We are arriving by cruise ship and will be on the island for about 12 hours. We want to rent a car and drive around on our own. Can anyone suggest a one day itinerary? We would enjoy wine tasting, hiking, and being active. Not into sitting on a beach. Thanks

Santorini is a small island, so as far as driving around, nothing will be more than 30 minutes away (that's tip to tip) There are a number of small wineries, you'll just need to read up on them and make sure they are open the day you will be there.

If Akrotiri is open I feel that it is definitely worthwhile. It's been closed for awhile because of a roof collapse last fall. It's a working excavation and most of it is pretty well preserved because of the vast and abrupt eruption that covered it so long ago.

Right around from Akrotiri is the red beach. You don't have to lay around on the beach but it's worth a visit. It's very dramatic being in a cove of sorts with red cliffs. You have to park and then walk around and down the rocks to get to it. It's unlike any other beach you've ever seen.

A drive up to Oia is suggested, it's on the north end of the island and, IMHO, the prettiest on the island. There are some wonderful restaurants and the small fishing village of Amoudi, on the north end of Oia is very quaint. There are a couple of great seafood restaurants in Amoudi.

There are other small villages inland, the only one i've really been to is Pyrgos. There was a good local restaurant that I went to but I can't remember the name. I liked it because it was only locals (the parents of a Greek friend of mine took me there)

You will regret not staying longer - Santorini is an absolute paradise. Check out Fira and take the donkey ride up from the bottom of the docks - cool experience!

There was a previous post on the poor (abusive) treatment of the donkeys being used to transport people form port - for their sake, consider taking the tram instead.

Oh, I found that thread (toward bottom):
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...amp;dirtyBit=1

Otherwise, have a great time. I will be in Santoini in mid April and am really looking forward to my stay.

Cheers,

Murphy

This is what Murphy89 is referring to:

"PLEASE DO NOT use the donkeys for transportation. I know they're cute and some people want to take photos riding them and experience the ride up or down the steps in Fira and Oia, but believe me, these poor animals are abused on a regular basis. The donkey men use sticks with nails to prod or whip them into moving along their way. I've seen this myself countless times. It's no wonder they try to wipe their passengers off their backs by rubbing up against the sides of the steps. I've also seen some pretty badly scraped legs from people who weren't able to avoid that circumstance."

I wish we could stay longer. But our plan is to go back maybe next year and spend several days on Santorini. Our plan is to take the cable car from the port and not the donkeys. Last year we were in Egypt and also avoided using the horse and carriage rides.