Santorini Cultural Tour: Traditional Villages and Akrotiri Excavation

Immerse yourself in the rich culture and history of Santorini on this 4-hour private tour. Explore traditional villages, visit ancient excavations, and experience the unique architecture of the island. Book now for an authentic and unforgettable journey!

Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Pyrgos - Start your cultural experience with the village of Pyrgos, the oldest village in Santorini, known as the island’s “historic monument”. Built on the top of a hill, this settlement holds a 16th century Venetian castle. A charming location to wander around, built by the locals to fortify the area into small alleys and circle shape roads. The…
What's Included
  • Round-trip transfers from hotel, port, or airport
  • Complimentary bottled water
  • Free entry to Akrotiri Archaeological Site
  • Expert local driver/guide
  • Deluxe, air-conditioned private van
  • Maps and engaging live commentary
What's Not Included
  • Cable car tickets for cruise ship travelers
Additional Information

Explore unique and fresh locations with a genuine and authentic journey. This 4-hour private tour will provide you with a connection to the heart of Santorini, its history and way of life. Your local guide/driver will lead you to the traditional villages of Pyrgos, Megalochori, Emporio & the renowned ruins of Akrotiri in a plush and comfortable van….

Location
Pyrgos
Cancellation Policy

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

Customer Ratings
5.0
(100 Ratings)
5 stars
4 stars
3 stars
2 stars
1 star
Marieangela_m
Nov 1, 2024
Santorini cultural villages tour and Akritiri. - Our guide was the best part. Panagiota was our guide and she was waiting patiently for us when we exited the lift from the port. She is very proud of her island and had excellent knowledge of all the sites we went to. We were ahead of and away from the crowds and bus tours. She allowed us time to explore but still kept to a schedule. She was very informative and knowledgeable. When the tour ended she advised us of an excellent quiet restaurant and other sites to visit for our afternoon.
Review provided by Viator
L6187wxhannahk
Oct 22, 2024
Great way to see the island - My husband and I did a tour with Alex, who was knowledgeable and so nice. Having him be our driver and guide was such a great way to see and learn more about Santorini. It was awesome avoiding the large crowds, wait and coach buses! I would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hannah_k
Oct 21, 2024
Positive experience - We had Alex as our driver and guide. He was great! Very personable and knowledgeable of the island. It was a lovely experience having the tour just be Alex, my husband and I. Definitely worth the extra money to avoid crowds, coach buses and the wait!
Review provided by Viator
Monica
Oct 10, 2024
Best thing we did on Santorini!! - This was an adult family trip, my sister and I took our elderly mom to Greece. We found out about this tour co. from another tourist, who raved about it. She was right. I immediately emailed and found George (the owner) very easy to communicate with. He responded promptly and we set up a time for a private villages and ruins tour. THANOS, our tour guide, was wonderful. Being a local himself, he was able to provide us with a unique perspective into lives of the locals including daily life, history, politics, economics, we dove into every topic! It was fascinating! We booked the villages tour because that’s the one that included the Akrotiri ruins, what we most wanted to see. Do not miss this, it’s essentially the Pompeii of Greece. Seeing one village was enough for us given hiking (steps and uphill walking) are challenging for my mom. Really glad we got to see the traditional cave house in the village we did see, (not like your cave hotel room on Santorini). This was a highlight! I was also so impressed how accommodating THANOS was. At the ruins ( which he didn’t go inside with us but admission was included with the tour) we messaged him when we exited and he was there immediately to pick us up. Since my mom couldn’t do all the villages, he customized the tour for us and took us up a beautiful panoramic spot instead where we could see the entire island with 360 views and take photos. We loved this and we appreciated he was able to make the adjustments for us. He was also a fantastic storyteller. We were constantly learning about life on Santorini while driving from place to place. Nice touch he also provided and was checking that we had water. We really enjoyed every minute. This tour was the very best thing we did on Santorini. Don’t hesitate to book, the price is worth it, and ask for THANOS to be your guide.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Mackenzie
Sep 13, 2024
Great Experience - After looking at many different private tour options on Santorini we arrived at this one. The price point was great, not too expensive for a private tour. Our experience was top notch; our driver Alex was very friendly and knowledgeable. He drove us to the different villages and highlighted important sites and facts about the village, really adding value to our experience in knowing the history and significance of some of the monuments. Alex went above and beyond, he gave us the choice to go to the highest point in Santorini instead of one of the villages. We got to see a monastery and a spectacular view of the island! The tour was self-paced, quiet, and tailored to our needs. Alex even found the best spots for us to take pictures, adding to the experience. The excavation was an amazing display of history, being able to go around the large groups of tours and see it at our own pace was great. If you are looking for a well priced private tour this is the one to go with. We don’t like doing group tours as they are busy, often quite crowded, and inflexible. The private tour offered by Santorini Road Trips was the opposite, it was very enjoyable, not crowded, and offered us a well rounded experience of Santorini.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Raymond_m
Sep 13, 2024
Santorini Private Cultural Villages Tour - We’ve booked many tours in a great number of countries through Viator. The site is super convenient to use and our tours have been fabulous. So, we booked tours through them for Santorini. One of them was a Private Cultural Villages tour. Our tour guide for this tour was Panagiota. She arrived on time for a hotel pick up and used WhatsApp to tell us she arrived. We toured 4 villages and the archeological site in Akrotirii. Panagiota was super, super knowledgeable about Santorini and its history (as well as the flora and fauna of the island). In addition, she bought our tickets to the Akrotiri site so that we could jump the queue for tickets and go right into the museum. She also gave us tips on what to do and see on other days of our stay. Panagiota took lots of photos of my wife and I. She is a great photographer using my iPhone. I highly recommend this tour and I highly recommend having Panagiota as your guide.
Review provided by Viator
Jenniferfg5019yk
Sep 8, 2024
Fantastic Tour! - We had an absolutely fabulous time! George generously shared his island with us. We thoroughly enjoyed the day, the stops, and the history. Thank you for being such a fabulous part of our trip memories! We highly recommend George and the tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Katie_a
Sep 2, 2024
Wonderful Tour! - What a wonderful tour of Santorini! We enjoyed learning about the islands history and visiting Megalochori and the architectural ruins at Akrotiri. Our tour guide, Panagiota, was fabulous. Very knowledgeable and entertaining. It was a fun way to spend 4 hours and see more of Santorini and its rich culture than we otherwise would have done. I highly recommend this tour!
Review provided by Viator
Maya_g
Aug 14, 2024
Amazing tour! - Our guide Nikos was amazing and the vehicle was spotless and comfortable. We traveled with a baby and had no problems at all. Akrotiri was fantastic!!
Review provided by Viator
Bob_f
Aug 11, 2024
Nice tour limited sights - The vehicle and tour guid were perfect. Sights not great but good. English speaking tour guid. Air conditioned vehicle
Review provided by Viator
From $101
up to 8 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).