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Greek Islands - Should we rent a car on Mykonos and Santorini?

Greek Islands - Should we rent a car on Mykonos and Santorini?

Old Feb 19th, 2011, 07:12 AM
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Greek Islands - Should we rent a car on Mykonos and Santorini?

Spending 4 nights on each island, my wife and I want to go to different beaches on these 2 islands, but don't know if a car is recommended vs. taxis or local transport.

Any advice from the Greek Island hoppers would be most appreciated.

* We are going in early September 2011.


Cheers,

Matt
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Old Feb 19th, 2011, 07:34 AM
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Renting a car will give you maximum flexibility for exploration and allow you to be spontaneous. In the long run a car would be less-expensive than a round-trip taxi ride. These islands have good bus services but they tie you to a schedule. If you wait until you're there to decide you will get a better price from a small local rental company.

Be sure to go to your local AAA office to pick up an International Driving Permit, no test or membership required.
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Old Feb 19th, 2011, 08:48 AM
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I would be more inclined to rent a car on Santorini than on Mykonos. All the main beaches on Mykonos are connected by frequent bus service from the station near Lakka Square, some leaving as often as every 15-20 minutes. If you want to go to some very out of the way places on Mykonos, then a car may be an advantage.
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Old Feb 19th, 2011, 11:07 AM
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We normally rent a car for one day to explore the island and return it at night. Parking can be nonexistent at some hotels so getting rid of it at night is a good idea.
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Old Feb 19th, 2011, 12:20 PM
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I also vote for renting a car. Probably not for all four days but at least a day or two. I'd say more so on Santorini than Mykonos, as Heimdall mentioned. The bus service is more frequent and extensive on Mykonos so maybe a day rental to explore some of the more out of the way beaches on Mykonos. We enjoy having a car on Santorini because we like to explore the wineries, visit out of the way beaches and do it at our own pace. Enjoy your time in Greece. It's my favorite place!!
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Old Feb 19th, 2011, 01:40 PM
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We're renting a car for 2 days on Santorini but not while we're on Mykonos. Price we got for 2 days around 73 euros. We wanted to visit some wineries, tour Akrotiri if it's open, and spend time at Kamari beach.
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Old Mar 4th, 2011, 08:29 AM
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Thanks for everyone's input, which seems pretty consistent among the replies.

I'll definitely be enjoying the Islands.

Cheers,

Matt
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Old Apr 6th, 2011, 04:51 AM
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Hi Matt,
From my experience i suggest you to rent a car for sure in Santorini (where there is no good public transportation).
You can find cheap car rental rates at http://www.bustravel-santorini.com/c...santorini.html (local trusted travel agency office).
At Mykonos you can start using the public transportation as Heimdall mentioned above and if you are facing problems then go with car rental! I suggest you the www.apollonrentacar.com as it provides you also parking area very close to the center.(parking in Mykonos is an issue...)
Hope these will help you on your vacations!
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Old Feb 28th, 2017, 08:42 PM
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Hello, I live on a small island between Mykonos and Santorini and visit them often. Santorini has an excellent public bus service which can take you to any spots you desire. I can recommend Kamari Beach (Black Sand) and Red Beach (a short walk from Akrotiri..the archeological site you will definitely want to visit). When you go to Akrotiri make sure to head to the beach, turn right on the board walk and have lunch at "The Cave"..best tomato fritters on the island..

However, if you want to visit "Ancient Thera", the archeological site on the Acropolis above Kamari Beach, you might want to rent a car to get there before the tourist buses do as you can have the site almost to yourselves. There are, if I remember my count correctly,34 hairpin turns to get up there. I've both rented a car and driven it myself, and also paid the car rental folks 10 euros to shuttle us up and down..which, frankly, was a lot easier..parking up there is minimal..

Mykonos, too, has a regular bus service. Taxis there are almost impossible to wave down..stood for about 30 minutes at "THE taxi stand" at the port waiting for one the last time to get us to the airport..not one stopped for any of the people waiting..finally I flagged down a local and paid him to drive us to the airport. Frankly, the only reason I go to Mykonos is to visit Delos..it's become overwhelmingly expensive and touristy..Xara
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Old Mar 1st, 2017, 07:47 AM
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For renting a car on Santorini I recommend Vazeos in Oia, Tony's in Firostefani, Spiridakos in Fira and Motor Inn in Kamari Beach.
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Old Mar 1st, 2017, 12:29 PM
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following for my upcoming trip
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Old Mar 17th, 2017, 04:14 PM
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Bookmarking
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Old Apr 7th, 2017, 10:57 PM
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If you want to make more comfortable holiday, forcing to rent a car in Mykonos or rent a motorcycle for a more comfortable ride! In Mykonos there are many taxis and buses are every half hour resulting in limits! It is worth taking a tour on the island of Mykonos but also to Santorini !! If you want to have the most vip services in Mykonos and Santorini and do as many things you need to rent a medium, if not with the bus and walk back you will enjoy it !! Have a good time!
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Old Apr 8th, 2017, 07:52 AM
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I disagree 100% with Barry_North about public transportation on Santorini. The bus system is excellent there without a doubt.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 01:34 PM
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What's the parking situation like on Santorini? I'll be there in a couple of weeks.
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 04:11 PM
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I had great difficulty with parking in many parts of Santorini. I found a spot easily at Akrotiri and on the outskirts of Fira, but otherwise found it a bit of a nightmare -- I was often in a lot before I realized that there were no spaces, by which time I was blocked in and had to wait for everyone to find a way to back up or turn around to leave. And in other cases, the exit from a parking lot was positioned so that I had to drive some distance to get back to a different lot, or even the entrance to the one from which I had just exited.

Maybe others have had different experiences....
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 04:22 PM
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>>I disagree 100% with Barry_North about public transportation on Santorini. The bus system is excellent there without a doubt.6 years ago when Barry posted?
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Old Jul 25th, 2017, 10:48 PM
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Good one, Janis! I'm surprised Lee missed it 6 years ago. ;-)

I know that was a rhetorical question, but I'll answer it anyway: Yes!
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