Santorini cruise port HELL!!

Our nightmare visit to Santorini in July with 40c heat, massive queues at the bottom and top for the cable car, and a treacherous walk up the donkey path! Santorini you need to watch this and do something about it!

[ReasonQuest]

THANK YOU for this brutally honest review. The information is invaluable! I hope Santorini officials and the cruise lines fix this.

[IvaJelinkova-xq]

I am glad that I was on Santorini in May and by air. It was wonderful. In your video, you can see boats and ships that (although I don't know the price) could easily take you to the village of Oia or a larger port, from where you can then reach the towns of Fira, Oia, etc. either by cheap local bus or taxi.

[sandorbakki]

We were there just three weeks ago and I totally agree; it was crazy then too!The only difference was that we signed up for a tour and we tendered to another location where the tour bus picked us up so we didn’t have to clime the 576 steps. Coming back down was indeed a 1.5 hours wait for the cable car.

[farab]

We were there in July with the Celebrity Beyond. Same thing, 4 ships in the bay. We didn't even bother getting off, instead enjoying the gorgeous views from The Retreat cooling down during the heatwave.

[gbnq]

We did a cruise through the Med a few years back, in early June. Our Santorini stop had just 3 ships in. 2 large, one smaller. Not too bad at all.
I think it is best to try and avoid the European school holiday periods. Summer school holidays start late June - early July and generally last 8 weeks +. So July and August are going to be crowded. That includes lots of full cruise ships floating around at that time. Companies even relocate ships across the globe to follow the ($) crowds.

[beccavry]

This video was so helpful - My husband and I were considering cruising to Santorini but after watching this, I think we will switch our plans and make it a destination, not a cruise stop. Thanks so much from a new subscriber from Chicago!

[doninicdorai]

I have been there three times and my favorite trip was the time we stayed in Imerovigli for a few nights. No cruise tourists, beautiful sunsets. We walked to Fira and Oia early in the morning. Best trip ever.

[stevewilson]

We had the same problems as you guys, absolute nightmare experience. Stay on board if more than three ships.

[rickd]

First time in Santorini we don’t know what to expect. We stand in line for 2 1/2 hours and luckily made it to the last shuttle going back to the ship. It’s horrible! Our second time we went to Oia for the excursion and when we came back we went straight to the line luckily it’s only 30 minutes on line. Santorini really needs to do something about this. I feel sorry for the donkeys it’s animal abuse!

[joshchan]

Great informative video here! My wife and I arrived in Santorini via Celebrity Cruise last week and it was around 36-38 Celsius that day. Here is what we strongly suggest to those arriving for the first time:

1. Arrive there EARLY. Take the early tender boats in order to avoid the heat and long queues.
2. Don't take the donkey trails. Those poor animals are taking tourists up and down that slippery uphill path, in the extreme heat, with all that weight on their back with NO food nor water.
3. The cable car tram is 6 euros a person each way. Unless you're in good physical good condition to walk up that path (est. 45 min walk uphill), take the cable car.
4. We arrived around 830AM and waited about 40 minutes or so and departed around 5pm where we waited 5-10 minutes to get down the hill via cable car. According to our cruise, 9AM-11AM & 2PM-4PM is when the queues for the cable cars are the worst.

[BrentHogenson]

We have been to Santorini many times and have hiked up the trail more than ten times with no problems, usually about 20 minutes. This is for someone that hikes a bit regularly and is not mobility challenged. The worst thing we found about the donkey trail is the smell and walking around the poop, but it is better than the cable line. Just our thoughts. Enjoy your videos. Cheers

[VpnStreamer]

Went last week. Far too busy as there was 5 cruise ships in port that day, this definitely needs to be limited. Locals need the tourism but it's really unfair on them. I got up to Thira early, got my nice photos and left before the cable car queue got to big. The island is overrated, in my opinion, Kefalonia was far more beautiful for me.
Please don't use the donkeys, seen a few americans doing this, loose a few pounds before you visit instead, and walk up.

[ClaudeDemers-ds]

Thank you for the honest review/warning. Our NCL cruise stops in Santorini at the end of September. Our plan was to bus to Oia then take the steps down. Will need to re-evaluate that plan. Cheers from 🇨🇦 !

[ConnieNicodemus]

You two are at least still getting along. Thank you for the honest review. I’m smiling at how honest you are.

[toddreaker]

Thanks for the heads up ! My wife and I will be there August 2024. We might just stay on board and enjoy the pool that day.

[glenbarker]

We avoided coming up the cable car by tendering to Oia which is at the other end of the island . This was an offered ship excursion on the Celebrity Constellation which included a bus trip from Oia to Fira where the cable car is. Unfortunately we still had to queue up to come down the cable car.

[thomasshepard]

My wife and her elderly mother were on one of these cruises to Santorini and she said that was an absolute disgrace she will never go on another cruise as long as she lives

[Linda-wos]

We went on Marella Explorer last year to Santorini. What THEY offer as a shore excursion is : a private tender over to a different dock and then a coach to Santorini. It is a fairly short walk from the coach park and the guide on the coach showed us the way and the meeting point to meet up at the end as the coach may not be in the same place. We got there about 09:30 before most of the shops were even open and before It was too crowded. Most of the shops are typical tourist shops but we did buy some lovely white trousers and shirt! By the time the crowds were getting overwhelming, we were heading back to the meeting point!! We were so lucky to have that option.

[melissaakey]

Visiting Santorini now during island hopping. Stayed near Fira. Hired driver for 40 euro to drive us to Oia at 5 am so we could enjoy the opening of the city. Lovely day and no crowds until hours later. 😀

[miltongee]

Thank you for your video. You are right it is too hot in the summer and alot of peoples waiting in line. There is a ferry at the port to go to Oia but it's full too.