An athens to santorini day trip works by air and not by ferry. The flight is forty-five minutes, the first departures leave around six in the morning and the last returns are close to ten at night, which gives ten to twelve usable hours: Akrotiri at opening, one winery, an inland lunch, Fira and Oia late in the afternoon.
Santorini Tours is the supermodel of the Greek islands, which is instantly recognizable to the whole world: colorful rocks unfold from a caldera drowning in the sea, full of whitewashed buildings.
With its reputation for dazzling panoramas, romantic sunsets and beaches with volcanic sand, it’s no surprise that the island features on many travelers’ bucket lists.
There is no denying the uniqueness of this destination or its immense charm – Santorini hosts 1.5 million tourists annually. Here’s everything you need to know if you plan to join that crowd.
Caldera settlements
Santorini’s commercial development is centered on the Caldera shores in the western part of the island, with large clusters of whitewashed buildings nestling in the heights, spilling out below the coves and offering jaw-dropping views from the sea or the sea.
Fira, the island’s bustling capital, is crossed to the north by the villages of Firostefani (about 15 minutes’ walk from Fira) and Imerovigli (the highest point of the caldera coast, about half an hour’s walk from Fira). A path through these villages is full of luxury hotels, restaurants and endless photo ops.
These three settlements attract the most visitors, along with the stunning and quite exclusive village of Oia in the north of Santorini. There are a growing number of hotels on the southern island, offering caldera views to the north and northeast. The views of Akrotiri arrive cheaper than Oia, but it’s a good way from the action of Fira.
Away from the edge of the caldera
The east coast of Santorini is less well known than the famous, elevated west coast. Here, the heights of the caldera have reached sea level, and the volcanic beaches and resorts offer a very different card. Eastern seaside resorts like Kamari and Perissa have a more traditional island-holiday appeal: beaches full of sunbathing, water sports, bars and tavernas.
The beaches on the east coast are lined with black sand. on the south coast, there are a number of beaches known for their colorful sand – the dramatic Red Beach is a traveller’s favourite.
The interior of the island is built with vineyards and traditional villages that allow you to see beyond the tourist traffic. Stop in Pyrgos for great food and wander the charming alleyways. You can take a tour of Santorini!
When to go
The peak travel time is in July and August, when prices go up and hotels, beaches and beaches are full of tourists. The summer months of April, May, early June, late September and October are good times to visit – things are marginally quieter on the edge of the caldera and significantly quieter on the east coast where accommodation opportunities are plenty.
Don’t miss a winter break, when the crowds are thin (and prices are low) while the scenery is still breathtaking. Santorini is all about positioning itself as a year-round destination.
What to do in Santorini 2022
Walking
The obvious activity is to walk the edge of the caldera and admire the views. The walks in and around Fira are amazing, starting from the north towards Firostefani and Imerovigli along Calderas street. Keep walking and you will eventually reach Oia, but be aware that this is no small undertaking and the path beyond Imerovigli can be rough. It’s about 9 kilometers in all, and a good three to four hours’ walk in one direction.
Wine tasting
Santorini’s acclaimed wines are its crisp dry whites and the amber-colored, colorless dessert wine known as Vinsanto. Both come from the native grape variety, assyrtiko. About a dozen local vineyards host tastings and some offer food, with scenery and local produce combining to excellent results. Start your research on the great, delicious SantoWines.
History
The intrigue of Santorini reaches deep into the past, with the fascinating point of Akrotiri showing a Minoan city destroyed by the volcanic eruption of 1613 BC. In Fira, the impressive Museum of Prehistoric Thera helps capture the history of the ancient Cape.
Sunset
Nature’s handiwork is on display from anywhere in the seaside village, but the sunset capital is in Oia, where thousands of tourists flock to admire (and applaud) the night.
Swimming
Take the plunge: in the hotel’s infinity pool or your suite’s private plunge pool, from the edge of a boat on a caldera cruise, or on a black-sand beach on the East Coast.
Santorini tours
Any tour your heart desires can be arranged – there are dozens of organizations ready to help you with winery visits, archaeological site tours, sunset watching and more. The most popular option is a cruise, and the classic itinerary takes in the volcanic islands of the Nea Kameni and Palaia Kameni caldera, including a stop at the former’s crater and hot springs.
