A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar puts you on a sailing boat inside the volcanic caldera, with a grilled meal and drinks served on deck. For more days out, see the full range of tours in Greece.
This page covers what the cruise includes, the sailing times, the departure ports and pickup, morning against sunset sailings, how the caldera formed, the Minoan eruption, Red Beach and White Beach, Akrotiri, the hot springs at Palea Kameni, Nea Kameni, Thirassia, the view of Oia and Fira from the water, the food and the open bar, the deck and the snorkel gear, standard against premium boats, what to bring, children and older guests, and the questions travellers ask.
What does a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar include?
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar covers a caldera sail, swim stops, a barbecue meal and drinks. Operators add hotel transfers, snorkel gear and a crew member who explains the sights.
One operator lists its package in full. It offers round-trip hotel transport in an air-conditioned minibus, a Greek barbecue meal prepared on board, and a welcome drink. White Santorini wine, beer and soft drinks follow. An English-speaking tour guide sails with the group, and a map with information on the landmarks is handed out.
Another operator lists snorkel and safety equipment, plus commentary in English and Greek. Its open bar pours soft drinks, white wine and beer, and cocktails are not part of it. Vegetarian meals are available. The first operator also lends towels and jackets, which guests return to the crew, and offers free Wi-Fi.
Both operators name the same highlights. The boat sails past the volcano and its hot springs, then stops to swim at Red Beach and White Beach. Indian Rock is a cliff that looks like a face. It also passes by on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. The second operator adds the Venetian Lighthouse to the route.
At White Beach, the first operator says, guests can swim or enjoy the scenery. Meanwhile the crew prepares the barbecue on board. The same operator says its boat sails below the caldera cliffs and past Aspronisi, a small island with no residents.
Read the fine print of your Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. The first operator has no gluten-free meals on board, and needs the full name of every guest at booking. The second operator asks you to keep a photo of your passport or ID card ready.
How long does the cruise last, and when do the boats sail?
Operators list a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar at about 5 hours. Boats sail in the morning or in the afternoon, and the afternoon trip ends after the sunset. The exact length changes with the season.
One operator describes its trip as a 5-hour catamaran cruise. A second operator also sells a 5-hour cruise. It visits Red Beach and the hot springs, with a barbecue, an open bar and sunset views.
Another operator calls its trip a half-day cruise and says the length changes through the season. The June tour lasts about 6 hours, as the days are longer. The October tour lasts about 4.5 hours. The operator singles out the sunset cruise as the one that changes.
Start times for a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar depend on the cruise you pick. One operator lists a day cruise that starts at 9:30 in the morning. Its sunset cruise starts at 2:30 in the afternoon and ends after the sunset. That sunset falls below the village of Oia.
Another operator says the departure time depends on the slot you book. Confirm your slot first, then plan what is left of the day. One operator names its day trip a cruise with lunch and its evening trip a cruise with a barbecue dinner.
Plan around the length. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar runs 4.5 to 6 hours. That covers a morning, or the afternoon and the evening. Keep other plans for the remaining hours.
Where do the catamarans leave from, and how does hotel pickup work?
One operator runs a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. The morning boat leaves from Ammoudi bay, and the sunset boat leaves from Vlychada port. A minibus collects you first.
That same operator ends each sailing at the other port. The morning tour finishes at Vlychada port, and the sunset tour finishes at Ammoudi port. Round trip transfers between your hotel and the boat come with the tour.
Vlychada is a fishing village on the southern shore of Santorini. Wikivoyage says it has a large marina. The same operator adds that, subject to availability, guests can be offered a higher-category catamaran. That boat leaves from an alternative port. Check your voucher for the port of your own Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar.
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar starts with hotel pickup. That operator says a minibus collects you from your stay or the nearest accessible point. One ticket seller uses an air-conditioned minivan for pick-up and drop-off. It asks for your hotel’s name and contact details, yours or your host’s. A pickup confirmation arrives one day before.
At the starting point, show your voucher on your mobile phone, and bring a valid photo ID. The seller suggests keeping a photo of your passport or ID card ready. You can be asked to take off your shoes before you step on board. A third operator notes that the departure time depends on the cruise slot you booked.
