Santorini’s Port one of the most beautiful ports of the world

For every traveler its a unique experience to visit the European islands, because each one of them is uniquely beautiful. But to have the opportunity to get into the ports and enjoy the stunning sunshine its an amazing and unforgettable experience. Santorini, officially named Thira, is the southernmost Greek island that is within the Cyclades archipelago, in the southern Aegean Sea. Recently Santorini’s port was voted one of the most beautiful ports in the world.

The amazing view and the stunning houses

The pastel-colored houses carved into cliffs, the sparkling sapphire waters, shinning white buildings topped with half-spheres the color of the clear blue sky is the most amazing thing you will ever see.The black volcanic Perissa and Kamari beaches are big draws, as is its the most famous Red Beach near Akrotiri.

The Cyclades Gate

Santorini’s port is considered to be the gate of the Cyclades islands. With the breathtaking sunshine you will ever see and you will remember forever. Anyone who visited the ports of Santorini cannot forget the feeling and the stunning views. You feel a special kind of energy like its something made from Gods.The Ancient Greek sightseeings,the culture and the wine making are only a few things that you can see in this amazing island. Another one of Santorini’s characteristic thing is the volcano shape houses. You will not believe it how amazing they look. When the Volcano exploded created this amazing shaped island that you won’t want to miss. You will see the most romantic places in Santorini, taking a tour is the easiest way to see the island and view all its beauty. If you can’t afford to stay for a few days than you can visit the island of Santorini with one of the tours. It is certainly worth your money and time to view this island.

• The most romantic private tours in Santorini
• The top 5 Santorini Beaches
• Organize the perfect wedding in Santorini

Santorini Port: There Are Three of Them

Almost every problem visitors have here starts with assuming the island has one harbour. It has three in regular use, they do completely different jobs, and they are nowhere near each other.

Athinios, the ferry santorini port. The commercial ferry port, three hundred metres below the rim on the west coast, where every car ferry and fast boat berths.

The old santorini port below Fira. Below Fira, reached by cable car, steps or donkey, where cruise ships tender their passengers ashore.

Ammoudi, the santorini port below Oia. The small harbour below Oia, for local boats, the Thirasia ferry and the fish tavernas.

Vlychada, the santorini port marina. A marina on the south coast, for yachts and the fishing fleet, and not a passenger port.

Monolithos and Korfos. Small working harbours, the second on Thirasia across the caldera.

Which santorini port you arrive at. A ferry means Athinios. A cruise ship means the old port, unless it is small enough to dock at Athinios.

The distance between each santorini port. Athinios to the old port is about twenty-five minutes by road. They are not walkable from each other.

Why it matters. People book a transfer to the wrong one. It is the single commonest mistake on arrival day.

The geography behind every santorini port. The caldera is a flooded crater and its inner wall is a cliff. Every harbour on that side sits at the bottom of it.

The road down to the santorini port. A switchback with six or seven hairpins, the only vehicle access to Athinios.

No harbour on the east. Kamari and Perissa have beaches, not ports. The whole marine side of the island faces the volcano.

The accolade. Santorini’s harbour approach is regularly voted among the most beautiful in the world, and the reason is the cliff you sail into rather than the quay itself.

The one-line version. Know which santorini port you are using before you book anything, because the two main ones are on opposite sides of a three-hundred-metre cliff.

Athinios: The Ferry Port

This is where you arrive if you come by boat as a foot passenger or with a car, and it is not a gentle introduction to the island.

What is at the santorini port. A quay, a row of ticket offices, two or three canteens, a car park and a wall of cliff behind it.

What is not at the santorini port. Shade, seating, a proper waiting room or anywhere pleasant to spend an hour.

The scale. Small. When three ferries berth within an hour the whole santorini port area gridlocks.

The ferries at the santorini port. Blue Star and the conventional boats from Piraeus, plus Seajets and the fast catamarans to Ios, Naxos, Paros, Mykonos and Crete.

Crossing times. Five to eight hours from Piraeus on a conventional ferry, four to five on a fast one.

The road to the santorini port. The switchback. Six or seven hairpins, coaches taking both lanes on the bends, and five minutes of concentration going down.

Parking at the santorini port. Limited, chaotic, and cars left on the road when the lots fill.

Getting up from the santorini port. A bus that meets the main ferries, taxis that are gone in minutes, or a pre-booked transfer.

The bus from the santorini port. Two to three euros, meets the big arrivals, and fills instantly when several boats dock together.

Taxis at the santorini port. About thirty on the whole island. Do not plan around finding one here.

Luggage at the santorini port. Carried up a ramp in a crowd. This is where a transfer stops being a luxury.

