Day Trips from Santorini
 

we are thinking about a trip to Greece in October and more specifically Santorini. Our plan is to stay in Oia. Is it possible to take a boat from there and go to any other island and back in a single day? It sounds from what I'm hearing that after several days there we might want to do something like that if it's possible.

Ios is not too far. I'm thinking that you could probably do that during the high season but you'd definitely have to check into it for October and make sure the ferries are running when you'd need them. Other than that, I'm not so sure. Santorini is a bit out by itself compared to some of the other islands. We have never done any day trips from Santorini but hopefully someone else will post more information for you.

How about a brief flight? Once you get in the air, you would have quite a few options. Oia is a great choice. Have a good trip.

Use www.gtp.gr to explore your options with daytrips to Ios, Naxos and Paros. They're the only ones close enough to Santorini to be anywhere near enough for a daytrip. I think you'll see that you'll only have a few hours at most, and the closer the island the more time you'll have.

'Brief flights' aren't a possibility since there are none directly from island to island in the Cyclades, but all require a return to Athens for a plane change.

There is a daytrip within Santorini where you cross the caldera to a little village and then hike up to the top of the rim of the volcano. Sorry my details are a bit sketchy.

You can also hike from Oia to Fira which takes a day.

But as for daytrips to other islands, especially in October, I don't think there are many.

Not to be a downer, but I went to Santorini in very early October and it was wonderful but things were beginning to shut down and there was a fog over much of the caldera that sets in at that time of year.

I hope you are going early in the month.

You would probably be better off planning a two-island trip rather than basing yourself in Santorini and trying to do day trips. Either Naxos or Paros would be a good choice for a second island, and Crete another possibility.