Day Trips From Santorini: Boats, Volcanoes and the Nearby Islands

What the day actually looks like

Boats leave from Fira Old Port, which sits below the caldera cliff at sea level. From Fira town you reach it by the cable car, a one-way ride of about 3 minutes costing $11.19 (€10), or down the several hundred steps of the Karavolades path on foot. Most volcano tours take about three to six hours in total. On Nea Kameni you get around 1.5 hours on the crater trail, enough to walk the rim over black lava fields and look back at the caldera villages.

The Kameni islands were built by eruptions over two millennia, with major events in 1707-1712, 1866-1870, 1925-1928, 1939-1941 and a last small lava dome eruption in 1950. Nea Kameni is about 2 km across. That history is why the walk feels unlike any other Greek island hike, and why the Santorini volcano page goes deeper on the geology.

After the crater most boats cross to Palea Kameni for the hot springs, a bay of warm iron-rich water where you swim in from the anchored boat. The water temperature is not officially published, but the orange staining on the rocks tells you it is working.

What it costs and what to watch for

The cheapest way in is the Volcanic Islands Cruise with Hot Springs Visit from $35.32, or the Santorini Port: Cruise to Volcano, Hot Springs & Thirassia from $31.28. On top of almost every volcano ticket comes the €5 volcano park fee, paid on the island itself, so budget an extra $5.59 (€5) per person.

Check three things before you pay. First, whether the ticket includes the Old Port transfer, because the cable car fare is not usually part of it. Second, the cancellation window, most listings allow free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead. Third, the weather clause, because the July and August meltemi wind cancels small-boat departures regularly, and a morning slot gives you more chance of a rebooking if it blows.

If you want the crater plus an island stop in one day, the Thirassia versions do both. Our pick on value is the $31.28 three-stop boat, since the crater is the same crater on every boat.

Two routes, one decision

The south-coast route sails from Vlychada marina past the Red and White beaches and the Akrotiri lighthouse, with a snorkel stop and a BBQ on board. The caldera route hugs the inner cliffs with swim stops at the hot springs and sometimes Thirassia. Pick the south coast for the coloured cliffs and the swimming, the caldera for the volcano views without the hike.

Our pick overall is the Premium Small-Group Catamaran Cruise with BBQ, Open Bar, Transfer at $148.73. It is capped at 20 guests, which matters, because the big-catamaran trips with 50 or more people lose most of the point of paying for a boat. The Half-Day Exclusive Catamaran Cruise at $123.56 caps at 18 and adds a Thirassia swim.

On a budget, the Catamaran Caldera Cruise with Meal and Drinks at $67.27 and the Catamaran Tour with BBQ Dinner, Drinks, and Music at $84.08 are the entry points, both five hours with pick-up available. The Santorini Classic Catamaran Cruise at $91.52 is the same Vlychada route as the premium boat with a slightly bigger group of up to 22.

Timing your booking and your day

Almost every catamaran listing allows a full refund if you cancel at least 24 hours before departure, so book early and re-book if the forecast turns. The meltemi season in July and August is the risky window. Sea temperature peaks around 25.9 °C in August, so swim stops are comfortable from June through September.

For the sunset version, the Santorini Catamaran Cruise with Swim-Stops, Greek Meal and Sunset at $171.61 ends with the light going behind the caldera from the water. Expect the return to be dark, and remember the climb back up from any port afterwards unless your transfer covers it. If a whole boat day is too much, a shorter land-based alternative is the three-hour minibus loop through Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia on our Santorini tours page.

Why go and how it works

Thirassia was part of the same landmass before the Minoan eruption split the caldera open around 1600 BC. Today it has its own small ports and a village on the rim above, and it is what Santorini looked like before the hotels. Boats stop here as an add-on on some volcano trips, and the Santorini Port: Cruise to Volcano, Hot Springs & Thirassia from $31.28 is the simplest way to combine all three stops.

You get two to four hours depending on the boat. That is enough to climb to the village, eat at a harbour taverna and swim off the quay. There is no big site to see and that is the point. Our full Thirassia guide covers the village and the paths.

If you would rather build the day yourself, small boats also run between the ports in season, though schedules are seasonal and not published here. Treat the tour-boat version as the reliable option.

Who this day suits

This is the day trip for people who have already seen the caldera villages and want silence rather than another viewpoint. It is also the best pick for photographers who want the Santorini skyline shot from the outside, looking back at the rim from Thirassia at golden hour. Bring cash for tavernas, water and sun cover, since shade on the climb is scarce and the island has no large shops.

