Skip Cable Car® Santorini Shore Excursion for First-Time Visitors
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Santorini, Greece
- 5 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Cruise passengers get only a few hours ashore in Santorini, not enough to reach the scattered villages by public bus. Cover the island's highlights on a small-group excursion built around your port time, stopping in Firostefani and Oia before climbing to the island's high point at Prophet Ilias. Wander the traditional lanes of Megalochori, then unwind at Perivolos Beach.
- Get a comprehensive overview of Santorini’s landmarks
- Cruise port pickup and drop-off keep you on schedule
- Learn far more than you could exploring on your own
- Get an insider's perspective on the island from a local guide
What's Included
- Transfers by boat to bypass the Cable Car
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Professional local English-speaking tour guide
- Modern, comfortable, air-conditioned minibus
- Small group limited to 18 participants
- Guaranteed return to ship on time
- Full refund if your ship cannot dock
- Bottled water1 complimentary bottle of water per person
- Food and Beverages
- Gratuities (Optional: Recommend 10% for guides, and 5% for bus drivers)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Santo Star Travel - Old Port of FiraAegean Sea, Santorini 847 00, Greece
After disembarking from the tender, please wait at the tender drop-off point and do not enter the cable car. Look for our team holding ‘VEXPERIO’ signs. If you are late, please contact us. After the tour, we'll bring you back to the port by boat.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
1
Athinios Port Santorini
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Firostefani
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
3
Oia
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
Picturesque Blue Dome Santorini (Pass By)
4
Megalochori - Traditional Village
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Perivolos Beach
1 hour • Admission Ticket Free
6
Santorini Old Harbor
30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 9 days of travel. In this case confirmation will be received within 48 hours, subject to availability
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Infants must sit on laps
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- In the event of exceptionally rough sea conditions preventing boat transfers, we reserve the right to operate the regular tour route instead. In such cases, a refund of €10 per person will be provided for each cable car ride required in place of the boat transfer.
- The tour start time will be adjusted to your ship’s docking schedule to minimize waiting and accommodate possible disembarkation delays. You’ll receive the final meeting time in the Meeting Instructions about one week before the tour.
- Please note that wheelchairs, walkers, rollators, electric scooters, and other mobility devices cannot be accommodated on shared tours. Tours on Santorini involve uneven surfaces, cobblestone pathways, and some sections with stairs. We kindly request that all participants carefully assess their physical ability to complete the tour prior to making a reservation. Refunds cannot be issued to guests who are unable to complete the tour due to accessibility limitations.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 19 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.6
based on 352 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Nancy_E, Jul 2026
The views are amazing. Ana and Tasos were fantastic. Very educational, informative and interesting. Thanks
Joanne_H, Jul 2026
Hot weather but our tour guide was very energetic and took time to take pictures of family and groups. Very informative of the beautiful island
Denise_M, Jul 2026
Can I just say WOW!!! This trip was amazing! Santorini is beautiful and is a must see. What we liked best about this tour was that we got to skip the cable car which can often have long lines and could be a problem with anyone who is afraid of heights. It goes straight up the mountain! After a quick tender ride to the island from the cruise ship, we boarded a ferry to get to our destination. We chose the "private" tour which I would highly recommend. This way you are able to taylor the trip into what your group likes best. We were able to spend some extra time shopping because that is what our group wanted to do. There were only 6 of us in the nice air conditioned van. Alex our driver and tour guide was amazing. He spoke great English and brought us to every beautiful site on the island. He explained about the history of things such as the churches and their blue domes. He brought us to where the shopping was and some great views of the blue domes, but since he was guiding us we bypassed a LOT of the long lines waiting to see these sites. It was hot even though it was June, so we brought our own personal fan which was helpful. We then went and had a beautiful lunch on one of their black beaches. We invited our guide to come and have lunch with us and he was grateful. It was actually great because he knew the people that worked there and was able to recommend great items on the menu. By the way, the menus are in Greek and English. In fact, almost everything in Greece has English everywhere and most people speak English. We finished with a trip to the highest point in Santorini which was cool. It was even higher than the planes taking off at the small airport nearby. This tour company has many vans and busses going out at one time and it was a guaranteed return time to catch the ferry back to the tender. Everything went off without a hitch. I would recommend this tour to anyone - especially the private tour.
