Journal

The Greek you'll hear on board, and what it means

5 min read

You need no Greek for a Santorini boat tour — the crew works in Greek and English. But about fourteen words will reach you during the day anyway: kalimera when you board, siga siga at the ladder, kali orexi when lunch lands, yamas when the wine is poured. This page is what each one means, in the order you hear them.

Languages leak on a boat. The crew talk to each other in Greek, to you in English, and a handful of words cross over because five hours together makes them useful. Learn even three of them and you will get grins back all day. Here they are, in roughly the order a cruise hands them to you.

The on-board glossary, in the order the day uses it

Say them roughly as written — Greek is forgiving of a cheerful accent. Stress the capitalised syllable.

The word	Say it	It means	When you'll hear it
Καλημέρα — kalimera	ka-li-MEH-ra	Good morning	At the pickup and as you board. The default greeting until mid-afternoon.
Καλησπέρα — kalispera	ka-li-SPEH-ra	Good evening	The sunset cruise's version of the same welcome.
Έλα — ela	EH-la	Come / come on / really?!	The most Greek word there is. You will hear it twenty times, meaning ten different things.
Σιγά σιγά — siga siga	see-GAH see-GAH	Slowly, slowly — no rush	At the swim ladder, on the gangway, and as a whole philosophy of the day.
Ωπα — opa	OH-pa	Oops / hey / here we go	When a wave surprises someone at the ladder, or a plate nearly slides. Joyful, not alarmed.
Θάλασσα — thalassa	THA-la-sa	The sea	In half the crew's sentences. The oldest Greek word you'll use all week.
Μελτέμι — meltemi	mel-TEH-mee	The summer north wind	Whenever anyone discusses the afternoon. It has its own page.
Καΐκι — kaiki	ka-EE-kee	A traditional wooden boat	Pointed at, around the harbours — the older cousins of every hull out here.
Λιμάνι — limani	lee-MAH-nee	Harbour, port	In every place name conversation: the old port, the new port, which limani.
Σκάλα — skala	SKA-la	Stairs; also Fira's old landing	The Old Port below Fira is simply "Skala" to locals — the place the steps meet the sea.
Καλή όρεξη — kali orexi	ka-LEE OH-rek-see	Good appetite	The moment plates land on the deck table. The correct reply is to start eating.
Γεια μας — yamas	YAH-mas	Cheers — "to us"	When the Santorini wine is poured after the swim. Glasses up, eye contact, yamas.
Ευχαριστώ — efharisto	ef-ha-ree-STOH	Thank you	Yours to deploy. It is the one word that visibly delights every Greek who hears it.
Αντίο / γεια — adio / ya	AH-dee-oh / YAH	Goodbye / bye	Back at the quay, with the day behind you. "Ya" is the casual one, and it doubles as hello.

Fourteen words, one afternoon. Nobody on board will test you, and English works for everything — these are seasoning, not homework.

Why these fourteen, and not a phrasebook

A phrasebook prepares you for situations a cruise never produces. Nobody on the boat needs you to ask where the pharmacy is. What actually happens on deck is greeting, eating, drinking, swimming and weather — so those are the words that cross the language line, and they cross it every single trip.

There is also a quieter reason. The crew works in Greek and English all day, switching without thinking about it. When a guest lobs even one word back — a yamas at the toast, an efharisto at the ladder — the switch briefly runs the other way, and the boat gets a little smaller and friendlier for everyone on it.

The kitchen has its own vocabulary, and it smells better than it translates. What the grill is doing while you swim is over in what the crew cooks on board.

Three tiny rules so nothing lands oddly

Yamas needs company. It is "to us", plural — you say it to people, glasses raised, not to your own glass. On a shared cruise that plural is the whole point of the table.

Opa is not a command. You do not order an opa; the moment produces it. If a wave slaps the hull and your drink jumps, congratulations — you have earned one.

Siga siga is advice worth taking literally. Decks are wet at every swim stop and the ladder is not a race. The phrase exists because hurry is the only thing that goes wrong on a good boat day.

Ready when you are

Come practise your yamas where it counts

Five hours, five stops, lunch off the grill and the wine that gives the toast its purpose. Tell us your date and we will tell you what is free.

Check availability & book

Call the harbour office+30 698 977 1888

Common questions

What does yamas mean?

Yamas (γεια μας) literally means "our health" — "to us". It is the standard Greek toast, said with raised glasses to the people around you rather than into your own drink. On our cruises you will hear it when the Santorini wine comes out after the hot-springs swim, and joining in is very much allowed.

What does opa actually mean?

Opa is an exclamation with no exact translation — somewhere between "oops", "hey!" and "here we go". Greeks use it when something jolts, spills, nearly falls or suddenly delights: a wave at the ladder, a plate saved mid-slide, a good song starting. The tone is joy, not alarm.

Do I need to speak Greek on a Santorini boat tour?

No. The crew speaks Greek and English, every briefing is given in English, and the whole day runs perfectly well without a single Greek word from you. The fourteen words on this page are a pleasure, not a requirement — though an efharisto at the ladder never once went down badly.

What does siga siga mean?

Literally "slowly, slowly". On board it is practical advice at the swim ladder and the gangway, where wet feet and hurry combine badly. Off the boat it is close to a national philosophy: the day is long, the sea is not going anywhere, and rushing is the one mistake the Aegean refuses to reward.

What do you say when food is served in Greece?

Kali orexi — "good appetite", the Greek cousin of bon appétit. Someone will say it as the plates land on the deck table after the swim stops. You can answer it back, answer with efharisto, or simply start on the chicken, which is also considered a completely correct response.

Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.

Updated August 2026