Greece › Santorini › Day Trip to Santorini
Updated: April 28, 2022
By Santorini Dave
See Also
- Best Santorini Tours & Activities
- Best Hotels in Santorini
- Where to Stay in Santorini
- Santorini Ferry Port Guide
Day Trip to Santorini from Crete, Naxos, Paros, Mykonos, & Athens
This is the ferry from Crete to Santorini that you would take for a day trip. (Day trip ferries from Naxos, Paros, and Ios would be similar and dock at the same port.) After you arrive in Santorini you still need to get up the cliff to the main caldera towns.
- Day trips to Santorini from Athens and Mykonos require flying. Try to book the earliest and latest flights. Rent a car from the Santorini airport and explore the island. Depending on the flights available you might have as much as 12 hours to see the sights.
- Day trips to Santorini from Crete, Naxos, Paros, and other Greek islands are usually not worth the time and effort. Staying on Santorini for several nights is awesome. Visiting for a few hours in the middle of the day (on a day trip) is busy – though still definitely worth it for many visitors.
- Just about all of the best tours and things to do in Santorini require staying overnight. There is not enough time to do the top attractions when you visit on a day trip from another island.
- Ferry schedules are inconsistent and ferries are often late, or are cancelled or delayed. Even under perfect conditions a day trip to Santorini will rarely allow more than 4 or 5 hours on the island. It’s difficult to experience any of the best things to do on a day trip.
Is a day trip to Santorini worth it?
Generally, no. It’s much better to spend that time on the island that you’re currently staying on and use it to explore there. But can you have a great day while doing a day trip to Santorini? For sure. I would just set your expectations to the lower end of the scale. If you think you’re going to get to do a boat tour of the caldera (highly recommended), a wine tour of the best Santorini wineries (highly recommended), or hike from Fira to Oia along the caldera (highly recommended) then you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re thinking, hey, we’ll take a ferry to Santorini, walk around a for a few hours, get some good views and photos of the caldera, and be back to our home base by early evening, then yes, you could have a great day trip. As I say, just don’t have sky-high expectations for what you’re going to be able to do in one day.
Why is a day trip to Santorini so difficult? It looks easy enough.
The main difficulty is the ferries and the ferry schedule. They usually don’t allow enough time on Santorini to make travel times worth the effort. It’s different for every island, every month, and every year, but for most schedules you can catch an early morning ferry that will get you to Santorini around 11am. Then you need to catch a bus to Fira or taxi to Fira, Oia, or Imerovigli. This will take 30+ minutes and it will likely be noon before you’ve made your way to the caldera and are looking out into the caldera. The last ferry returning to your island could be anytime between 4pm and 8pm. Let’s say it’s 6pm. If you’re catching the bus it will probably leave for the port at 4:30 so you’ll need to head back to the bus station at about 4:00. In this scenario you’ve had 4 hours to explore Santorini. Not nothing and it could certainly be an enjoyable 4 hours. But, as I say, it’s a lot of time and effort for a pretty short visit.
My Recommendation: An Overnight Day Trip
Instead of making a day trip try to spend a night on Santorini. Don’t check out of your hotel on your home base island (too much of a hassle). Pack a small bag with just a few necessities for an overnight stay at a cheap Santorini hotel. This will expand your time on Santorini from 5 or 6 hours to almost 30 hours all for just an extra €50 to €100 (the hotel cost). Yes, you are “wasting” the hotel night you’re spending on your home base island. But it’s worth it for the ease, convenience, and extra time you’ll get on Santorini. Of course, even better is to include Santorini in part of your plans and spend 3 to 7 nights here. But assuming that’s not possible, an “overnight day trip” is much better than just the few hours you’ll get if you do a normal Santorini day trip.
Day Trip from Santorini to Nearby Islands
The same factors apply for day trips from Santorini as for day trips to Santorini. It’s hard to make a day trip from Santorini to other Greek islands worthwhile. If you’re interested in visiting other islands then try to spend at least one or two nights there rather than do a day trip.
Santorini Day Tours in 2022
For travelers who feel like a day trip to Santorini is an absolute must, an organized tour is your best option. These often rely on private boats, with no need to adhere to an inconvenient ferry schedule. Many tours also include hotel pick-up and drop off.
Day Tours from Crete to Santorini in 2022
- Santorini Day Trip – From Heraklion & Agios Nikolaos – Hotel pickup and dropoff. Bus and boat tour to Santorini.
- Santorini Day Trip – From Chania – Hotel pickup and dropoff. Bus and boat tour to Santorini.
- Santorini Day Trip – From Rethymnon – Departs from Rethymnon port, which is walking distance from most Rethymnon hotels.
Day Tours from Naxos to Santorini in 2022
- Full-Day Boat Trip from Naxos to Santorini – Optional hotel pickup and dropoff. Bus and boat tour to Santorini.
Day Tours from Paros to Santorini in 2022
- Full-Day Boat Trip from Paros to Santorini – Transfer to Port available. Bus and boat tour to Santorini.
I'm Santorini Dave. I started this site in 2011 with a short article on tips for visiting Santorini with kids. We're now a small team of writers and researchers dedicated to providing the best travel content on the internet. We focus on 
Hi Dave! We are traveling from Mykonos to Santorini for an overnight trip on June 12. We plan to take the Hellenic Flying Cat 4 ferry because it departs at around 930 AM and will give us most of the day to sightsee in Santorini. We depart the next morning via a flight to Athens. I’ve read your ferry information and realize you recommend the high-speed 7, but it doesn’t depart until noon. Is it better to lose a few daylight hours and opt for the later departure? I’m worried about a rough ride. Thanks!
The Flying Cat will have a rougher ride but if you can handle it then I think it’s worth doing the earlier ferry to get the extra time on Santorini. It’s a pretty short trip. Go to the bathroom and get snacks before departure so you can stay in your seat. Standing up and walking about is what can really trigger seasickness.
Is it possible to do a day trip from Santorini to Crete? We would like to visit Knossos and the Archaeological museum in Heraklion.
A day trip from Santorini to Crete is not possible. Ferries leave Santorini for Crete in the late afternoon and arrive in evening. The return ferry to Santorini will leave in the morning. Even with a one night stay in Crete you wouldn’t have time to visit Knossos and the archaeological museum. Two nights on Crete is a minimum for getting to see and do anything beyond eating out in Heraklion.