The santorini bus network is run by KTEL Thiras, costs 1.30 to 2.30 euros a journey, and routes every single service through one station in Fira. This page sets out the routes, the fares, the frequencies, the first and last departures, and the journeys it cannot do at all.
Why visit Santorini in September 2021?
Santorini is a magical island, an island that radiates romance, no matter the season. You can explore this extraordinary island, Santorini in September with Santorini Tours. Santorini, the most beautiful island of Cyclades, will impress all of you who will decide to visit it for the first time and especially in September 2021. There are many reasons why Santorini became famous. Colors in the sky, amazing landscapes, peace and harmony on the cliffs of the Caldera, they are all magical.
Its picturesqueness but also the intense rhythms of life even this month will create the feeling that once it is not enough to visit the famous-cosmopolitan Santorini. The dark presence of the volcano and the magical sunset give the island a special and impressive beauty, an image that has not lost its value over the years.
What to do in Santorini in September 2021
The month of September is the right time to visit the island. Take a walk in the shops, enjoy your coffee in a cafe-bar looking the magical sunset or your food in a luxurious restaurant. Visit the Temples and Museums of the island. In Santorini there are Catholic but also Orthodox Churches. If you are in a romantic mood, all you have to do is visit the preserved settlement of Imerovigli. There you will see the ruins of the Venetian castle Skaros and you will walk on the path that leads to the church of Theoskepasti, built on the edge of a rock, with a unique view to the volcanic islands of Palia and Nea Kameni!
You can enjoy your coffee in combination with the fantastic view that the island offers. In the famous and popular with tourists Oia, you can enjoy the sweetest and most romantic dusk of September with your partner by your side and you can take advantage of the atmosphere for a wedding proposal. In this scenario, we do not believe that they will deny you.
We also suggest you visit the cave settlement in the village of Karterados. In combination with the first rains, we suggest you try in one of the traditional elegant cafe-bars the wines of Santorini but also the local delicacies, such as fava. The chefs of the island suggest flavors that you have not imagined. Do not miss the opportunity to taste them.
And because the journey continues and the experience takes another form, a boat that will surely obey your order will take you from the old port of Skala to Nea Kameni, the island of the volcano! Walk among the black volcanic rocks and see the crater. The atmosphere smells strongly while we suggest you not to put it on your feet. After all, the history of the volcano lasts for years, you only have to be the protagonist in one of the many scenes in which many others have already participated over the years. You can take a tour of Santorini!
Santorini is suitable for autumn holidays
September in Santorini is the favorite season not only of the locals, but also of the sophisticated tourists. The hot summer is over, the sea is warmer than ever and the sky is blue all day, while the afternoons are cool. The sunsets of September paint Oia golden and the deep blue of the Caldera becomes more intense these days. All you have to do is pack a suitcase and follow the route.
You have the opportunity to discover Nea Kameni (Volcano), the Hot Waters, as well as the picturesque island of Thirasia. See the craters of the Volcano and be informed about all its activity. Visit the island of Palea Kameni and the thermal Hot Waters. Do not forget to take a walk on the picturesque island of Thirasia.
And it may be in most people’s minds one of the ultimate summer destinations, but Santorini is irresistibly charming and wonderful in the fall as well. Autumn in Santorini is mild. This means that September is the ideal month to visit the most famous island of the Cyclades. Santorini is famous all over the world for its dreamy sunset. In the so-called Caldera, in the West of the Sun, a crowd gathers to see the sun disappear in the endless blue of the Aegean, having the wonderful yellow-red colors of the sun. Do not miss it!
Book a Santorini tour in September 2021
The tour of the island is also full of emotions and you should book one with Santorini Private Tours. The cave houses in the volcanic soil look like small tiles in the work of art that spreads in Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli or the touristically projected Oia, with the legendary sunset. In Fira, do not miss a visit to the museum of Prehistoric Thera, to make a journey through time that will take your breath away.
Santorini is famous all over the world and its enchanting sunset is seen up close by travelers from all over the world. It is one of the most popular islands in the world with its charm, magic and mystery. Besides, anyone who has visited it knows well that the wonderful Cycladic island is much more than just a summer destination.
