1986,1987, 1990, 1995, 1997,
1999, 2002, 2006 and 2008
Walking, trekking and hiking on SANTORINI
and THIRASIA
BOATS SANTORINI
- Blue
Star
- Blue
Star 1 en 2
- Adamantios Koraïs
- Milena
- Flying
Cat 3 & 4
- High
Speed
- Arsinoï
- all
connections
(Greek)
WALKS
(last update on the 15th of February 2010)
1. Emborió - Pýrgos - Profítis Ilías - Théra - Períssa ***
6. The volcano and Thirasiá ***
7. Thirasía: Ríva - Agriliá - Christós - Potamós - Manolás - Ríva
8. Vóthonas - Pýrgos - Profítis Ilías - Emborió
9. Vóthonas
- Pýrgos - Profítis Ilías - Théra - Períssa ***
Together
with Mýkonos Santoríni is one of the best known, so also one of the most
tourist islands of the Cyclades. While the development of Mýkonos had
already started in the ‘60s, the island of Santoríni (or Thira) remained
relatively sparsely visited until the ’70. This was partly due to the
destructions caused by the severe earthquake of 1956. Because of the
excavations by Spiros Marinatos and the publication of "Atlantis, the
truth behind the legend" by A.G.Galanopoulos and Edward Bacon in
1969, both archaeologists and the larger public became interested again in
Santoríni. But it was only in the ‘80s and ‘90s that the island was
really discovered by mass tourism. This lead, inevitably, to a commercial
invasion of the beautiful towns like Firá and Ia, to the construction of
innumerable houses, hotels and an airport, and to an overpopulation of the
beaches.
However, just like
on the island of Mýkonos, there are still magical places on Santoríni,
even though the island is definitely overcrowded in Summer: truly
wonderful are the narrow streets of Firá, the panoramic views on the
volcano and the caldera - the steep slopes going down to the sea -, the
old stairs of Firá, Thirasiá and Ia, the sunsets, and the archaeological
sites of Théra and Akrotíri.
To get to Santoríni
you can fly with Olympic Airways, but there are also many boat lines from
the Piraeus: one busy boat line with large and fast ships goes from Athens
to Santoríni in 8 hours. These boats pass Páros and Náxos. Another
(slower) boat line goes via Kýthnos, Serífos, Sífnos to Mílos, from where some boats continue to
Folégandros, Síkinos
and Santoríni. All of these boats arrive in the harbour of Athinió and
from there you have to catch a bus or a taxi, preferably to Firá. Indeed,
although the town is busy and the prices are fairly high, it is still
advisable to stay in the old Firá. The town of Ia is much more artificial
and from places inland like Períssa or Akrotíri you cannot enjoy the view
over the volcano, which is an absolute must. To avoid the Summer crowd it
is thus a good idea to visit Santoríni in Spring or Autumn.
Although there is
not really an abundance of hiking trails on Santoríni, there are a couple
of them, and hiking is the ideal way to escape the crowd and the
artificial aspects of the island.
The town of Firá,
with its neighbouring villages Firostefáni and Imerovígli more to the
north, offers a magnificent balcony with panoramic views over the sea and
the volcano. You definitely have to try to also walk around here early in
the morning and, obviously, during sun set. The new prehistoric museum is
really a must. Leaving from the bus square (behind the main church) you
can take buses in every direction: to Ia, Kamári, Períssa (via Pýrgos and
Emborió), Akrotíri, etc. At the Theotokópoulo-square, immediately north of
the bus square, you can find many travel agencies and banks. Do not forget
to descend the 588 steps of the "skalià", the large staircase,
to go to the old harbour. From here onwards you can take an old boat for a
day trip to the volcano and Thirasiá.
Until the ‘70s the
town of Ia used to be a picturesque and peaceful village on the
northern tip of the caldera. Nowadays, the town has expanded greatly and
looks somewhat artificial. The famous "sunset" is exaggerated
and you can often find nicer sunsets on other places on the island.
The beaches of Kamári,
Períssa and definitely the red and the white beaches close to Akrotíri
are very busy in Summer time, but are much more pleasant off season.
At Akrotíri you definitely have to visit the excavations of the old city,
buried by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC. The beautiful
archaeological findings are to be seen in the prehistoric museum in Firá;
until recently, the magnificent wall paintings were located in the
National Museum in Athens.
Also the excavations
of the old Théra, situated on the hill of Mesa Vounó (366 m) in
between Kamári and Períssa, and the old monastery on the Profítis Ilías
(567 m) are definitely worth a try. You can combine a visit to one of
these places (not on Monday!) with a hike from Pýrgos or Emborió to Períssa.
With regard to hiking, there are not a lot of ancient monopátia on Santoríni, as said before. The longest hike will lead you from Fira, via Firostefáni and Imerovígli, to Ia and offers fantastic views on the caldera. Also the old trail from the summit of the Profítis Ilías to the hill where Théra used to be located, and from there onwards to Períssa, is absolutely worthwhile. In order to make this hike, the best thing to do is thus to leave from Pýrgos or Emborió. There does exist a very good hiking map of Santoríni, published by Road Edition, with a scale of 1:40 000.
On March 25th 2010 visitor n° 100 000 was on this site!
Since then, this Santoríni page got
visitors.
View to the volcano
The stairs of Firá
The little harbour of Thirasía
Sunset as seen from Firá
The crater Dafni on Santoríni