PORT OF CALL : SANTORINI
CRUSING TO SANTORINI
Port of Call. Definition: “a stop on an itinerary”.
A lot of people I have spoken to about a Greek Island cruise say that Santorini is the stop on the itinerary, “the port of call”, that they most want to see.
I have been lucky enough to visit twice, most recently in June 2022, aboard Celebrity Beyond. I explored the island’s capital Fira, historic Akrotiri to the south and the famous village of Oia to the North.
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
When I talk about Santorini, I’m referring to a Greek Island in the Aegean Sea. If you book a cruise that’s the name you will generally see on your itinerary.
But it is a little more confusing than that because although many locals call it Santorini, the island is officially called Thira. This derives from the English pronunciation of Thera. Both of these versions are used.
And then you head to the Island’s capital, which is called Fira, but you sometimes hear it referred to as Thira or Thera as well!
Of course being in Greece all the signs are actually written in the Greek alphabet too. I don’t know much Greek, beyond “kalimera” for good morning and “efharisto” for thank you, because that’s just polite. And “Yamas!” for cheers of course, which I have used more than once! Thankfully the signs are dual signed with the English translation below.
But you know what, this is a beautiful example of why I love to travel. You see a different culture, with all of its quirks and differences. I can stay at home if I want everything to be the same and familiar.
Anyway, for the purposes of this blog I’m going to refer to the island(s) as Santorini and the capital as Fira.
THE GEOGRAPHY OF SANTORINI
Santorini is part of the Cyclades Islands, located in the southern Aegean Sea. One of many Greek island clusters. It has a total population of less than 16,000, before the tourists arrive!
The Cyclades group also includes the largest island Naxos, holiday hotspot Mykonos and the most populated, Syros.
Santorini itself is a volcanic island that blew itself up thousands of years ago.
The remnants are actually five islands. Three, the largest, crescent shaped Thira(!), smaller Thirassia and tiny Aspronisi form a loose circle that is effectively the rim of the caldera, the centre of the volcano that is submerged under the sea.
And in the centre of the caldera the other two volcanic islands of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni are slowly growing again. The last major volcanic eruption was in February 1950, but the volcano is still considered active.
In fact you can take boat trips to these islands, which are known for their healing hot springs. One for my next visit maybe.
TENDER BOAT ASHORE
What’s a tender boat?
For regular cruisers a tender port is either a lot of fun, or an inconvenient pain in the neck, best to be avoided.
In some ports the town you are visiting is just too small, or the sea too shallow, to host large cruise ships. So it is impossible for the ship to dock at a pier or cruise terminal.
The solution is to anchor offshore in deeper water and then ferry the passengers to land. This either involves using the local tender boats, as happens in a port of call like Santorini, or the ship may launch its own tenders for the job. These ones normally hang on the side of the ship alongside the lifeboats.
Obviously this is less convenient than just being able to walk off the ship.
Tender boat tips
If you up are early, and wanting to get the most out of your day, the chances are you will have to collect a free ticket and wait in line for the next boat. Being a loyal cruiser sometimes pays here, as some cruise line loyalty programmes give priority boarding to their most loyal cruisers.
People going on shore excursions with the ship tend to have their own boats. They get priority over everyone else.
I am often inspired by the people who don’t let a minor inconvenience, like a wheelchair, stop them having a great time on a cruise. However tender boats can be a problem if you have mobility issues. To get on board you have to walk off the ship and onto a boat, that is bobbing up and down at sea. Its not as scary as it sounds, but for some it is impractical and can mean you end up stuck on the ship for the day unfortunately.
And then there are people like me. I love a boat ride, so mixing it up and getting a boat ashore is definitely fun. In a scenic place like Santorini, when you have the option to sit up on top deck and get a view of the ship at anchor while you head to shore, that’s even better.
CRUISE TIP: If you don’t have anywhere to be, take your time. Have a lie in and a leisurely breakfast. Once rush hour is over they announce open tenders and you can head ashore on the next boat without a ticket.
UP TO FIRA
Fira is a whitewashed town, that shines at night when the lights come on. It is built on top of the cliffs overlooking the sparkling blue sea in the caldera below.
This immediately presents a snag as tender boats cannot dock at the top of cliffs!
Whether you find the multitude of solutions to this problem “fun” often depends on how comfortable you are with heights.
Roads
On my first visit to Santorini I was on a shore excursion from the ship. We were tendered across to a point ashore where we could meet our coach. And then we set off up a road that climbed the cliff in a series of narrow switchbacks.
You got a great, if sometimes stomach churning, view down the cliff face as you switched back at each end of the zig zag.
A friend I had met, who didn’t like heights, hated every minute.
The Donkey Path
It is not my intention to force my opinions on anyone with this blog. However you will no doubt get to know some of them as I go along.
An alternative route up to the top of the cliffs (and back down) is a donkey path, with many steps.
You can walk it, which may turn out to be your preferred option all else considered. Apparently it can be slippery and you will notice deposits from the donkeys that have been up and down there all day.
Or you can ride a donkey up or down it.
Now I’m not a riding fan, so that doesn’t appeal anyway. Personally I’m too lazy to walk up that path, let alone walk up it carrying someone who has just had breakfast at a cruise ship buffet on my back. In the blazing sunshine!
They make it clear that the donkeys are acclimatised to the weather and are well cared for. They have to be. Tourists are quite rightly much more conscious of their impact and the welfare of local animals these days.
But I have to say this one was not for me.
Cable Cars
And now to the fun one. I have lots of stories to tell on this blog and more than a few of them involve cable cars to somewhere or other. I’ll save those tales for another time. Needless to say I enjoy a ride in a cable car.