Read more about Santorini tour:
- Santorini Sightseeing Private Tour
- Exclusive Shore Santorini Private Tour
- Impressive Caldera Santorini Private Tour
- South Part Santorini Private Tour
- North Part Santorini Private Tour
- Santorini Historical Private Tour
- Santorini Sunset Private Tour
Santorini Bus: The Short Answer
The santorini bus network is run by KTEL Thiras, it is cheap, it is better than most visitors expect, and every single route on the island starts and finishes at one station in Fira. That last fact is the whole thing you need to understand. There is no coastal service, no airport-to-Oia link and no ring road route: if you are going from anywhere to anywhere, you are going through Fira, and frequently changing there.
Fares. 1.30 to 2.30 euros a journey. Fira to the airport 1.60, to Oia 1.80, to Kamari 1.80, to Akrotiri 2.00, to Perissa 2.20, to Vlychada 2.30 and to the port at Athinios 2.30.
Tickets. Every santorini bus fare is bought on board from a conductor, cash only. There is no app, no contactless and no day pass.
The hub. Fira’s central bus station, one minute from the main square and five from the cable car.
Frequency. The Oia santorini bus runs roughly every twenty to thirty minutes in season from about 06:50 to 21:20. Kamari and Perissa are about hourly. The airport route is roughly hourly from about 07:25 to 21:10. Vlychada and Monolithos get three departures a day.
Journey times. Fira to the airport ten minutes, Kamari twenty, Monolithos twenty, Vlychada twenty, Oia twenty-five, Perissa twenty-five, Akrotiri twenty-five, the port twenty-five.
Vehicles. The santorini bus fleet is full-size modern coaches, air-conditioned, with luggage holds. Standing is permitted and in August they are standing-room only on the Oia run.
What it cannot do. Early mornings, late nights, direct cross-island journeys, a sunrise, Ancient Thera, Profitis Ilias, most wineries, or anything with a fixed dinner reservation at the other end.
The timetable changes. Published schedules are revised without notice and differ between high season, shoulder and winter. Check the day before rather than the week before.
The honest verdict. For two people moving between Fira, Oia, Kamari and Perissa on no particular schedule, the santorini bus is excellent and costs almost nothing. For a group, for luggage, for an early flight or for an evening that ends after eleven, it is the wrong tool.
How the Network Actually Works
Understanding the shape of the system saves more time than memorising any timetable, because the shape is what creates every awkward journey on the island.
One hub, no exceptions. Fira’s station is the centre of a wheel and every route is a spoke. There is no service between Kamari and Perissa, none between Oia and the beaches, and none between the airport and anywhere except Fira. The santorini bus network has no circumference.
What that means in practice. Kamari to Perissa is four kilometres and forty-five minutes with a change in Fira. Airport to Oia is a bus to Fira, a wait, and a second bus. Perissa to Akrotiri is the same. Anything that is not radial costs you a change and a wait.
The station itself. Open-air, a single forecourt with bays, a small ticket kiosk that sells nothing you need, and departure boards that are approximately right. Staff will tell you which bay, and asking is faster than reading.
No santorini bus reservations. You turn up, you board, you pay on board. There is no way to book a seat on a santorini bus and no way to guarantee one in August.
The conductor. A second crew member who walks the aisle taking fares after departure. Cash only, and they carry change for a ten but not always for a fifty.
Santorini bus stops. Marked along the main roads with a sign, and the driver will also stop where it is safe if you flag clearly. Inside the villages the bus stops at the edge and you walk in.
Luggage. Goes in the side hold, free, and nobody checks it. On the airport and port runs the hold fills and large cases end up in the aisle.
Standing. Legal and normal. On the Oia route at six in the evening in August you will stand for twenty-five minutes.
Seasonality. The network roughly triples its frequency between March and July and collapses again in November. The same santorini bus route can be six departures a day in April and twenty-eight in August.
The one thing nobody tells you. The last departures are earlier than you think, generally somewhere between about nine and half past ten depending on the route and the month, and after that the island has around thirty taxis and no other public transport at all.
