Santorini is 73 square kilometres with one serious road and 15,480 residents, and in August the buses to Oia run full. A private driver is not a luxury here so much as a way of deciding your own timings. Nine of them start below $70.
Three to twelve hours, a driver-guide, and a published menu of eighteen stops you pick from. The cheapest private vehicle on the island, collected from your hotel, the port or the airport.
From $59 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three to seven hours with a guide who only has your group, wifi in the vehicle, and pickup from the cruise port, a hotel, the ferry or the airport. Car for up to three, minivan above that.
From $69 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three to six hours round the rim villages and two beaches, with umbrellas, sunbeds and towels for the beach stop written into the fare. Stroller accessible, infant seats on request.
From $58 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three to ten hours, fourteen published stops, and a driver who meets you at the cable car exit if you have come off a ship. Note that transfer time counts inside the total.
From $58 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Four to eight hours in a Mercedes van, and the one listing here that states it is wheelchair accessible. Your clock starts when you meet, which matters if the tender runs late.
From $207 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Three to seven hours in a luxury minibus with a local guide and a flexible departure. Archaeological entry is priced separately at twenty euros a head, so the fare is transport and guiding.
From $169 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A private route built around the photographs rather than the checklist, three to eight hours, with cold towels and wifi in the car. Meets at the cable car or your own address.
From $147 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A driver holding your name at the Old Port, three to six hours, and honest numbers on getting up the cliff: about ten euros by cable car, forty by water taxi. Timed to your ship.
From $37 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Ninety minutes at the Imerovigli domes with a dress, a stylist and a proper changing room. Around 120 edited photographs in four days. Adults only, hotel pickup in a private van.
From $153 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The tailor-made day is the cheapest way in: you choose the stops, it runs anywhere from three to twelve hours, and pickup is from your hotel, the port or the airport.
See prices and datesIn almost every case it is a car or minibus, a driver-guide and a day you shape. Seven of these nine advertise a customisable itinerary rather than a fixed route, which is why their listings publish a menu of stops instead of a timetable.
The two exceptions are built around a camera. One is a flying-dress photoshoot with a photographer and a gown; the other is a private circuit of the island's most photographed corners with someone shooting as you go.
Lengths run from an hour and a half to twelve hours. The price you see is the starting fare for the shortest version, and it climbs with the hours you book.
Oia at sunset is the island's bottleneck, and a group tour has to leave when the group leaves. On a private day you decide how long to stand there. In June that is 20:35; in October it is closer to 18:45.
Akrotiri, Ancient Thera, a winery, a black beach, Pyrgos, Profitis Ilias — no fixed itinerary fits all of them into one day. Choosing three properly beats being driven past seven.
Between them these nine collect from hotels, the Athinios ferry port, the airport at Monolithos, the cable car station in Fira and the tender dock at the Old Port. You do not have to reach a meeting point first.
Four of the nine start below $70. Read the listing carefully for whether that figure is per person or per vehicle, because on a private car the arithmetic changes completely once there are four of you.
The comparison people actually make is against the shared island drive, which does the same loop for less money. Here is where the difference sits.
| Private tour | Small-group tour | |
|---|---|---|
| From | $58.01 | $60.11 |
| Who is in the vehicle | Your party only | Up to about 19 |
| Itinerary | You choose the stops | Fixed, published in advance |
| Length | 1.5 to 12 hours, your call | 4 to 8 hours, set |
| Pickup | Hotel, port, airport or cable car | A named meeting point |
| Time at each stop | As long as you want | As long as the group needs |
| Guide | Driver-guide, yours all day | Shared with the group |
| Entry fees | Not included — EUR 20 at Akrotiri | Not included |
| Suits | Families, photographers, tight schedules | Solo travellers, first visits |
Check availability on Santorini Must-See Highlights Private Tour
Decide your three stops before you book, and tell the operator. A customisable tour with no plan turns into the standard loop by lunchtime, and you will have paid a premium for it.
Check the archaeological hours against your day. Akrotiri runs 08:00 to 20:00 but drops to 08:30-15:30 on Mondays and Thursdays, and last admission is 20 minutes before closing. Ancient Thera shuts on Wednesdays.
If you are here in July or August, ask for an early start. Both months average highs of 27 C, and the villages that are pleasant at nine are hard work at two in the afternoon.
If you are one or two people on a budget, a private car rarely wins. The shared island drives start around the same figure per person and cover the same ground.
If you want a specialist guide to the excavation, this is not that. These are driver-guides with local knowledge, and site guiding at Akrotiri is a separate booking.
If you would rather be on the water, a private car cannot reach Nea Kameni, Thirasia or the hot springs. Only a boat gets you to those three.
Three to eight hours, pickup anywhere on the island, and an itinerary you agree before you set off.
Check private tour prices