Imelda_H, May 2026
Jorge was our tour guide. I came with my family and had a wonderful experience. He went beyond to get us the best pictures without any hassle. Ended the trip with a delicious meal by the volcanic beach. Excellent experience and exceptional tour guide.
sheilahunt, May 2026
This tour was great! The guide was informative and took into consideration the age of the group traveling. The communication leading up to the tour was good. I will definitely do this tour again.
PAMELA_H, Dec 2025
Elena and Spiro were absolutely wonderful guides. The tour was incredible. Would recommend this to anyone.
Response from Host, Dec 2025
Dear Pamela,
Thank you so much for your kind words.
We’re really happy to hear that Elena and Spiro made the tour such a great experience for you. They’ll be delighted to know how much you enjoyed it.
Thank you for the recommendation, and we hope to welcome you again on another tour in the future.
Warm regards,
Kinga
Vexperio
Jane_D, Oct 2025
Wonderful tour. George, our guide and Cristos, our driver were fantastic. We especially liked our walk through the village of Megalochori.
Rebecca_S, Oct 2025
Victor and Argulus were OUTSTANDING!! The tour was fabulous. Such a great way to see Santorini. Every stop was well planned. Victor offered photos of us at every spot. Can’t say enough wonderful things about this excursion!! Highly recommmend!!
Alla_I, Oct 2025
Alex was a wonderful guide! He loves this island, and he tried to share his favorite places with us.
Robert_M, Oct 2025
Our ship arrived and we took the tender 10 minutes to shore to the little port. Was easy to find our guide. Be sure to arrive on time as a boat picks the guests up and takes us to another port. The beauty of this excursion is that you do not need to take the cable car. The line for the cable car was insane. AND we only had two cruise ships in port that day. Heard the day before was 6 ships! The boat ride to the other port is only 10 minutes. Then get on a shuttle bus with 16 people. The guide was very knowledgable. Stopped along the way for amazing photo opps. Then went to Oia, the most amazing of all Greek towns on the hillside with the most wonderful panoramic views. This is where all the buildings are white and the church domes are blue. When you think of Greece, you think of Oia. Once in the town square, we were given free time to walk around, take photos, grab a baklava. This too is a very crowded area. Then back on the shuttle and drove to a traditional Greek village with a guided walking tour. Then back on the shuttle to go to the black beach. This is where we had free time for lunch. There are several wonderful restaurants ON the beach to choose from. Back on the shuttle to go to the port to get on the boat to go to the other port and then to the tender to get back on the ship. Wonderful day. Great guide!
Lynne_H, Oct 2025
Great tour, wonderful guide Victor, and driver Dimitri! Really enjoyed all the info and history we learned!
Martyn_M, Oct 2025
Dimitris and Zeus gave us a fantastic day with great information and funny stories and interesting facts about the beautiful island of Santorini
We were taken to the best photo stops and had a simply amazing time I would HIGHLY recommend this tour simply fabulous
Cynde_D, Oct 2025
Our guide was amazing. Knowledgeable and easy to listen to. She conveyed the beauty of Santorini very well. It was great to skip the cable car line.
Carmelita_J, Sep 2025
Our guide did a good job of showing us all of the must see places in Santorini . He was knowledgeable and help us take pictures at beautiful landmarks. Overall he did a great job..
Antonella_D, Sep 2025
Very nice tour, good pace, great driver. Spiros made the experience very enjoyable with his guidance and explanations. Great stop at the black beach.
Lucy_Q, Sep 2025
The tour was well organised with lots to see and well explained by our tour guides. An amazing day spent in Santorini.
Laura_E, Aug 2025
Driver and guide were very knowledgeable and accommodating. Best day tour of Santorini, grandparents, parents and 8yr olds enjoyed immensely
Martin_M, Aug 2025
Great tour with excellent driver and guide. They even contacted us by phone as we were delayed getting off the ship. they waited about 10 minutes and we got on the tour. Super service and a truly great tour.
