Home > Athens > 2-Day Santorini Experience from Athens
USD $304.00
2-Day Santorini Experience from Athens
Athens, Greece
Stay overnight on the gorgeous Greek island of Santorini where sweeping sand beaches, volcanic vistas and pretty whitewashed villages await! The trip is independent, meaning no excursions or activities are included — just ample free time to explore at your own pace. Round-trip transport by boat is included from Piraeus Port, as well as overnight 2-star superior, 3-star or 4-star hotel accommodation. Choose between a budget-friendly, 8-hour ferry crossing or upgrade to a 5.5-hour speedboat crossing to enjoy more time on sunny island.
Trip was a good intro to one of the most popular Greek Islands. Trip to Santorini went seamlessly with prompt pickups at the hotel and at the port upon arrival in Santorini. We needed to find our hotel after drop off without a hotel voucher with only the name of the hotel provided by the driver.The hotel was quaint rated 2-3 star and the Island scenery spectacular. Our pickup time was provided by the hotel as 13:45 but driver did not arrive until 14:05 when provided some anxious waiting time. We made it in plenty of time to the boat for the 8 hour cuisine back to Athens where our driver was waiting to take us back to the hotel. All in all a satisfactory trip which was a good taste of Santorini. However, it did feel at times that I did not have control of my trip with the transfers from hotel to ship to hotel.
Review by: Kenneth M, October 2017
Never enough time but worth the trip, the sunset from the town was spectacular._br/_ Lots of high end jewelry and stuff there. Pick and choose carefully.
Review by: victor G, October 2017
My worst travel experience. Driver who met me in santorini port dropped me off in a corner pointing to another bus saying go, ride. Thinking it's part of the package, I did. Turned out it's a public bus. So I ended in a strange bus depot, abandoned, no help from anybody, no direction on what hotel, no contact number. Tired from the long ferry ride, I checked in the first hotel. My advice: book round trip. blue star ferry yourself. Only 70 euros round trip. Hotels are many in santorini. You'll save hundreds. Or book with another professional tour group.
Review by: Neville L, September 2017
Good experience but our hotel stay was definitely the big let down. We were supposed to stay in a 4 star hotel which turned out to be more like a 2 star hotel. This was a very big let down to our expectations. Our experience there of the island was awesome but the hotel stay was the worst.
Review by: jc5680, August 2017
This tour was well planned out. It is good for those who want to see Santorini with a brief schedule. The views were amazing and given enough time to see the sunset.
Review by: Mdllorens, June 2017
Save your 300 per person and find a better excursion. The hotels listed on Viator's website is a wish list, not a guarantee we got Pricelined into an obscure hotel, 2 Star at best no where near the 4 stars we paid for. I've used Viator in the past and will continue to do so. But this 2 Day Experience should come with a warning. All our other Viator tours were fantastic.
Review by: Jacob G, September 2016
Trip gives enough time for one to explore Santorini. The Greco resort hotel offered is highly recommended !
Review by: STANWIN D, June 2016
Well please read this before booking the tour!
Review by: Nemesia F, September 2015
Problem began in Santorini, The lady who had my name was not visible enough. I had to go to the tourist info and pay 2 euro to make a phone call. No info as to name and address of our hotel in santorini. Cold lady at the reception of Kymata. No coordination as to what time our pick up is.
Review by: Flanice L, August 2015
Santorini is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Be prepared for a lot of walking if you're going to see the famed Blue-domed church. The only downside was not knowing which hotel I was going to stay at until I got dropped off. It worked out for the best as I was in an amazing hotel, less than a minute from the beach. The beach has rocks instead of sand so make sure you have proper footwear as the rocks can be extremely hot.
Review by: Pepe G, July 2015
Don't expect to stay in Oía, the actual hotel were you stay is very nice but really far from where all the breathtaking sights are.