Santorini Bus Routes, One by One
Every route radiates from Fira. Fares and journey times below are the current published figures and the operator revises them without notice.
Fira to Oia. 1.80 euros, twenty-five minutes, roughly every twenty to thirty minutes in season from about 06:50 until about 21:20. The busiest santorini bus on the island, and the one that fills before sunset. Runs via Firostefani and Imerovigli, which makes it genuinely useful for anybody staying on the rim.
The airport santorini bus. 1.60 euros, ten minutes, roughly hourly from about 07:25 to 21:10. Cheap, and only sensible with hand luggage and a generous margin.
Fira to Athinios port. 2.30 euros, twenty-five minutes. Not a clock timetable: departures are set against the ferry arrivals and departures, which change daily.
The Kamari santorini bus. 1.80 euros, twenty minutes, frequent through the day and into the evening. The easiest beach run on the network.
The Perissa santorini bus. 2.20 euros, twenty-five minutes, roughly hourly from about 07:00 to 22:00. Some services continue to Perivolos.
Fira to Akrotiri. 2.00 euros, twenty-five minutes, a handful of departures a day. It drops you in the village, and the archaeological site and the Red Beach are a further walk.
Fira to Vlychada. 2.30 euros, twenty minutes, three departures a day. Enough to get there and a real risk of being stranded.
Fira to Monolithos. 1.60 euros, twenty minutes, three departures a day.
Fira to Vourvoulos. 1.30 euros, fifteen minutes. The cheapest santorini bus fare on the island.
The inland villages. Pyrgos, Megalochori, Emporio, Exo Gonia and Messaria are served by the routes that pass through them on the way to the south and east, so frequency depends on which line you are on rather than on the village.
Oia to the north coast. A small local service towards Baxedes in high season only, and thin.
Winter. Most routes drop to a few departures a day, several stop entirely, and the Vlychada and Monolithos services disappear.
Fares, Tickets and Paying
This is the simplest part of the santorini bus and the part that still catches people out, because the system is entirely cash and entirely analogue.
The santorini bus fares. 1.30 to 2.30 euros depending on distance. Vourvoulos 1.30, the airport and Monolithos 1.60, Oia and Kamari 1.80, Akrotiri 2.00, Perissa 2.20, Vlychada and the port 2.30.
Cash only on the santorini bus. No cards, no contactless, no app, no QR code. Carry coins and small notes.
Paid on board. A conductor comes down the aisle after departure, takes the fare and issues a paper ticket. Keep it.
No day passes or travel cards. Every leg of every journey is paid separately, which matters on the radial network: Kamari to Perissa via Fira is two fares, not one.
Children. Small children travel free and older ones pay the adult fare. There is no student or senior discount for visitors.
Luggage. Free, in the hold.
What a week costs. Two people doing six santorini bus journeys each across four days spend roughly 22 to 25 euros in total. Against 180 euros for four days of car hire plus fuel and parking, that is the honest case for the bus.
Where it stops being cheap. Four people. Four fares to Oia and back is 14.40 euros, and a private vehicle that waits for you and goes when you want costs rather more but not ten times more. For a family of five the arithmetic changes again.
The hidden cost. Time. The santorini bus is cheap in euros and expensive in hours, because every non-radial journey includes a change and a wait in Fira.
Timetables, Frequency and the Seasons
There is a published timetable and it is genuinely useful, with two caveats: it changes without notice, and it changes four times a year.
High season, roughly late June to early September. The network at full strength. Oia every twenty to thirty minutes, Kamari and Perissa roughly hourly or better, the airport roughly hourly, and last departures at their latest.
Shoulder, May to mid-June and mid-September to October. Main routes roughly hourly, secondary routes three to six times a day, and last departures pulled back by an hour or more.
Early and late season, April and late October. Thinner again, with Vlychada and Monolithos barely served.
Winter, November to March. A skeleton service for residents. A few departures a day on the main lines, nothing on the minor ones, and no santorini bus at all to several places.
First santorini bus departures. Around 06:50 on the Oia route and around 07:00 to 07:25 elsewhere. Nothing earlier, which is why the bus is no use for a sunrise or a dawn flight.
