Full-day private catamaran cruise, Santorini
Ten hours instead of five. It is the only cruise with room for the south coast in morning light, a proper stop at Thirassia and the sunset on the way home.
€2,400 covers 10, then €100 each · 10:30 - 20:30 · The whole boat
The full-day Santorini cruise is a private catamaran charter running 10:30 to 20:30. It costs €2,400 for up to 10 guests, then €100 for each guest after that. Ten hours covers the south coast, all five caldera islands, time ashore at Korfos on Thirassia, and the sunset.
A five-hour cruise has one job: the loop, on the clock. Thirassia stays a shape across the water because there is no time to stop, and no stop gets a minute more than the schedule can spare. Ten hours does not have that problem.
The facts, in one table
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Times | 10:30 – 20:30. Ten hours. The finish moves with the sunset through the season. |
| Price | €2,400 for up to 10 guests. €100 for each guest after that. |
| Per person | €240 each at 10 guests, €217 at 12, €200 at 14, €182 per person. |
| Guests | Maximum 17. The boat is yours whether you are two or seventeen. |
| Boat | Lagoon sailing catamaran, two or three crew. Wide and level, with shade and room to move. |
| Departure | Vlychada Marina, on the south coast. The included car collects you from your hotel and brings you back, so you never have to find it. |
| Swim stops | Five or six, sea state permitting, against the day cruise's three. |
| Food | Cooked on board twice: lunch at anchor on the south coast, and more before the sun goes. |
| Drinks | Santorini white wine, cold beer, soft drinks and water, unlimited, in the price. |
| Transfer | Car from your hotel to the boat and back, included. |
| Cancellation | Agreed with your booking, because the whole boat is held for you. A weather cancellation by the captain is refunded in full. |
Your exact meeting point is confirmed with your booking. Because the transfer is included, you do not have to find the port yourself.
What your group size does to the price
Drag the guests; both figures follow. The €100 shared seat stays in view for comparison.
- Whole boat
- €2,400
- Per person, that group
- €240
For comparison, a seat on the shared cruise is €100 per person. A private boat buys the route and the timing, never a lower price per head.
What the extra five hours actually buy
This is the only comparison that matters, so here it is without the sales language.
| Five hours | Ten hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Swim stops | Three, plus the springs when the sea allows | Five or six |
| Thirassia | A shape across the water | A real stop, with time ashore at Korfos if you want it |
| The volcano swim | Mid-loop, on the clock | At golden hour, for as long as you like |
| Aspronisi | Usually passed | Rounded properly |
| Meals | One, cooked on board | Two, cooked on board |
| The sunset | Only on the sunset cruises | Included, on the way home |
| Time at each stop | The clock decides | You decide |
| Price at 10 guests | €1,400 | €2,400 |
| Per person at 10 | €140 | €240 |
At ten guests the full day costs €100 a head more than the five-hour private cruise, for five more hours, a second meal and a stop nobody else on the water gets that day.
Ten hours, hour by hour
A June departure. Times move through the season with the sun, and the captain reorders the day when the wind asks him to. Because the boat is private, everything below is a proposal rather than a schedule.
The car arrives
Pickup from your hotel. On a ten-hour day, bring a light jacket for the last hour — the wind drops but the air does not.
Lines off
Shoes off, bags below, a two-minute briefing about the life jackets and the heads. Then south along the coast.
Red Beach
The first swim, anchored off the red cliffs. Earlier than the five-hour cruises get there, which usually means fewer boats.
White Beach
Ten minutes west. White pumice above a shingle beach with no road and no path to it.
Mesa Pigadia
A quiet cove under Akrotiri. Snorkelling gear is in the locker by the steps.
The lighthouse, and lunch at anchor
Past the 1892 Akrotiri light on the south-western corner, then the grill does its work — chicken, shrimp, Greek salad, pasta, dolmades and the dips — in water clear enough to watch the anchor land.
Aspronisi
The white islet on the rim — a surviving piece of the island that existed before the eruption, which is why it is pale where everything else is dark.
The volcano swim
Anchored off Nea Kameni's black lava fields, swimming inside the flooded crater — with the warm springs at Palea Kameni alongside when the wind and sea allow. Dark swimsuit for that one.
Thirassia, ashore at Korfos
The far rim, and the stop the shorter cruises cannot make. Swim off the boat at Korfos, or go ashore: tavernas at the waterline, a windmill above, and no tour bus anywhere.
The Fira panorama
The crater open all round in falling light — Fira, Firostefani and Imerovigli high above the Old Port. Say the word on the day and the boat carries on north for Oia and Ammoudi instead.
The sunset sail home
South out of the caldera with something to eat again, the sun dropping towards open water off Akrotiri. The last mile is timed so the colour finishes about when the marina does.
