If you’re looking for the Best Tours in Santorini, our list has them all! One of the best things to do in Santorini is to book an amazing guided tour with an expert (or even a local guide) who will explain everything related to your specific tour (cultural, natural, or just a photography tour).
The truth is that Santorini is probably the most organized place in Greece, with the largest variety of tours: photography tours, cooking tours, volcano tours, boat tours, hiking tours, and wine tours—you name it!
REAL QUICK:
- The best custom-tailored tour in Santorini is Santo Luxury Escape. Use the code SANTORINISECRETS when booking to get 10% off your booking at checkout.
- You can take three main tours in Santorini: boat, wine, and island overview.
- The best sunset tour is: Catamaran Sunset Tour with Meal
- The best wine tour is:Santorini Half Day Wine Adventure Tour
- The best tour you can do alone is the famous hiking path between Fira and Oia (2.5 hrs of hiking…better do it early morning)
- The best website to book a tour is Get Your Guide, with hundreds of available tours that you have to book online
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES FOR GREECE:
🛏️ Booking.comis the website with the most available rooms and Private Villas in Athens, Santorini , Mykonos & Crete (more than Airbnb!)
⛴️ Ferryhopperis the best website to book your ferry tickets or check the timetables for Santorini, Mykonos , Crete & all Greek islands
🎫 Get Your Guide has the best and largest variety of Tours in Athens and the Greek islands (Santorini, Mykonos, Crete etc)
🚗 Rentalcarsis the easiest way to rent a car or a quad for Greece with thousands of available options
✈️ Booking.com Flights has all the available flights to and from the Greek islands
🚕 Book Your Driver (Taxi) directly with booking.com’s large and safe platform of available certified drivers
So, here are the best tours in Santorini that are all instantly bookable and verified:
1. Best Catamaran and Sailing Tours in Santorini
If you stay more than two nights in Santorini, I highly recommend you do (at least) a 5-hour catamaran cruise. You’ll see the island from a completely different perspective, and if you love the sea, you won’t be disappointed.
The great thing about almost all catamaran tours in Santorini is that they offer food (amazing Greek food…not just any food) and drinks on board! The prices range from around 50 euros to 150-200 euros, depending on the food and the services (some of them can pick you up from your hotel). Let’s take a look at the best catamaran and sailing tours that the island has to offer:
5-Hour Small Group Catamaran Cruise
This is a must. If you don’t get to do a boat tour while in Santorini, then it’s like you haven’t even been to the island. You can swim at the famous Santorini volcano hot springs, do some snorkeling, and taste seafood and fresh fish while on board.
The crew is fantastic, and this is one of the most value-for-money experiences you can get in Santorini. The tour lasts 5 hours; if you do the afternoon one, you will also see the famous sunset.
The Santorini Sunset Catamaran Red Cruise
This is another amazing catamaran sailing tour in Santorini. The tour is similar to the one above, but the boat is probably more impressive, and the vibe is more fun. The fantastic crew will take you to the famous Red Beach and a secluded White Beach to swim and snorkel.
However, you don’t get fresh fish on the boat; you can get a selection of Greek delicacies. This tour also lasts 5 hours.
1-Day Boat Trip: Santorini Volcano, Thirassia & Oia Sunset
Another really good tour to the volcano and the small, cute little island of Thirassi, which was part of Santorini before the volcano erupted. The tour is longer than the others, and you don’t get food on board (that’s why it’s cheaper, though).
Tania, your guide on board is very knowledgeable and helpful. This tour is 9 hours long.
Catamaran Sunset Tour with Meal
You may pay a slightly higher price for this, but you get a much more luxurious and unique experience with fewer people on board. These guys also come and pick you up from your hotel! The food on this 5-hour cruise is probably the best of all the Santorini cruises!
2. Best Wine Tours in Santorini
Santorini wine and Santorini wineries are amazing. You are missing out if you are not visiting a winery in Santorini or don’t try (at least) the amazing Assyrtiko variety of dry white wine.
But apart from just tasting the incredible wine or visiting just one winery, some really good tours can take you to different wineries at once, while allowing you to do wine tasting on…steroids! Also, you will visit the famous Santorini Wine Museum in most of these tours.
I prefer to call these amazing tours: Wine Tasting Roadtrips!
Let’s take a look at the wine tours of Santorini (you can always visit any of the wineries by yourself, though, but make sure you don’t drive, obviously…:) )
Santo Luxury Escape Wine Tour
This is a snapshot from one of the most recent Wine Tours from Santo Luxury Escape.
This is a semi-private tour from one of Santorini’s most well-known and respected tour operators: Santo Luxury Escape. During this tour, you will visit 3 wineries (including the famous Wine Museum) and taste 12 different varieties of wine. This tour lasts about 4 hours and can accommodate up to 7 persons.