Morning cruise or sunset cruise: which one suits you?
Choose the morning cruise for daylight swimming and snorkelling, and choose the sunset cruise for evening light below Oia. One operator says a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar offers the same meal and drinks on both.
The two sailings use the same stretch of caldera coast. One operator says its map shows the sunset route, and the morning cruise follows the exact opposite route. So the morning boat starts where the sunset boat ends, and the other way round.
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar on the evening sailing passes below Oia. According to that operator, it finishes after the sunset. Wikivoyage names Oia for its sunsets.
The morning Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar suits a bright sea day. A second operator pairs daylight swimming and snorkelling with the day cruise, and sunset views with the evening one. It lists the volcano among the day stops and Oia among the evening stops. Both lists include the hot springs.
The sunset cruise does not last the same time all season. One ticket seller explains that daylight is longer in June than in October. For that reason the sunset sailing changes with the season, so ask the seller for the length on your date.
Both sailings include hotel pickup, so the choice comes down to what you want to see. Take the morning boat for swimming and bright light. Take the evening boat for the sunset and the mood.
Think about your own day too, and pick the sailing that fits the rest of it. If you want the afternoon free, the morning cruise fits. If you want a quiet evening on the water, the sunset cruise fits. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar works either way.
What is the Santorini caldera, and how did it form?
The Santorini caldera is a crater filled by the sea, with steep walls up to 300 metres high. On a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar, the boat sails below those walls.
Santorini sits roughly 200 kilometres south-east of the Greek mainland. No other Cycladic island lies further south. Santorini is also the biggest island in a small, ring-shaped group that the caldera shaped. The rim is what remains of the old island: three fragments that survived the eruption. Sea water fills the middle, and two newer islands sit inside it.
Every Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar starts from this rim. The volcano built the shape in a repeating cycle. Over hundreds of thousands of years it erupted, then collapsed into a round, sea-filled caldera. The caldera slowly refilled with magma, a new volcano grew, and the cycle began again.
Among the volcanic centres of the South Aegean arc, Santorini ranks first for activity. Before the last great eruption, the rim formed a nearly closed ring of islands. Only one gap broke the ring, between Thera and tiny Aspronisi.
The cruise sails past Aspronisi, an island with no people. The cliff walls are mostly impassable on foot, though villages stand along the ridge. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar gives you the sea-level view instead.
What happened in the Minoan eruption?
Among all volcanic events in human history, the Minoan eruption of Santorini ranks as one of the largest. It struck about 3,600 years ago and wrecked the Bronze Age settlement. The caldera it left is the one a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar crosses today.
Scientists give the eruption a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7. A recent study of seabed sediments puts the ejected material at 28 to 41 cubic kilometres, measured as dense rock. Its eruption column climbed between 30 and 35 kilometres, into the stratosphere. The blast ran for weeks.
The blast came from a small island at the centre of the old caldera. The northern part then filled with ash and lava and collapsed again. Today a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar sails across that same water.
Researchers have found four major phases. The first dropped pumice and ash, up to 7 metres deep in places southeast and east of the volcano. The second and third brought hot surges of gas and ash, fountains of lava and possible tsunamis. The third phase also began the collapse of the caldera.
The fourth phase finished the collapse and made huge tsunami waves. Earthquakes and tsunamis also hit nearby islands and the coast of Crete. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar sails over that collapsed ground.
On Santorini, a layer of white ash and pumice 60 metres thick now covers the old ground. It shows three bands, one for each stage of the blast. The first ash layer is thin, and winter rain had not worn it down before the next layer fell. That tells researchers the volcano gave the islanders months of warning.
The blast behind a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar still has no agreed date. Ash from the eruption marks one layer in archaeological sites across the eastern Mediterranean, so the date matters. A popular idea links the eruption to the legend of Atlantis, but historians dispute this claim.
Which beaches does the catamaran stop at, Red Beach or White Beach?
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar stops at Red Beach and White Beach. Two operators list both beaches as swim stops. In Greece a boat cannot tie up straight onto a beach, so the catamaran stays offshore.