Sure, there are viewpoints that stop you in your tracks and marvel at how tourists travel. But away from the Santorini travel headlines, there’s plenty to explore, from a gorgeous open-air cinema to a cool tiny, art-decorated wine cave and cooking demonstrations and classes celebrating Santorini’s growing food culture.
Read more about Santorini Tours:
- 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
Athens to Santorini Day Trip: The Short Answer
An athens to santorini day trip is possible by air and effectively impossible by ferry. The flight is forty-five minutes, the first departures leave Athens around 06:00 and the last returns are close to 22:00, which gives you roughly ten to twelve usable hours on the island.
On an athens to santorini day trip by fast ferry the crossing is four and a half to five and a half hours each way in summer, and the timetable does not allow a same-day return. A ferry version of this trip is a two-day trip with a night on the island, and it is the better trip anyway.
What ten hours of an athens to santorini day trip buys: Akrotiri, one winery, an inland village for lunch, Fira, and Oia in the late afternoon. What it does not buy: the volcano boat, a beach, Ancient Thira or a sunset you are not anxious about.
Our honest advice on the athens to santorini day trip is one night rather than none. The extra hotel costs less than the second set of flights would, and it turns a rushed day into a proper visit.
Can You Do It in a Day?
By plane. Yes. An athens to santorini day trip by air is a forty-five minute flight with twenty or more rotations a day in summer, and the schedule supports leaving at six and returning at ten in the evening.
By fast ferry. No, not as a same-day return. The morning boat lands early afternoon and the return sailing leaves before you have seen anything.
By conventional ferry. Certainly not. Eight hours each way.
By organised excursion. Several operators sell an athens to santorini day trip by air, which is a flight, a coach and a fixed circuit, usually Oia and Fira with a stop for photographs.
By private arrangement. The athens to santorini day trip done properly: a driver and a guide waiting at the airport, a route built around the cruise schedule and the heat, and you back at the gate with time to spare.
The question nobody asks. Not whether it can be done, but whether the day is worth the two flights. Most people who do it say they wished they had stayed the night.
The Flight Option in Detail
Duration. Forty to fifty minutes in the air, which is what makes an athens to santorini day trip possible at all.
Frequency. Twenty or more flights a day in July and August, six to ten in the shoulder months, and four to six in winter across Aegean, Olympic, Sky Express and Volotea.
First departure. Usually between 05:50 and 07:00 in season, landing before eight.
Last return. Typically between 21:30 and 22:45 in summer, and much earlier in winter.
Cost of the flights. 60 to 120 euros return if booked well ahead, 200 and up at short notice in August.
Airport transfers. Athens airport is 45 minutes from the centre by metro or taxi, and Santorini airport is fifteen minutes from Fira.
Hand luggage only. Essential on an athens to santorini day trip. Waiting for a bag at both ends costs an hour of the island.
The winter caveat. Between November and March the last flight back can leave before six in the evening, which collapses the day to five or six hours.
The Ferry Option in Detail
Fast ferries. The athens to santorini day trip by sea would be four and a half to five and a half hours from Piraeus to Athinios in season, on high-speed catamarans that carry cars.
Conventional ferries. Seven and a half to eight hours, cheaper, steadier and far more comfortable in wind.
Departure times. Fast boats generally leave Piraeus between 07:00 and 07:30 and return from Santorini in the afternoon, which is why an athens to santorini day trip by sea does not work.
Cost. 60 to 90 each way on a fast ferry, 40 to 55 on a conventional one.
Where they dock. Athinios, thirty minutes below Fira, with no shade at the quay and a scrum of minibuses at the ramp.
The wind. The meltemi cancels fast boats several times each summer. Never plan a flight home on a ferry day.
The verdict. Take the ferry if you are staying at least one night rather than doing an athens to santorini day trip, and fly if you genuinely have only the day. See the ports explained.
What Ten Hours Actually Buys
An athens to santorini day trip landing at 07:45 and flying back at 21:45 leaves about twelve hours, of which ten are usable. That is a real day, and it is enough for four things rather than eight.
08:30. Akrotiri at opening, ninety minutes, roofed and cool, and far better with a licensed guide. See Akrotiri.
