Map of Oia to Fira cliff walk?
Sep 25th, 2014, 10:00 AM
#1
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Map of Oia to Fira cliff walk?
is there a map online, or once we get to the island, of Santorini's cliff walk? We will be staying in Oia, and most of the descriptions I've seem talk about going from Fira to Oia.
Or do we even need a map?
Thanks
Or do we even need a map?
Thanks
Sep 25th, 2014, 01:01 PM
#3
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Fira is at higher elevation than Oia, so Fira to Oia is somewhat easier than the other way. Also, if you are doing this early in the morning, the Fira to Oia walk puts sun behind or above instead of facing the sun if you walk from Oia to Fira.
There are splits along the way. Most of them are obvious which one to take. The wrong one goes to some private residences, or into town. There were also not so obvious splits. Most of them were labeled by unofficial signs "Oia" in English alphabet. There was one split that was not obvious about 2/3 of the way. Both paths were in pretty bad shape. Fortunately, we saw people ahead of us doing the same thing and chose the path they were using.
It takes about 3.5 hrs if you walk steady. There were two cafes once we left towns, one around 1/3 of the way and another one at 1/2 at the part you merge briefly with the car road.
You need very sturdy shoes. The path consists of packed gravel, loose small gravels, and loose large gravels about the size of golf balls. The section consisting of loose large gravels was the killer part. You cannot get steady footing. Every step you take slides one way or another. Fortunately this type of section was about 1/4 miles long. It comes after Imerovigli.
The last church on a hill just before making a long descent into Oia has a killer view of the Aegean in many directions.
There are splits along the way. Most of them are obvious which one to take. The wrong one goes to some private residences, or into town. There were also not so obvious splits. Most of them were labeled by unofficial signs "Oia" in English alphabet. There was one split that was not obvious about 2/3 of the way. Both paths were in pretty bad shape. Fortunately, we saw people ahead of us doing the same thing and chose the path they were using.
It takes about 3.5 hrs if you walk steady. There were two cafes once we left towns, one around 1/3 of the way and another one at 1/2 at the part you merge briefly with the car road.
You need very sturdy shoes. The path consists of packed gravel, loose small gravels, and loose large gravels about the size of golf balls. The section consisting of loose large gravels was the killer part. You cannot get steady footing. Every step you take slides one way or another. Fortunately this type of section was about 1/4 miles long. It comes after Imerovigli.
The last church on a hill just before making a long descent into Oia has a killer view of the Aegean in many directions.
Sep 25th, 2014, 03:11 PM
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Fira may be at a higher elevation than Oia but you must first walk uphill 1.5 miles or more to Imerovigli before the trail starts losing altitude. You won't get lost as long as you keep the sea on your left shoulder. There is one spot where the hiking trail re-connects with the main road at a small roadside snack bar, so if you don't want to continue you can flag down a taxi or a bus going in either direction.
Sep 26th, 2014, 01:42 AM
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May be you will have a look at http://anavasi.gr/en/
Sep 26th, 2014, 06:30 AM
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"Fortunately, we saw people ahead of us doing the same thing and chose the path they were using."
LOL, and if they took the wrong path, then what? I thought it was only sheep and cows that blindly followed one another.
On a more serious note, if you know how to read a topographical map then one is readily available specifically for hikers which shows all paths.
http://www.amazon.com/Santorini-Thir...=santorini+map
LOL, and if they took the wrong path, then what? I thought it was only sheep and cows that blindly followed one another.
On a more serious note, if you know how to read a topographical map then one is readily available specifically for hikers which shows all paths.
http://www.amazon.com/Santorini-Thir...=santorini+map
Oct 4th, 2014, 01:43 AM
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Great hike! Just did this 2 days ago. We were staying in Oia and left from there to Fira. The 1st point where there may be confusion is after the lone cafe in the middle of the road. From there continue along the road a few minutes and when you get to the first driveway go up the drive and continue the path. Next point was when you get to Imerovigli. It seems you can take the path to the left or to to the right you would be walking through a hotel area. We went right and the path led past the hotels and private homes with views of the sea.
All types of terrain. Wear thick soled shoes for stability.
We are reasonably fit, but not athletic and it took us less than 3 hours with a break and taking lots of pix. We left in the morning and had lunch in Fira and took the bus back. The sun wasn't too strong at our face and the breeze always helps. I would have wanted to do the reverse hike since it was not too strenuous but didn't want to spend our last full day just hiking.
Was last in Santorini in 1997. I found Fira to obe a zoo compared to what I remembered and could no longer identify the house where we stayed then because it is so built up now.
All types of terrain. Wear thick soled shoes for stability.
We are reasonably fit, but not athletic and it took us less than 3 hours with a break and taking lots of pix. We left in the morning and had lunch in Fira and took the bus back. The sun wasn't too strong at our face and the breeze always helps. I would have wanted to do the reverse hike since it was not too strenuous but didn't want to spend our last full day just hiking.
Was last in Santorini in 1997. I found Fira to obe a zoo compared to what I remembered and could no longer identify the house where we stayed then because it is so built up now.
Oct 7th, 2014, 04:09 PM
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We are in Santorini right now and did an abbreviated hike, from Firostefani to Imerovigli. We walked for about 40 minutes, to take lots of pictures. I have not seen a walking map of the cliffside as it is not necessary. We rented a car upon arrival at the airport. For the cliffside hike, we parked our car along the main road somewhere in Firostefani after picking out a stretch past what seemed like a steep incline. It turns out, that wouldn't matter much because we are going to hike back down anyway to get back to our car.
Hamlet, If you're still in Santorini and have a car, you should eat at Metaxi Mas in Exo Genia. Great food, great setting - all for a reasonable price. We had lunch today at Salt and Pepper ( in the northern part of Fira, outside of the very busy part of Fira, along the main highway ). The food was very good. The owner's husband buys the fish every morning at ...I forgot the name of the town but it's near Akrotiri so their seafood is always fresh everyday. Very reasonable price also.
Hamlet, If you're still in Santorini and have a car, you should eat at Metaxi Mas in Exo Genia. Great food, great setting - all for a reasonable price. We had lunch today at Salt and Pepper ( in the northern part of Fira, outside of the very busy part of Fira, along the main highway ). The food was very good. The owner's husband buys the fish every morning at ...I forgot the name of the town but it's near Akrotiri so their seafood is always fresh everyday. Very reasonable price also.