In Fira the cable car cost €6 one way [2022 prices]. There were no round trip tickets. They run up and down for a lot of the day.
Another advantage of waiting for a later tender is a smaller queue here too.
CRUISE TIP: Be careful you check what time you have to be back on board the ship and give yourself plenty of time to return later. Queues are longer when everyone is going back all at once and cable cars take time.
FIRA TOWN
Fira itself is a fairly small town, with narrow streets and lots of shops catering for tourists. With a cruise ship of several thousand passengers arriving they are in the right place.
On this visit there were two ships at anchor. The streets were packed.
There are paths around the cliff edges that give fabulous views over the caldera. It is a great vantage point to look down and see your ship from a new angle.
I saved exploring here until the end of the day, when I took even more photos and bought a few souvenirs.
In the morning though my first mission was to head to the bus station.
LOCAL BUSES
Bus station is a loose term. In Fira’s case it was little more than a small car park that could just about squeeze five coaches in.
However all praise to the Santorini local bus system, because it really does its job.
There are buses every half an hour or so until late evening, to a bunch of places across the island, including the port and airport.
The charge varies slightly by the route, but all the ones I noticed were under €2 each way. You pay for the ticket on the bus and it seemed to be the same price whichever stop you got on along the way.
In my case I chose the one for Akrotiri. Once again I had a plan!
HELPFUL HINT: Buses are fairly regular, but timetables are available online to plan in advance. Its cash only, so carry some Euro coins to pay the fare.
ANCIENT AKROTIRI
Discoveries
In the 1860s workers uncovered some ancient artifacts while digging at a quarry in the south of the island.
Following on from this there were some excavations in the late 19th century that revealed evidence of settlement.
But it wasn’t until 1967 that major excavations were begun by Professor Spyridon Marinatos, whose work uncovered the extent of the bronze age city of Akrotiri. They are clearly very proud of him here.
These excavations uncovered a sophisticated Minoan city, with multi storey houses, with decorative window frames made from coloured stone. They had plumbing and were decorated with frescoes on the walls.
Warehouses and shops stored amphorae, that have survived intact.
It turned out that Akrotiri had been destroyed by a volcanic eruption, around 3,500 years ago. Like its more famous counterpart, Pompeii, the city had been buried by volcanic ash and its day to day existence preserved, albeit 1,500 years earlier.
No bodies have ever been discovered though, so it looks, for now, like the people escaped.
Visiting Akrotiri
There is an entrance fee of €12 [2022], and the site also includes toilets, a small cafe and gift shop.
Having realised what they had found, and the lifetime it would take to excavate the city, the site was very quickly covered by a roof. The original roof was replaced in 2012 by a modern eco friendly building, that uses natural climate control.
Visitors walk around the site on raised wooden walkways, that allow you to peer down onto the ruined streets and buildings below. There are longer and shorter routes to cater for people with mobility issues.
You take a self guided tour of this amazingly preserved piece of ancient history. In some places you can actually walk among the houses, along building lined streets that still feel quite modern.
Some of the small details, like the jars in a shop, still caked in volcanic ash, really get your imagination going. I was most fascinated by the staircases. To think that people walked on these 3,500 years ago. Then they were lost, only to be rediscovered almost within my lifetime. Mind blowing.
Most of the frescoes and artifacts have been moved to the Museum of Prehistoric Thira. That is back in Fira, two minutes walk up the road from the bus station, although I didn’t visit that on the day.
The site is not as big, or impressive, as Pompeii. It is no less interesting though, even more so if you are interested in history or just enjoy seeing how people used to live.
MODERN DAY SANTORINI
Wine
On my first visit in 2015 I had not been quite so brave as to explore on my own. I had booked a shore excursion with the ship to the famous village of Oia.
To fill the second part of the half day trip there was also a wine tasting included. Those kind of tours have the same effect on me as a cable car ride. Easiest way ever to get money out of me!
We visited a winery quite close to Fira. There were a couple of choices, in proper glasses. I’m always disappointed when your wine tasting is nothing more than a shot glass. It is almost always better to visit a proper winery.
And so we drank, with views of our ship, the Thomson Spirit that time, again anchored in the caldera below us.
Oia
We had a long day in Santorini. All aboard wasn’t until 8.30pm. I had arrived back at the bus station at just after 3pm, so had lots of spare time.
Remembering my first trip, and having discovered how easy, and timely, the buses were, on impulse I got on the next bus to Oia.
In Northern England “Oi!” is what Mums shouts when their kids are misbehaving!!
In Greek however “Oi” is pronounced “Ee”, so I was visiting “Ee-a”. I don’t know if Greek mothers shout “Ee!” at their children.
This is yet another of those remarkable places where you are surrounded by camera wielding tourists, and yet somehow manage to capture amazing images.
Oia is that place with the blue domed churches, that makes an appearance on most calendars from the Greek Islands. Why? Because it is ridiculously beautiful.
The narrow streets again overlook the caldera and the other islands of Santorini. But they wind around too. From certain places you can be looking down on a blue dome. Or you turn to your right and have a hillside of white houses, with a windmill in the mix.
Somehow the hoards of tourists don’t seem to matter.
SUNSET OVER SANTORINI
The sunset as seen from Oia is legendary. In fact the bus station sign even describes the route to here as “Oia Sunset”.
I have seen other people’s videos of this place. A thousand people, huddled together to find a space to catch the view as the sun goes down.
Sadly our all aboard time all but ruled out the chance of a sunset in Oia. But I still saw it from the ship.
A pretty perfect way to say goodbye to Santorini, a fabulous port of call.
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