Day trips from Santorini to nearby islands

Unfortunately there aren't many good options for day trips to other islands from Santorini. There is Thirassia, of course, on the other side of the caldera, and trips to the volcano.

Ios is the only other island practical for a day trip. It's the first stop on FlyingCat 4 after it leaves Santorini enroute to Mykonos. You would have about four hours on the island before reboarding FC4 for its return to Santorini. The next stop after that is Paros, but you would have only about two hours on the island before returning: http://www.ferries.gr/hfd/default.htm

Other nearby islands are Folegandros and Anafi, but ferries between them and Santorini are less frequent. By late September most of the highspeeds have stopped running, so you will be dependent upon conventional ferries. Check when you get to Santorini - it's just possible there will be a morning ferry out and another back in the afternoon. If so, bring an overnight bag with you just in case you are stranded.

Thank you Heimdall! We really appreciate your advice. Would you suggest taking short morning flights (if available)to any of the islands for day trips? We would like to see Crete, Samos, really anything interesting to explore in the area. I know many islands (especially Crete) deserve a trip unto themselves. We will be spending 10 days on Santorini and have three different hotels booked on different parts of the island. We booked some high end hotels since this is our wedding trip, so obviously we would like to get back each evening to enjoy them. I know there are plenty of wonderful places to explore on Santorini, but being that the area is relatively difficult to travel into, we want to see as much as we can while there.

Thanks again for your advice. Please let us know if there are any villages on Santorini or special restaurants or beaches you would recommend as this will be the first time there for both of us.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Oh, and congratulations on your forthcoming wedding!

If my friend brotherleelove sees this post, he can best advise of places to visit on Santorini. I was there for the second time just a week ago, and it is a beautiful island.

Unfortunately inter-island flights are almost non-existant - most of the islands don't even have airports, so ferry travel is the normal mode of transport. There is one airline that has inter-island flights, http://www.skyexpress.gr/, and their current schedule shows a 10am flight from Santorini to Mykonos, and an 8pm flight from Mykonos back to Santorini, so that would be a [very expensive] possibility. You can check, but I doubt they will still be running those flights in late September when high season is over.

If you have your heart set on visting another island, but only for a day trip, Ios is the obvious choice. It has excellent beaches and a beautiful chora (main settlement). Ios has a reputation as a party island, but outside high season is fairly quiet.

So many honeymooners, like you, book a loong stay in Santorini high-end hotels without sufficient advance research. Even looking at a map reveals how isolated Santorini is for the day trips you desire. Is it possible that at the beginning or end of your ten day honeymoon, there is one hotel booking you might cancel, to spend 2-3 days on another island??

If so, you might consider Paros, only 2+ hours away by regular ferry (and you get that great caldera view from the deck). Unlike Santorini, Paros has MUCH of archeological interest ... it's not mountainous, so you can safely rent a car (a bargain in late Sept). AND there are a number of lovely honeymoon-worthy lodgings to consider -- here's just one, with some rave reviews from other honeymooners;
http://www.petres.gr/index.htm
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g642170-d253687-Reviews-Petres-Naoussa_Paros_Cyclades.html

Of course if u have put down nonreturnable deposits you are stuck, and you'll just have to chalk it up to experience, and on your next Greece trip come to Fodors or Trip Advisor before you lock yourself in.

Enjoy your Greece getaway! The weather should be ideal... nothing like what Chicago (and now the East)has been having!!

Thank you all so much for your advice! In response to your post travlerjan, we always do a ton of research before traveling-why we are here , on tripadvisor, etc. We decided for our wedding that we wanted to stay put on beautiful Santorini and relax and enjoy our wedding trip without doing a lot of shuffling around. We both usually try to see as much as we can when we are somewhere new, but for this special trip we thought we would anchor ourselves on Santorini and really get to know it. In the past few days we thought...hmm..it might be nice to take a day trip or two if it's not a big hassle, but we are certainly fine saving that for another trip. Sounds like the high speed ferries really die down in late September too, but we thought we would post this on Fodor's in case any fellow travelers had useful tips. This is such a great traveler's forum...it's so great to give and receive tips from other world travelers. My fiance and I were engaged in Buenos Aires last year (wonderful city and people!) and took an overnight trip to Carmelo, Uruguay that we will never forget. Sometimes, those little side trips are so incredibly rewarding.
Thanks to all of you again...we will check out all of the links you posted tonight

>>You can visit Paros, Ios and of course Mykonos island from Santorini.<<

Of course Mykonos? Not for a day trip. You would have about ten minutes on the island before the highspeed ferry turns around and heads back to Santorini.

It seems the ridiculous post I quoted has been removed, so ignore my last reply.

I just signed up for this website so hopefully this post is not too late for you. We went to Santorini for the third time this May and just booked again for next year. When you get there you will see why. I agree with the other people that Santorini is somewhat isolated as far as day trips. We go for three weeks and always spend a week in Santorini, a week in Mykonos, and a week on a new island. This year was Crete, next year Rhodes. There are a lot of things to see and do in Santorini. First and foremost, you want to be on the caldera Every night for the sunset. I think you can also take a sunset dinner cruise. If you do not want to rent a car, the bus service on Santorini is cheap, 1-2 Euros, reliable, and covers a large part of the island. The main bus station is in Fira. One day you can take a tour of the volcano, swim in the hot springs, and have lunch on the neighboring island of Thisasia. The beaches at Kamari and Perissa are both black sand and have many shops and restaurants. The village of Pyrgos is lovely and is on the bus route to Perissa. If you like ruins, from Kamari you can walk up to ancient Thira. The view is also amazing. The most important ruins on Santorini at Akrotiri are closed as a few years ago something fell on and killed a tourist. You can spend a whole day walking around Oia. Make sure you walk down the steps to Ammoudi. There are aome very nice restaurants right on the water. If you like wine, Santorini is known for its wines and there are 3-4? wineries that all have tours and tasting. There are also the red and white sand beaches on the south side of the island. If you have not yet purchased your wedding rings there are quite a few jewellry shops in both Fira and Oia. Most of the gold is 18 carat and high quality. Most importantly, just relax and enjoy your honeymoon. Also, take Very comfortable walking shoes. You will be walking a lot on cobblestone steps and sidewalks, a lot of which are up and downhill.

bob123 where do you stay on santorini? i am thinking of doing something similar to you next year. a week in a few different places. have you found lodgings you love? i've been to santorini 5 times so i am totally mesmerized by its beauty and aura. was just there in june and am already trying ofigure out how i can go again next year but this time for an extened stay with my 6 and 8 year old.

thanks,
christany

Here's a link to a good website with many hotels on Santorini separated by village:

http://www.santorini.com/hotels-in-santorini/oia.htm