Santorini's Minoan Excavations: A Full Day of Traditional Villages and Oia Sunset
4.2
36 Ratings
Akrotiri
Discover Santorini's Minoan excavations, traditional villages, and ancient capital on a full-day tour. End the day in Oia and witness the breathtaking sunset from the island's northernmost tip.
Duration:
10 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Akrotiri Archaeological Site - Following a pick-up from your hotel, transfer by air-conditioned coach to the archaeological site of Akrotiri (please note that every Tuesday the archaeological site of Akrotiri will be closed). Explore an ancient city that was frozen in time after a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago. Step inside with your guide and learn about the Minoan city before the devastating event occurred.
Gaze in awe at the ruins of multi-storied buildings that date back to the 16th century and admire the intricately designed drainage system that hints at a talented civilization far more advanced than its time suggests. Stroll along the main street, lined with old stores and warehouses from the ancient city. Learn about the traditional ceramic artefacts, such as pithoi (earthenware jugs).
- Emporio - Our next stop will be at Emporio Village where you can explore one of the oldest and most authentic traditional villages of Santorini, built like a small labyrinth and visit its medieval fortress (15th century).
- Perissa Black Sand Beach - After that continue towards Perissa Beach and enjoy free time to have lunch and relax at one of the longest black sandy beaches in the Cyclades and the most popular beach of Santorini.
- Monastery of Profitis Ilias - Profitis Ilias Mountain will be our next stop where you will finish your tour with a short stop at the highest peak of Santorini (567 meters) to admire the striking panoramic view of the entire island.
- Wine Museum Koutsogiannopoulos - After that short stop we continue towards Vine Museum where you can taste Santoriniâs distinctive wines and learn about one of the oldest vineyards in Europe while admiring the spectacular view of the volcano.
- Sunset in Oia - Meet your guide again in the early evening for the transfer to Oia, a quintessential Greek village thatâs known for its sugar cube houses and blue-domed churches. Join the legions who flock to Oia to watch the sunset, and stroll down streets nestled into the side of the cliffs overlooking the spectacular caldera.
Follow your guide to the ruins of a Venetian castle, known as the Kastro of Oia, and gaze down from the village and caldera to the sea. Return to the coach for the transfer back to your hotel.
What's Included
- Experienced local guide
- Entry to the Wine Museum
- Wine tasting session
- Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off
What's Not Included
- Gratuities
- Personal expenses
- Akrotiri Entrance Fees (12 euro per person)
Additional Information
Enjoy a full-day journey away from the black beaches of Santorini as you explore Minoan ruins, historic villages, buried ancient towns and the former capital. Wrap up the day with a sunset viewing from Oia, the northernmost point of the islands. From your hotel, you’ll be picked up and transported in a climate-controlled coach to the archaeological site of Akrotiri (note: the Akrotiri site is closed every Tuesday). Discover a city that was beautifully preserved by a volcanic eruption 3,600 years ago and learn about the Minoan inhabitants before the disaster struck. Reconvene with your guide in the early evening for a trip to Oia, a picturesque Greek village revered for its charming white houses and blue-roofed churches. Join the many visitors who descend upon Oia to watch the sunset and wander the street paths that are beautifully etched into the cliffside, providing stunning views of the caldera. Your guide will lead you to the remnants of a Venetian castle.
- Only visitors with a Vaccination proof document check can enter Akrotiri Archaeological Site
- From November till March the tour does not include Akrotiri site visit.
- During Winter period due to earlier Sunset time the tour starts approximately at 09:00 am
- Pick up location is subject to the accommodation location. It will be either from your property or nearby walking distance location
Location
Akrotiri Archaeological Site
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.2
(36 Ratings)
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Jina_n
Apr 16, 2024
Worth the Day! - We felt like we were able to see the whole island of Santorini during this day trip. There were 6 stops. We enjoyed some free time during several of the stops. We did enjoy the archeological site and it would be nice if they added the ticket but we just planned the cost into our day! (We would have paid more for the tour so they could add the ticket and raise the cost of the tour!) The only thing that needs changed is at the wine tasting. No mention of prices or price list were given about the wine we tasted. It would be nice if they gave more information. They might sell more if they did. I wasn’t sure what was what in there store so providing this info would increase the likelihood of sales! The time at the beach was a little long but probably because it was not warm enough to swim! Many of the restaurants were not open so not much to do. The sunset was a beautiful end to the day. The views provided were all beautiful. Enjoyable day and would recommend the tour.