Last santorini bus departures. Broadly between about 21:10 and 22:00 depending on the route, later on the Oia and Fira rim runs in peak weeks. Assume the network has finished by about half past ten and plan the evening accordingly.
The port exception. Athinios services are built around the ferry schedule rather than a clock, so they appear when boats are due and vanish between them.
How to check. The operator publishes current timetables and the figures move, so look the day before. The phone number on the operator’s own site is answered and is faster than guessing.
Santorini bus public holidays. Reduced, particularly on 15 August and at Greek Easter, which are also the two busiest travel periods of the year.
Strikes. Occasional and national rather than local, and they take the santorini bus network out for a day at a time.
The Airport Bus
Santorini’s airport is ten minutes from Fira and the santorini bus between them costs 1.60 euros, which sounds like the obvious answer and is the right answer for perhaps a third of arrivals.
The airport santorini bus. Roughly hourly in season, broadly 07:25 to 21:10, direct to the Fira station, ten minutes.
Where it stops at the airport. On the road outside the terminal, a short walk from arrivals. It is not signposted as clearly as it could be and asking is quicker than looking.
When it works. Two people, hand luggage, a daytime flight, and a bed in Fira, Firostefani or Imerovigli. In that case it is genuinely the sensible choice.
When it does not. Anything outside roughly 07:30 to 21:00, which includes a large share of summer arrivals, because flights land here until well after eleven at night. Also: two large suitcases, three or more people, small children, a connection onwards to Oia or a beach, or an early departure.
The Oia problem. There is no airport to Oia santorini bus. You take the bus to Fira, cross the forecourt, wait for the Oia departure and ride another twenty-five minutes. Forty-five minutes to an hour and a quarter in total with luggage, against thirty-five minutes door to door in a vehicle.
Departing. Allow for the hourly frequency plus the two hours the airport asks for. For a six in the morning flight there is no bus at all.
Taxis at the airport. Around thirty on the island and no rank worth the name. They are not a fallback.
What we would do. Bus in if you are two people with light bags and landing in daylight. A booked vehicle otherwise, and always for the departure if the flight is before eight.
The Port Bus to Athinios
Athinios is the island’s ferry port, at the bottom of a switchback road cut into the cliff, and it is the single most chaotic place on Santorini when three boats arrive together.
The port santorini bus. 2.30 euros, twenty-five minutes, and timed against the ferry schedule rather than a clock. Departures appear for arriving boats and for the main sailings.
Arriving by ferry. The santorini bus waits at the quay and fills within minutes. Several hundred people come off a large ferry and there is not room for all of them on the first departure.
The scramble. Coaches, hire-car shuttles, hotel transfers and touts in a small space with no shade. If you have a booked vehicle the driver holds a board with your name; if you do not, you queue.
Departing by ferry. Work backwards generously. The road up and down is single-lane and slow, and missing the boat means a day.
Luggage. Heavy here more than anywhere, and the hold fills first.
Late sailings. Ferries arrive after midnight in summer. Bus provision at that hour is thin to nonexistent.
Island hopping. If you are coming from Naxos, Paros, Ios or Mykonos, this is the bus you will meet first and it gives a worse first impression of the island than the island deserves.
The alternative. A booked transfer for the port in either direction, priced per vehicle. For two people with cases it is the difference between starting the holiday and surviving the start of it.
The Santorini Bus to Oia
This is the busiest and most useful route on the network, and the one where the santorini bus genuinely competes with a car.
The Oia santorini bus. 1.80 euros, twenty-five minutes, roughly every twenty to thirty minutes in season from about 06:50 until about 21:20.
The santorini bus route. North out of Fira along the rim through Firostefani and Imerovigli, then inland across the ridge and down into Oia. Anybody staying in Firostefani or Imerovigli can board it at the top of the village.
Where it stops in Oia. At the bus terminus on the main road at the eastern end, not in the middle of the village. From there it is a flat five-minute walk to the main lane.
The sunset problem. Everybody on the island wants this bus between six and seven and again between half past eight and half past nine. The outbound services fill at Fira and leave people standing at Firostefani and Imerovigli, and the return services after sunset are a crush. This is the one predictable failure of the santorini bus and it happens every evening of the summer.
