Santorini Port Day: the 13 Best Shore Excursions

1.Santorini Must-See Highlights: Private Shore Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 569 reviews · 3 to 7 hours (approx.) · from $48Our pick

Travel across Santorini with a private driver-guide such as Aphrodite, George, Babis, or Nikolas. Visit Oia, Firostefani, Megalochori, Red Beach, and Perissa, with time for wineries, Akrotiri, lunch, or sunset. Pickup is available from hotels, the airport, and cruise ports.

“This is an amazing tour of the island filled with so much information and history as to how it became what it is. You stop at some of the most beautiful spots for pictures and breathtaking views. Our driver, George, was top notch! I highly recommend using him if you can.”

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2.The Best Santorini Small-Group Shore Excursion for Cruise Ships

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 344 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $83

Visit Santorini’s blue-domed churches, Oia, Megalochori, and Perivolos Beach in an air-conditioned minibus with an English-speaking guide. The group is limited to 19 people, and guides such as Alex, Gina, Zeus, and Victor add local stories and help with photos.

“Wonderful tour. George, our guide and Cristos, our driver were fantastic. We especially liked our walk through the village of Megalochori.”

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3.Skip Sky Tram !!! Hassle-Free 5 Hour Tour for Cruise Passengers

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 280 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $67

Meet your English-speaking guide at Santorini’s Old Port, bypass the cable-car line by boat and air-conditioned vehicle, then see Firostefani, Oia, Finikia’s blue dome, Megalochori, and Perivolos Beach. Guides such as Victor and Zeus bring local stories, while weather can affect the return transfer.

“Our guide, Zeus, was great: from welcoming us till the good byes we enjoyed, learned and were in awe of the views of this famous island. The commentary was sprinkled with fun facts, trivia, pictures of then and now. It was a GREAT day with thanks to Zeus and our driver”

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4.SKIP CABLE CAR® The Original Santorini Tour for Cruise Passengers

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 268 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $47Best value

This five-hour Santorini shore excursion uses boat transfers and an air-conditioned minibus to visit Finikia, Oia, Megalochori, and Perivolos Beach. English-speaking guides such as George, Zeus, Yani, and Viera lead small groups of up to 19, with time for photos, swimming, and island views.

“Great way to experience the highlights of Santorini without the chaos of the cable car lines. We covered all the must-see spots, including stunning views of the caldera, Oia, the blue domes, a black sand beach and more. Our guide George and our driver were fantastic.”

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5.Skip Gondola Shore Excursion: No Cable Car, Water Taxi Provided!

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 87 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $54

Cover Santorini’s major sights in about six hours with an English-speaking driver-guide, air-conditioned transport, WiFi, water, and water transport from the old port. Expect photo stops at Oia, Imerovigli, Pyrgos, Megalochori, Perivolos Beach, and Red Beach, with guides such as George, Nicolas, Alex, and Lisandros.

“Our driver and guide, Lisandros did a fantastic job looking after us and nothing was too much trouble! This tour is highly recommended if you don’t have too much time and want to get a flavour of the island and perhaps pick one or two places to return to and spend more time later. Lisandros talked to us about what we most wanted to see and other trips we had planned. He made a few suggestions and we set of in our (customised) tour, in a very comfortable Mercedes SUV. We got lots of information along the way, and a guide at every stop off, showing off many highlights we…”

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6.Bypass Sky Tram: Santorini Tour for Cruise Passengers

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 79 reviews · 4 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $54

Meet the JAT team at Santorini’s Old Harbor, bypass the sky tram by boat, then tour the island in an air-conditioned vehicle. You’ll visit Oia, Finikia’s blue-domed church, Megalochori, Perivolos Beach, and Firostefani with an English-speaking guide such as Victor, Alex, Anna, or Yianna.

“tour was supposed to be a small group, but there was a lot of people who were gathered and broken into smaller groups after we gathered, which took a lot of time waiting to separate the people into groups and organize onto different buses. It was very unorganized. We were not shown a lot of the highlights of Santorini, the tour seemed very rushed. The bus was cramped. At the close to the ending of the tour we had a very unpleasant experience. The guide we had was very nice and courteous, however as we were stopped to look at a grape bush, the four people in my group saw…”

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7.Half-Day Island Sightseeing Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 76 reviews · 3 to 5 hours (approx.) · from $70

See Santorini’s famous caldera views, Oia, Firostefani, Megalochori, and Perivolos Black Beach in three to five hours. An English-speaking local guide such as Sakis, Maria, or Nicholas drives your small group in an air-conditioned vehicle, with water, Wi-Fi, and time for photos.