Review by: pat f, June 2015
Not a good experience. Travel options were ferry or speedboat we were not aware that air travel was an option. Why would we spend 8 hrs on a ferry or the 6.5 hours it took for the speed boat trip, when we could have been there in under an hour? Upon arrival, our transport to hotel was not there. Cost us 30 Euros for what we later discovered was a 5 taxi trip. Then confusion with the hotel booking, one room instead of two - we are business colleagues, not partners. Could have saved time, money and aggravation booking our own travel and hotel. AVOID THIS TOUR.
Review by: Bharati S, June 2015
Tour was amazing._br/_
Everything worked perfectly..pick up / drop offs/ hotel etc.
Review by: Royale M, June 2015
We took the speed boat, and even so it was mostly travel and not much Santorini. When we arrived, we were dumped in the middle of nowhere by our driver who didn't even tell us the name of our hotel. We were essentially stranded. Luckily, everyone in Greece is super nice and someone helped us.
Review by: Danielle P, May 2015
The agency gave me the wrong pickup time. I wanted to do some of the tours suggested but Viator didn't mention that they didn't start for another 2 weeks. Luckily I was at my hotel when my speed ferry back to shore was cancelled. So I had to cut my trip 4hrs short. And I had to pay extra for the tix
Review by: jeannesanchez, April 2015
We received our tickets in Athens for the ferry to Santorini on time and that was fine. But upon arrival at Santorini there was no one there to greet us from Key Tours and we had to wait for hours. Thankfully the representative of TUI who had recently made an agreement with Key Tours took charge and transferred us to Fira and set us up at a hotel there which was certainly not the deal I thought I had purchased. The ferry back took almost an entire day - 8 hours. A waste of time. I would really like to hear from VIATOR on this. Was disappointed with the entire experience.
Review by: David H, April 2015
You pay high money for a cheap service on everything.
Review by: yinhuay, October 2014
Everything is good, except one thing: the rest room in the ship is very bad, not clean, no paper....
Review by: Claudio O, October 2014
Santorini was beautiful. If I had to do the trip over again, I would have stayed at Santorini instead of Athens and I would have flown to see the acropolis. The boat ride was horrific, alot of people were sick. The Seajet took 7 hours not 5.5 and it was 3 hours late getting back, so its definitely not worth paying more for. There are accessible buses at the Island that run late at night. We were able to see Fira and Ouia til after sunset and we spent a magnificent day at Kalmari beach the next day.
Review by: ANTHONY A, October 2014
Hotel was great. boat trip very nice. weather was a problem but not tours fault. rate good
Review by: Linda F, August 2014
Ferry was good - 7 hours both ways. Hotel nice but LOUD motorbikes all night and no food other than breakfast. Picture shows Oia which is other side of the island.
Review by: Mary E L, July 2014
Awful! Santorini a bit over hyped
Review by: Mr John Keating, July 2014
The tour itself was good. The accommodation at Santorini was very good. The location was at Karmani was good as well. However where the tour failed was that you didn't know who was picking you up, who was to meet you at Santorini, what hotel you were staying at and if there was a transfer back. This was compounded by the fact that no one except the receptionist at Villa Hara could speak English. Thank goodness for her. The tour sheet did not provide any details. Therefore you were dealing with the unknown and a traveller should not have to experience this.
Review by: Joyce, January 2014
The two hour fast ferry was not running in mid Oct. Ended up with the 9 hr journey to Santorini from Athens. Lots of port stops along the way. Arrived around 430p into Santorini. Not enough time to explore until the next day which was only a half a day before getting back on the ferry boat for the return trip to Athens, Need more time because of the travel. Suggest just taking a plane from Athens to Santorini._br/_
Best gold shopping was Greco Gold. High quality, friendly and good value.
Review by: Kim R, December 2013
Our stay in Santorini itself was awesome! However, our bus trip from the docks to our hotel was a disaster! The bus driver did not properly latch the luggage compartment door which allowed it to open completely allowing the luggage to be tumbled out onto the highway as we rounded one of the very sharp turns. People started yelling stop! There were several damaged pieces of luggage, one of which belonged to my son. When the bus driver finally did pull over, the door which had opened was ripped off the side of the bus by a road sign that he hit as he pulled over. Everyone had to get off the bus, many people had to run back up the road to retrieve their luggage which was thrown to the side of the road. We all had to wait for at least an hour on the side of the road in the 90 degree plus sun and wait for another bus to pick us up and take us to our destination. Once the luggage was reloaded onto the other bus and we were back on the road we had lost over an hour and a half. Once we arrived to our hotel we were relieved that we finally made it to our destination. Day or night, Santorini is beautiful! We wished we had booked another night!