How to beat it. Go out at five rather than six, and come back at half past nine rather than at nine. Or walk the rim path one way.
The last Oia santorini bus. Around 21:20 from Fira in peak season, with the final return from Oia not long after. If your dinner in Oia or at Ammoudi runs past that, you need a plan that is not a bus.
Ammoudi. No santorini bus goes down there. It is three hundred steps below the village, or a short drive on a narrow road, and the climb back after dinner is the thing people underestimate.
Sunrise in Oia. Impossible by bus. Nothing runs before about ten to seven and the good light has gone by then in summer.
The verdict. For a daytime visit to Oia from anywhere on the rim, take the bus: it is cheap, frequent and drops you at a flat five-minute walk. For the sunset, and certainly for dinner afterwards, arrange a vehicle.
The Santorini Bus to the Beaches
The east and south coasts are where most people actually spend their days, and the network serves them unevenly.
Kamari. 1.80 euros, twenty minutes, frequent through the day and into the evening. The easiest beach on the network and the most reliable santorini bus for a beach day.
Perissa. 2.20 euros, twenty-five minutes, roughly hourly from about 07:00 until about 22:00, with some services continuing to Perivolos.
Perivolos. Served on the Perissa line rather than separately. Check whether the departure you want continues, because not all of them do.
Monolithos. 1.60 euros, twenty minutes, three departures a day. Enough for a planned day, not enough to improvise.
Vlychada. 2.30 euros, twenty minutes, three departures a day. The most likely place on the island to be stranded by the santorini bus, and worth checking the return time before you board the outbound.
The Red Beach. No direct service. Take the Akrotiri bus and walk, or go by boat, which is better anyway.
Kamari to Perissa. Four kilometres apart with a mountain between them, and no connecting service. By santorini bus it is a change in Fira and about forty-five minutes. On foot it is the path over Mesa Vouno, which is two hours and worth doing once.
The beach-hopping problem. You cannot. The radial network means one beach a day unless you have a vehicle, and that single constraint shapes a lot of holidays here.
Coming back. The last departures from the beaches are earlier than the last from Oia. If you plan to eat on the sand, check the time before your second drink.
Akrotiri, the Red Beach and the South-West by Bus
The south-western arm holds the best archaeological site on the island and the santorini bus reaches it, just barely.
The Akrotiri santorini bus. 2.00 euros, twenty-five minutes, a handful of departures a day rather than an hourly clock.
Where it drops you. Akrotiri village. The excavation is a walk from there along the road, and the Red Beach car park is further again.
The site’s hours. It opens at eight, which is the best hour to be there, and the first santorini bus does not get you there for it.
The lighthouse. Several kilometres beyond the village with no service at all. Not reachable by bus.
Coming back. Few departures, and missing one means a long wait in a village with two tavernas. Write the return time down.
The honest assessment. Akrotiri is the single best hour on Santorini and the santorini bus makes it a half-day commitment with a real risk of waiting. This is the clearest case on the island for a vehicle.
The Inland Villages by Bus
Pyrgos, Megalochori, Emporio, Messaria and Exo Gonia are all on roads the network uses, which makes them more accessible than their reputation suggests.
How they are served. Not by dedicated routes but by the lines that pass through on the way south and east. A santorini bus to Perissa or Akrotiri is also the bus to Megalochori or Emporio, depending on which road it takes.
Messaria. The best santorini bus coverage of any inland village, because almost everything heading south passes through it. Eight minutes from Fira.
Pyrgos. On the main south road, with a reasonable number of daily services and a walk up into the village from the stop.
Megalochori. On the Akrotiri and port roads. Fewer services, and the stop is on the main road rather than in the square.
Emporio. On the Perissa line, with a decent frequency.
Exo Gonia and Mesa Gonia. Thin. Effectively a car destination.
The wineries. Almost none are walkable from a bus stop. Santo Wines is a long uphill walk from Pyrgos; the rest are not realistic. If the wine is the point of the day, the santorini bus is not the answer, and neither is driving afterwards.
Profitis Ilias and Ancient Thera. No service to either. Both are a taxi, a hire car, a private vehicle or a long climb.