Santorini Half-Day Wine Adventure Tour
This is a 4.5-hour tour. These guys can pick you up from your hotel and then take you to to 2-3 Santorini wineries while you will get the opportunity to explore the vineyards, learn about wine production in Santorini, do a wine tasting of about 9-12 different local and Greek wines and also get the opportunity to see Santorini’s main land landscape.
Santorini 4-Hour Sunset Wine Tour
This is one of the tours that can easily highlight your trip to Santorini. A bit similar to the above wine tour, this is a 4-hour tour that will take you to 3 wineries. There, you will taste at least nine local wine varieties, and your super cool guide will explain why wine production is a big deal for Santorini.
Oh…I almost forgot…there is always a yummy selection of snacks, cheeses, and fruits to accompany your wines! And of course, in the end, you can buy any of the wines that you tasted at the wineries’ shops.
Santorini Cooking Class and Wine-Tasting Tour
Yes, yes, and yes! This is a slightly different but super interesting tour that will take you to learn the secrets of the Greek cuisine from a professional Greek chef, along with a visit to 3 wineries where you will have a wine tasting.
You will learn about the amazingly fresh ingredients of famous Greek plates, and of course, you will eat what you cook! You can also taste the famous Greek aperitifs ouzo and raki. I am not exaggerating here: this can also be one of the best days of your holidays in Santorini! Don’t miss it!
3. Best Overall Tours in Santorini
If you are not really into wine or you are a bit afraid of sailing (or the weather is not allowing it…), Santorini has many more tours to offer with a variety of activities like hiking, photography, museum and cultural visits that will easily be the highlights of your trip to this amazing island. Here is a selection of the best of these tours:
Santo Luxury Escape Customized Tours
I highly recommend the team at Santo Luxury Escape, as it is one of the most sought-after and fully customizable tours on the island. It has possibly some of the most knowledgeable local guides and some of the best vehicles on Santorini. You can book them here, as they offer lots of bespoke tours.
Traditional Santorini Sightseeing Bus Tour with Oia Sunset
This is a 10-hour sightseeing tour of almost the entire island, including wine tasting. So, a bus picks you up from your hotel early in the morning and takes you to the amazing Akrotiri ancient ruins (like Pompeii). You then see the famous Red Beach, Perissa beach, and Emporio village, and visit Oia at sunset.
After, of course, I visited a few wineries to try wine. If you are in a rush and don’t have that many days on the island, this is the perfect value-for-money tour to show you Santorini within a day!
Best of Santorini Experience: 6-Hour Private Tour
This is a unique private tour from some of the best guides on the island (not to mention in Greece). We are talking about a private experience with a small group (max 6). You will visit Akrotiri, Imerovigli, and Pyrgos towns and be taken to the famous blue dome church of Santorini.
You will also visit the Venetsanos winery, where you will have a wine tasting. I think this is the best private tour you can take in Santorini. Hands down!
Highlights of Santorini: 5-Hour Photo Tour
You don’t have to be a professional photographer to capture Santorini’s magnificent landscape beauty, but what will happen if you are guided by a professional photographer on how to take amazing pics while in Santorini?
There is only one way to learn! Take this amazing photography tour with Olaf (what a guy…), which will take you to some of Santorini’s best spots for amazing photographs. It is a truly unique and different experience.
So…there you have them! The best tours in Santorini!
Santorini is probably the Greek island with the best guided tours all over Greece, and if you are missing a lot, you should try at least one of them. A guided tour is the best option if you don’t have that many days on the island but want to gather as much information about the place as possible.
But if you don’t want to do that, you can hire a car and visit some Santorini wineries by yourself (just try not to drink too much and drive…). You can also see all the other areas by yourself, but it will take more time, to be honest.
Google Maps is always your friend! You can find all the famous places (Red Beach, White Beach, Akrotiri) with the GPS on Google Maps. Easy peasy!
FAQs
What is the best type of tour to take in Santorini?
A catamaran caldera cruise is the best overall tour in Santorini. Because the island is shaped like a crescent around a flooded volcanic crater, viewing the cliffs and villages from the water provides the best perspective. Most 5-hour cruises include snorkeling at the hot springs, a full Greek meal, and hotel transfers.
Are Santorini wine tours worth it?
Yes. Santorini is home to some of the oldest continuous vineyards in the world. The island’s volcanic soil and unique basket-pruning method (kouloura) produce world-class Assyrtiko wine. A guided tour is highly recommended because it includes transportation, allowing you to safely visit 3-4 wineries without navigating the island’s narrow, winding roads.
How far in advance should I book Santorini tours?
For peak season travel (June through September), you should book catamaran cruises and private wine tours at least 4 to 6 weeks in advance. For shoulder season (May and October), booking 1 to 2 weeks in advance is usually sufficient.
Do Santorini boat tours actually go to the volcano?
Yes, but you must check the itinerary. Traditional wooden boat (kaiki) tours usually dock at Nea Kameni, allowing you to hike up the active volcano crater. Luxury catamaran tours typically sail past the volcano and anchor in the nearby hot springs for swimming, but they do not stop for the volcano hike.