Departures from the santorini port. Sailings leave before seven in the morning in high season, before any hotel breakfast is served.

Arriving early. Thirty to forty-five minutes before a fast ferry, an hour for a conventional one with a vehicle.

The honest description. Athinios is a working quay at the foot of a cliff, and the santorini port experience people photograph is the sail-in rather than the landing.

The Old Port Below Fira

Gialos, the old harbour directly beneath the capital, is where cruise passengers land and where the photographs of the cliff are taken from.

What the old santorini port is. A small quay at the foot of a three-hundred-metre wall, with a handful of cafes and tour boat desks.

Who uses the old santorini port. Cruise tenders, caldera excursion boats and the volcano trips.

No ferries at this santorini port. Conventional and fast ferries do not come here. They go to Athinios.

Three ways up from the santorini port. The cable car, five hundred and eighty steps, or a donkey.

The cable car from the santorini port. Six euros each way, three minutes, and the only civilised option.

The queue at the santorini port. Twenty minutes on a quiet day and over an hour when several ships tender at once.

The steps from the santorini port. Five hundred and eighty, shared with the animals, slippery and unpleasant in both directions.

The donkeys at the santorini port. Still offered. We ask guests not to ride them, and we will say why if you ask.

The bottleneck. The cable car is the whole capacity of this santorini port, and when four ships are in it cannot keep up.

The afternoon rush at the santorini port. Worse than the morning. Everybody returns to the ship at the same time.

What to do about it. Go up early, come down before the rush, and never leave the climb to the last hour.

Eating at the santorini port. Possible and not recommended. Cafes aimed at people with no alternative.

The view. Looking up at Fira stacked on the cliff, which is the image that made the island famous.

The detail nobody mentions. When the wind gets up, tenders stop and ships skip the call entirely. It happens several times a season.

Ammoudi and the Smaller Harbours

Ammoudi, the prettiest santorini port. Below Oia, at the bottom of three hundred steps, red cliffs behind it and fish tavernas on the water.

What it is for. Local boats, the Thirasia ferry, sunset cruises and the best seafood on the island.

Getting down. Three hundred steps, twenty minutes down and thirty-five up, or a narrow switchback road with almost no parking.

The swim. A path round the headland to a rock platform and the chapel islet of Agios Nikolaos.

Armeni, the smallest santorini port. The second, smaller harbour below Oia, reached by a steep path, with one taverna and almost nobody there.

Vlychada, the yacht santorini port. South coast, yachts and the fishing fleet, pale pumice cliffs and a car park that is never full.

Korfos on Thirasia. Across the caldera, two tavernas fed by boats tied up outside, and the best value fish in sight of Santorini.

Monolithos. A small working harbour on the east coast near the airport.

Baxedes and the north. No harbour, only beaches and a track.

Which santorini port you actually want. Athinios to travel, the old port for a cruise, Ammoudi to eat, Vlychada to be left alone.

Boat trips from each santorini port. Caldera cruises leave from Ammoudi, the old port and Vlychada depending on the operator. Check which before booking a transfer.

The Thirasia ferry. A small local boat from Ammoudi, fifteen minutes, and it takes vehicles.

Parking at every santorini port. Poor at Ammoudi, poor at the old port, adequate at Vlychada, chaotic at Athinios.

The pattern. Every santorini port is at the bottom of something steep, and getting back up is always the part people underestimate.

Arriving and Leaving

Arriving by ferry at the santorini port. You dock at Athinios into a crowd, a ramp and a wall of people holding hotel signs.

The first ten minutes. Follow the crowd off the ramp, find your name or your bus, and do not stand still in the middle of it.

Arriving by cruise ship at the santorini port. A tender to the old port, then the cable car queue, then Fira.

Arriving by air. The airport is on the east coast near Monolithos, twenty minutes from Fira, and has nothing to do with any santorini port.

The santorini port transfer question. Pre-booked is the only reliable way out of Athinios when several ferries land together.

What a santorini port transfer costs. Twenty-five to forty-five euros for a private car to most villages, fixed and paid in advance.

The bus from the santorini port. Two to three euros, meets the main arrivals, goes to Fira, and fills in seconds.

Onward from Fira. Every bus route radiates from the Fira station, so almost every journey passes through it.

Leaving by ferry from the santorini port. Be at the santorini port forty-five minutes before a fast boat, an hour with a vehicle.

The early sailings from the santorini port. Before seven in high season. No breakfast anywhere, so buy it the night before.

Leaving by cruise ship. Be at the cable car ninety minutes before all-aboard in high season. This is not caution, it is arithmetic.

Taking a car off. Possible on conventional ferries and forbidden by almost every hire agreement here. Check before you plan it.

