Water taxi from Santorini to Ios, aimed at Calilo
One island to the next without folding your day around a timetable. Ios lies north of Santorini across open water, and Calilo keeps to its own beach on the island's quiet side.
A water taxi from Santorini to Ios is a private boat across open Aegean water, run on request, day or evening. We quote each crossing whole — your date, your hour, your group — and we agree the landing when we quote: Calilo's own bay when the sea allows, the island's port otherwise.
Most people make this journey by scheduled ferry, and for a backpack and a flexible afternoon the ferry is the right answer. This page is for the other case: you are on Santorini, your room is at Calilo, and you would rather the boat left when you are ready than the other way round.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi runs this crossing the way we run the caldera: one group, one boat, and an honest forecast before anyone steps aboard.
What this run is, and what it is not
It is a private charter between two islands, arranged in advance. There is no ticket office, no schedule, and nobody else aboard.
The two islands face each other across open water — this is not the sheltered caldera the rest of our water-taxi work lives in. Between Santorini and Ios the Aegean does what it likes, and in high summer the meltemi has opinions.
That shapes everything about how we run it. We watch the forecast from the day before, we quote with a weather answer attached, and the captain keeps the veto on the morning. A crossing we would not make with our own family aboard is a crossing we do not sell.
What it is not: a guide to Ios. The island belongs to your resort's concierge and your own wandering. Our job ends where the gangway does.
The run at a glance
Everything we publish about this crossing. The two numbers people want most — minutes and euros — are quoted per run, because on open water an invented figure is worth nothing.
| Detail | |
|---|---|
| Route | Santorini to Ios — about 20 nautical miles of open water — aimed at Calilo on the island’s quiet side. |
| The landing | Agreed when we quote. The resort's own beach in settled sea; the island's port when the swell says otherwise, with the short last leg by road. |
| The boat | Private, for your group only. Which of our boats runs it depends on the day's sea, and we tell you when we quote. |
| When it runs | Day and evening, on request. Evening crossings lean harder on the forecast, and we say so plainly. |
| Time at sea | Not published. Open water moves with the wind, and we would rather quote your date honestly than print a number that lies in July. |
| Price | Per boat, on request — one figure for the whole run, whether two of you cross or eight. |
| Luggage | Resort luggage is normal. Tell us what you travel with and we say honestly what fits on an open boat. |
| How to ask | The booking form or WhatsApp, with a date and a rough hour. We answer the same day. |
The return leg is the same conversation in reverse — tell us when you would like to come back, or book it later from Ios.
The crossing, honestly
Leaving Santorini's caldera means leaving its shelter. The stretch between the islands is real open sea: most days a straightforward run, some days lumpy, a few days each summer not worth anyone's morning.
So the plan carries a margin, and the forecast has the last word. If the evening before looks wrong, you hear it from us then — with the honest alternatives — rather than at the quay with your luggage stacked.
None of that is a warning against the crossing. It is why the crossing is quoted per date instead of sold off a shelf: the same run is not the same run in June and in a meltemi week of August.
Arriving at Calilo
Calilo sits above its own beach, away from Chora and the port, which is exactly why people book it — and exactly why arriving by boat suits it. When the sea allows a beach landing, you step more or less into your holiday.
When it does not, we land you at the island's port and you finish by road. We agree which plan applies before you board, not after, and we time the run so the resort knows when to expect you.
Travelling the other way — Calilo back to Santorini for a flight or a cruise ship — is the same service with a harder deadline, and we plan it backwards from the time you must be ashore, with the margin that deadline deserves.
How the booking goes
Same shape as every quote we give: you send the facts, we send one figure and a weather answer.
- You send the date, the hour and the groupThe booking form or WhatsApp, either works. Say if the hour is fixed by a flight, a ferry or a dinner — deadlines change how much margin we build in.
- We answer the same dayOne price for the boat, the landing plan for your date, and anything the forecast is already saying. No deposit is taken on this site.
- We watch the sea for youFrom the evening before, the forecast has the last word. If it turns, you hear from us early enough to re-plan the day around the ferry instead.
- You cross when you meant toYour boat, your group, your hour. The exact meeting point on Santorini is confirmed with your booking.
Both depend on your date, your group and the open sea between the islands, and a number invented for a web page helps nobody standing on a quay.
Send the date and the number of people to WhatsApp or call +30 698 977 1888, and we answer the same day. Your exact meeting point is confirmed with your booking.
Heading to Calilo?
A date, a rough hour and how many of you — one message is enough, and we will tell you honestly whether the boat or the ferry is the better bet for that day.
Call the harbour office+30 698 977 1888
Common questions
Is there a water taxi from Santorini to Ios?
Yes, as a private charter arranged in advance — there is no scheduled water-taxi service between Santorini and Ios and no ticket window. The run is about 20 nautical miles of open sea. You send a date, an hour and a group size; we quote the boat whole and answer the same day.
How long does the boat from Santorini to Ios take?
We do not publish a fixed time. It is an open-sea crossing and the wind moves it meaningfully from one week to the next. When we quote your date we tell you the sea time we actually expect for it, with the margin included.
Can the boat land at Calilo itself?
When the sea allows, we aim for the resort's own beach; when the swell says otherwise, we land at the island's port and you finish the short last leg by road. Which plan applies is agreed with your quote, before you board.
How much does the crossing cost?
It is priced per boat, on request — one figure for the whole run, whether two of you cross or eight. Send the date and the group and the number comes back the same day, with no deposit taken on this site.
Can we cross in the evening?
Day and evening crossings to Ios both run on request. An evening run leans harder on the forecast than a daytime one, so we confirm or re-plan it with you the evening before rather than leaving the decision to the morning of the crossing.
Should we just take the ferry instead?
Sometimes, and we will say so. Scheduled ferries link the islands in season and suit flexible plans and backpacks. The private boat earns its keep when the hour is yours, the group is yours, and the landing is aimed at the resort rather than the port.
Santorini Boat Tour - Water Taxi is a catamaran cruise and water taxi operator based in Fira, Santorini.
Updated August 2026