The question is not really Red Beach or White Beach. One operator lists both as swim stops. Another operator names both, along with the hot springs, and adds a Greek barbecue on board. Other listings name only Red Beach and the hot springs. Check the stop list of your Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar first.
Red Beach is a beach of volcanic sand along the island’s southern shore. Its sand is crushed black and red volcanic rock, and the red colour comes from oxidised iron. One operator offers snorkelling in the clear water off Red Beach.
White Beach is a secluded stop. One operator says you can swim there or enjoy the scenery. Meanwhile the crew prepares the barbecue on board. A travel page from another operator mentions a chalk-coloured band of rock above White Beach. On a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar, the two beaches look different from the water.
Walkers cannot always reach the sand at Red Beach. Landslides are a known risk there, so sections of the beach have been closed. From the water you see the red slope without any of that risk.
The same operator warns that stops can change if the sea is not right outside the caldera. The beach list is a plan. The crew makes the final call on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar.
What is the story of Red Beach and nearby Akrotiri?
Red Beach lies beside Akrotiri, a Bronze Age town that a volcano buried in ash. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar sails along this coast, close to the buried town.
Akrotiri is a Cycladic settlement on Santorini, a volcanic island. Its name comes from the nearby village of Akrotiri, because the name the town used in ancient times is unknown. The first people settled there in the fifth millennium BCE, in a small village of fishers and farmers.
The village grew into a town. Good pottery, a far-reaching drainage system and paved streets all point to a skilled community. Then the volcano of Thera erupted in the sixteenth century BC, and the whole town lay under thick ash. Boats on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar pass the modern village of Akrotiri.
The ash kept the town in remarkable shape, like the Roman ruins of Pompeii. Diggers found frescoes, pottery, furniture, drains and buildings three storeys high. The modern excavation began under Spyridon Marinatos, and Christos Doumas took over after Marinatos died. Finds from the dig are now kept in another place, the Museum of Prehistoric Thera.
Only one gold object has turned up, hidden under a floor, and no human remains were found. The source reads this as a sign that the town was emptied in an orderly way, with hardly any deaths.
Operator pages for a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar name the lighthouse near Akrotiri. They do not list the dig site. Red Beach can be reached by land from Akrotiri, so the beach and the buried town share one coast.
How warm are the hot springs near Palea Kameni?
One operator says the spring water is warmer than the open sea by up to 4°C. Swimming there on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar feels gently warm, not hot.
Palea Kameni means “Old Burnt Island”. It is a volcanic island inside the caldera. Eruptions built it from pumice and dacite lava, between 197 BCE and 47 CE. Cassius Dio, a Roman historian, wrote of “a small islet, hitherto unknown” that appeared near Thera.
The island holds a small church. A herd of goats lives there, and one hot spring flows near its shore. The hot springs are a listed stop on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. Around the Santorini volcano, steam and gases also escape from vents.
Wikivoyage says a single goat herder and keeper lives on Palea Kameni. It names the church and the hot spring as the only points of interest. Wikipedia adds that the craters on both Kameni islands are made of black lava.
The boats do not pull up to the spring itself. One operator stays 50 metres off the hot springs bay on its Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar.
Wikipedia says Palea Kameni lacks a good harbour, so it is not a regular stop for recreational boats. Tourists can swim to it from nearby Nea Kameni.
The colour of the water tells the story. One operator’s page for a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar says sulphur leaks into the shallows. Off Palea Kameni, it stains the water rust-orange. It calls the stop warm mud, not a spa. A ticket seller says iron and sulfur from the springs can stain light clothing.
What is Nea Kameni, the youngest island in the caldera?
Nea Kameni, “New Burnt”, is a small, uninhabited volcanic island in the flooded caldera. In summer, dozens of tourist boats call at it every day. One operator lists a volcano visit on its Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar.
Nea Kameni is close to round, with a width of about 2 kilometres, covering 3.4 square kilometres in all. Right at the heart of the caldera, it is easy to spot from the water. Together with its older neighbour Palea Kameni, it formed over the past two millennia. Both islands were built by repeated eruptions that threw out dacite lava and ash.
