to be at the port, but some would probably suggest heading back a bit earlier.

 

Hank

[skinut]

Thanks Hank and CintiPam. Both of you are great posters, and have been really helpful on several threads.