Santorini Day Trip From Crete
A Santorini day trip from Crete is the only possible island-hop day trip from Greece’s largest island.
In this article I help you weigh up the pros and cons of taking a day tour from Crete to Santorini. I explain what travel time is involved, and what you can expect to see in your limited time on Santorini. Essentially it’s all about helping you manage your expectations. I also look at the possibility of doing the Crete to Santorini day trip by yourself.
I also suggest tours to book if you plan to visit Santorini from Crete, and pass on a few tips to make the journey as comfortable and easy as possible for you.
I hope you find it helpful.
Why Visit Santorini On A Day Trip From Crete?
Santorini is pretty special, one of the most spectacular Greek islands.
Its volcanic landscape is unique among the islands of Greece, the island formed by volcanic eruptions creating soaring high cliffs, with stunning whitewashed villages built along the rim of the caldera.
Visiting Santorini is on many people’s bucket list, and with good reason – it is an astonishingly beautiful place.
If you’re on what may be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Crete and there’s just one chance to see Santorini for yourself, it’s a tempting proposition to go, even if it’s just for a few hours. It’s a magical place, too good an opportunity to pass up.
A Santorini Day Trip From Crete – The Practicalities
Firstly, you have to allow time to get to the port – which is usually Heraklion, but also Rethymno for much of the season. Pickup and transport to the port is always included in tour packages.
You need to arrive at least 30 minutes before departure time to allow for boarding.
The crossing from Crete to Santorini takes between 1 hour 45 minutes (from Heraklion) to 2 hours 30 minutes (from Rethymno).
Once disembarked, you have between 5 ½ and 6 hours on Santorini before returning to the port.
You then have the return journey from Santorini to Heraklion or Rethymno, plus your transfer to your base on Crete.
This can add up to anything between a 10- and 14-hour day, with a very early start and an evening finish.
What Does A Crete To Santorini Day Trip Cost?
You’re looking at something in the region of €200 per person for an all-inclusive package from Heraklion, covering transfers, ferry return trip and your tour on Santorini.
Packages from Rethymno or Chania tend to be more expensive – closer to €250 per person.
Santorini Day Trip – What You Can Expect To See
The vast majority of day tours to Santorini from Crete follow the same itinerary, with time in the village of Oia and the main town on the island, Fira.
If you’ve booked a package, you’ll be shown to your transport for the day, then whisked away up the zig-zagging road up the cliff, and off to your first destination, the clifftop village of Oia.
Oia (pronounced EE-uh) is one of the most beautiful villages in Europe, with its famous blue-domed church, classic Cycladic white cave houses and its iconic windmill.
Oia is heavily overtouristed in the summer months, and some of the popular viewpoints (overlooking the blue domes and the Byzantine Castle) can get very crowded. Sunset is the worst time for this, but you can end up waiting a few minutes for people to go through their poses before you get your shots.
Fira, Santorini’s capital, is considerably bigger, and there is a walkway with uninterrupted views of the caldera. There are also pathways lower down the hill including one that passes the white domed Agios Minas church and continues northwards.
You normally get two hours in Fira before returning to the port, so you can either take a slow walk along this part of the caldera rim or stop at one of the bars or restaurants overlooking the caldera, enjoying a drink or meal.
If you’re feeling super-fit the furthest you’d have time to venture is the gorgeous Three Bells of Fira, a simple whitewashed church with a blue dome with the deep blue water of the caldera below. Walking there and back would use up a fair chunk of your time in Fira, so either get your tour to drop you off close to it or be prepared to give up some of your time to see it. It’s worth it, one of the very best views in Santorini.
Santorini Day Tours from Crete
This Santorini day tour from Heraklion includes transfers to the port and 5 ½ hours on Santorini, including around two hours each in Oia and Fira
This Santorini day tour from Rethymno gives you 6 hours on Santorini, again including Oia and Fira
This Santorini day tour from Chania entails the longest day, with a coach trip to Rethymno to catch the fast ferry to Santorini.
A Santorini Day Trip From Crete – Do It Yourself?
If you’re booked on a tour, you’re guaranteed transport around the island, including, crucially, up the mountain from the port.
If you’re planning to travel independently on a day trip to Santorini from Crete, with just five to six hours available, my advice is DON’T.
Travelling by yourself and using the often-overcrowded Santorini buses, you may well end up frittering some of your valuable time on waiting to leave the port.
There is the option of using a Santorini taxi, but bear in mind that their prices are exorbitant, and you could easily end up having to fork out €35-40 for a 10-minute one-way trip to Fira. They are a rip-off, but the bottom line is that they have a captive market.
If you were to persist with your few hours in Santorini without a tour, I suggest you just stick to Fira and give Oia a miss. There are caldera views everywhere you go in Fira, and by sticking to the one place at least you don’t waste as much travel time.
But I wouldn’t do it, I have to say.
Santorini Day Trip From Crete – The Cons
A few hours in Santorini is likely to leave you wishing you had more time there. It’s nowhere near enough.
€200 to €250 is a lot for just a few hours on Santorini.
These trips from Crete and back only give you time on the island during daylight hours – unfortunately you will have departed hours before the Santorini sunset, for many the highlight of their trip to the island.
Tips If You’re Planning A Day Trip From Crete To Santorini
I strongly suggest staying somewhere near the port the night before you travel. We stayed a ten-minute walk from Heraklion port the night before we sailed from there to Santorini, and it worked out well. It will also reduce your travel time and shorten your day. Likewise, it may well be worth your while staying near the port the night you return from Santorini.
Book a tour, don’t go it alone. I’m a lifelong advocate of independent travel, but this is one instance where it doesn’t work, and you’ll see much more on the tour than if you travel around by bus.
Don’t hire a car for a day trip like this. You’ll only have time for Fira and / or Oia, and having to park it in two places becomes an unnecessary liability and drain on your time.
Santorini Day Trip From Crete – Final Thoughts
I hope that you have found this article helpful. Santorini is one of the most popular day trips from Heraklion (and Rethymno), and with the information in this article, you’ll know exactly what to expect.
I’ve also written several other articles on Santorini, which you can peruse below:
One Day In Santorini – my guide to spending 24 hours on Santorini
Three Bells of Fira – one of the most beautiful churches on Santorini
Churches in Santorini – 15 of the best churches to see on Santorini
Most Beautiful Villages in Santorini – from Oia and Fira to lesser-known Emporio and Pyrgos
Pyrgos Santorini – stunning unspoilt mountaintop village, way off the beaten Santorini track
Emporio Santorini Village Guide – a hidden gem in the east of the island
Perissa Beach Santorini – Everything You Need To Know
Vlychada Beach Santorini – great volcanic beach on the island’s south coast
Caldera Beach Santorini – the only Santorini beach on the caldera
Black Beach Santorini – the hidden black sand beach of Mesa Pigadia
Red Beach Santorini – the off-limits red sand beach on the south of the island
The 7 Best Beaches In Santorini – black and red sand beauties on the volcanic isle