Ashore
Back on land, and the car is waiting where it dropped you.
Nothing above is fixed. It is a private boat: tell the captain in the morning what matters most and he builds the day around it.
What ten hours buy
What is in the €2,400
The same list as every catamaran cruise on this site, with the second meal added because the day is twice as long.
In the price
- Return road transfer between your hotel and the boat
- Greek and English speaking crew
- A meal cooked on board: BBQ chicken and shrimp off the coals, Greek salad, pasta in tomato sauce, vine leaf rolls, and Greek dips with bread
- Santorini white wine, cold beer, soft drinks and water
- Snorkelling gear
- Towels
- Captain, crew, fuel, insurance and port fees
Not included
- Walking on the volcano (the boats anchor offshore)
- Nea Kameni national park entrance fee
- Gratuities
About the volcano
Walking up Nea Kameni is not part of any cruise on this site, this one included. The boats anchor offshore and never land; the crater walk runs on dedicated excursion boats, with the national geological park's own ticket bought at the landing.
What this day gives you instead is the volcano at its best hour: the anchor down off the lava fields in the falling light, the crater swim with no clock on it, and the springs alongside when the sea allows.
If standing on the crater matters to you, book the walking excursion for another morning — it is a bare, shadeless slope, and mid-afternoon in July is not its moment anyway. Most groups swim here and spend the saved hours ashore at Korfos instead.
Who this cruise suits
Groups of ten or more. The per-head price falls from €240 to €182 between ten guests and seventeen, and the whole boat costs the same either way.
People who came to Santorini for the sea. Ten hours is a whole day, not an excursion. If the boat is the point of the holiday rather than a thing you fit around it, this is the one.
Anyone who wants Thirassia. No five-hour cruise from Santorini can make a real stop there and still get home. This one can.
Photographers. You get the morning light on the south coast and the evening light on the caldera wall in the same day, which no other cruise on this site offers.
Who it does not suit
Ten hours on the water is a long time with a small child. Take the private day cruise instead and go home when they have had enough.
If you are in port on a cruise ship, this will not fit an all-aboard time. Look at the shore excursion by boat, which is built backwards from your ship's clock.
If you are two people and the budget matters more than the boat, €2,400 for two is a hard sum to justify. Two seats on the semi-private sunset cruise is €200 and you will still see the sun go down from the water.
The hot springs at Palea Kameni carry iron out of the seabed. The water runs a rusty ochre and it marks pale fabric permanently, so wear something dark and not your favourite.
And on a ten-hour day you are still out after the sun has gone. The wind usually drops in the evening, but the air cools quickly over water. A light jacket is the difference between enjoying the last hour and enduring it.
Which day, and how many of you?
Send the date and the number of guests. We reply the same day with what is free and what the whole boat costs.
Call the harbour office+30 698 977 1888
Common questions
How long is a full-day boat trip in Santorini?
Ours is ten hours, 10:30 to 20:30, and the finish moves through the season with the sunset. That is roughly twice the length of the standard five-hour caldera cruise, and it is the difference between passing Thirassia and stopping there.
Is a full-day private charter worth the extra money?
At ten guests it costs €100 a head more than the five-hour private cruise. For that you get five more hours, a second meal cooked on board, one or two more swim stops, a real stop at Thirassia and the sunset. If the boat is the point of the day, yes.
Can we go up the volcano on this cruise?
No. We anchor beside Nea Kameni for the crater swim and never land — the walk up it runs on dedicated excursion boats, with the national park's own ticket bought at the landing. If the hike is on your list, give it its own morning and keep these ten hours for the water and Korfos.
How much is it per person?
€240 each at ten guests, €217 at twelve, €200 at fourteen and €182 at seventeen. The base price of €2,400 covers the first ten; each guest after that is €100. The boat costs the same whether you fill it or not.
Do we stop at Thirassia?
Yes, and it is the main reason to take this cruise rather than a five-hour one. You can swim off the boat at Korfos or go ashore for a coffee up the steps. No five-hour cruise from Santorini has time to do that and still get home.
Do we eat twice?
Yes — the ten-hour charter feeds you twice. Lunch comes off the grill at anchor on the south coast, and there is food again in the evening before the sun goes down. Santorini wine, beer, soft drinks and water are unlimited and inside the price on both occasions.
What happens if the wind gets up?
The captain decides on the morning whether the sea is safe. If he cancels you move to another date or take a full refund. On a ten-hour day he may also reorder the stops or shorten the far end of the route, which is a judgement about the sea rather than the schedule.
Can we change the route?
Yes. It is a private boat, so the plan on this page is a proposal rather than a timetable. Tell the captain in the morning what matters most to you and he builds the day around it, within what the wind and the sea allow.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.
Updated August 2026