Santorini Greece Tours›Santorini Classic Catamaran Cruise with BBQ, Drinks and TransfersUpdated 2026-09-05
Santorini Greece Catamaran Cruise: BBQ, Drinks and Transfers
Hours, prices and access verified by the Santorini Greece Tours team — last checked 2026-09-05
The most-booked boat day on the island, and the reason is simple. The caldera is what makes Santorini different from every other island in the Cyclades. You cannot see it properly from the rim you are standing on.
★★★★★ 4.8 (4,166 reviews · 5 hours)
Duration5 hours
Departs fromVlychada Marina, with hotel pickup included
PriceFrom $106 per person
Time at the stopsabout 2 hours in the water and at the hot springs
Group sizeUp to 22
Minimum booking1 traveller
CancellationFree up to 24 hours before it starts
Your five hours on the water
Swim where there is no road
Mesa Pigadia is reachable by boat and by almost nothing else, which is why the water there is empty.
Float in warm sulphur
The boat anchors off Palea Kameni and you swim into the rust-orange shallows the iron seeps into.
Eat properly, on board
A barbecue lunch with local white wine, soft drinks and the beer flowing, rather than a sandwich in a bag.
See the red and white cliffs from below
Both beaches are passed close in, from the angle no coach stop can give you.
Be collected and returned
An air-conditioned minibus takes you from your hotel to Vlychada and brings you back afterwards.
How the afternoon runs
The day is built round two things: getting into water you cannot otherwise reach, and eating well while somebody else sails. The route runs down the southern shore and into the middle of the caldera, and there are daytime and sunset departures.
These are the operator's own stop times. Wind moves them, as it moves everything on this coast.
Pickup. A minibus collects you from your hotel and runs down to Vlychada Marina.
Boarding. Be at the meeting station at least thirty minutes before the cruise.
Under the cliffs. The catamaran passes Red Beach and White Beach close in.
Thirty minutes at Mesa Pigadia. The first swim stop, on a beach with no road to it.
Thirty minutes off Palea Kameni. The hot springs. You swim in from the ladder.
An hour under the rim. Lunch off the barbecue with wine and soft drinks.
Back to Vlychada. And the minibus back to your hotel.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
This is your day if
You want the caldera from the water and only have one day for it
You are comfortable swimming off a boat rather than off a beach
You would rather the fare covered the food and the drink than surprise you
You want to be collected rather than find a marina
Book something else if
You want to stand on the crater; this one swims at the springs instead
Complimentary Hotel pickup and drop-off with an air-conditioned mini bus
Lunch
Alcoholic Beverages
Soda/Pop
Use of Snorkeling equipment
Towels
All Fees and Taxes
Not inside the fare
Transfers are excluded in the booking option called ''Cruise - NO TRANSFERS"
Where you board, and how you get there
You are collected from your hotel by an air-conditioned minibus, so for most travellers there is nothing to find. The boat itself leaves from the Spiridakos meeting station at Vlychada Marina, on the south coast under the wind-carved pumice cliffs, and you should be there half an hour before the cruise.
Cruise passengers need to read this one carefully. Tenders land at the Old Port below Fira and there is no road up. You take the cable car to Fira and reach the meeting station from the town. Build in an hour, and give your ship's timings when you book.
Know before you go
Passport details are required at booking. Greek maritime law, and the operator asks for name, gender, number, expiry and country for everyone aboard.
The minimum age for alcohol is eighteen. The open bar is not open to everybody.
Vegetarian food is available on request. Ask when you book, not on the day.
Bring a windbreaker. Even in August. The crossings are open water and the meltemi finds the caldera in the afternoon.
The route can change without notice. Weather or operational reasons, and the starting and ending port can move with it.
Two options exist, and one has no transfers. The booking option called Cruise with no transfers excludes the minibus. Read which one you are buying.
Six and a half months pregnant and the crew could not have been more careful with me. They knew what every stop along the way actually was, rather than just steering to it, and the food was genuinely good. We would go again tomorrow.
Maddie L. · couple · August 2026
★★★☆☆
The sailing itself is as good as it was five years ago, and that is why we came back. The drinks are where it has been cut: the last time it was beer, wine and soft drinks all afternoon, and this time water or wine came round three times in the whole cruise. The crew were not much interested either.
Stefan S. · August 2026
★★★★★
The sunset run on the Evonna was everything I had hoped for. Barbecue chicken, tzatziki and dolmades were the pick of the food, and the crew's welcome was what lifted it above a nice boat ride.
Tabitha M. · solo · August 2026
★★★★★
Excellent from start to finish, and it packs in more sights, stops and distance than we expected for the hours. The crew kept it all moving and still gave proper time at every stop. The barbecue was very good and the drinks kept coming.
Claudio O. · August 2026
★☆☆☆☆
I noted a dietary requirement in the booking and nothing was offered on the day, which on a trip where the food is part of what you pay for matters. There was also smoking on board. I do not normally write reviews and I wanted one here.
No. It anchors off Palea Kameni for a swim at the hot springs rather than landing on Nea Kameni. If walking up the crater is the point of your day, the volcano boat trip is the one that does it, and our volcano page sets out which trips go ashore.
Is the barbecue really included?
Yes, and so are the local white wine, the soft drinks, the towels and the snorkelling gear. The listing's only exclusion is transfers on one specific booking option.
How many people are on the boat?
Up to twenty-two. That is the operator's stated ceiling, and it is the number to compare when you are looking at other catamarans.
Can I do this from a cruise ship?
You can, and you need to plan it. Give your docking and re-boarding times when you book. Allow an hour to get up the cliff, and consider whether a shore excursion built for a tender suits you better. Our private tailor-made day is the flexible alternative if your timings are tight.
What happens if the wind gets up?
The operator reroutes or cancels, and a cancellation is refunded in full. In July and August three days in four blow from the north here, so book your boat day early in your stay if your dates are tight.