Wikivoyage places Nea Kameni at the centre of the Santorini volcano. A crater sits at its centre, and sulphur vents ring it. Scientists from the institute that monitors the Santorini Volcano watch the island closely. The island is a protected site for science as well.
Operators who run a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar list the volcano as a stop. Four major eruptions struck over the past 300 years. The last small eruption pushed up a lava dome in the twentieth century. The island is nearly barren, apart from a carpet of red succulents on the thin soil in summer.
Visitors who land follow a gravel path up to the crater, which stands 130 metres high. A full walk around the rim is possible. Guests on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar that includes the volcano visit can take this walk.
An active sulfur vent is named Jorgo, or George. It was named by locals for King George I of Greece. One day after the king visited Santorini, the vent was active.
What is Thirassia, and do the boats stop there?
Of the Santorini group, Thirassia is the second largest island. One ticket seller names a Thirassia visit in the title of its Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. Another operator’s route list for its own cruise does not name the island.
Thirassia is also spelled Therasia and Thirasia. Thirassia sits north-west of Nea Kameni, which is the small island at the centre of the group. Its land area is 9.3 square kilometres. The main island, Thera, is much larger than Thirassia.
The latest census counted 249 people on Thirassia. Administratively, Thirassia falls under the municipal unit of Oia. The village of Agia Eirini had 28 residents in the same count. A travel wiki lists about 15,500 residents on Thera, so the smaller island is a quiet place by comparison.
Thera and Thirassia were separated by the Thera eruption, about 3,600 years ago. Before that blast, the two were not split apart. Today the flooded caldera lies between them. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar sails below its walls.
So do the boats stop there? It depends on the cruise you choose. The ticket seller’s premium cruise puts the Thirassia visit in its name. One operator’s own page lists Thirassia in both its daytime route and its sunset route. The same page describes a five-hour platinum cruise to Red Beach, the hot springs and Thirasia.
Read the route list of the Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar you plan to book. If Thirassia matters to you, look for it by name in the title or the stops.
What do you see of Oia and Fira from the water?
Oia and Fira are both towns on top of the cliffs. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar shows them from below. Oia stands on the edge of cliffs 150 metres high, and Fira is the capital of the island.
Oia is a restored traditional settlement. Its cube-shaped houses have colourful fronts and line the cliff edge. A travel wiki says Oia is known for its sunsets. The wiki also calls the cliffs 150 metres high, so the village sits far above the sea.
One operator lists the sunset below the village of Oia as part of its sunset tour. That makes the Oia view a feature of the evening sailing. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar on that sailing finishes after the sunset. Another operator lists Oia in its sunset route, but not in its daytime route.
Fira is the capital and tourist hub of Santorini. It is a town on the cliff top, with museums and cultural venues. The Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral of Ypapanti stands in Fira. On a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar, Nea Kameni gives a view back to Fira.
One operator’s page says the rim looks inward from Fira and Oia. From the water you see the same cliffs from below, layer by layer. That is the angle the boat adds to the view.
A hiking trail joins Fira and Oia along the rim. Walkers see the bay from above. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar shows the same towns from below.
The travel wiki also lists Imerovigli, a coastal town overlooking the caldera. It lists Firostefani too, which has a blue-domed church dedicated to St Spirou.
What food is served on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar?
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar serves a Greek barbecue meal that the crew cooks on board. Menus include grilled chicken, Greek salad, roasted vegetables and stuffed vine leaves.
The exact dishes differ from operator to operator. One operator lists shrimp saganaki, grilled chicken fillet or pork chops, and pasta with red sauce. Another operator lists chicken, shrimp and beef sausage from the grill, pasta with tomato sauce, tzatziki dips and bread.
A third operator’s page lists seafood, chicken, salads and dessert. Read the listing of your cruise, because the dish list belongs to that boat and not to the whole island.
On a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar, the cooking happens while you swim. One operator says the crew prepares the barbecue on board while guests swim at White Beach. The same operator says the Greek menu uses fine local products and is made on the spot.
One operator says gluten-free meals are not available on board at the moment. Vegetarian options appear on both menus of this Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. If you need gluten-free food, ask the operator before you book.