10:15. The Red Beach viewpoint and the Akrotiri lighthouse, twenty minutes each.
11:30. One winery, with the caldera below the terrace.
13:00. Lunch in Megalochori or Pyrgos, under a vine, an hour and a half.
15:30. Fira: the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, the rim path to Firostefani, and the cable car if the queue is short.
18:00. Oia, when the coaches have started to leave and before the sunset crowd arrives.
20:00. Back to the airport, with dinner as a sandwich or an early plate at Karterados.
That is an athens to santorini day trip done at the right hours, and it shows you more than most three-day visitors manage.
What Does Not Fit
The volcano boat. Four to five hours including the climb, so no athens to santorini day trip holds it, and it starts from the old port below Fira.
A catamaran. Five to seven hours. Not in a day.
Ancient Thira. Two hours with the drive up, and it would cost you Akrotiri.
A beach. Half a day if you want to enjoy it, and twenty minutes if you only want the photograph.
The sunset in Oia. In summer the sun sets around 20:45 and the last flights leave shortly after. You will be watching the clock rather than the sun, which is the worst way to do either.
Three wineries. One is realistic; three is an afternoon on its own.
The rim path to Oia. Ten kilometres and three to four hours. It is the best thing on the island and it needs its own morning. See the Fira to Oia walk.
An athens to santorini day trip is about choosing four things and doing them in the right order, not about compressing a five-day itinerary into twelve hours.
What It Costs
Rough athens to santorini day trip numbers for two people, flying, in the shoulder season.
Flights. 120 to 240 for two return, booked ahead. Double that at short notice in August.
Athens airport transfer. 10 to 20 by metro for two, or around 45 by taxi from the centre.
Getting around on the island. A hire car for the day is 25 to 70 plus fuel; a private driver with a vehicle is fixed and waiting; buses are a couple of euros a journey and will cost you two hours of the day.
Akrotiri. Twelve euros each, plus around 60 for a licensed guide.
Wine tasting. 20 to 35 each.
Lunch inland. 35 to 55 for two.
A realistic total. 350 to 500 for two on a well-organised athens to santorini day trip, and 700 and up if you fly at short notice in August and eat on the rim.
The comparison that matters. One night inland costs 60 to 120. Two extra hours in the morning and a whole evening cost less than the second pair of flights you would otherwise be paying for.
Getting Around During the Day
A private driver. The obvious athens to santorini day trip answer with a fixed flight to catch. Priced per vehicle rather than per person, waiting at arrivals, and no parking to find in Fira or Oia. See transfers.
A hire car. Cheaper for two people and it costs you the parking, which in Fira at midday is twenty minutes and in Oia is not possible at all. See car hire.
Buses. Frequent, cheap and all routed through Fira, so Akrotiri to Oia is two buses and a wait. On a twelve-hour day that is a poor trade.
Taxis. About thirty on the island. Do not build a day around finding one.
A guided tour. The efficient version: transport, timing and the explanation at Akrotiri in one booking. See the full day tour.
The rule for an athens to santorini day trip. Whatever you choose, arrange it before you land. An hour spent at a car desk is a tenth of your island.
Better Alternatives to a Single Day
One night. The obvious upgrade on an athens to santorini day trip. Fly out on the first plane, sleep inland, fly back the next evening. Two full days for the price of one hotel room.
Two nights. Adds a boat day, which is the thing everybody remembers. Five to seven hours in the caldera with swimming stops and lunch on board.
The ferry both ways with two nights. Cheaper than flying, and the arrival into the caldera by sea is worth the crossing on its own.
A different island instead of an athens to santorini day trip. Hydra, Aegina and Poros are ninety minutes from Piraeus and make far more sense as a genuine day out from Athens.
Delphi or Cape Sounion. If the point is a day trip rather than Santorini specifically, both are half the effort and none of the flights.
Our position. We run private days for people arriving on the first flight and leaving on the last, and they work. We still tell everybody who asks that an athens to santorini day trip is the second-best version of this trip, and one night is the first.
Two Worked Versions of the Day
The theory matters less than an hour-by-hour plan, so here are the two athens to santorini day trip versions that work.
