A birthday on a private boat in Santorini
The whole catamaran for five hours, up to 17 guests, at €1,200 for the first eight and €100 each after. From about eight people the arithmetic starts to make sense.
€1,200 covers 8, then €100 each · 14:30 - 19:30 · The whole boat
A birthday on a Santorini boat means taking the whole catamaran: five hours from 10:30 or 15:30, up to 17 guests, €1,200 for the first eight and €100 for each guest after. A meal is cooked on deck, wine and beer are in the price, and cars run both ways.
There is no birthday package here, and no cake we sell you at a mark-up. There is a boat, five hours, a cook and a route, and you put the birthday into it.
Below is what the day looks like, what you can bring, and the arithmetic that makes a private boat sensible from about eight people onward.
The facts, in one table
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Times | 10:30 or 15:30. Five hours. Both ends move through the season with the sun. |
| Price | €1,200 for up to 8 guests, then €100 for each guest after that. |
| Guests | Your group and nobody else aboard. |
| 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. |
| Food | Cooked on board while you swim: BBQ chicken and shrimp, Greek salad, pasta, vine leaf rolls and the dips. |
| Drinks | Santorini wine, beer and water are in the price. |
| Cake | Bring one if you want one. Tell us in advance and we keep it cold and out of the sun until you ask for it. |
| Children | Welcome on a private boat. Send their ages when you book so the right life jackets are aboard. |
| Transfer | A car from the hotel to the boat and back for every guest, 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, and the car runs in both directions. Nobody in the group has to find a port on their own.
What the boat costs by group size
The fare is fixed to eight guests. Every head after that adds €100, so the price per person falls as the deck fills.
| Guests | How it adds up | Total for the boat | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Base fare | €1,200 | €150 |
| 10 | Base, plus 2 guests from the ninth at €100 | €1,400 | €140 |
| 12 | Base, plus 4 guests from the ninth at €100 | €1,600 | €133 |
| 14 | Base, plus 6 guests from the ninth at €100 | €1,800 | €129 |
| 17 | Base, plus 9 guests from the ninth at €100 | €2,100 | €124 |
Under eight guests you still pay €1,200, so four people are paying €300 each for the boat. That is the point at which most birthday groups take shared seats on the semi-private cruise at €100 instead. A private boat is never cheaper per head than a shared seat — at seventeen it is still €124 against €100. What the difference buys is the whole deck.
What a birthday on the boat actually looks like
It looks like an ordinary five-hour cruise with one difference: the timing bends around one person. The car comes half an hour before departure. Shoes come off on deck. Then it is south along the cliffs to Red Beach, White Beach and Mesa Pigadia, with a swim at each if the sea allows.
Around the middle of the charter you swim into the ochre water at the hot springs on Palea Kameni while the grill goes on behind you. Then everyone eats on deck. That is when the cake comes out, if there is one, because the table is already up and everyone is sitting down.
The last hour is the run home past the lighthouse with the cliffs holding the light behind you. On the 15:30 charter that hour is the sunset itself, held off the Akrotiri corner. On the 10:30 charter you are on land by mid-afternoon with the evening still ahead of you, which suits a birthday that also has a dinner booked.
What you can bring, and what we bring
Keep it soft and keep it small. There is nowhere on a catamaran to put a hard case, and deck space is shared with everyone else's things.
- A cake. Tell us when you book. We keep it cold and out of the sun, and bring it out when you say. Candles rarely survive the wind on deck, so do not count on them.
- Decorations, within reason. Anything light enough to blow off the boat will blow off the boat, and we are not going to fish it out of a bay we anchor in every week.
- A playlist. It is your boat for five hours, so the music is yours.
- A dark swimsuit. The hot springs carry iron out of the seabed and stain pale fabric permanently.
- We bring the rest. Lunch or dinner cooked on board, Santorini wine, beer and water, snorkelling gear, towels, the cars at both ends, and a crew of two or three who will take the photographs on your phone.
What is in the €1,200
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
Santorini wine, beer and water are already in the price and they are not rationed. We have not published a policy on guests bringing their own alcohol on board, and it may differ between a shared cruise and a private charter.
So message us before you buy something special for the toast, rather than arriving with it. It takes one line on WhatsApp and it saves an awkward conversation at the boat.
Send the date, the group size and whose birthday it is
Three lines are enough. We reply the same day with whether the boat is free and what it costs at your numbers.
Call the harbour office+30 698 977 1888
Common questions
Can we celebrate a special occasion onboard?
Yes, and a private charter is the right format for it. The boat is yours, the timing is yours, and the crew know what is happening. Tell us what you are marking when you book rather than on the morning, so we can plan around it instead of improvising.
Can we bring a birthday cake on board?
Yes. Tell us in advance and we will keep it cold and out of the sun until the meal, which is when the table is up and everyone is sitting down. Candles are optimistic on an open deck in a Santorini breeze, so bring them expecting to relight a few.
Can I bring my own drinks or food on board?
Santorini wine, beer and water are already in the price. We have not published a policy on guests bringing their own alcohol, and it may differ between a shared cruise and a private charter. Message us before you buy a bottle for the toast, so nobody is caught out at the boat.
Is a private boat cheaper per person than shared seats?
No. At eight guests a private charter works out at €150 each against €100 for a shared seat, and at seventeen it is still €124. From about eight people the gap narrows enough that most groups take the boat anyway, for the empty deck and the timing rather than the arithmetic.
Morning or sunset for a birthday?
The 10:30 charter gives calmer water, better swimming and an evening still free for dinner ashore. The 15:30 charter gives the caldera lit from the west and the sun going down from the water. If anyone in the group gets seasick, take the morning without hesitating.
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. He may also change the route or the order of the stops on the day. Booking a birthday early in your trip leaves room to move it if that happens.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.
Updated August 2026