Fish is a local habit too. A travel wiki says the village of Perissa has good Greek fish restaurants. A seafood dinner on land is easy to add after the boat.
What drinks does the open bar pour?
On a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar, the bar offers white wine, beer and soft drinks. Every listed operator agrees on this short list, and cocktails are not part of the open bar list.
One operator adds a welcome drink and names the wine as white Santorinian wine. Another operator says plainly that cocktails are left out of the open bar. A third page lists white wine, beers and other beverages.
The operators do not name the bottle on board. The island’s wine still has a clear style. It is worth knowing before a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. Its flagship grape is Assyrtiko, which is high in acid and has citrus and mineral notes. The island’s white blend must contain 75 percent or more of it.
The vines grow low to the ground in a basket shape. This shape helps protect the grapes from the fierce winds. The soil is poor and made of volcanic ash and rocks.
That soil holds none of the clay that the vine parasite phylloxera needs to survive. For that reason the island is immune to it, and the vines keep roots that are centuries old.
The island also makes a sweet wine called Vinsanto from late harvested grapes. First, the grapes dry for 12 to 14 days under the sun. The island holds the exclusive right to use the name Vinsanto on its sweet wines. Vinsanto is not on the open bar list. It is a sweet wine you taste on land.
Two villages show the wine side of the island. Megalochori is known for its wineries and its old white Cycladic churches. Vothonas is the centre of Santorini’s wine industry. All its buildings were cut from the ravine that it sits in.
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar gives you the sea side of the day. These two villages give you the vineyard side.
What is on board: the deck, the nets, the snorkel gear and the toilets?
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar runs on a twin-hull sailing boat. It has wide decks, trampoline nets between the hulls and a shaded area at the back. A galley is on board, and the crew hands out snorkel gear.
One operator’s page describes how the trip starts. Guests step onto the trampoline netting between the two hulls. The crew points them to the shade at the back. The engines push the boat out of the marina. Soon the sails go up and the noise stops.
The same page says sailing catamarans suit this water. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar uses them. It names the shallow draft, the wide decks and the stability in the afternoon wind. It puts sailing catamarans at 14 to 18 metres in general. The grill goes on at the second swim stop.
Three operators list snorkel gear in the package of a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. On the page above, masks come out of a crate on deck at the first stop. Swimmers climb back up a ladder.
Another operator says a boat in Greece cannot tie up straight onto a beach. So it picks swimming and snorkel points as close to the shore as it can.
The operator pages name a trained crew on board, but they do not describe the toilets. One operator also says guests can be asked to take off their shoes before boarding. Wear shoes that slip off easily. Ask about the toilets ahead of your Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar.
Standard or premium catamaran: what changes?
Premium catamarans change the size of the boat and the size of the group. One operator caps its Lagoon catamarans at 20 guests. A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar can also be booked as a private sailing.
For its Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar, that operator sails a Lagoon 500 or a Lagoon 520. They measure 15.2 and 15.8 metres. It says their capacity is 20 people, no more. It calls the trip a premium semi-private excursion and says comfort is the priority on board.
A second operator sorts its cruises into standard, luxury, gold and private tiers. It says premium options add larger vessels or more exclusive use. For first-time visitors, it names a shared cruise as the sweet spot. That cruise has a hotel transfer, a full meal and an open bar.
The same page describes the other tiers in short lines. The gold cruise brings a richer meal and a sunset-style route. The private catamaran gives exclusivity over shared sailing. It also warns that shared decks feel tight on fuller sailings. Ask for the group size when you pick a boat.
The first operator adds one more option. Subject to availability, guests can be offered an upgrade to a higher-category catamaran. That boat leaves from a different port. Check the port on your voucher.
Do not mix the operators. The 20-guest limit belongs to the Lagoon boats of the first operator. The tiers belong to the second. Compare boat, group size and tier on one booking page at a time. Then choose your Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar with the right boat in mind.
What do you bring, and what happens in strong wind?
Bring swimwear, a towel, sunscreen and warm dry clothes for a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. If wind makes the caldera unsafe, the operator can change the route or move the trip.
