Santorini Bus Independent transit guide
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Planning guide

Cruise day by bus: from the Fira hub and back on time

The Port Fund says cruise ships anchor in the caldera and are served from the bay of Fira and from Athinios [Source]; every KTEL corridor starts from the bus station up in Fira town [Source]. A cruise day by bus is therefore: get up to Fira, pick one spoke, and be back at the top of the cable car with time to spare.

Open the official timetable

The short answer

Fira ↔ Oia: Published departures — From Fira: 11; Back to Fira: 11. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. Fira ↔ Firostefani / Imerovigli: Published departures — From Fira: 6; Back to Fira: 6. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. [Source, Source]. Fira ↔ Kamari: Published departures — From Fira: 10; Back to Fira: 10. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. Fira ↔ Akrotiri: Published departures — From Fira: 8; Back to Fira: 8. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. [Source]. Work backwards from your all-aboard time: the bus back (last buses in the table below), then the queue for the cable car down.

First and last published departures — KTEL PDF · Timetable edition
CorridorDirectionFirstLast
Fira ↔ Oia From Fira
Fira ↔ Oia Back to Fira
Fira ↔ Firostefani / Imerovigli From Fira
Fira ↔ Firostefani / Imerovigli Back to Fira
Fira ↔ Kamari From Fira
Fira ↔ Kamari Back to Fira
Fira ↔ Akrotiri From Fira
Fira ↔ Akrotiri Back to Fira

Step by step

From the tender to the bus

From Fira's old port the Port Fund lists three ways up: the cable car, the 587 steps or a donkey; it also says visitors there are taken by buses and mini vans [Source]. KTEL publishes no corridor from the old port; its bus station is in Fira town [Source].

The Port Fund's cable-car price list: €6 one way, €3 reduced for children and people with special needs, €3 for luggage, and a three-minute ride up to Fira at 220 m [Source]. Most boat trips to the volcano and the caldera also leave from the bay of Fira [Source], so a cruise passenger who wants the water rather than the island does not need the bus at all.

If your ship docks at Athinios instead

The Municipal Port Fund lists Athinios as 8 km from Fira and 7 km from the airport, operating 24 hours, with public transport and taxis among its facilities [Source]. KTEL publishes a Fira – Athinios fare of €2.70 and prints a 20-minute journey time, but no port departure table [Source, Source]. Read the port guide before relying on a bus from Athinios.

Oia on a port call

Fira ↔ Oia: Published departures — From Fira: 11; Back to Fira: 11. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. [Source, Source]. Choose the return departure from Oia first, then let it set how long you stay. Midday returns are less crowded than the evening ones, which is the sunset guide's problem, not yours.

A shorter spoke

Firostefani and Imerovigli are a few minutes up the rim and have their own corridor with a five-minute return offset printed as separate departures [Source]. The caldera path also links them to Fira on foot [Source], so one leg can be walked if the bus times do not suit.

The beaches

Fira ↔ Kamari: Published departures — From Fira: 10; Back to Fira: 10. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. [Source, Source]. Fira ↔ Akrotiri: Published departures — From Fira: 8; Back to Fira: 8. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. [Source].

What goes wrong

The cable car queue, not the bus, is what makes cruise passengers late. Every bus back into Fira arrives at the same station, and everyone then walks to the same cable car. Take a return departure one slot earlier than your arithmetic says and keep the steps as the fallback; the reviewed Fira page notes that many people walk down and ride up, so the downward queue is the shorter one [Source].

Not reachable by bus

  • The old port itself: no KTEL corridor; the bus station is in Fira town [Source].
  • Ammoudi Bay below Oia: no fare stage; nearest stage Oia [Source].

Routes in this guide

Places: Fira · Oia · Imerovigli · Kamari · Akrotiri

Quick answers

Is there a bus from the cruise port?

Not a KTEL one: the old port has no KTEL corridor, and KTEL buses leave from the Fira bus station in town [Source]. The Port Fund says visitors at the old port go up by cable car, the 587 steps or donkey, or are taken by buses and mini vans [Source].

How much is the Fira cable car?

€6 one way, €3 reduced for children and people with special needs, and €3 for luggage on the Port Fund's price list [Source].

How much is the bus to Oia from Fira?

€2.20 ordinary each way [Source].

Does the bus go to Athinios port?

KTEL publishes a €2.70 fare and a 20-minute journey time to Athinios but no departure column [Source, Source].

Carry the timetable

Every corridor offline in the Santorini Bus app

The published KTEL corridors and fares, stored on your phone for the moment the last bus matters and the signal does not.

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Sources