Full-Day Trip to Santorini island by Boat from Rethymno with Transfer your Hotel

Generell gut organisiert. Die Dame die als Guide über die Insel berichtet hat, wirkte teilweise etwas verwirrt/abgelenkt und es fehlten ihr - obwohl sie aus Deutschland kam - oft einzelne Wörter, die ihr nicht/schwer einfielen. Wirkte daher ziemlich holprig.

My wife and I visited Santorini for a week in Oct ‘16 and recently (Oct’23) did the day trip with friends who had not been to the island. Whilst the boat and coaches are quite well organised and comfortable, it is a long day, 14 hours from hotel pick up to drop off and out of those you will be either sitting in the boat or a coach for about 10 hours; the remaining 4 hours will either be given to ‘sightseeing’ herded around by an uninterested ‘guide’ or eating in a mediocre restaurant they recommend and probably get commission from. Oia and Fira are unfortunately the two most commercialised (and expensive) towns on Santorini and you will very likely be visiting them together with literally thousands of other day trippers from boat excursions and cruise liners. At the time of our visit to Oia, the coach park must have had 30+ coaches in it, it’s alleyways we’re teaming with day trippers and you had to queue, 10 deep, to take photos of the views. The experience was manic, unpleasant and not the way to enjoy what Santorini has to offer. We overheard a fellow day tripper on the boat back to Rethymno saying ‘ well that has made up my mind, I shall certainly not bother visiting Santorini again’, what a sorry impression to leave. Santorini is a totally unique, stunning and interesting place to visit and offers so much more than a quick, crowded glimpse of Oia and Fira can offer. My advise would be, if you can, don’t bother with a day trip, your hard earned cash would be much better spent visiting Santorini for a few days at your leisure and experiencing Oia and Fira when all the day trippers have left.

The tour operator was great. From the time I booked, to the day of my scheduled tour, customer service was superb. They were very responsive and answered all of my questions/concerns. The day of the tour was also smooth. I was picked up from my hotel and taken to the port to catch the ferry. The ferry ride was not the best due to the choppy waters that day. Lots of passengers got sick but that was of no fault of the tour operator. After the 3 hour ferry ride, I was only in Santorini for about 5.5-hours. Which was plenty for me. During that time the group traveled by bus from the port to Oia, Fira and back to the port to catch the ferry. We were given a little time to sightsee in each city. Oia is absolutely beautiful but it was extremely crowded. I didn't expect it to be so many people for the time of year but there were several cruise ships in port. I loved my time in Fira best. It was a little bigger and there were less people. I had space to take some nice pictures and do some souvenier shopping without getting swept up by the large crowds. The bus ride was comfortable. The tour guide was personable and knowledgeable. Overall, the efficiency of the tour made it an amazing experience. I truly enjoyed myself and would recommend Platanos Tours.