Spiridakos Sailing Cruises: 5-Hour Catamaran With BBQ and Drinks

Included at Every Tier

Every booking gets the catamaran trip, an English-speaking hosted tour, snorkeling equipment, towels, life jackets, swimming aids and restrooms on board. The Classic, Premium and Luxury options also include hotel pickup and drop-off by luxury air-conditioned minibus. The food base is a freshly prepared deck BBQ of chicken fillet, pasta with tomato sauce, Greek salad and vine leaf rolls, with white wine and soft drinks.

A vegetarian option is available on request.

• Catamaran trip with English-speaking host
• Three swim and snorkel stops, snorkeling equipment, towels, life jackets and swimming aids
• BBQ: chicken fillet, pasta with tomato sauce, Greek salad, vine leaf rolls
• White wine and soft drinks
• Restrooms on board
• Hotel transfers on Classic, Premium and Luxury only

Only on the Higher Options

Shrimp, beef sausage and beer are served only on the Premium and Luxury options. Cocktails come only on the Luxury options. If beer or cocktails matter to your day, price the upgrade rather than assuming the base fare includes them.

The Joy Cruise with BBQ and Drinks is the odd one out on transfers: it excludes hotel pickup and drop-off, and you get the meeting point details after booking and must arrive 30 minutes before the cruise starts.

The Honest Note on Tiers

The $85 figure is a starting price and the photos of shrimp and cocktails belong to the top tiers. Guests on the base menu get the same route, boat and swim stops but a simpler menu and no beer. If an open bar matters, compare this boat with the Sunset Oia Ocean Voyager cruise, which includes unlimited white wine, soft drinks and beer from $67, or with the Spiridakos Luxury Small Group cruise, which includes two cocktails each and an open bar for up to 20 guests.

Catalog prices on this page come from GetYourGuide.

Pickup and Boarding

On the options with transfers, a luxury air-conditioned minibus collects you from your hotel or nearby at least 1 hour before the cruise. The Joy option meets instead at the Google Maps location next to the ATM at Vlychada about 30 minutes before the start. Cruise-ship guests are dropped by tender at the Old Port of Fira, where the operator cannot pick up because there is no road access, so take the cable car up to the Fira office at least one hour before the cruise and tell the operator your first and last tender times.

South Coast and the First Swims

The boat departs Vlychada Port and sets sail towards the Red and White Beaches on the island's southern shore, where you can see the volcanic formations from the water. Red Beach has been closed to land access for years because of rockfall danger, so boats are the only way to see it. A swim stop at Mesa Pigadia Beach follows, described in the listing as having black pebbles and caves.

The crew serves the meal at the best of the three swimming and snorkeling stops.

Into the Caldera, the Hot Springs and the Volcano

The cruise continues into the caldera, passing the Indian Rocks and the Venetian Lighthouse of Akrotiri. Next comes the stop at the hot springs, where you can soak in the sulfuric water. The springs sit off Palea Kameni and you swim roughly 50 meters across open water from the boat to reach them.

Sulfur can stain light swimsuits, so wear a dark one. The boat then gets as close as possible to the volcano, a lava dome on Nea Kameni of about 2 km across, while the host explains its history. You do not land on the volcano on this cruise.

Sunset and the Return

On the Luxury Sunset Cruise the day is timed to the setting sun over the Aegean and the boat ends at Ammoudi, below Oia. Sunset moves from 17:05 in late December to 20:40 at the summer solstice, so operators shift departure times through the season. The Luxury Morning Cruise runs the route in reverse, leaving Ammoudi and ending at Vlychada.

The listing asks you to bring a windbreaker.

Access and Age Limits

The listing states the cruise is not suitable for wheelchair users, so look at a land-based option instead. Children under 12 must be accompanied and alcoholic drinks are refused to guests under 18. No fitness level is stated, but you reach the hot springs by swimming about 50 meters across open water.

Shoes are not allowed on board, and pets, oversize luggage and unaccompanied minors are also not allowed.

• Not suitable for wheelchair users
• Children under 12 accompanied, no alcohol under 18
• No shoes, pets, oversize luggage or unaccompanied minors

Weather, Wind and Cruise-ship Timing

The listing states no weather policy, so treat the itinerary as a plan rather than a promise. The cable car from the Old Port stops on very windy days, which matters if you arrive by cruise ship. Cruise guests must reach the Fira office at least one hour before the cruise and give the operator their first and last tender times.

If your ship's hours look tight, a morning trip is safer than a sunset one.

Who Should Book Something Else

If you want a guaranteed small group, this listing does not state its group size, so consider the Santorini Star Catamaran cruise, capped at 18 passengers with an open bar and Prosecco, or the Spiridakos Luxury Small Group cruise capped at 20 with cocktails included. If you want the cheapest beer-included fare, the Sunset Oia Ocean Voyager cruise is $67 with unlimited beer. More boats are listed on the homepage for catamaran cruises in Santorini.

Reaching the Boat

On the Classic, Premium and Luxury options the air-conditioned minibus picks you up at your hotel or nearby at least 1 hour before departure, which removes all guesswork. The Joy option is different: you get the meeting point after booking and must be at the Google Maps location next to the ATM at Vlychada Port 30 minutes before the start. Vlychada is a working fishing harbor on the island's low southern shore, about 10 km from Fira and 6 to 7 km from the airport.

Morning cruises on the Luxury option leave from Ammoudi Bay below Oia, which means 300 steps down from the town. Cruise-ship passengers should read the cable car note in the day section before booking.

Add a Volcano Walk or a Second Stop

This cruise sails past the volcano but does not land on it. If you want the crater, book a separate volcano tour to Nea Kameni, where a gravel path leads to the rim and a full circuit is possible. The landing carries a 5 euro fee.

For beach time on your own, water taxis run from Akrotiri harbor to White Beach in 10 to 15 minutes for about €5 to €8 one way, since the beach has no road.

Before and After the Cruise

Read the guides to Vlychada Marina if you are joining at the port itself, and to Ammoudi Bay if your morning departure or sunset return is there. Both explain access, parking and what to expect at the water's edge. For the geology you will sail past, the page on the Santorini volcano covers the eruptions behind the caldera cliffs.