The upside. Staying in Messaria, Karterados or Emporio and using the santorini bus is the cheapest viable way to do this island, and a lot of people do exactly that for a week without difficulty.
Three Days on Santorini Using Only the Bus
This is a real plan rather than an illustration, and it works because it is built around the shape of the network instead of fighting it. It assumes two people staying in Fira, Firostefani or Imerovigli, which is where the santorini bus is most useful.
Day one, morning. Walk. The rim path from Fira through Firostefani to Imerovigli is flat, paved and twenty-five minutes, and it is the best thing on the island that costs nothing. Continue to Skaros Rock and back.
Day one, afternoon. The santorini bus to Kamari, 1.80 euros and twenty minutes, with departures through the day. Black sand, loungers, tavernas on the promenade, and water that is warm from June.
Day one, evening. Bus back to Fira by early evening, then eat on the rim. Everything from here is on foot, which matters because the network has finished by about half past ten.
Day two, morning. The santorini bus to Oia, 1.80 euros, leaving Fira around nine. The village is still quiet at half past nine and the coaches arrive at eleven. Walk the main lane, the castle and the path down towards Ammoudi.
Day two, afternoon. Either the three hundred steps down to Ammoudi and back, or the bus onward towards Baxedes in high season, or simply back to Fira.
Day two, evening. The sunset from Imerovigli rather than Oia, reached on the same santorini bus route or on foot from Firostefani. You get the better view, you avoid the crush on the return service, and you walk home.
Day three, morning. The bus to Akrotiri, 2.00 euros, checking the return departure before you board because there are only a handful a day. The Minoan town is the best hour on Santorini.
Day three, afternoon. Back to Fira, then the santorini bus to Perissa, 2.20 euros, for the long beach and a late lunch.
Day three, evening. Fira, on foot, which is the only village where the night and the bed are in the same place.
What this costs. Roughly twenty-two euros in fares for two people across three days, against about 140 for three days of car hire and fuel.
What it leaves out. A sunrise, a winery, Ancient Thera, Profitis Ilias, Vlychada, the lighthouse, Ammoudi by vehicle, and any evening that runs late. Those are the things the santorini bus cannot do, and the usual answer is one private vehicle for one day, which covers most of them in an afternoon.
The one fixed booking. A boat into the caldera, which leaves from the Old Port below Fira or from Vlychada. The Old Port departures are reachable by cable car from Fira; the Vlychada ones are not realistically reachable by bus.
Common Santorini Bus Mistakes
Assuming a coastal route exists. It does not. Every journey goes through Fira, and Kamari to Perissa is a change and two fares for four kilometres.
Not checking the return. Three departures a day to Vlychada and Monolithos, and a handful to Akrotiri. Write the time down before you leave Fira.
Turning up for the Oia sunset bus at six. It fills at the station, and the rim villages get a full santorini bus that does not stop. Go at five.
Planning dinner in Oia around the bus. The last return is not long after nine. A dinner that starts at half past eight does not end in time.
Booking the airport bus for an early flight. Nothing runs before about half past seven. For a six in the morning departure there is no service at all.
Arriving at eleven at night and expecting a bus. The network has stopped and the thirty taxis on the island are not at the terminal.
Carrying no cash. Cash only, and the conductor is not interested in a card.
Buying a day pass. There is no such thing on the santorini bus, so every leg is a separate fare.
Expecting a winery to be walkable from a stop. Almost none are, and the return services in the late afternoon are thin.
Using last year’s timetable. The schedules change four times a year and are revised without notice.
Taking three large suitcases on the August airport run. The hold fills and the aisle is not a luggage rack.
Trying to reach a sunrise. The first santorini bus of the day is already too late in every summer month.
Treating the bus as all-or-nothing. The best plan on this island is usually a mix: the santorini bus for daytime village and beach hops, walking for the rim, and a booked vehicle for the airport, the port, the wineries and anything on a clock.
One more arithmetic check. Two adults on the santorini bus for a week of daytime moves between Fira, Oia and the beaches spend around forty euros in fares. The same week with a hire car is roughly two hundred and fifty with fuel and parking, and the same week of private vehicles is more again. The bus wins on price by a wide margin and loses on every journey that has a clock attached to it, which is why almost everybody who gets this right ends up using both.