Pair the day with reading up on the eruption itself, our Minoan eruption explainer puts the whole caldera into context, and free things to do in Santorini lists more low-cost days if Thirassia hooks you on the quiet side of the caldera.

The site that anchors the day

Akrotiri is a Bronze Age town buried by the Theran eruption in the 16th or late 17th century BC. Excavated since 1967, first by Spyridon Marinatos and then Christos Doumas, it reveals multi-storey houses with sewers and wall paintings. No unburied human remains and only one gold object, a golden goat found in 1999, have been found, which points to an evacuation before the eruption.

Admission is $22.40 (€20) for adults and $11.19 (€10) reduced. It is open Monday and Thursday 08:30-15:30 all year, on other days from 08:00-20:00 in April to August, stepping down in September and October, and 08:30-15:30 in winter with Tuesday closed. Last entry is 20 minutes before closing. Our Akrotiri tickets page has the full breakdown and guided options.

Building the rest of the day

From the site, the sequence that works is Red Beach from the viewpoint above, then the Akrotiri lighthouse for the late light. The land path to Red Beach is closed by the municipality for rockfall danger, tightened after a rockfall following the February 2025 earthquake, so see it from above or from a boat. The Fira-Akrotiri bus costs $2.46 (€2.20) each way from the Fira bus station.

If you want a guide, the Archaeological Bus Tour to Akrotiri Excavations & Red Beach at $56.06 adds Profitis Ilias, Megalochori and Perissa in six to seven hours, with the site fee paid separately. For the full version, the Santorini Day Tour: Akrotiri, Villages, Wine and Sunset in Oia runs ten hours and finishes with the Oia sunset. Add a wine stop at Santo Wines on the way back and you have the strongest land day on the island.

What is realistic in a day

A Santorini day trip by ferry lives or dies on the timetable, and the timetables change each season. Ios is the classic candidate, being a short hop north on the Cyclades routes, but sailing times and fares are not fixed or published here, so check the current schedules before you build a day around it. Pack nothing you cannot carry, because Athinios is a working port with a steep access road and the Fira bus costs $3.02 (€2.70).

The Santorini to Crete day trip question deserves honesty: Crete is large, the western ports are the closest, and the crossing plus transfers will eat most of a day. We do not print a crossing time because schedules vary by season and operator. If Crete is a priority, treat it as an overnight stay rather than a day trip. The same logic applies to Naxos and Paros. Our Athinios port guide covers the logistics of getting to and from the boats.

The pairings that do work

Where Santorini really shines as a hub is multi-day hopping. Mykonos is a direct route, and our Mykonos to Santorini ferry page covers that crossing. Athens is the other main link, with high-speed ferries from Piraeus taking about 4 h 50 min to 5 h 35 min and conventional boats 7 h 30 min to 8 h or more. Fares vary by date and seat, so we do not print them.

The honest answer to which island to pair with Santorini is that Crete rewards two or more nights and Ios rewards a lazy one. If your base is Santorini and you only have one spare day, spend it on the water inside the caldera rather than in a ferry terminal. The caldera is the thing you cannot see anywhere else, and the Santorini caldera page explains why the flooded volcano looks the way it does.

When to go and when boats get cancelled

The sea is warmest in August at 25.9 °C and stays swimmable above 23 °C from July through October. May and September give you calm water with fewer boats. The killer is the meltemi, the summer wind with a mean daily maximum of 28-37 km/h through the year and its strongest stretch in July and August, which is why operators build cancellation clauses into every catamaran and small-boat listing. Book a morning departure when you can, since the wind usually builds in the afternoon.

Shoulder-season travellers get the best deal of all: October sea temperatures around 23.1 °C with daytime highs near 20.7 °C, and thin crowds at the sites. Our best time to visit and Santorini in October pages have the month-by-month detail.

Money, buses and getting to the boats

The three ports you will use are Fira Old Port for the volcano boats, reached by the $11.19 (€10) cable car or the steps, Vlychada marina for the south-coast catamarans, and Athinios for ferries. KTEL buses link all of them from the Fira bus station, at $2.46 (€2.20) to Oia and Akrotiri, $3.02 (€2.70) to Perissa and Athinios, and $3.13 (€2.80) to Vlychada. Departure times are seasonal, so check the KTEL timetable rather than trusting an old blog.

Watch the fees that sit on top of tickets: the €5 volcano park fee on the island, and if you arrive by cruise ship the passenger fee of €20 from June to September or €12 in April, May and October, charged through the cruise line. Accommodation adds a climate resilience fee per room per night from April to October, up to €15 for five-star properties and villas. Our getting around and Santorini costs pages total it all up.