Full-Day Santorini Island Trip from Crete: Mediterranean Cruise with Thyra and Oia Visit

Embark on a full-day Mediterranean cruise from Crete to Santorini Island. Explore the picturesque villages of Thyra and Oia, and visit the black beach of Perissos. Book now!

Duration: 12 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Santorini Volcano - Embark on a voyage to the iconic Santorini Island, renowned as one of the most visually stunning islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Discover the charming towns of Oia and Fira, and stroll along the awe-inspiring cliffs of the Santorini caldera. Take advantage of a guided island tour, along with ample personal time to wander at your own pace.

Seize the chance for a brief sea journey while you’re in Crete, with a day excursion to the nearby island of Santorini. The ferry ride typically lasts between 2 to 3 hours.

Upon reaching Santorini’s ancient volcanic basin, cast your gaze upwards to the crater’s edge, where the homes of Thyra glisten like a string of white pearls.

Once you disembark at the island’s port, buses will be ready to take you to Santorini’s most celebrated spots. The trip includes visits to the idyllic village of Oia and Thyra, with an option to stop by the dark sands of Perissos Beach.

As the evening approaches, you’ll make your return voyage to Crete.

What's Included
  • Boat transfers to and from Santorini included
  • Tour escort/host provided
  • All local taxes covered
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off for selected hotels
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Optional tour to Perissa Black beach
Additional Information

Cruise to the renowned Santorini Island, one of the most scenic islands in the Mediterranean. Seize the chance for a brief cruise during your stay on Crete and embark on a day trip to the nearby island of Santorini. The boat journey lasts approximately 2-3 hours. Upon arrival in Santorini’s ancient volcanic crater, gaze up at the crater rim where the houses of Thyra resemble a white pearl necklace. Once you reach the island’s harbor, buses will be ready to take you to explore Santorini’s most iconic spots. The tour includes visits to the charming villages of Oia and Thyra, with an optional stop at the black beach of Perissa. In the early evening, you’ll return to Crete.

  • Children must be accompanied by an adult
  • ATTENTION: by law all full names, birthdates and nationality is mandatory in order to participate on any boat tour.
  • Kindly note that wheelchair accessibility is available only for the boat transportation, not for the bus.
  • Don’t forget to bring your passport or ID for the excursion. A photo of the document on your phone is also acceptable.
Location
Santorini Volcano
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.6
(79 Ratings)
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Cecilia_m
Jul 23, 2024
Incredible, surreal experience - Absolutely incredible experience. Amazing way to experience Santorini if you have limited time in Greece. I was in Crete Heraklion so great way to experience Santorini. The ferry (2h from Heraklion to Santorini) was a little old and queues to buy food etc on the ferry was very long. But you forget all that once you’re in beautiful Santorini. Tour guides were really great too.
Review provided by Viator
Mistbiene2
Jun 21, 2024
Wonderful holiday with a great trip - We stayed at the Lyttos Beach Hotel and had the perfect tour guide from Schauinsland-Reisen. Julie P. took care of everything and gave us great advice. We asked so many questions and she always answered us patiently. Great advice regarding the excursions and everything went really well with the car rental through her. Julie, you are a wonderful tour guide. Hopefully we'll see each other again...
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Kraig_h
Apr 15, 2024
Great views from Santorini - The views of the cities and islands. Guides was very informative. Restaurant was very good. Thank you
Review provided by Viator
Victoria_d
Sep 7, 2023
Do it! - Worth it! My bf and I originally worried due to some iffy reviews but ultimately decided on this guided tour for the time we wanted to spend and our budget. Going to Santorini for a day independently is expensive and if you have never been there before it can be hard to know how to get around by yourself. As far as some comments made about the itinerary being chaotic. I could see that at first, turns out though, don’t worry. Just line up at the ticket kiosk, grab your ticket, hop on board the sea jet, and know the bus you will get on is hand written on your sea jet ticket. Santorini has much to be explored so if you want to fully experience it, plan to actually stay there a few days. For us, we wanted to see Santorini in a day so this was perfect. We wished there was more time but understood the long journey to get to the island limited things. This trip you get a hint of Oia and Fira (about 1.5 hr - 2.5 hr to explore each area). Our guide Myra was wonderful, she has a lot of interesting facts about the island and gave suggestions on what we may want to do with our time. This trip makes everything convenient if you have limited time.
Review provided by Viator
Carol_f
Oct 10, 2023
Not enough time at Oia. Too long at Thira - We were given 1.5 hrs at Oia, which was not enough time to see everything. It was so crowded, and took so long to get up to the cliffs, we only saw about 1/2 of what we wanted to see. More time would have been better 2.5 hrs. We then went to Thira where we spent 2.75hrs, which we would rather of spent at Oia. Too long here, 1.5hrs would of been good.
Review provided by Viator
Daniela
Sep 27, 2023
Quantity instead of quality - It was pure mass processing and the price of 200 euros is completely excessive! The ferry is super cheap and the trip across the island is not that far either
Review provided by Tripadvisor
827jocelynej
Sep 23, 2023
disappointed - Santorini excursion for a day but disappointed, expensive for what we saw because too many people so didn't see much
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bradford_p
Jun 20, 2024
Beautiful island, overpriced/disorganized - We consider ourselves seasoned travelers and have been very pleased with Viator offerings in the past. However, for what we paid (~$430 USD), this tour was overpriced, disappointingly disorganized, and we do not feel that the tour included what was listed in the ad. Overpriced - after some rough math (ferry pricing, buses on Santorini, etc), we could have visited Santorini on our own for significantly less. Disappointingly disorganized - when we arrived at the Heraklion, Crete port to board the ferry to Santorini, the tour group provided no guidance as to how to obtain our ferry tickets, where to go, etc. There was no set meeting point and we had to rely on the ferry operators for guidance. While the guide on Santorini was friendly and knowledgeable on the bus, the tour group was mostly left on our own to find our way through the towns. The tour company guidance at Santorini port back to Crete was a little better. Same lack of guidance finding our tour bus upon return to Heraklion after the tour. Not as advertised - the ad stated that we would get a boat tour of the caldera and be able to swim. However, once en route on the tour we were told this was at an extra price (30 €ea) and you had to skip the visit to the capital city to participate in the boat tour. Santorini is a beautiful island and is well-worth seeing. But we would recommend visiting on one’s own.
Review provided by Viator
Clor234
Oct 25, 2023
If I had known, I wouldn't have gone there - if you want to lose a day of your vacation. Departure at 6 a.m. from the hotel, tour of the hotels by bus to pick up the participants, bad luck we were taken first), return at 10 p.m. for very little time on site (5 hours of transport on the way out between the bus and the boat). Obviously the island is magnificent but too many, too many people. Worse than Mont St Michel in the middle of August. Tourists and more tourists, queues everywhere under a blazing sun and the heat that goes with it (exceptional for October 23). Frankly, Santorini would benefit from regulating flows.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Rudolf_g
Oct 11, 2023
Promises made and broken - Trip is advertised with pickup from hotel. There was however no pickup, so had to walk 3 km to the harbour. Trip is advertised with visit to volcano. This however appears to be excluded and has to be purchased as extra for €20. Santorini is beautiful, but these broken promises make the day much less enjoyable.
Review provided by Viator
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