What to settle before you arrive. Two things only. How you are getting from the airport or the port to your bed, and how you are getting back on the last morning. Both are journeys with a fixed time, both frequently fall outside the hours the network runs, and both are the moments when the shortage of taxis on this island stops being a statistic. Everything else can be decided at the Fira bus station with two euros in your hand.
The summary in one line. Use the santorini bus for the daytime, walk the rim, and book a vehicle for the airport, the port, the wineries, a sunrise and anything after half past ten at night.
What the Santorini Bus Cannot Do
A straight list, because knowing the limits in advance is what makes the network usable for the things it is good at.
Early mornings. Nothing before about ten to seven. No sunrise, no dawn walk on the rim path, no six o’clock flight.
Late nights. Broadly finished between about nine and half past ten depending on the route. The Fira bar strip runs until four or five and the santorini bus does not.
Cross-island journeys. Everything radiates from Fira, so Kamari to Perissa, airport to Oia, or Perissa to Akrotiri all mean a change and a wait.
Luggage in quantity. The holds fill, and three cases between two people on an August airport run is a struggle.
Groups on the santorini bus. Six people cannot count on boarding the same departure in peak season, and four fares each way starts to close the gap on a private vehicle.
Fixed appointments. A boat at nine, a dinner reservation at eight thirty, a flight at seven. The santorini bus has no guaranteed capacity and the timetable moves.
The wineries. Not walkable from stops, and the return services are thin. Also, nobody should be driving out of a tasting, which leaves one option.
Ancient Thera, Profitis Ilias and the lighthouse. No service at all.
Ammoudi. No service. Three hundred steps below Oia.
Anyone with mobility difficulties. Standing is common, the stops are on main roads, and the villages are entered on foot from the edge.
Rain at a santorini bus stop. Rare, and the stops have no shelter when it happens.
Spontaneity in the evening. This is the real one. By about half past ten the island has around thirty taxis and no buses, and every summer a great many people discover that at the same moment.
Bus, Taxi, Car or Private Transfer
Four ways of moving around a small island, each of which wins clearly in its own circumstances.
The santorini bus. 1.30 to 2.30 euros a journey. Best for two people on a loose schedule moving between Fira, Oia, Kamari and Perissa in daylight. Unbeatable on price and genuinely pleasant.
Taxis. Around thirty for the whole island. Not hailable in any reliable sense, scarce at the airport and port, and effectively gone after midnight. Useful when one happens to be there and not a plan.
Hire car. 35 to 70 euros a day in season. Best for stays of five nights or more, for inland and south-coast bases, and for families. The costs are parking, which is genuinely difficult in Fira and Oia in August, and the fact that somebody has to stay sober.
Quad or scooter. Cheap and the island’s commonest source of holiday injuries. The roads are narrow, unlit at night and there is gravel on the bends.
Private transfer. Priced per vehicle rather than per person, which is the detail that changes the arithmetic for three or more people. Best for the airport and port at both ends, for late arrivals, for early departures, for wineries and for anything with a fixed time.
The hybrid that works. Transfers for the airport or port at both ends, the santorini bus for the daytime moves between the main villages, and one private vehicle for the day you do Akrotiri, a winery and the south coast. Cheaper than a week of car hire and it never leaves anybody standing at a stop at half past ten at night.
Two people, four nights, daytime only. Bus, plus two transfers. Total transport cost under a hundred euros.
Four people, a week, an inland villa. Hire car, and use the santorini bus for nothing.
Six or more, any length. A private vehicle for the fixed journeys, because fares multiply and seats do not.
Practical Tips for Riding the Santorini Bus
Carry coins for the santorini bus. Cash only, and a conductor with change for a ten rather than a fifty.
Write down the return time. Especially for Vlychada, Monolithos and Akrotiri, where there are three or four departures a day.
Arrive ten minutes early in August. Particularly for Oia in the hour before sunset, when the santorini bus fills at the station and leaves people behind at the rim villages.
