Planning guide
Getting back: the last bus, Sundays and what to do when you miss it
Getting somewhere on Santorini by bus is the easy half. Every corridor leaves from the Fira bus station, so the outward bus is rarely the problem. The return is: a beach whose last bus leaves early in the afternoon, a sunset that ends just as several hundred people walk to one stop, a late ferry that no bus is published to meet. This page is about the half that goes wrong.
The short answer
Plan the return before the outward bus. KTEL prints one departure list per direction for each corridor, and the return column is the one to read, because the last bus back differs from corridor to corridor [Source]. The table below shows the first and last published departure in each direction from the current KTEL PDF (1 November 2026) [Source]. KTEL's older web table disagrees with the PDF on several corridors [Source], so read the board at the station on the day and treat the departure before the last one as the one you are actually aiming for.
Step by step
Read the return column first
The KTEL PDF prints two columns per corridor: departures from Fira and departures back towards Fira [Source]. Fira ↔ Oia: Published departures — From Fira: 11; Back to Fira: 11. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. 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. Fira ↔ Vlychada: Published departures — From Fira: 3; Back to Fira: 3. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. Fira ↔ Firostefani / Imerovigli: Published departures — From Fira: 6; Back to Fira: 6. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. [Source]. Decide which bus back you want, then work out how long that leaves you at the far end, rather than the other way round.
Two editions, two last buses
The printable KTEL PDF is dated 1 November 2026 [Source]. The web timetable is dated 18 May 2026 and lists different departures on several routes [Source]. Use the newer PDF and check the station notice before travelling.
Sundays and public holidays
KTEL publishes no day types. The PDF prints a single list per direction, with no weekday, Saturday, Sunday or holiday variants and no validity dates, and the web table does the same [Source, Source]. That does not mean every bus runs every day; it means no source this site uses says which do not. Before travelling on a Sunday or a Greek public holiday, ask at the Fira bus station or call KTEL on +30 22860 25404, the number the Port Fund lists for the bus line [Source]. Some departures in the PDF carry the marks "ΣΧ" with no legend; this site prints them as published and does not interpret them [Source].
The Oia sunset bus
The reviewed Oia page warns that the queue back to Fira is longest just after the sun drops [Source]. Fira ↔ Oia: Published departures — From Fira: 11; Back to Fira: 11. Timetable edition: 1 November 2026. [Source], so the people at the back of the queue may watch two buses fill. Walk to the stop before sunset if a particular bus matters, or watch from Firostefani or Imerovigli, which share a corridor with an earlier last bus but connect to Fira on foot along the paved caldera path [Source]. The Oia sunset guide, linked below, has the detail.
Returning to the airport or the port
The airport return column ends in the evening [Source]. From anywhere other than Fira it is still two buses, and the second leg's last departure is the one that matters. Athinios port is the opposite case: KTEL publishes a Fira–Athinios journey time of 20 minutes but no port departure table at all, in either direction [Source]. For a late ferry, the Athinios port bus guide, linked below, sets out the choices before you sail.
If you miss the last bus
KTEL publishes nothing after the last departure in its column [Source]. The municipality says taxis are limited in number, waits can be long in peak season and taxis do not use meters, so agree the price before you get in [Source]. The Port Fund lists a taxi number, +30 22860 22555 [Source]; in Oia the taxi rank is by the bus stop [Source]. No source this site uses publishes taxi fares, so none are quoted. Along the caldera rim, the paved path between Fira, Firostefani and Imerovigli is the one walk that replaces a missed bus [Source].
What goes wrong
The trap is a last bus remembered from somewhere else: a hotel sheet printed from the May web table, a blog from an earlier summer, a friend's photograph of the station board. KTEL's two online editions already disagree on several corridors [Source, Source], and neither carries a validity date or a day type. Read the current board at the Fira station on the day, and if your evening depends on one bus, aim for the one before it.
Not reachable by bus
- Athinios port has no published departure table in either direction, so no bus is promised to meet a ferry, least of all a late one [Source]. The Port Fund lists taxis at the port and a passenger waiting area with WC and an ATM [Source].
- Ammoudi Bay below Oia has no published fare stage; the reviewed Oia page describes it as roughly 200 steps below the village, so allow time to climb back before the bus you want [Source].
Routes in this guide
Places: Oia · Kamari · Perissa · Akrotiri · Vlychada · Monolithos · Imerovigli · Firostefani
Quick answers
When is the last bus back to Fira?
Do Santorini buses run on Sundays and public holidays?
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.
Sources
- KTEL Thiras / Santorini Public Buses — Printable timetable PDF (last update 01/11/2026) , source-dated , read
- KTEL Thiras / Santorini Public Buses — Interactive routes table, summer programme (last update 18/05/2026) , source-dated , read
- Municipal Port Fund of Thira — Athinios port information (facilities and useful phone numbers) , read
- Municipality of Thira (santorini.gr) — How to get here: getting around the island , read
- Santorini Bus editorial corpus (this repository) — Reviewed destination and guide copy, content checked 25 July 2026 , read