Santorini Full-Day Tour from Heraklion Crete
Description
This tour offers an amazing opportunity to tourists that stay in Heraklion, Crete to visit Santorini and have a full-day tour around the island. Our first stop is Oia. We will walk around the village, admire the breathtaking view to the Caldera and take some fantastic photos! Our second stop is the Blue Dome in Firostefani. This Greek Catholic church dated from the 16th century is famous for the three bells, the blue dome and of course the amazing view to the Caldera. Heading at the south we will visit the following famous spots: Profitis Ilias, the highest spot of the island, almost 580 meters above water. The beautiful Black Beach of Perissa, for a launch break by the sea. Swimming will also be permitted! The famous Red Beach, near Akrotiri Village, created few thousand years ago after a series of volcanic eruptions. After an unforgettable tour on the island, our guests will be finally dropped off at the port of Santorini to take their boat back to Heraklion city, in Crete.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Oia is one of the most important villages of the island of Santorini. Situated at the northest part of the island, Oia is the spot with the most famous sunset and iconic Caldera view.
Blue Dome with the three bells is situated in Firostefani village. Everyday, hundreds of tourists visit this place in order to take some amazing photos at one of the most iconic spot on the island.
Profitis Ilias is the highest spot of the island of Santorini almost above sea level. HereI, you can have an amazing 360 view, understand the topography of the place and take some extraordinary panoramic photos.
The black sand beach of Perissa - Perivolos is the ideal place for relaxation. Guests will have the opportunity to swim and/or have some launch, here. On this 8 kilometers beach cost, one can find all kind of restaurants, shops, beach bars and clubs. The sand and the waters are amazing. The beach is fully organised. The choises are limitless.
The Red Beach in Akrotiri, situated at the southest part of the islandisland, is maybe the only red volcanic beach around the world. This unique place is the result of a series of geological phenomena that occured during the past centuries. This volcanic scenery will definately amaze you!
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
IMPORTANT NOTES: - Starting point of customers: Port of Heraklion - Meeting point with tour guide: New Port of Santorini (Athinios) ATTENTION: *Customers take the ferry from the port of Heraklion to Santorini. We meet and pick up all customers from the New Port of Santorini (Athinios Port). ** Ferry tickets are NOT included/pre booked by the agency. Customers have to take care of reserving their ferry tickets.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(7)
Great, personalized tour. Skip the line treatment. Saw everything we wanted and great lunch break at Black Beach.
Thank you so much Danielle! I’m really glad you enjoyed the tour and your time at the Black Beach. My goal is always for guests to leave Santorini with great memories. Hope to see you again one day!
An excellent experience I highly recommend do not use the ones from Santorini but rather Crete like this gentleman it's much better value and you will have an incredible time
Thank you so much for your kind words and recommendation Grant! I’m really happy you had such a great experience. It was a pleasure meeting you, and I hope to welcome you again in Santorini one day!
I had an awesome experience. Super professional and knowledgeable about all things Santorini. The ferry from Crete was fast. My guide was waiting right at the dock with my name. I took the advice to be first off the ferry which was helpful as to not waste time. Would definitely book again
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I’m really happy you enjoyed the tour and that everything went smoothly from the ferry to the sights. It was a pleasure having you, and I’d be delighted to see you again in Santorini someday!
This tour does not include a professional tour guide, just a driver who will cover the island. However, no professional tour guide is really needed for this tour. The island of Santorini is far too crowded with tourists from cruise ships as well as from the ferries serving the island. And everyone wants the same photos. The result is real overcrowding on the narrow streets of the towns. This recently has been exacerbated by the explosion of a Greek law previously limiting the number of visitors to the island. As a result there has been more than a five-fold increase in the number of daily visitors to Santorini — so far. When we arrived by high-speed ferry from Heraklion, there were 40(!) tour buses waiting in the port waiting for pre-arranged tours. The road up from the port to the central ridge is a series of narrow, winding switchbacks. At the driver’s request, we debarked from the ferry quickly and managed to beat the initial rush. Our driver, Tasos (Anastasios) proved to be quite adept at navigating his way through the crowds in Oia. He ensured we each got all the usual photos there, then proceeded to take us around the rest of the island. We ate lunch at a restaurant on a black sands beach, then returned to the port in time to catch the ferry back to Heraklion. Throughout the day, Tasos never lost track of the time. There never was any worry about being able to catch the ferry (which was the last one off the island — miss it and we would be stuck on the island overnight!). Throughout the day, Tasos provided an enlightening running commentary based on his own experiences living and working on Santorini. In all, a wonderful day exploring Santorini. The overcrowding of the island created unexpected challenges. While Tasos maneuvered us every through the crowds, the overcrowding still made the trip less pleasurable. (Not Tasos’ fault!). There was neither time nor opportunity for just taking in the ambience.
Dear Lars, Thank you so much for taking the time out to leave me such a detailed review. First of all, I would like to express my total agreement regarding the excessive number of visitors arriving in Santorini every day. It is true that the island suffers from high traffic and enormous crowds, especially during the summer season. This situation is well known to both local and global tourism professionals, as well as to the most of the island's visitors. Nevertheless, I am very happy to hear that you were very satisfied from the way I managed to overcome this situation, keeping the level of my service pretty high. It is true that I am always trying to prepare and protect my clients against this phenomenon which is completely out of my hand to change or control. Thanks to my long experience, I can manage time and pace effectively, while I am offering safety and comfort, knowledge and pleasure throughtout the most of my experiences. Consequently, I would like to admit that I am feeling deeply disappointed for this 4-star review which is mostly focused on the phenomenon of over tourism in Santorini. As you have already mentioned "this is not my fault" and I would really prefer if your evaluation was more reflecting the level of services provided, rather than a general situation which is regulated and controlled by external factors.
Loved the private tour with Tasos. He was awesome and did a photo shoot of us in all the famous places. He showed us the best places on Santorini in a day. Thank you for a wonderful time. The only issue was the fact that the title of this booking was Santorini Full day tour from Heraklion so we thought we would have arrangements from Heraklion to Santorini but that was not the case so we had to get to Heraklion port and then buy ferry tickets on Seajet (358 euros) in addition to the price of this booking. SO ended up being a very expensive trip to Santorini.
Dear guest, Thank you so much for your kind words and for giving me a great opportunity to answer to your concern regarding ferry ticket costs. In Greece, the shipping companies that connect Crete with Santorini are private companies with their own Pricing, Cancellation and Data Protection Policies. This is the main and only reason why I would recommend my clients to choose and decide using their own criteria. Thank you once again for your review. I wish you a very Happy New Year with lots of love, health and happiness! Best regards, Tasos
Santorini wasn’t as nice as we had hoped, it was only a few buildings with white and blue. The guide was very nice though and brought us to all the places one must see.
Dear Michael, Thank you so much for taking the time out to leave your review. I am very happy to hear that you had a good time during our tour, although the island did not meet your expectations. At least, we had the chance to cover all the best spots and take some nice pictures. It was a real pleasure to meeting you and spending time with you! I wish you all the best for the future! Best regards, Tasos
This was a fun experience! Highly recommended for travelers with limited time to island hop or just want to see the highlights of Santorini in one day. Tasos was a great guide. He provided a lot of information about the island and during each stop we made. He also was very diligent in regularly checking the ferry time to ensure we were back at the ferry on time for departure back to Heraklion.
Dear guest, I am very happy to hear that you had such a good time during your full day tour from Herakleion. This gives me the strength to continue the hard work. I wish you all the best and hope to welcome you back again in Santorini in the near future. Best regards, Tasos
