Half-Day Santorini South Coast and Akrotiri Tour from Fira
Description
This bus tour takes you to the Southern part of the island where you visit the hidden gems of the area. The first stop of the tour is the 16th century Monastery of Prophet Elias. From there you have a panoramic view of the whole island! After the Monastery, continue to Megalochori which is one of the most traditional villages on the island where you will have the opportunity to admire the traditional architecture and the unique craftsmanship of the local Masons. Akrotiri is the next stop on the tour. Upon arriving a guide will be waiting for you to take you inside the archeological site to give you information and you will experience the Minoan site of the ancient world. Perissa is an organized beach with black sand, here you stay for approximately 2 hours and have free time to go for a swim, eat in a local taverna or just relax and explore the area.
Tour Options
Itinerary
The first stop of the tour is the 16th century Monastery of Prophet Elias which was built on the highest point of the Island 550 meters above sea level. From there you have a panoramic view of the whole island and it is breathtaking!
Akrotiri is the last stop on our tour and what better way to end the day. Upon arriving, a guide will be waiting for you to take you inside the archeological site to give you information and you will experience the Minoan site of the ancient world.
After the Monastery you continue to Megalochori which is one of the most traditional villages on the Island. The tour's escort takes you through the narrow streets where you will have the opportunity to admire the traditional architecture and the unique craftsmanship of the local Masons.
Leaving Megalochori you head towards the beautiful beach of Perissa which is located at the south part of Santorini. Perivolos is an organized beach with black sand, here you stay for approximately 2 hours and have free time to go for a swim, eat in a local taverna or just relax and explore the area.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
Pick up and return transfer from specific meeting points in Oia, Imerovigli, Forostefani, Fira, Perissa, Kamari, Karterados, Akrotiri, Emporio, Megalochori. You will be informed by mail for your exact pick up point.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Please note that you cannot visit the Monastery in the inside
Reviews(19)
This tour was phenomenal, and provided excellent value. (They should have charged more) Here’s what you need to know, and a bit of feedback: 1. This is a full day tour, realistically. You are picked up between 10:15-11:15 and you won’t be back at your hotel until 5:15-6:15. Plan your day around that. 2. You have an opportunity to swim- this is not made obvious in the tour information. Under-dress a swimsuit and towel if you want to enjoy the crystal water at the black sand beach. It’s possible to use one of the beach chairs by ordering from one of the restaurants. But note #3! 3. The tour itinerary is a little odd that lunch is served at the beach at 3:30pm. If I were the tour operator, I would swap the beach and Akrotiri visits so we could get lunch at a reasonable time. It was a bit too late for me to have lunch. 4. You also have an optional side trip to view the Red sand beach after touring the archeological site. Note it’s about a 15 minute walk each direction, and has a rocky trail at the beach end. Our guide on the day-of was fantastic. The tour company could have provided better information ahead of time. Consider visiting the beach before the archeological site instead of after, and consider spending a bit more time in Megalochori and a bit less time at the beach.
Dear Darren, Thank you for your detailed feedback and kind recommendation. We’re glad you enjoyed the variety of sights and the chance to swim in the beautiful waters, those moments really make the day special. Just to clarify, the tour description does mention time for swimming, though we understand it might not always stand out clearly. We appreciate your suggestions and hope to welcome you again on another Cretan Holidays excursion to discover even more of the island’s charm!
Was given the wrong pick up point on every email. Only when I went in to contact the company did I see a different pick up spot. Missed the tour and have been denied a refund.
Dear Guest, Guest satisfaction is always our top priority, and we have carefully reviewed your comments. We would like to clarify that you were informed about the correct pickup points well in advance of the excursion. On the day of the tour, we also tried to reach you by phone but unfortunately did not receive a response. Even so, we offered you an alternative date for the excursion at no extra cost, which was declined. We are truly sorry for the inconvenience and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you on one of our excursions in the future.
We done this tour and it wasnt a bad day out but it did seem long. Tanya the guide was excellent very knowledgeable.You don’t get into the monastery only a small church nearby Megalochori was good but we felt could have had little bit longer we were told to get snacks there in mini market until our final stop when we would have lunch The Akrotiri archeological site was interesting and informative tour was given by one of the archaeologists. It was 3.15 before we arrived at our final stop Perrisa for sand and food Overall it was good.
Dear Siligonian, Thank you for your thoughtful review! We're glad to hear you enjoyed the day, especially the fascinating Akrotiri site and the informative tour. We appreciate your feedback regarding the timing at certain stops and will definitely consider it for future planning. We hope to see you again on another beautiful excursion!
