★★★★★
Kostas listened to what our family actually wanted to see and built the day round it rather than round a route. He knows the island and he knows when to stop talking. One of the days we will remember.
Jennifer C. · family · August 2026
Private Santorini Greece Tour: Your Own Driver-Guide
The cheapest way into a private vehicle on this island, and the one that hands the route back to you. There is a published list of eighteen places; you say which of them your day is made of.
Duration3 to 12 hours
Departs fromYour hotel, the port or the airport
PriceFrom $59 per person
GroupYour own party only
Minimum booking1 traveller
CancellationFree up to 24 hours before it starts
Your day, at your own pace
Choose from eighteen published stops
From the Oia sunset and the black sand at Perissa to the wine museum, a brewery and the windmills at Emporio.
Pay by the hour, not by the head
Three hours or twelve, and the fare is for the vehicle and the guide rather than for each seat.
Be collected wherever you are
Your hotel, the ferry port, the airport, or the cable car exit if you have come off a ship.
Keep the vehicle to yourselves
No strangers, no fixed pace, and no waiting for the last person back to the coach.
Have a guaranteed return
The operator commits to getting cruise passengers back to the port on time.
How a tailor-made day is put together
A tailor-made day is not an itinerary, it is a shortlist. The operator publishes eighteen places it will take you and you build the day from them, which is why the length runs from three hours to twelve.
What follows is how most people actually spend it, rather than a fixed route.
- Pickup. Your driver-guide meets you at your hotel, the port or the airport.
- The rim first. Imerovigli, the Three Bells of Fira and the blue domes, before the coaches arrive.
- Inland. Megalochori, Pyrgos and Emporio, the villages with no queue.
- The south. Akrotiri, the lighthouse, the Red Beach or the black sand at Perissa.
- A stop of your choosing. A winery, the wine museum, a brewery or a long lunch.
- Oia for the sunset. If your hours run that far, and your driver will time it.
- Drop-off. Back where you started, or anywhere else that suits.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
This is your day if
- You want to see the island without driving or parking it
- Your group has a mix of interests and a fixed coach route will not serve them
- You are travelling with children, or with someone who needs a slower pace
- You are off a ship and the timings need to bend round the tender
Book something else if
- You want the caldera itself, which needs a boat rather than a road
- You would rather be told where to go than decide
- You are travelling alone and want the fare split across a group
If it is the caldera you came for rather than the villages, the day that gets you onto it is the Santorini Classic Catamaran Cruise with BBQ, Drinks and Transfers.
What’s included
Inside the fare
- Bottled water
- Experienced local driver/guide
- Private transportation by air-conditioned & deluxe van
- Maps & live commentary
- Hotel/Port/Airport Pick up & Drop off
- Guaranteed on-time drop-off for cruise passengers with timely return to port
Not inside the fare
- Cable Car Tickets for Cruise Passengers (Optional)
- Alcoholic Beverages
- Entrance fee - Archaeological Sites & Museums (Optional)
Where your driver meets you
Your driver-guide collects you from your hotel, the ferry port or the airport, so there is nothing to find and nothing to arrange. Give the operator the address when you book and a phone number they can reach you on.
Off a cruise ship, the pickup is at the top of the cable car in Fira rather than at the tender dock, because there is no road down to the Old Port. That means the cable car fare, about ten euros each way, is yours to pay, and the queue is yours to allow for. The operator excludes cable car tickets in writing.
Know before you go
- Entrance fees are not included. Akrotiri at twenty euros, the museums at ten, and any winery tasting are all outside the fare.
- Alcohol is excluded. Water is provided; anything else you buy.
- The vehicle is not wheelchair accessible. It is stroller accessible and infant seats are available on request.
- Cruise passengers must give their ship details. Ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time, at the point of booking.
- There is a maximum of eight travellers. Adults from twelve, children from three and infants from birth, with lower caps on the younger bands.
- Decide your stops before the day. You will get more out of it if the shortlist is agreed rather than improvised at the first junction.
What travellers said about this driver-guide
★★★★★
First time here and we wanted to see as much as the hours allowed. Dimitri was professional, kind and full of recommendations we would never have found. He made the day bigger than we had booked.
Bailey W. · first-timer · August 2026
★★★★★
Kostas put the day together exactly right, and it felt less like being driven and more like going round with a friend. His grip on the island's history is deep and he tells it well. We came away feeling connected to the place rather than photographed in front of it.
Melody W. · August 2026
Frequently asked questions
How long should I book?
Four to six hours covers the rim and one southern stop without rushing. Three hours is a sharp introduction. Anything above eight is only worth it if you are including the sunset at Oia at the end.
Is a private tour more expensive than a group one?
Not by as much as you would think here. This one starts below the small-group highlights day for the first hours, because it is priced for the vehicle rather than the seat. Beyond four or five people it is usually the cheaper option.
Can we change the plan on the day?
That is the point of it. The published list of eighteen stops is the menu, and your driver will tell you honestly what fits into the hours you have booked.
Does it include Akrotiri?
It will take you there; the twenty-euro ticket is yours. What is actually under the roof is set out on our Akrotiri page.
What if I want the wine rather than the villages?
Then book the wine day instead. Three estates and twelve tastings with a specialist guide is a different proposition from a driver who will stop at a winery, and the wine adventure is the one built for it.
Other ways to spend the day
Book the tailor-made day
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before it starts, so holding a date costs you nothing.
Book This Tour