Sit on the right going to Oia. The caldera is on that side for the first half of the journey.
Ask which bay. The boards at Fira are approximately right and the staff are precisely right.
Flag clearly at roadside stops. Drivers will pass a stop nobody is obviously waiting at.
Tell the conductor where you are going. The fare depends on it and they will also tell you where to get off.
Keep the santorini bus ticket. Inspections are rare and they happen.
Do not rely on one departure. The timetable is published and revised without notice, and a santorini bus can simply not appear.
Check the day before. Not the week before, because the seasonal schedules change.
Expect to stand in peak weeks. It is twenty-five minutes, and it is fine.
Have a fallback for the evening. One number for a vehicle, saved before you go out. This is the single most useful piece of advice on this page.
Santorini Bus: Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the santorini bus? 1.30 to 2.30 euros a journey. Airport 1.60, Oia 1.80, Kamari 1.80, Akrotiri 2.00, Perissa 2.20, Vlychada and the port 2.30.
How do I buy a ticket? On board from a conductor, cash only. There is no app, no card payment and no day pass.
Where is the bus station? In Fira, a minute from the main square. Every route on the island starts and ends there.
Is there a bus from the airport to Oia? No. You take the airport bus to Fira and change for Oia.
How often does the Oia bus run? Roughly every twenty to thirty minutes in season, from about 06:50 to about 21:20.
What time is the last bus? Broadly between about 21:10 and 22:00 depending on the route and the month. Assume the network has stopped by about half past ten.
Is there a night bus? No.
Can I get from Kamari to Perissa by bus? Only via Fira, with a change and two fares, about forty-five minutes for four kilometres.
Does the bus go to the port? Yes, 2.30 euros and twenty-five minutes, timed against the ferry schedule rather than a clock.
Can I take luggage? Yes, free, in the side hold. The holds fill on airport and port runs.
Is the santorini bus air-conditioned? Yes, full-size modern coaches. Standing is permitted and common in August.
Does it go to the wineries, Ancient Thera or the lighthouse? No to all three.
Can I see the sunrise by bus? No. Nothing runs early enough.
Is it worth using at all? For two people moving around in daylight, yes, and it is excellent value. For groups, luggage, early flights or late evenings, no.
When the Bus Is the Wrong Tool, Call Us
We are a local operator on Santorini with our own vehicles and our own drivers, and we will say plainly that for a lot of daytime journeys here the bus is the better answer and you should take it.
What it cannot do is the airport or the port at eleven at night, a six in the morning departure, a winery afternoon where nobody drives, Akrotiri before the coaches, a sunrise, Ancient Thera, or six people who need to be somewhere at a fixed time.
Prices are per vehicle rather than per person, hotel pickup anywhere on the island is included, we guide in twelve languages, and an 80 EUR deposit confirms a date.
See the personalised tour, the private transfers, or contact us.
Every Village and Site on the Island
Any of these can be built into a private day. Each has its own page with what to see and how long to allow.
Caldera villages: Fira · Firostefani · Imerovigli · Oia · Finikia · Baxedes
Inland villages: Pyrgos · Megalochori · Emporio · Mesaria · Karterados · Vothonas · Vourvoulos · Exo Gonia · Mesa Gonia · Pigadia
Beaches: Perissa · Perivolos · Kamari · Vlychada · Monolithos · Red Beach · White Beach · Agios Georgios · Agia Paraskevi
Sites and landmarks: Akrotiri · Ancient Thira · Akrotiri Lighthouse · Nea Kameni · Palia Kameni · Thirasia · Athinios Port
All our tours: All Santorini tours · Full day tour · Sightseeing tour · Personalised tour · North part tour · Horse riding · South part tour · Sunset tour · Shore excursion · Caldera tour · Food experience · Wine tour · Historical tour · Small group tour
Planning and services: Famous sights tour · Private transfers · Transfers to Oia and Finikia · Transfers to other villages · Villages of Santorini · History of Santorini · Tours near you · Languages we guide in · Food and fun tours · Gay friendly tours · Our tour buses · Daily tours · Day tours · FAQ · Gallery · Tour photo gallery · About us · Contact · Blog