Review by: Laura J, July 2013
Santorini was excellent. I plan to return and stay for a longer period. The hotel selected by Viator was wonderful. However, as noted in previous comments, they ferry trip is very long. Seven hours each way. so 14 hours on a ferry and 22 hours on the island. I wish that I had been informed about this and about the options of upgrading to business class or a private cabin. There seems to be a faster, direct ferry that may be a better option for those with limited time. Also, there was no *tour* of Santorini. We were simply shuttled to our hotel with no commentary. My final comment is in regards to the return to port for ferry pick-up. We were dropped off at the port more than an hour before the ferry arrived. It was hot and there was little shade - leaving little option except to patronize one of the restaurants near the port (who are very aggressive in attracting customers). I suspect that this early drop-off was intentional, in order to provide business for these establishments._br/_
Again, Santorini was excellent. But the transportation aspect and communication could be improved.
Review by: Mary K, July 2013
This was the worst experience of any trip in my life and I am retired. It was completely overcharged as the ferry was only $38.00. You are not told that the ferry takes about 8 hours each way. Also, you arrive too late for an island tour and leave too early for a bus tour the next day, since you have to check out of the hotel by noon. We were booked into a room costing only $35.00 a night. There was no hot water working when we arrived, the tv did not work, you had to prop a chair next to the refrigerator to keep it closed, the mattresses were very thin, the towels were stiff and they were prickly hard, and the only reason I give it one star is because the staff was very helpful. Mistakenly, I believed that I woud enjoy a nice room since I booked two other tours with viator in Athens covering three days. I checked the internet for room rates one day prior to the cruise using the four places listed from Viator. Since it was so low and the trip cost substantially more, I thought the room would be upgraded. I would not reccommend this trip to anyone. Santorini is a beautiful island and should NOT be experienced through Viator. It ruins the experience.
Review by: smilinback88, June 2013
The hotel in Santorini was nice. The staff at Blue Sea were warm and friendly. However, do not do Santorini this way in one day. If you're going 8hours on a ferry there, stay for more than 16 hours and book in Oia or Fira. We were so far way from the iconic views!!
Review by: MAXI R, June 2013
Quite a long trip in ferry (8 hours minimum) from Athens to Santorini for only 1 night... Would be way better if you can stay there more time to compensate such a trip_br/_
Santorini is beautiful and calm, perfect for relaxing and enjoying
Review by: Jose C Rodriguez, June 2013
This was an adventure and well worth it. The ferry trip is about 7 hours (hint: from Athens to Santorini upgrade to business class and on trip back try to get a cabin). The hotel selected was very nice but away from the main area - Fira).
Review by: sophie, April 2013
nine hours on the ship was the worst
Review by: sophie, April 2013
nine hours on the ship was the worst
Review by: Stacy P, October 2012
A wonderful overview of this beautiful island!
Review by: MARTIN R, October 2012
The hotel was excellent but a two day excursion is rather rushed since the ferry is an eight hour trip. I think you should advise people that the ferry ticket does not include the price for a reserved seat or you might include it in your price.
Review by: Maria Florencia C, September 2012
The ferry was terrible, the ticket didn't include a sit in which we could lay down during the 8 hours of the journey!! We had to pay additional 5 euros in order to get one! The ferry staff was very rude. The hotel wasn't nor 2 neither 3 stars, it wasn't even in Fira (the city centre) we had to take a bus in order to get there. In the hotel they didn't even give us a map. Everuthing very unorganized taking into account that you get to spend less than a day in the island (the ferry takes a long time to get to santorini). Its the same if you get de ferrys tickets by your own and book a night at a hotel, and I think that would be even cheaper. Next time I'll buy flight tickets that are a little bit more expensive but you get to spend fully 2 days in the island and you get to chose the hotel you want to stay in. This tour is a lie, it's noting like a tour and I paid 200 euros per person for it, that is NOT a cheap fare.
