Eastern Caribbean
RecommendedShore excursionCelebrity Cruises
Oia, Fira and Royal Beach Club Santorini
- Duration
- 9½ hours
- Price
- band 4 of 4
- Back to ship
- Cruise line guarantee
- Last taken
- July 2026
Booked through Celebrity Cruises's planner once you're on the sailing.
About this tour
Celebrity's Ultimate Santorini Day puts the island's two famous villages and Royal Beach Club Santorini into one full day. Most tenders land at the Old Port below Fira, but this excursion goes to Athinios, Santorini's main ferry port, so there's no cable car queue and no climb up the steps.
The excursion runs in three different orders, set by the departure time you choose when you book. Ours went to Oia first, then Fira, and finished at the beach club. Oia is the village of blue domes and whitewashed lanes. Fira is busier and more commercial, with shops, cafés and the best view of your ship.
Royal Beach Club Santorini is Royal Caribbean's first beach club in Europe, on the black volcanic beach at Vlychada on the island's quieter south coast. The Greek buffet, draft beer, house wine, soft drinks, loungers and towels are included. There's no pool.
It's a lot of money, but it covered the whole day. For us, it was worth it.
The day
Our meeting time was 7:30, in the ship's theatre. Groups are called one at a time and file down to the tender together, which is the slow part of the morning. The tender lands at Athinios, the ferry port at the foot of the cliffs, and the coach is parked at the harbour, so within minutes we were climbing the switchbacks while our guide, who grew up on the island, talked us through the drive.
Oia came first. The guide walked the group in from the coach, and we had time to find the blue domes, wander the lanes and get out of the sun for baklava and ice cream. Then it was back on the coach to Fira, the capital, for a drink in the square, a look at the cathedral and the view down to Xcel in the caldera.
The afternoon was all Royal Beach Club, on the south coast at Vlychada: lunch, drinks, a lounger and the sea for about three hours while a Greek band played. The coach then took everyone back to Athinios for the tender, and we were on board again by about 6pm.
The day, stop by stop
The coach stops about ten minutes' walk from the centre. We were one of the first groups in, but the famous blue-dome viewpoints already had short queues.
Busier and more commercial, with jewellery shops, cafés and the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral facing the caldera. We ran out of time to walk out to the Three Bells.
About three hours on the black beach at Vlychada, with a Greek buffet, live music and loungers for everyone.
Before you book
What we thought of the tour
What it covers, what it doesn't, and whether we'd book it again.
We booked it for the beach club, and finishing there was the right call: sightseeing in the heat first, then somewhere to stop walking. The Greek food was the best we've had at any Royal Beach Club. We missed a pool, the rocky beach needs water shoes and the umbrellas didn't keep up with the afternoon sun. It isn't cheap, but for a first visit to Santorini we'd book it again.
Book it if
it's your first time in Santorini and you want Oia, Fira and a beach afternoon without arranging a single transfer.
Skip it if
you need a pool to cool off, or hours of steps and uneven lanes in the summer heat would be too much.
Included
- Tender from the ship to Athinios and back
- Air-conditioned coach between Athinios, Oia, Fira and the beach club
- A local guide on the coach
- About three hours at Royal Beach Club Santorini
- Hot and cold Greek buffet, snacks and frozen Greek yoghurt
- Draft beer, house wine, canned soft drinks and regular coffee
- Cold towel and welcome drink on arrival
- Loungers, umbrellas, towels, showers, changing cabanas and Wi-Fi
Not included
- Cocktails, speciality coffee, bottled water, bottled beer and some wines, paid by credit card rather than SeaPass
- Drinks packages, which don't carry over to the club
- Food and drinks in Oia and Fira
- Activity level
- Moderate
- What to bring
- Your SeaPass card and photo ID, comfortable shoes for the lanes, swimwear, water shoes for the rocky beach, a hat, sun cream and a credit card for extra drinks.
- Cancellation
- Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the ship reaches Santorini.
Location
Find the meeting point
Featured in
Where you'll see it on screen
Yassas from Greece! 🇬🇷
Keep watching
Sail the next series with us.
Every voyage becomes a series, with episodes, ports, stays and stories. Subscribe to catch the next departure.