SANTORINI - GETTING THERE

By Air

Santorini can be reached by air from Athens with two flights per day (nearly all international flights arriving in Greece during this period allow adequate time for making the connecting flight to Santorini). During the summer period there are additional flights between Santorini and other islands. There are also nautical connections between Santorini and many other Cyclades islands, Dodecanesse, Crete and Thessaloniki.

Santorini International Airport is located north of Kamari village, 4 miles of Fira town.

By Boat

Santorini Island features two ports:

Athinios is the main port where all the ferry and commercial boats arrive. It was built in the wake of the 1956 earthquake where a winding path snakes up the cliff in a series of hairpin bends. It is located 2 miles from Fira.

The old port of Ornos (which is mostly used for cruise ships) lies directly below Fira in water so deep that ships' anchor chains don't reach the sea bed. They moor to specially built giant buoys.

Embarking tourists can take a mule ride up a steep, zigzag staircase but most opt for the sedate Austrian-built cable car. Some will tackle the 600 or so steps up to Fira on foot but the staircase path is heart-stopping steep and walkers risk being brushed aside by mule teams as they pick their way through copious donkey droppings.

The main port to take you to Santorini from Athens is Piraeus, but there are also ferries departures, especially high-speed ferries, from the port of Rafina, which is closest to the Athens International Airport.

To reach Santorini by sea, there are two types of ferries:
The high-speed ferry which takes approximately 4 and a half hours.
The normal ferry, which is much slower, and takes approximately 7 hours.