Review by: KURIEN S, September 2012
While the arrangements for pick up and drop off at Athens went off without a hitch, I had a big problem on reaching Santorini - wasn't picked up as promised and the agency did not also give me the name of the hotel - was able to manage thanks to the assistance from a local guide. Howwever, the hotel provided was very good and their service excellent.
Review by: Sheryl B, August 2012
If you are going to do one island tour this would be the one. Make sure you view the sunset, when you get your confirmation make sure you reconfirm the timing of the trip. We had limited time on the island because the booking was done late and the ideal boat times were sold out.
Review by: Lin, August 2012
This tour needs to be redesigned. Santorini is such a special place that you need to spend more than a few hours there. The ferry ride was pleasant but very long each way. You need to add another day to the trip or fly there. I was picked up at my Athens hotel at 6:15 am and arrived at my hotel on the island after 6 pm. I was never told the name of the hotel until I was dropped nearby and told to walk up the hill. It was a luxury resort, but I only had time for a swim. I had to leave for the port the next day at 1 pm. This can be a worthwhile trip if you add another day.
Review by: Takuya K, July 2012
We used a first class hotel. The staff service was excellent but the hotel location was so far from the main sightseeing spots._br/_
That would be great if there was 3days or 4days tour as options.
Review by: NATHALI K, May 2012
Santorini is beautiful, however this experience is for 2 days of which 12 hours you will spend on a ferry ( Athens to Santorini) , there are air seats however these are included in the bookings, yu end up sitting where ever you could find a seat in resturant area if you are lucky. The hotel was beautiful ( however I wouldnt class it as a first class),but miles away from Iao or Fira . I caught the 7:30am ferry and reached Santorini at 15:45, which does not enough time to arrange any trips, i recommend you book a tour before hand, only problem for me was that I was not informed of where I would be staying until my pickup arrived at the hotel.
Review by: Lynn J, April 2012
It's a long ferry ride for a short stay. I would suggest flying in or if you want to do the ferry ride stay longer.
Review by: Fawzia H, November 2011
excellent,wish i had prolonged my stay,2 days was too short a stay for this fabulous place.A sure must visit again,Godwilling.
Review by: Susan R, October 2011
Not met by transfer when we arrived at Santorini and had to organise our own. Hotel excellent. Loved exploring. Unortunately rain for most of journey and during our stay.
Review by: Gareth W, September 2011
Very happy with the trip. The ferry rides are very long, but rather interesting.
Review by: Priti A, September 2011
Santorini was beautiful, we stayed in Kamari but wish we were told hotel location prior to arrival, really wish this was a 3-day experience as the ferry and total transportation time takes up 20 hours(maybe an overnight ferry would be better), hotel was great as was the staff. Would love to go back in the near future to explore more of the island. Glad I didn't have to deal with transportation booking and overall had a great time on this trip!
Review by: Georgina T, June 2011
Santorini is absolutely beautiful. The ease of not having to worry about transport was brilliant, all thanks to Viator. The accomodation was average, but did the job. Visiting Santorini is a MUST DO
Review by: Aura Sebyl S, June 2011
Very good overall. Pickup and drop off were great. Hotel was fabulous. Only thing was the Ferry on our way to Santorini. Our tickets had no assigned seats.
Review by: Andrea S, United States of America, June 2010
I think that the island is beautiful and definitely worth doing but I would recommend taking more time to explore the islands as the ferry takes 8 hours to get there and with the 2 days you end up with very little time to explore all of the beauty on the island unless you are very ambitious with the time you do have and don't take time to relax.
Review by: Jacques M, South Africa, October 2009
The two day tour is to short, needs one more day. The time on the boat was very long.
Review by: Michele B, Canada, October 2009
It took 8 hours to go, 8 hours to come back by boat. We stayed in Santorini less than 24 hours. The hotel was located on the East coast away from the main towns and "the caldeira" main attractions of the island.
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