Visiting Santorini in Sept, 2002.<BR>Interested in renting a car.<BR>Any suggestions and the approximate cost per day?<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Stacy

It's true that I was there a very long time ago, but I wouldn't recommend a car on Santorini. I think you will be much happier on foot. We taxied to the far end of the Island. Walking around the narrow paths of Santorini is part of the joy of being there. It is unforgettable.

We didn't have a car, but after the second day decided to rent one just for the day. We rented at a local place right in Fira and got a brand new car --which they went over with a fine tooth comb looking for scratches or tiny dents before and after, making us very nervous. We loved having the car for the one day and traveled every direction on the island. We did a stop at Aktori, which was interesting, then out to the beaches and to the far points, stopping at a funny little taverna out in the middle of nowhere for lunch which turned out to be great! In the afternoon we drove to Oia, which is a "fun" road to drive. The car cost us 15,000 for the day. We spent another 3,000 on gas, and a total of 2700 on parking. That was a total of less than $60 and well worth it we thought. I'm sure you could search and do much better on price. We just went to one place in town and did it.

renting in many of the islands, including santorini, is quite cheap...particularly if you drive a manual and willing to haggle a little bit. i always think santorini is a fairly big island and hitting the akirtori (sp), vineyards, beaches and the base restaurants at oia would be much more feasible with a rental than calling a taxi...plus like what patrick said, the drive is oia is fun (though the taxi ride wasn't)<BR><BR>

Stacy,<BR>We were on Santorini 3 years ago and travelled from one end of the island to the other by local bus - very cheap and easy to use. They call out the destination as the driver is getting on the bus (you can always ask too) and you get on, take a seat, then someone comes along to take the fare once you are going. I imagine parking a car would be difficult in some places.<BR>Kay

A slightly different but fun option... rent a scooter. We rented one for our entire stay on Santorini (we both could share one) and it was a lot of fun, took it everywhere including the beaches, akrotiri, the very top of Santorini... I can't recall the price but it was really resonable, somewhere arond $10 a day, maybe less. Helmets were provided and since there isn't all that much traffic anyways I felt really safe on it. Have fun!

Patrick, how was the parking in Santorini esp. in Oia? I am planning to rent a car for 1 day and drive around but a bit concerned about parking problems around Fira and Oia. What was your experience? Thanks.

We actually drove to Oia twice. In the morning there was no real problem parking, but then we made the mistake of going back for the sunset. Oia was jammed with people and busses going for the same thing. We circled a lot looking for a parking space until luckily we saw two people going to their car and followed them to get their spot. We were lucky. We talked with people at our hotel who drove over and never were able to find a spot so drove back to Fira without getting out of their car.<BR>We didn't really park in Fira as that's where we were staying and we only rented the car for the one day. There are a couple of very large lots there, but a little back from the main street.<BR>I just said some of this same information on another post about a place to stay in Oia. This is the reason I liked staying in Fira. If you stayed elsewhere getting to and parking in Fira would be more of a problem, I think, than if you are staying there and don't need a car. Yet, many of the hotels (we loved the Loucas) face outward and seem as quiet and remote once you're there as Oia.

Thank you everyone.<BR><BR>I think the scooter sounds like the most fun!<BR><BR>Stacy