It’s official, Santorini ranks as the most popular tourist destination in Europe, which is destined to make it even more impossibly crowded.
“Famous for its golden sunsets, warm temperatures and jaw-dropping scenery, it comes as no surprise that Santorini ranks so highly as a must-visit hotspot,” said British holiday rental company CV Villas (which of course had a vested interest in the study) that ranked Ibiza second and Tenerife third.
Great as that sounds, it’s only making things more problematic for visitors to the ancient volcanic crater some believe is the last remnant of legendary Atlantis. It’s become a must-do on every Greek Isles cruise itinerary, but as more and ever larger ships come calling daily, what was once a charming experience has become what can be an ordeal.
On our visit today there are two other big ships anchored off shore along with Celebrity Beyond. That makes for nearly 10,000 cruise visitors who hope to make their way ashore in small tenders and explore the beautiful white stucco buildings and churches perched precariously in on the sheer rugged cliffs of the town of Fira and sip an outrageously expensive beer at a taverna.
Hotel stays on the island also rank as among the most costly in Europe, so cruise visits are an increasingly popular alternative. But the daily influx of tourists is often larger than the local population. Yes, Santorini could end the blitz by imposing a ban on stops by big cruise ships–as Amsterdam and Venice are doing,–but in reality that would be self-defeating because with virtually no other local economy on the island, everyone here depends for their livelihood on tourist spending.
It’s essential on a cruise to pick a strategy to save aggravation.
Paying up for a tour organized by the ship is the most seamless. On our visit, Celebrity Beyond anchored at 8 a.m. and guests on shore excursions had priority on the tenders. The day trips ranged from a museum and ouzo tasting tour of Oia to a day-long Best of Santorini that included food, wine tastings and dancing. The tours include free time to explore the cobble stoned streets and shops of Fira—a modern Greek translation of its original name Thera.
Those going ashore on their own are asked to wait on the ship until their ticket numbers are called. With Celebrity Beyond at capacity, it took until 11 a.m. for all the numbers of people waiting to be called to the Magic Carpet to board a tender.
A strategy is to wait until after afternoon, enjoy the ship while everyone else is touring and make your way ashore when the morning rush has headed back to their ships for lunch. The afternoon sun is of course the most brutal, but you won’t have to dodge as many overheated tour groups.
Cruise ships can’t use their own tenders here, so getting ashore depends on small local boats that move at a leisurely pace. At least the wheezing fleet of wooden shuttle boats that used to spew blue smoke into the passenger seats has been replaced by more modern blue and white steel tenders.
Getting up to the town on a cliff from the port is a logistical challenge. You have three choices to reach the top from where the tenders drop passengers ashore: cling to the back of a sweaty overstressed donkey as it strains on a zig zag trail to the top, walk up the trail whose 600 steps are shared with the pungent donkeys or ride a cable car that can carry a max of 1,200 people an hour to the top or back down for 6 Euros each way.
Needless to say, nearly everyone chooses the cable car ride and at peak times the lines at top or bottom can stretch an hour or more long. Added to the thrill on this July day that it’s not even noon and already the temperature is 34 C—93 Fahrenheit– and the humidity makes it feel like it’s 105.
An alternative to the endless cable car line is to head to the island’s other village of Oia. Tendering in from your ship, you need to buy a ticket and wait for a ferry that will do a 20-minute sail to the adjacent town whose charms include a zig-zag road that lets cars and buses reach the coast.
If you’ve got a towel and lots of sun screen there are bus routes that go to Santorini’s beaches known for their volcanic black sand. The famous ones are the sandy and pebbly shores of Perissa and Perivolos, that are always packed and are lined with lounge chairs and umbrellas for rent. An alternative is the smaller and even busier Kamari beach, about a 20-minute ride on the Kamari bus from Fira.
There are also regular buses to the ruins of Akrotiri in the south of the island, 20 minutes’ ride from Fira. the island’s archeological site that proves there was civilization here when a massive volcano blew up the island in 1600 B.C. leaving only the sheer walls of the caldera behind.
Tour companies ashore can also arrange drives to hot springs of volcanic sulphur water that are known for their therapeutic and relaxing effects. And if you’re really ready to get into the spirit, there are places that let you take a mud bath.
A word of caution: Don’t expect to shop for incredible treasures. The stores here long ago realized that today’s tourist hordes are not here to buy fine jewelry or museum-worthy handicrafts, and most shops are filled with souvenirs and T-shirts. Come to Santorini mostly for the view and the incredible cliffside clusters of whimsical homes accented with picturesque Mediterranean colors.
An advantage of the Celebrity Beyond’s itineraries this year and cruises on the itinerary of the new Celebrity Ascent in 2024 is that you get to stay later than other ships, with last tender from shore at 9, to witness the fabled sunset on the island.
And if you find it’s the Greek hideout of your dreams you can always come back and rent a villa and learn more about why Santorini is considered Europe’s most popular tourist destination.
Story by Wallace Immen, The Cruisington Times
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