Travelling To Santorini

Santorini is one of the most popular destinations in the Cyclades and there are good ferry and air transport links to the island. There is a reasonable bus service, good potential for exploration by car or bike, and regular boats to other islands if you want to do some island hopping.

By car

It is possible to take your car on a ferry to Santorini, but not all ferries can take cars, so it pays to check with the ferry line beforehand. It is generally much easier to hire a car when you get to the island itself.

By rail

Santorini doesnt have a rail service, but Athens has connections to various destinations in Greece and beyond. It is relatively straightforward to travel by train to Athens and connect with boats to Santorini at the Piraeus port (Piraeus Metro Station).

There is a cable car that links the port to the town of Fira at an altitude of 220 metres, its a pleasant ride and takes just three minutes. The cable car was donated to the island by ship owner Evangelos Nomikos and proceeds from the ticket sales support the islands communities as well as helping to preserve the traditional mule and donkey transport on the island.

By bus

During the summer season, the island has a small bus service that links Fira with Oia, Akrotiri, Monolithos, Perissa and Kamari, and there are frequent buses from all the tourist resort areas to the port. In the winter, buses are much less frequent. The main bus station is near the central square in Fira. Buses can get crowded, especially when travelling to Oia at sunset, the most popular time to visit. In the summer season, there are express buses that go direct to Perissa and Perivolos.

If you arrive in Athens by bus, take the number 40 from Syntagma Square or the number 49 from Omonia Square to the ferry port at the Piraeus. The Metro also connects to the Piraeus.

By air

There are currently two airlines providing daily direct flights to Santorini from Athens: Olympic and Aegean airlines. The flight time from the capital to Santorini is around 45 minutes. Aegean Airlines also offer a service to Thessaloniki, and Olympic Airlines to Mykonos. The airport in Santorini is only a 15-minute drive from most of the popular destinations and many of the hotels here can arrange transportation.

During the high summer season, there are a number of charter flights direct to Santorini from various European destinations.

By ferry

Santorini is 94 nautical miles from Athens and there are daily services to the island from both the Piraeus and Rafina.

Ferries from Athens arrive at Ormos Athinios Port, from where there are bus connections to the islands capital as well as to Perissa and Kamari beaches. Local ferries and cruise ships tend to use the ports at Skala Firas and Ia. From Skala Firas, there is a cable car to Thira, or for the energetic, a climb of 580 steps.

There are regular ferries connecting Santorini with other islands in the Cyclades as well as with Crete and Thessaloniki. The services are more frequent in the high tourist season.

Taxis

The main taxi rank on the island is near Fira square, next to the bicycle and moped parking spot. There are plenty of taxis here to take you to wherever you want to go, and it is recommended that you negotiate the fare before you leave.