Melissa_h, Aug 2025
lovey small group, great guide. worthwhile to skip the cable lines!You go to some very busy places, but it's once in a lifetime! Black beach is crowded. It's a long day with no included meal.
Miriam_M, Aug 2025
Wonderful experience! Informative, and so much fun. Even our driver sang to us. Highly recommend Ana as a tour guide.
Robert_T, Aug 2025
After the initial meeting up, it was a great experience. It was a little confusing as you had to take the cable car up to the top of the cliffs where you would meet your guide. For those contemplating this, just ride up to the top in the station exit, there is a waiting room. Guys will come up there with your name on a paper and you join up with it there. The actual tour was very interesting and somewhat tailored to 2-hour desires. We did have some physical limitations in our group but were well accommodated for. Our guide and driver were great and we did see everything of interest we wanted to see.
We were also very fortunate there was only one other ship in Port. We were actually able to get to those famous spots for the blue roof pictures.
sccain, Aug 2025
If you want to see a lot in a little time take this trip! We saw different areas, shopped, ate, and stopped at the black sand beach. Gina, our guide, was very knowledgeable of the area. We travelled in a small Mercedes Van with about 15 people. This is a must do!
Lorissa_S, Jul 2025
Easy to find, tendering is a little annoying, but nothing to be done. Zeus was very funny and showed us plenty of hidden local gems. Do this tour instead of riding the donkeys!
Response from Host, Jul 2025
Dear Lorissa,
Thank you so much for your kind review! We're happy to hear you found the meeting point easy and that you enjoyed the tour—Zeus will be thrilled to know you appreciated his humor.
As for the tendering process, we completely understand it can be a bit frustrating. Since Santorini is a small island without a deep-water port, cruise ships must anchor offshore and use tender boats to bring guests to land. Unfortunately, this is a logistical limitation of the island itself, and not something we can change—but we do our best to make the experience smooth once you arrive!
Thanks again for choosing us—and yes, we couldn’t agree more: skip the donkeys and join us ! 😊
Warm regards,
Natalia
Vexperio
Amy_H, Jul 2025
Gina was a wonderful tour guide! We stopped at all the ‘hot’ spots and she told us a lot about each location. We did get some free time and at the end of the tour we went to the black beach and were able to have lunch. This tour is good if you want to see a bunch of places in a short time. To see more of Santorini you need more time. Also, the tour picks you up where you tender, but then you take another boat to a smaller port where the tour starts. This smaller port is also your finishing point, where a boat takes you back to the main port to get your tender. We wanted to stay more at the black beach so Gina set up a transfer to take us back to the main port (extra charge) & we had to take the cable car (extra charge). All in all, it was a very nice tour to see Santorini in a few hours.
Beth_B, Jul 2025
Traveling with family with all ages. This tour was a perfect way to see and learn about Santorini. Our guide was on time and super friendly and helpful. We got some beautiful photos and spent a little time shopping. The guide was flexible with our schedule and we learned about the history of the island. She was very patient with our group.
Freddie_H, Jul 2025
Experience was at an easy pace and informative. Tour guide did a great job grandkids liked hearing all the history
Vang_T, Jul 2025
Our traveler guide was wonderful! Very helpful and pointed out all the spectacular spots and took not just ours but all that requested him to take family photos !
D_S, Jul 2025
Excellent excursion from start to finish. Zeus was our guide. Odysseus was our driver. We appreciated how prompt and professional they were throughout the excursion. They took us to all the big sites in Santorini; and Zeus took many photos for our group. The only thing I would have changed is more time at the beach. We only got 50 minutes at Perivoles Beach, which would have been nicer if this stop was longer. Overall, I highly recommend this tour.
Joe_C, Jul 2025
Really nice tour of Santorini. We had a great experience with our guide who was extremely accommodating and friendly. I would recommend this tour for anyone who wants to get a really nice taste for the island.
Robet_M, Jun 2025
The excursion was flawless from the start. Alex met us at the cable car and took us to an air conditioned mini van and proceeded to give a very detailed tour of his beautiful city. He was a wealth of knowledge and very informative and personable. He would take pictures of us along the way at all of the scenic spots and even some in between. I highly recommend this tour
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