Private boat transfers, anywhere on the Santorini coast
A private boat for up to eight guests, hired whole, moving you between two points on the coast. Road transfer at each end is included. Priced per journey, because no two of these journeys are the same.
A private boat transfer in Santorini is a whole boat hired to move you between two points on the coast: a villa with sea access, a beach club, Thirassia, a photographer's cove, a ferry connection. Up to eight guests, day or evening, priced by quote because no two of these journeys are the same.
Two routes get asked for so often that they have their own pages: Fira Old Port to Ammoudi and Fira Old Port to Athinios. This page is everything else.
Everything else turns out to be most of what people actually need a boat for.
What people ask us to move them between
The requests are rarely the same twice. A rough sample of what has come through WhatsApp:
Some of these are five minutes of water. Some are an hour each way with the boat waiting in between. That range is exactly why there is no price list on this page.
- A villa with its own steps to the sea, down to a beach on the other side of the island and back at seven.
- A beach club that is twenty minutes by water and fifty by road, on a day when the road is full.
- Thirassia, for lunch at Korfos, with the boat alongside until you are done.
- A photographer's location: a cove, a rock face, a stretch of cliff, reached at the hour the light is right.
- A ferry connection, when the arrival and the crossing do not line up with the bus.
- Wedding guests moved between two points on the coast without a coach and a cliff road.
- A late-evening return, after the last boat that runs to a timetable has stopped running.
What changes the price
There are six or seven variables and they interact. This is the whole reason a fixed number would be a lie.
| What we look at | Why it moves the number | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | A ten-minute hop and a run to the far rim are not the same job. Fuel and crew hours both scale with the miles. | Give us both ends of the journey, not only the destination. |
| Time of day | Early starts and after-dark returns cost more everywhere in this market. The crew hours are longer and the boat cannot be doing anything else. | If you can move by an hour, say so. |
| Waiting time | Holding the boat while you eat, swim or shoot is time it is not working. An hour alongside is priced; a straight drop-off is not. | Tell us how long you want us to wait, honestly rather than optimistically. |
| Luggage | Cases are handed across a moving gunwale by hand, they take deck space, and they get wet. Bulk is a real constraint on a small boat. | Send bag count and rough sizes before you book, not on the quay. |
| One way, or do we return empty | A boat that runs home with nobody aboard is still paid for both legs. That cost sits inside a one-way price. | A return leg usually costs less per journey than two separate one-ways. |
| Number of guests | Eight is the ceiling. Above that it is two runs or a bigger boat, and both change the arithmetic. | Give us the exact head count, children included. |
| Sea state on the day | A route that is easy in a northerly can be unworkable in a southerly. Some days the honest answer is no. | Leave a spare day in the plan if the journey is one you cannot miss. |
The captain decides on the morning whether the sea is safe. If he cancels, you take a full refund or move to another day.
Why there is no price list here
We publish every catamaran price on this site, down to the euro, because those cruises are the same five hours every day. A transfer is not.
Two families asked us the same week for "a boat transfer". One wanted eleven minutes of water and no waiting. The other wanted a boat held for four hours on the far side of the caldera with six cases aboard. A single published number would have been wrong for both of them, and quietly wrong in opposite directions.
So we quote each journey. You send the two ends and the date, we send a price for the whole boat, and that price is the price.
What we need from you to quote
Send this on WhatsApp and you will usually have a number back the same day.
| What to send | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Both ends of the journey | Where you start and where you want to be. A hotel name, a beach, a port, a pin on a map — any of those work. |
| The date | Availability in July and August is genuinely tight, and cruise days concentrate demand into two or three hours. |
| The time, and how firm it is | A flight or an all-aboard time is a hard edge. Dinner is not. We plan differently for each. |
| How many of you, and the ages | Eight is the maximum. Ages tell us which life jackets to put aboard. |
| Bags | Count and rough size. This is the single thing people forget and the single thing most likely to change the answer. |
| One way, return, or waiting | Three different jobs. Say which one you want. |
| Anything about mobility | Boarding a small boat means a step down and a hand. Tell us before you book and we will say honestly whether it suits you. |
| A WhatsApp number | On the day, weather and timing get sorted in two messages rather than three emails. |
Your exact meeting point is confirmed with your booking, once we know the route and what the wind is doing that week.
