Boat tour from Kamari and Perissa, across to the other sea
You are staying on the open Aegean side of the island. Every catamaran cruise sails inside the caldera, on the other side of the ridge — and the road transfer across is included both ways.
€100 per person · 10:00 - 15:00 · Shared seats
Kamari, Perissa and Perivolos face the open Aegean; every catamaran cruise sails the caldera on the other side of the island. A boat tour from Kamari or Perissa therefore starts with a road transfer, included both ways. The semi-private day cruise is €100 per person, 10:00 to 15:00.
These are the black-sand resorts on the east and south coasts. They are the least caldera-facing places to stay on Santorini, which is a real difference and not a drawback — but it does change how a boat day works.
You are on the sea, but it is the wrong sea
Your beach faces east or south, into open water. The caldera is behind the ridge, and every catamaran cruise on this site runs inside it.
So the swim outside your hotel and the swim on the boat are two different bodies of water. Yours is the open Aegean with a long black shore you can walk onto. The caldera is a drowned crater about 11 km across, walled by cliffs of up to 300 m, with swimming stops that have no road, no path and no jetty.
Crossing the island is not your problem to solve. Road transfer to the boat and back is included, and it is a longer ride than from the rim villages. Tell us your hotel name and we confirm the pickup time with your booking.
The wind hits your beach and misses the caldera
This matters here more than anywhere else on the island. The meltemi is a northerly, near-continuous in July and August, and it pushes swell straight onto the exposed east coast.
You can stand on Kamari beach watching the sea kick up, be told the cruise is running normally, and be right to be sceptical — and it usually is running. The caldera has 300 m of cliff on its windward side, and on a blowy day it is often the calm half of the island.
It works the other way too. The captain decides on the morning whether the whole route is safe, and if he cancels you move the date or take a full refund. That judgement is about the caldera, not about the surf outside your room.
Kamari, Perissa and Perivolos
| Village | Where it sits | Getting to the next one |
|---|---|---|
| Kamari | East coast, on the north side of the Mesa Vouno headland | About a kilometre from Perissa in a straight line |
| Perissa | The south side of the same headland | About twenty minutes by road from Kamari, because the road goes around the mountain rather than over it |
| Perivolos | The same long beach as Perissa, continuing south-west | A few minutes from Perissa along the shore |
A seasonal caïque crosses Kamari to Perissa in about 15 minutes, roughly every 40 minutes through the middle of the day. It is a third-party service, nothing to do with us — but it is the reason two villages twenty minutes apart by car feel like neighbours.
This is the family side of the island, which changes the answer
Ground-floor rooms, pools, level pavements, and a beach you can push a buggy onto. That is why families end up on this coast, and it decides which cruise fits.
The semi-private day cruise is the one we point families at: 10:00 to 15:00, three swim stops, morning water that is flatter and clearer than afternoon water, and everyone back on land in daylight. Tell us the children's ages so the right life jackets are aboard.
The sunset cruise finishes after dark in midsummer. That is a long day if the youngest is five, and it is honestly better without them.
One expectation to set early: the boat anchors offshore at every stop and nobody is landed on a beach. If sand is what the children actually want, you already have the best of it outside your hotel — which is a decent argument for the boat and the beach on separate days.
Send the hotel, the date and the ages
We reply the same day with the pickup time and what is free. If a private boat suits your group better, we will say so.
Call the harbour office+30 698 977 1888
Common questions
Do you pick up from Kamari, Perissa and Perivolos?
Road transfer between your hotel and the boat is included on every catamaran cruise. It covers every village on the island, and nothing is added for distance. Send us the hotel name and the date and we confirm the pickup point and time in writing.
Do you drop us off at the beach?
No. The catamaran anchors offshore at every stop and you swim from the stern platform. None of the caldera swimming stops has a jetty, so there is no landing and no beach time in the itinerary. For lying on sand you are already in the right place.
Is July or August too windy for a boat trip?
Those are the meltemi peak months, and your own east-facing beach feels it worst. Boats still run most days. Afternoons are rougher than mornings, so take the 10:00 departure rather than the 15:00 one if anyone is prone to seasickness. September is usually the calmer month.
How long is the transfer from Perissa to the boat?
Longer than from Fira, because you are crossing the island rather than dropping down the rim. We do not publish a figure, since it depends on the day, the traffic and where else the car stops. Your confirmed pickup time already accounts for it — be outside a few minutes early.
Can we get to the caldera by boat from Kamari instead?
Not on a catamaran cruise. The route runs inside the caldera and around the southern headland, and going the long way round from the east coast would spend your morning on transit. The road crossing is faster. Our RIB and water taxi are quoted per route if you want a sea transfer anyway.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.
Updated August 2026