“Since my husband and I had previously been to Santorini, we decided to make our own agenda and use a private driver for 5 hours. We communicated our itinerary to our driver, Angelo via chat and he not only transported us to each and every stop on our list; he also shared a wealth of knowledge with us. He was so charming and we will not hesitate to use Viator exclusively for our cruise excursions moving forward.”

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8.Santorini 8-Hour Private Tour with Hotel & Cruise Port Pickup

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 64 reviews · 6 to 8 hours (approx.) · from $392

Spend 6 to 8 hours with an English-speaking private guide seeing Santorini from Oia to the lighthouse. George and other local guides handle the driving, add photo stops, arrange wine tasting, and can tailor time for beaches, food, and Fira.

“We had 12 travelers & they were able to accommodate our group in a very nice van. They were also able to shift to an alternative port pick up at the last minute when there was a power outage at the main port with the funicular. Our guide was able to show us the whole island, avoid the crowds & do a wine tasting all in 6 hrs. Fabulous day! Definitely recommend doing a private tour with them on Santorini. Very worth the price! Slight hiccup at the end of the day with a super long line for the funicular due to the earlier power outage & 5 cruise ships…”

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9.6hr Small Group Shore Excursion Villages & Wine

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 45 reviews · 6 hours (approx.) · from $156

Spend six hours exploring Santorini with an English-speaking guide and a maximum of 18 people. Visit Profitis Ilias, Megalochori, the Castle of St Nicholas, and Anhydrous Winery for wine and food pairing. Morning and afternoon departures are available.

“The views are spectacular but the crowds were overwhelming! The first part of the tour was boring. Oia was overcrowded and unbearable.”

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10.4hr Small Group Shore Excursion with Minimum Walking

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 15 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $120

Meet your English-speaking guide by Fira’s cable car for a four-hour island tour in an air-conditioned vehicle. Visit Profitis Ilias, Kamari Beach, the Castle of St Nicholas, and Firostefani’s famous blue dome. Guides such as Agatha and Katerina add a personal touch, but Oia still involves steps.

“Santorini is beautiful, no doubt. We were glad to have a tour option with "minimum walking," as we were traveling with my 86-year-old mother. She is pretty able-bodied for her age, however walking for long distances or standing for long periods of time can be a challenge, so this seemed like the perfect choice. This tour offered various points of interest for photos, which we enjoyed. The van was comfortable. Katerina was our guide, and she was open to answering whatever questions we had for her. The last portion of the tour was free time in Oia; we were eager for this part, as Oia is so picturesque--of course we…”

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11.Best Santorini Small Group Tour for Cruise Passengers

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 13 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $72

Join an English-speaking guide and driver for a five-hour Santorini tour from the cruise ports. Visit Firostefani, Oia, Profitis Ilias, Megalochori, and Perivolos Beach, with flexible pickup if tendering or cable-car delays slow your arrival.

“While our guide Maria was knowledgeable and helpful and friendly, the tour company needs to improve their operation. We were shuffled back and forth thru several guides until Maria finally whisked us away. Once the tour started, we had to stop and wait for more passengers to join us. We definitely felt that we didn’t get the tour we booked - the stops were shorter and different than described and it ended with a 90 minute stop at a restaurant at the black beach - way too much time which 100% felt like padding. While we sat at this restaurant - long after paying our bill - the line for…”

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12.Private Sightseeing Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $204

Explore Santorini with a private local guide such as George, traveling by air-conditioned vehicle with Wi-Fi. See Oia, the blue dome, Firostefani, Red Beach, Perissa, and optional Santo Wines, then finish in Fira.

“GEORGE was an AMAZING tour guide!! He was so kind, knowledgeable and made sure that we had the best experience during our day in Santorini. It was a wonderful tour with George.”

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13.Stress-Free Santorini Shore Excursion: Private Highlights Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 5 reviews · from $404

Spend 7 to 8 hours exploring Santorini by private Mercedes with an English-speaking guide. Meet at the top of Fira’s cable car, visit Oia, Pyrgos, Red Beach, Akrotiri, and Gavalas Winery, and return to your ship on time.

“We had an epic time in Santorini with a fantastic tour guide, Dimgeeitris Andrianopoulos!! You can contract him through Patty Zesut at Exemplary Travel Advisors. We asked Dimitris to take us to a few places not on the normal itinerary and he Read more”

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