What the market charges, for context
Since we publish no fixed price of our own, here is what other operators put on their own sites and listings. It is a wide field, and that is the point.
| Operator (market) | Journey | Published price | Model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakoutros / Fast Line (reported by third parties) | Old Port to Ammoudi, plus a bus leg | around €30 | per person, shared seat |
| Santorini Golden Tours | Fira to Ammoudi | €37, plus €35 after 17:30 | per boat |
| VIP Transfers, own site | point to point, 20–35 minutes | from €45 | per transfer |
| VIP Transfers, own site | port transfer, 45–60 minutes | from €75 | per transfer |
| VIP Transfers, on Viator | private water taxi avoiding the cable car, 1 h 30 | from €175 | per booking |
| Brothers Travel | water taxi, 1 to 6 guests | €200 per group (market figure) | per group |
Every figure above was published on that operator's own site or listing and seen on 25 August 2026. They are other operators' numbers, not ours, and they are here so you can judge our quote against something. Note how far apart the two ends of that market sit.
How a transfer gets booked
- You send the journeyTwo ends, a date, a time, a head count and your bags. Seven lines on WhatsApp is plenty.
- We check the boat and the forecastWhether a boat is free at that hour, and whether that stretch of coast is likely to be workable on that day.
- You get one price for the whole boatNot per head. It covers the crew, the fuel, the insurance and the road transfer at each end.
- The details come with the confirmationMeeting point, the time to be there, and a number to message if your morning changes.
- The captain looks at the sea that morningIf it is not safe, you are refunded in full or moved to another day. We do not run a rough crossing to protect a booking.
When a transfer is the wrong answer
If you are going between two points that a road serves well, a car is cheaper and usually faster. A boat earns its price where the road does not go, or where the road is full.
If what you want is a day on the water rather than a journey, you want a RIB charter or a catamaran cruise, not a transfer.
And if your journey is one of the two we run most, the route pages have more detail than this one: Fira Old Port to Ammoudi and Fira Old Port to Athinios.
Send us the two ends and the date
No payment is taken on this site. Tell us where you are starting, where you need to be and when, and we will price the boat.
Call the harbour office+30 698 977 1888
Common questions
Private vs shared water taxi — which should I book?
A shared seat costs less per head and leaves when the boat fills or when the rotation says so. A private boat costs more and leaves when you do, which is the part that matters against a flight or an all-aboard time. Groups of four or more, and tight connections, usually justify private.
How much is a private boat transfer in Santorini?
We quote each journey rather than publish a rate, because distance, waiting time, luggage and the hour all move the number. For context, market listings we checked in August 2026 ran from about €45 for a short hop to €200 per group. Send us the two ends and we will price yours.
Can I take my luggage on a water taxi?
Usually, within limits. Cases are handed across a moving gunwale by hand, they take up deck space and they get wet in any chop, so bag count and size are a crew decision rather than a passenger one. Send us the numbers before you book, not on the day.
How far ahead should I book a transfer?
Twenty-four hours is the least we can work with, and on a cruise or ferry day more is much better. Capacity on this island is finite and it concentrates into a few hours around arrivals. Send your date on WhatsApp as soon as it is fixed rather than assuming.
Do small boats run in the caldera when it's windy?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no, and direction matters more than speed. A northerly leaves the south coast workable while the north side gets ugly, and a southerly reverses that. The call is made on the morning by the captain, and a weather cancellation is refunded in full.
Can you take us somewhere and wait for us?
Yes. Lunch at Korfos on Thirassia, a swim in a cove, an hour at a beach club: the boat stays and brings you back. Waiting time is priced, because the boat is not working while it sits. Tell us how long you actually want, not how long you hope.
Do you run boat transfers in the evening?
Day and evening, on request. Whether a particular route works after dark depends on the coast, the light and the sea that night, so it is a question we answer per journey rather than in general. Send the date, the two ends and the hour you need.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.
Updated August 2026