The archaeology and wine version. 06:15 flight, landing 07:00. Collected at arrivals at 07:20. Akrotiri at opening for ninety minutes with a guide. The lighthouse and the Red Beach viewpoint by 11:00. One winery at 11:45 with the caldera below the terrace. Lunch in Megalochori at 13:00 for an hour and a half. Pyrgos and its castle at 15:00. Fira and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera at 16:30. The rim path to Firostefani at 18:00. An early plate at Karterados at 19:30, and the 21:45 flight home.
The villages and views version. Same flight. Oia first, at 07:45, when the main street is empty and level and the light is behind you. Breakfast at Ammoudi at 09:30. Firostefani and the rim path at 11:00. Fira and the cable car at 12:00. Lunch inland at Vothonas at 13:30. Emporio and its maze lanes at 15:30. The Akrotiri lighthouse at 17:30. Back at the airport by 20:00.
Which to pick. The first if you care about what the island is; the second if you came for what it looks like. Either is a full athens to santorini day trip and neither leaves you standing in a queue.
What both avoid. Oia between eleven and five, the cable car at midday, the volcano, and any plan that ends with a sprint to the gate.
If You Are Coming Off a Cruise Instead
Some people arrive with the same hours as an athens to santorini day trip but from a ship rather than a plane, and the constraints are different.
The tender. Ships anchor in the caldera and tender into the old port below Fira, where it is the cable car, 588 steps or a donkey, and the queue passes an hour each way at midday.
Usable hours. Six out of a nine-hour call, against ten to twelve on an athens to santorini day trip by air.
The plan. First tender ashore, Akrotiri while it is cool, one winery, lunch inland, and Fira or Oia last when the other ships have started recalling.
The margin. Two hours before all-aboard, not one.
See the shore excursion.
Making the Day Longer
Five ways to buy back hours on an athens to santorini day trip, in order of how much they return.
Add a night. The obvious one. A room inland costs 60 to 120 and turns twelve hours into thirty-six.
Take the first flight out and the last flight back. Two or three hours more than a mid-morning departure, for the same fare or less.
Travel with hand luggage only. An hour saved across the two airports.
Have transport waiting. Twenty minutes at a car hire desk, plus parking twice, is another hour gone.
Skip Oia at sunset. Watching it costs ninety minutes of standing and does not fit a flight schedule anyway. The rim at Firostefani gets exactly the same sun forty minutes earlier and you can walk away from it.
Do those five and an athens to santorini day trip stops feeling like a dash and starts feeling like the best day of the Greek half of your holiday.
Who Should and Should Not Do It
Do the athens to santorini day trip if. You have a fixed week in Athens, you want to see the caldera once, and you are happy to be up at five for one day.
Do it if. You are travelling in May, June, September or early October, when the days are long and the island is comfortable.
Skip the athens to santorini day trip if. You have three spare days, because those three days here are worth more than three anywhere else in Greece.
Do not do it if. You are travelling with small children. Two flights and twelve hours of driving around a hot island is a hard day for anybody under about eight.
Do not do it if. The forecast is for a strong meltemi and you were planning to be on the water; the boats will not run and the ridge will be gritty.
Think twice if. It is August. The heat, the queues and the cruise ships take a large bite out of a twelve-hour athens to santorini day trip, and an early start is not optional.
What to See if the Weather Turns
A single day has no spare afternoon, so a windy or wet forecast has to be planned around rather than waited out.
Akrotiri. Roofed and entirely weatherproof, and the one major site on the island that works in any conditions. It is also the reason an athens to santorini day trip is worth taking in poor weather at all.
The two museums in Fira. Forty-five minutes at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera and half an hour at the Archaeological Museum, five minutes apart.
The wine museum. An hour underground with a tasting at the end.
Two wineries. Indoors, warm, and the staff have time to talk when the terraces are empty.
A long inland lunch. Megalochori or Pyrgos, two hours, and no worse for the rain.
What to drop. The rim path, Ancient Thira and anything on the water. All three are exposed and none is worth doing wet.
The flights. Wind almost never grounds them, and fog is close to unknown here, so an athens to santorini day trip rarely fails for weather at the travel end.