One operator asks guests to bring towels, warm dry clothes, sunglasses, sunscreen and a sunhat for the cruise. Another operator’s site adds a light jacket, a camera and a change of clothes to its list. Pack one small bag with the items from both lists, so everything stays together on deck.
Choose dark swimwear. One operator warns that the iron and sulfur in the hot springs can stain pale clothing. Another operator advises against a white swimsuit at the sulfurous hot springs. A dark suit and dry clothes for the sail home solve both problems.
Sun protection matters on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. After late spring the island gets very hot, and the UV index is extreme. On land the island has little tree cover, so shade is rare. In summer it is also crowded with cruise ships and beach-goers.
Wind is the next question. One operator’s site names the afternoon meltemi, a wind that funnels between Thirassia and the main island. The sea can be livelier in the afternoon than in the morning, so pick your sailing with that in mind.
Two operators tie a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar to the weather. One says the itinerary and stops can change without notice when conditions are not right to sail outside the caldera. The other says bad weather or mechanical concerns can lead to a changed or postponed tour.
The first operator offers an alternative date when it cancels the cruise for poor weather. Plan one spare day, in case your Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar moves to another date.
Is a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar right for children and older guests?
A Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar suits children who are happy on a boat for 5 hours. One operator’s site publishes no clear family age policy, so ask about infants before you book.
Think about the length first. The same site calls five hours a long block for younger children. It says school-age kids tend to handle the swim stops and the short sailing legs better than toddlers. It advises families to confirm infant and child acceptance before booking.
Older guests and anyone who uses a walking aid need to ask about boarding. The operator’s official listing does not publish step-free access guarantees. It tells travellers with mobility aids to confirm boarding help before booking. The same site says access depends on the boat boarding, the transfer and the sea conditions.
Seasickness is the other test. The site says to skip Santorini caldera boat tours if you get seasick. It adds that afternoon wind and swell trouble sensitive stomachs. Guests with a sensitive stomach can ask which sailing slot suits them before they pick a time.
Swimming ability needs a question too. Swim stops at the beaches are part of the day, and operators supply snorkel and safety equipment. The operator pages named here set no swimming test, and they do not name a minimum swimming skill. Ask the crew how they handle non-swimmers ahead of booking your Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar.
What else do travellers ask about a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar?
Why do maps call the island Thira, not Santorini?
Wikipedia says the island is officially named Thira, or Thera. Wikivoyage traces the name Santorini to Saint Irene, in a shortened form. The saint gives her name to an old church in Perissa. It places the island between Ios and Anafi, with Crete about 100 km to the south. So Thira on a sign and Santorini on your voucher mean the same island. Both names point to the island you sail around.
How deep is the water on a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar?
A page from one operator says the seabed inside the caldera falls close to 400 metres. The same page says sailing ships once gave up on anchors there. They moored against the cliff instead. That depth is at the centre of the bay. The crew picks the swim stops near the shore.
The page also links the depth to the calm. Enclosed water and little swell let a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar work. Walls of pumice and lava close the bay on three sides. That geology gives the boat a sheltered sea to sail on.
What is Ammoudi bay below Oia?
The bay sits at the foot of the town of Oia. Wikipedia counts 300 steps from Oia down to the port. It adds that tavernas and a pebble beach stand at the water. Check the port on the voucher for your Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar. Then ask the operator where the minibus drops you.
How old is Oia, and what did the earthquake do to it?
Oia was once called Apano Meria, which means upper side. It became Oia during the nineteenth century’s second half. Wealthy ship captains of that time built neo-classical mansions. A ruined castle crowns the top of the town. Under Venetian rule, the Argyri family had its seat there.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the island on 9 July, around the midpoint of the twentieth century. It destroyed part of the town. Twenty-one years on, Oia held just 306 people. The latest census counted 1,087. From the deck of a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar, you look up at the rebuilt town.
What did boats carry in the caldera before the tourists came?
One operator says Theran boats carried wine and volcanic ash cement out of the bay well into the nineteenth century. In that century the island’s pozzolana went to Egypt for the Suez Canal works. The page says a Santorini catamaran cruise with food and open bar follows part of that southern water road.