Luggage at the santorini port. No left-luggage facility at Athinios worth relying on. Plan to carry it or leave it at your hotel.

The single best piece of advice. Never book a same-day connection between a ferry and an international flight in winter.

Timings, Queues and What Goes Wrong

The wind and the santorini port. The meltemi blows June to September and it cancels sailings, sometimes for two or three days.

Winter storms. November to February, with the same effect and less warning.

How you find out. The operator notifies, and the port authority posts. Cancellations are usually announced the evening before or the same morning.

What to do about it. Leave a day of slack before a flight home. Every resident on this island does.

Cruise tenders at the santorini port. Stop in high wind, and ships skip the call. It is the commonest reason a Santorini stop is missed.

The busiest hours at Athinios. Early morning departures and late afternoon arrivals, plus any hour when two conventional ferries overlap.

The busiest hours at the old port. Ten to noon going up, three to five coming down.

The cruise schedule. Published in advance. Checking it is the single most useful thing a visitor can do to plan a day.

Three or four ships. Fira gridlocks, the cable car queue passes an hour, and the whole santorini port area is best avoided.

Road closures to the santorini port. The Athinios switchback occasionally closes for works or after rockfall, and there is no alternative route.

Rockfall. A real feature of a crumbling volcanic cliff. Sections of quay and road have been damaged before.

Strikes and the santorini port. Greek ferry strikes happen, usually with notice, and they stop everything for a day.

Night arrivals at the santorini port. The last ferries land after ten, the road is unlit beyond the bends, and taxis have gone.

The summary. The santorini port system works well on a calm day in May and badly on a windy day in August, and the difference is entirely about how much slack you built in.

Why the Approach Is Voted One of the Most Beautiful

The quay itself is a working concrete apron. The accolade is about what you sail into, and it is deserved.

What you sail into at the santorini port. A flooded volcanic crater ten kilometres across, with a cliff rising three hundred metres on the inner side.

The cliff wall above the santorini port. Banded red, black and white rock, the stratigraphy of every eruption since the island began, readable from the deck.

The villages. Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia strung along the top of it like snow.

The scale problem. Photographs fail because there is nothing familiar to judge the height against until a ship appears in the frame.

The Kameni islands. Two black volcanic cones in the middle of the water you are crossing, still active, still growing.

Arriving by sea at the santorini port. The reason to take a ferry once rather than always flying. The island reveals itself in the right order.

The best hour to reach the santorini port. Late afternoon, when the sun is on the caldera wall and the villages start to light up.

The cruise ship view. Anchored in the crater, looking up. This is the santorini port image that sells the island.

The santorini port seen from the top. The reverse view, from the Fira caldera path, with ships the size of toys three hundred metres below.

The colour. Deep blue because the water is deep. The caldera reaches nearly four hundred metres in places, which is why ships anchor rather than dock.

Why no harbour on the inner side. Too deep and too steep to build one. That is the whole reason cruise ships tender.

The honest note. The santorini port everybody praises is the caldera itself, and the actual quays are ordinary.

Where to photograph the santorini port. From the deck coming in, from the cable car, and from the Fira to Firostefani path at sunset.

What it was. Before 1600 BC this was a single round island. The harbour you sail into is the hole the eruption left.

Season by Season at the Port

The santorini port in April. Ferries increasing, cruise season opening, calm seas and no queues.

The santorini port in May. Excellent. Full schedules, reliable crossings, and the cable car moving freely.

The santorini port in June. Busy, the meltemi starting, and the first cancellations of the year.

The santorini port in July. Peak wind and peak traffic. Fast ferries cancel more often than people expect.

August. The hardest month at every santorini port. Full boats, full car parks, long cable car queues and frequent wind cancellations.

The santorini port in September. The best month on the water. The wind drops, the schedules are still full, and the crowds thin.

The santorini port in October. Very good until the third week, then routes start reducing.

The santorini port from November to March. The Piraeus line only, daily where weather allows, with cancellations of two or three days at a time.

Winter cruise calls. Almost none. The season runs roughly April to early November.

Booking ahead at the santorini port. Two to four weeks for summer sailings, especially with a vehicle.

Easter. The busiest Greek travel week of the year. Book everything early.

The 15th of August. A national holiday and the single heaviest travel day in Greece.

Shoulder season advantage. In May and October the whole santorini port operation is calm, and arrival day stops being the worst day of the trip.

Mistakes People Make at the Port

Booking a transfer to the wrong santorini port. The commonest one. Athinios and the old port are twenty-five minutes and a cliff apart.

Assuming ferries use the cable car santorini port. They never do. Every ferry berths at Athinios.

