Santorini Exploration

5h explorers tour (semi-private tour, up to 18 people max)

COST: 108 EURO P.P. (CHILDREN UP TO 3 Y.O. JOIN FOR FREE)

(Old port – Take the cable car to meet your tour director – Hilltop of Prophet Elias – Megalochori – Koutsoyannopoulos winery – Oia – Fira)

Join us so we will all form a small group of explorers and discover the hidden beauties of this unique island.

Santorini awaits you.

The island of diverse beauty and enchanting sunsets, the stunning view from the villages hanging of the 1000 feet cliff, the beaches of red and black sand, the volcano with the hot springs and the famous wine tradition that goes back to the ancient years.

We have designed a 5 hour Santorini island tour during which you will discover the many attractions that the island has to offer. Board the private minibus and drive up to the monastery of Prophet Elias, built in 1712 on the highest peak of the island. The monastery is not open to the public but from there you will admire a stunning view of the whole island and take pictures. Continuing your drive you will enter an off-the-beaten-track walk through one of the most picturesque villages of the island, Megalochori, that existed from the 17th century. The village remains unspoiled and preserves the characteristics and beauty of the traditional architecture, as you will see historical homes and mansions with high walls and thick wooden door entrances, built for privacy and to offer safety against the marauding pirates.

After a walk through Megalochori you will proceed to one of the most famous and oldest wineries in Santorini. Established in 1880 inside a natural cave 8 meters below ground, there is also located the only wine museum in Greece which is considered one of the best wine museums in the world (ranked as #2). You will enjoy a tour of the wine museum that presents the history and life of wine from 1660, and then enjoy in a private hall a wine tasting experience of 4 wines, one of which is the famous Vinsanto, accompanied with snacks. An electronic audio guide will be provided to you with information for both the wine museum, but also for the tasting experience.

Then drive to the village of Oia and walk along its narrow streets, which typifies the white-painted houses of the Cyclades. In many cases they are built directly into niches which are cave houses used by the crew of the ships, on the lip of the volcanic crater, between which are narrow alleys and blue-roofed churches with cupolas and neoclassical mansions that used to be captain’s houses in the 19th century. Your tour director will give you narrations and will let you explore the magnificent Oia and take "millions" of pictures. Since Santorini gets extremely crowded during summer and when cruise ships arrive there, plus most of its roads are narrow and windy, some times there might be traffic along the way. In an opposite case and with the itinerary going as normal, we try to offer you about one hour and a half of free time in Oia.

Finally return to Fira where your tour will end. You can either spend time exploring Fira village on your own or you can take the cable car to return to your ship. Your tour director will give you tips and suggestions so you will be able to make good use of your time.

Your transportation vehicle will be an agile Mercedes Sprinter or similar minibus, driven by an experienced professional non-smoking driver. Throughout the tour you will be accompanied by a fluent in English qualified tour director, who will provide interesting commentary on board. Your tour director will give you a tour of Oia village and the winery. Smaller vehicles may be used for 6 or less participants.

The price includes transportation, throughout escorting by an English speaking tour director, the wine tour and tasting in Koutsoyannopoulos winery.

Food, beverages, gratuities and the tickets for the cable car are not included.

Important note: We feel obliged to notify the travellers that are wishing to visit Santorini island in a day's excursion from a cruise ship, as there are certain dates during the season that their cruise ship will arrive along with 2, 3 or more cruise ships. Having in mind that Santorini is a small island and with small villages and narrow roads, at these specific dates the places visited are bound to get very crowded. Even on those dates, we can guarantee the implementation of our excursion's itinerary and returning on time to get back to your cruise ship. On the other hand we cannot do anything about the crowded areas, eg streets of Oia, Old Port etc, that will not allow our guests to enjoy the magnificent environment the island offers as they should. Nevertheless we promise to do our best efforts for our guests to experience the best Santorini has to offer.

More in this category: The Oia Experience »

Overall Rating (3)

5 out of 5 stars

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Reviews (3)

  • Rose Schug

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    This was the second tour we took via Niki's company Olympic tours. Another 5 star experience. Our guide for this tour was also named Joanna...we learned that is a very common name in Greece. While personalities varied from each Joanna, we were so satisfied with each of them as our guide. We picked this second tour mainly to get around to all the varied sights efficiently, but we got so much more in return. Being in our small group of 6 (instead of a bus of 60+) allowed us to ask specific questions and linger at one place more than another. Was not focused on the winery part of the tour when I signed up (since 2 of our "kids" 21-25 don't drink usually, but everyone enjoyed that part too and the views are also fabulous. We actually purchased 2 bottles of their dessert wine too. Niki- thank you for hiring such wonderful guides like Joanna. She is worth a million.

  • Lea

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    Niki's local staff (both guides and drivers) are professional, friendly and very fun to learn from. Highly knowledgeable and filled with TONS of history and facts, they were incredible. The smaller groups (especially during busy tourist season) made it wonderful to get through sites efficiently without feeling like you didn't lose anything in the experience. Others that were with us took std tours from cruise ships and only experienced a fraction of what we got to see. They were wonderful! Highly recommended!

    from Greensboro, NC, USA
  • Pamela

    Rated 5 out of 5 stars

    We booked three tours with Niki - - the first of Olympia, the second of Athens and the third of Santorini. We found all three excellent and well organized and with wonderful tour guides. There was a discount for taking the three tours. We went with two other couples so were a small group which worked so much better than being in a bus with many people. The tours were also much better value than taking the tours offered by the cruise lines. We highly recommend this company.

    from Cornwall, ON, Canada

About Us

It would be a pleasure to send you my proposals, through our travel agency, and organize your touring experience in Greece, just for you!

 15561, Agiou Ioannou Theologou 43, Athens

 27065, Praxitelous Kondyli, Ancient Olympia

+30 6972426085

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