The Last Word
Twelve hours is not a holiday and it is a genuinely good day out, provided you accept what it is: four things done at the right hours rather than an island seen properly.
The people who enjoy an athens to santorini day trip are the ones who choose Akrotiri and a winery and lunch in a village, and who look at the caldera from a terrace at six with a drink rather than from a queue at noon with a coach behind them.
The people who regret it are the ones who tried to add the volcano, the beach and the sunset, and spent the day in a vehicle watching a clock. Pick four things, book the transport before you fly, and it works.
And if you can find one more night anywhere in the trip, spend it here. It is the cheapest improvement available to any athens to santorini day trip and it changes the whole visit.
Season by Season
May, June, September and early October. The right months for an athens to santorini day trip. Long days, full flight schedules, everything open and the villages walkable at midday.
July and August. The most flights and the worst conditions: 30 degrees, no shade, five cruise ships in the caldera and Oia solid between eleven and five. An athens to santorini day trip in August has to be built entirely around the early morning.
April and late October. Fewer flights, cooler air, fine light and quiet sites. Check the last return time carefully; it moves earlier as the season ends.
November to March. An athens to santorini day trip has four to six flights a day, the last one often mid-afternoon, and a good part of Oia shut. The day shrinks to five or six hours and is only worth it if the weather is clear.
Wind. The meltemi rarely affects flights and regularly cancels ferries, which is another argument for flying if you have only the one day.
See the weather month by month.
Mistakes People Make
Checking a bag on an athens to santorini day trip. Twenty minutes at each end, and on a twelve-hour day that is an hour of the island.
Booking the last flight of the evening in winter. It leaves before dark and often before you have had lunch.
Trying to see Oia at midday. It is at its worst between eleven and five, and at its best before nine and after six.
Planning an athens to santorini day trip around the sunset. The last flight and the sunset are usually forty minutes apart in summer, and you cannot have both without stress.
Arranging transport on arrival. Book it before you fly. There are about thirty taxis on the island.
Adding the volcano. It does not fit, and every athens to santorini day trip that tries it ends up seeing nothing else.
Taking the ferry back the same day. There is no sailing that allows it.
Booking a cheap group excursion and expecting a private pace. It is a coach, a car park and a fixed circuit, which is fine if you know that is what you bought.
Athens to Santorini Day Trip: Frequently Asked Questions
Is an athens to santorini day trip possible? Yes by air, with roughly ten to twelve usable hours on the island. Not by ferry, because there is no same-day return.
How long is the flight? Forty to fifty minutes, with twenty or more rotations a day in summer.
How long is the ferry? Four and a half to five and a half hours on a fast boat, seven and a half to eight on a conventional one.
How much does it cost? 350 to 500 for two people organised sensibly, and considerably more booked at short notice in August.
What can you see in one day? Akrotiri, one winery, an inland village for lunch, Fira and Oia in the late afternoon.
What cannot you see? The volcano boat, a catamaran, Ancient Thira, a beach day and a relaxed sunset.
Should you fly or take the ferry? Fly for a single day; take the ferry if you are staying at least one night.
Is it worth it? Yes if that day is all you have, and one night is a far better trip for a small amount more.
Do you need a car? You need transport of some kind arranged in advance. Buses will cost you two hours of the day.
What time should you leave the island? Be at the airport ninety minutes before departure; it is small, slow and crowded in season.
Is it doable in winter? Technically, and the last flight is often mid-afternoon, so the day shrinks to five or six hours.
What is the one thing not to miss? Akrotiri, because it is roofed, quiet at opening and the only thing here that has no equivalent anywhere else.
We Will Meet Your Flight and Have You Back for the Last One
We are a local operator running private tours and transfers in our own vehicles, and a twelve-hour visit is entirely about timing: Akrotiri before the coaches, one winery when the terraces are quiet, lunch inland at a third of the caldera price, and Oia at an hour when you can walk down the main street.
Tell us your flight numbers and we will build the athens to santorini day trip around them, with a driver waiting at arrivals and a route planned around the cruise schedule rather than around a list of sights.
Prices are per vehicle rather than per person, pickup at the airport or your hotel is included, we guide in twelve languages, and an 80 EUR deposit confirms a date.
See the personalised tour, the full day tour, 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