Leaving the cable car to the last hour. On a four-ship day the return queue passes an hour and the ship does not wait.

Planning a same-day ferry to flight connection. Sailings cancel for wind. Go to Athens the night before.

Expecting a taxi at the santorini port. About thirty exist on the island and they are gone within minutes of a ferry landing.

Walking up from the old santorini port. Five hundred and eighty steps, shared with the donkeys, and slippery.

Walking up from Ammoudi after dinner. Three hundred steps on a full stomach in July. Arrange the car first.

Driving to Ammoudi in season. A narrow switchback with almost no parking at the bottom.

Arriving at the santorini port without a plan. The bus fills, the taxis vanish, and there is nowhere pleasant to wait.

Not checking the cruise schedule. Three or four ships turn the whole santorini port area and Fira into gridlock from ten to four.

Taking a hire car on the ferry. Forbidden by almost every rental agreement here.

Buying breakfast at the santorini port. Two canteens selling pies. Buy it the night before.

Underestimating the heat at the santorini port. No shade at Athinios at all, and a delayed ferry in August is genuinely unpleasant.

The fix for all of it. Know your santorini port, pre-book the transfer, and build an hour of slack into both ends.

Santorini Port: Questions People Ask

How many santorini port options are there? Three in regular passenger use: Athinios for ferries, the old port below Fira for cruise tenders, and Ammoudi below Oia for local boats. Vlychada is a marina.

Which santorini port do ferries use? Athinios, on the west coast, three hundred metres below the rim. No conventional or fast ferry uses the old port.

Where do cruise ships dock at the santorini port? They anchor in the caldera and tender passengers to the old port below Fira. The water is too deep for a quay. Some smaller ships dock at Athinios.

How do I get up from the old santorini port? Cable car at six euros each way, five hundred and eighty steps, or a donkey. We ask guests not to use the donkeys.

How long is the santorini port cable car queue? Twenty minutes on a quiet day, over an hour when several ships tender at once, and worst in the afternoon return.

How far is the santorini port from Fira? About twenty-five minutes by road, down a switchback with six or seven hairpins.

Is there a bus from the santorini port? Yes, meeting the main ferry arrivals, two to three euros to Fira. It fills instantly when several boats dock together.

Should I book a transfer? From Athinios, yes. Taxis are gone within minutes and there are about thirty on the whole island.

How early should I reach the santorini port? Forty-five minutes for a fast boat, an hour with a vehicle, and allow extra when several sailings overlap.

Do ferries get cancelled? Yes. The meltemi in summer and storms in winter stop sailings, sometimes for two or three days. Leave slack before a flight home.

Can I take a hire car off the island? Almost every Santorini rental agreement forbids it. Check before you plan it.

Is there luggage storage at the santorini port? Nothing reliable at Athinios. Leave bags at your hotel.

Why is the santorini port called one of the most beautiful? Because of what you sail into: a flooded volcanic crater with a three-hundred-metre banded cliff and four villages along the top of it.

Which port for a boat trip? Caldera cruises leave from Ammoudi, the old port or Vlychada depending on the operator. Confirm which before booking a transfer.

Transfers, and How We Help

Why this page exists. We meet guests at these quays every day of the season, and the same four things go wrong every week.

The wrong port. People book a transfer to the old port for a ferry, or to Athinios for a cruise tender. They are twenty-five minutes apart.

Santorini port transfers from Athinios. Fixed price, booked in advance, and the driver holds a sign at the top of the ramp.

Why pre-booking matters here. When three ferries land together, the bus fills, the taxis vanish and the santorini port car park becomes unusable.

Santorini port transfers for cruise passengers. We meet you at the top of the cable car, not at the bottom, because the queue is the thing that costs you time.

The all-aboard clock. We plan every cruise day backwards from it with an hour of slack built in.

Ammoudi dinners. We drop you at the tavernas and collect you afterwards, which removes three hundred steps at the end of the evening.

Early sailings from the santorini port. We will stop at a bakery in Karterados on the way down, because nothing at Athinios opens before seven.

The arrival-day shop. A supermarket stop on the way up from the santorini port, which solves the whole week in twenty minutes.

Groups and luggage at the santorini port. Mini buses, so a party of eight and eight suitcases travel together rather than in relays.

If your ferry reaches the santorini port late. The driver waits. Tell us and we adjust.

If your ferry is cancelled. Tell us and we move the booking. We do not charge for weather.

What to send us. Your ferry or ship name, the arrival time, which port, and how many of you there are with how much luggage.

The last word. Arrival and departure are the two worst hours of a Santorini trip, and both of them happen at a santorini port at the bottom of a cliff. Everything else about the island is easier than this part.