Tanya the guide was excellent very knowledgeable.You don’t get into the monastery only a small church nearby Megalochori was good but you felt could have had little bit longer we were told to get snacks there in mini market until our final stop when we would have lunch The Akrotiri archeological site was interesting and informative tour was given by one of the archaeologists. It was 3.15 before we arrived at our final stop Perrisa for sand and food Overall it was good but it seemed a long day
Dear Joe, Thank you for your detailed feedback. We’re delighted to hear that you found Tanya to be an excellent and knowledgeable guide. We appreciate your comments about the time spent in Megalochori, and the informative tour at the Akrotiri archaeological site. We understand that the day felt long and that you would have preferred more time in certain areas. Your insights are valuable to us, and we will consider them as we strive to improve our tours. Thank you for joining us, and we hope to welcome you back for an even better experience in the future.
Honestly - just do yourself a favour and take public transit to Akrotiri yourself. The public buses are easy enough to figure out. We were picked up at 10am and not allowed to stop for lunch until 4pm, and had no free time to explore Megalochori or Akrotiri on our own. We also got back around 6:30pm, so beware this is not a half day tour at all.
Dear Kailli, Thank you for your honest feedback. We appreciate your insights regarding the timing of the tour. We understand that the long wait for lunch and the lack of free time in Megalochori and Akrotiri may have been disappointing. However, we believe that our guided tours offer a unique experience that provides valuable context and convenience, which can be more challenging to achieve using public transit. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and we hope to have the opportunity to welcome you again.
We especially enjoyed the typical traditional village and Akrotiri. Our guide, Tatiyana, was delightful, entertaining and always happy.
Dear John, Thank you so much for your kind words about your tour experience, especially highlighting the typical traditional village and Akrotiri. We're thrilled that you enjoyed exploring these cultural gems with us so much. We look forward to welcoming you back for more adventures and discoveries in the future!
Very enjoyable tour! We enjoyed each stop. Akrotiri was definitely a highlight! We enjoyed all stops on this tour, though it would have been nice to have a bit longer at the beach.
Dear sherry_d Thank you for taking the time to share your positive experience with Cretan Holidays. We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour and that Akrotiri was a highlight for you. Your feedback is truly appreciated, and we're glad to know you had a great time at all the stops. We've taken note of your suggestion regarding more time at the beach and we have informed our partners about it. We hope to welcome you back soon for another memorable adventure with Cretan Holidays.
I want a refund! We waited for the blue bus across the old medical center, but there was none! It was supposed to be there at 10:00 and we were there 9:50 and waited until 10:30. I did not receive any notification that the meeting place was changed. This should not happen!!!
Dear Lina, Thank you for sharing your feedback about your recent experience with us. We understand your frustration and would like to clarify that we made considerable efforts to communicate the change in the meeting place, both through phone calls and the chat box on Viator. We apologize if these messages were not received. Customer satisfaction is very important to us, and we take this matter seriously. To ensure such incidents are minimized in the future, we will review and enhance our communication processes. If you have any further concerns or would like to discuss your experience in more detail, please feel free to reach us out directly to our email addresses. We appreciate your feedback and hope to have the opportunity to provide you with an improved experience in the future.
Archaeological site of Akrotiri is very interesting. Shows the life of the people who lived there before the Minoan eruption. Happy ending—the people saw warning signs and escaped.
Dear Eileen, Thank you for sharing your thoughts on your visit to the Archaeological site of Akrotiri. We're thrilled to hear that you found it very interesting and that it provided insight into the lives of those who lived there before the Minoan eruption. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and it inspires us to continue promoting enriching experiences for our valued guests. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome you back and provide you with even more fascinating discoveries in the future.
This tour has potential, but needs improvement. They picked us up in a small van & then dropped us off in the hot sun (no shade available) where we waited approximately 30 minutes for a large bus to arrive. The tour was too long - they should eliminate the $1 euro bathroom break which took 20 minutes & eliminate the walk to red beach/ice cream break which would save at least another hour. Also lunch was at the end of the tour & everyone was thirsty & hungry by 3:30 in the afternoon. So they should have a smaller group size, provide a bottle of water, shorten the trip, and not have lunch so late.
Dear Robert, Thank you for taking the time to share your recent experience about our Half-Day Santorini South Coast and Akrotiri Tour with us. On the tour there are some stops that cannot be missed. For example, we can't do without a short stop to go to the toilet, because for some people it is a necessity. Visiting the Red Beach is also a must, as it's one of the most famous attractions. However we will forward your comments and tips to the whole team for further improvement. Thank you very much and we hope to see you again soon.