Review provided by Viator
Gladys_p
Jan 27, 2024
Best value day trip - I really enjoyed the whole day ,tour guide was excellent, very knowledgeable and friendly and really made the whole experience and day so enjoyable, the wine tasting was great ,got to try 3 different wines ,best value tour I've booked in a long time .would highly recommend.
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Anna_c
Jan 27, 2024
Oia and the rest of the island tour - I enjoyed the thorough descriptions of everything we saw in santorini. I really enjoyed this tour immensely.
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Sheri_b
Oct 27, 2023
Wonderful Day of Touring! - We had a wonderful time on this tour. The tour was put together beautifully with ample time to enjoy all of the stops. Our tour guide and bus driver were professional and took care of us greatly. Nikolas is the best driver! We met some fantastic people on the tour as well. Would highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Tracey_y
Oct 18, 2023
They started off as... - They started off as little hectic as we were picked up in one bus. And then told that we had to change and get on to a big, huge bus, which was not fun. As the tour was now about 30 people instead of about 10 period the person who was the guide was not overly friendly.
We period period but I guess that's just the way it goes.
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Maryfrances_m
Oct 3, 2023
Great tour - The tour did a little of everything, views, venitian castle, black beaches, wine tasting, small villages and sunset , etc ,the guide , Giánnis (pronounced Yannis in case I spelled it wrong) was a fantastic source of information about santorini and local areas, I highly recommend this tour, it was well planned.
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Bev_h
Sep 12, 2023
Just Go! - So happy we took this tour. Alex our tour guide was amazing! He was a wealth of knowledge and so friendly!!! We were able see alot of this beautiful island and now we know where we want to explore during the remainder of our holiday. Definitely take the Akrotori tour. It’s an amazing part of history!
Review provided by Viator
Adrian_a
Aug 23, 2023
Definetly a mist do. - Very informative and fun trip. This gave us a great overview of Santorini and we're able to check out multiple things we wouldn't have been able to on our own. Nick the driver and Christina were great hosts.
Review provided by Viator
D_m
Jun 28, 2023
Trip is good value and see island - Trip overall was value for money . See the island , coach driver (Nikos) was excellent.
Penny at Akrotiri and Gianni were good guides .
Gave a good tip for “all “of the staff ….. hope this was shared …however , was left uncertain because did not view it going into “the pot” . Ended up leaving another for the coach driver when leaving coach because of this .
Always find that this aspect of any trip turns into a far more expensive day out…. and ruins aspect of the trip.
JWhy are tips and the fees for Akrotiri not built into the overall costs ? Have found more and more as a single person that whenever on holiday always end up feeling compromised and pay literally a small fortune in tipping when using the 10/15% rule because never wish to appear mean and thankless. Ie could go on another holiday !
Greece in general and compared to Mauritius and Australia appears to prefer use of cash and found it difficult overall to change large notes into small more usable notes for such occasions .
Review provided by Viator
Olena_l
Jul 5, 2023
The worst - If you have any self-respect book with someone else. They just want your money, they don’t care about you. We never made it to the tour because there were too many cruise ships in Santorini. MTM DMC Ltd., the provider of the tour, barely communicated with us. I received a random message on WhatsApp 12 hours prior to the tour only after I contacted Viator support team. I asked for money back and I said that I didn’t trust this provider and only then I got the message from them and when I said that we might not be able to be on time, the person on the other end just laughed and said that he’s keeping 100% of my money! After that, he wished me a good night with a :-) and never responded again. These people do not deserve a penny of your money and they really need to rethink how they treat their customers. Never will I ever book with them again.
Review provided by Viator
