Hi all,

in a week we are leaving for 10 days in Greece. I am going with a friend, and we will be staying in Santorini and Naxos.

We were thinking of doing a bit of walking ( I know, too hot, but we are used to it, lots of trekking in the Pyrenees and Dolomiti during summers ). My plans were to go one day from Fira to Oia, and another day to get a bus to Perissa and climb up to Ancient Thera.

I´d like to know if someone has done it and how long does it take. My brother was in Santorini two years ago, and they walked all the way from Perissa to Thera. He tells me that it was probably 45 minutes and it wasn´t complicated, but in a guide book I read that it was a 5 hours walk.

Also, I am not sure if we will rent a car or not. I am used to mountain roads, but if there is a lot of traffic it might be better for us not to rent and use public transport. What do you think? Will it be too expensive?

Thanks, and kind regards,

Cova

The path up to Ancient Thera isn't complicated, but takes a while. We (there were 4 of us)took a taxi from Fira Town for 20E. It went up the cobbled road (16 switchbacks) to a small parking turn-around. End of the line. We then hiked up a "goat path" for about 30 minutes. BTW, the ruins are all higgeldy-piggeldy, no signs or guidance, helps to download something from the web or xerox from guidebook. but view is lovely. We walked down all the switchbacks & then to a bus stop. If you hike up, probably near 2 hrs.

NO, trekking on Santorini in August is NOT like Pyrenees. BAKING sun, no shade; 8 KM? from FIra to Oia -- if you do it, start by 7 am, IMHO.

The road from Oia to Fira Town is kinda scary; don't do it at night. Rent a car? in Santorini, if u do, only for a day;Akrotirie is closed, and unless you want to go to the Red beach, why drive? In Naxos, rent for a day to tootle around the island... the roads have been much improved in the 9 years since i first went there, and a car really helps you see the many wonders of Naxos

If you mean a walk from Perissa to the main village of Fira how long will it take you to walk about 7 miles or 12 km? But if you mean a walk from Perissa to the archaeological site of Ancient Thera on the mountain between Perissa and Kamari it will take about an hour up and an hour down, maybe more. Be sure to take lots of water, a shade hat and a snack.

There's a cliffside pathway for a nice hike between Fira and Oia that takes about 3 hours.

Brotherlee, our idea was to climb from Perissa up to Ancient Thera. The plan would be to get an early bus, climb up, visit, get down and then relax at the beach.

Not at all from Perissa to Fira ! That would be a bit too much.

Thanks a lot, Cova

You can also access Ancient Thera from Kamari, and it'll be by the cobblestoned switchback road up the mountain, which Jan described. It's a bit easier than the foot path up from Perissa, if that's an issue. I also think Kamari is a nicer beach.

Hi cova,

We did this hike in the reverse of what you plan. We hiked up from Kamari, and it is well described by others. The actual small road took 45 minutes, and then a further 15 minutes from the small parking to the site. Going up was very hot (month of May).

Hiking down to Perissa was on a real hiking trail. We were in Perissa in time for lunch. If you have hiked the Pyrenees and Dolomites this will be easy (and you'll know to bring plenty of water).

JQ

I hadn´t thought about climbing from Kamari, because I remember the road we took with the car and I thought that we would have to share the way with the cars (and I wasn´t looking forward to it).

We will decide once we get there, depending on the weather. The forecasts I am seeing look far more promising than the african heat wave we are suffering right now in Spain. Anything under 35 degrees sound wonderful to me.

We will probably try to do it, if only because I would love my friend to visit the site. I was there with my sister by pure chance, and we liked it much more than Akrotiri.

Thanks a lot to all,

Cova

Hi all,

I won´t be able to get back before september, but I just wanted to tell you that we did walk up from Perissa to Ancient Thera, and it wasn´t complicated at all.

We spoke with a girl who had walked both ways and told us that she found much better the Perissa way.

We brought plenty of water and stopped every now and then to apply sun block. The trick was beginning not later than 10:00 am in the morning.

Ah, and it was around 40 minutes at an slow pace.

Rgds, Cova

OK, I am beginning to write my report :

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35157200

Bye, Cova

Perissa to Ancient Thera is about 1 hour. Same for Kamari to Ancient Thera though this is a road.

Two of the previous correspondents obviously have never walked from Kamari to Ancient Thera as it is a tarmac road NOT cobblestones, wide enough to take coaches.

I really DID walk down those 16 switchbacks, from Classical Thera, counting each one, because we had a bet on how many there would be. I did not walk UP because AS I WROTE, we shared a taxi.

Yes the road is paved in tarmac in the center, but the edges are cobblestone, or rather I should say more correctly they are Paving stones, stone but roughly brick shaped. That's what I walked on rather than in the cnter. But I did walk it.

I've done the Fira-Oia walk. We took the bus to Fira in the morning, walked around the sights and had a lunch then we walked back to Oia, where our hotel was.

Unfortunately, we took a wrong turn and ended up on the highway for the last few kms, which was really unbearable. Twist after twist after twist...

Lesson learned - if you're in doubt, follow the path most taken

I'd do it again. It was lovely and we got a lot of great photographs albeit I ended up with a bad sunburn because there's virtually no shade.

Retsina's comment about the road is correct, but so is Jan's. The sides of the road where one would walk are pavers similar to cobblestones.