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I have taken about every type of shore excursion while on a cruise that ranged from a bus tour with 40-50 uncommon travelers (not my ideal way to see the worlds sites) to private car and driver where one can pick its pace and sightseeing based on true personal interests… While that is my preferred way to see the sights of the World, it is very expensive and can run up to 1500 Euro a day in some parts of Europe!

I was hosting a group on an 8-day Greek Isles and Turkey Cruise from Venice this past July and decided to invite my group to take a special cruise on a chartered catamaran and sail around the ancient volcanic Greek island of Santorini…

I was able to negotiate a charter of Captain Ted’s largest boat as seen in the picture above, the Dream Catcher… She is a state -of-the-art luxury catamaran that offers a smooth and delicious sailing experience around this marvelous gem of an island.

Knowing that there would be 5 large ships anchored in Santorini, I knew the crowds would be immense on this postage stamp sized town of Fira and the lines of cruise passengers taking the tram from the tender port to the top could take hours-all of this in famous Summer 90 degree heat!!!

We were whisked off the ship in the first tender ashore (30 of us) where we beat the massive lines to take the tram to the old town of Fira. Once there, we were met by Aristotle who took us to our mini-vans for a hair-raising ride to the port where Dream Catcher awaited us… She did not disappoint!

Our excursion started at 2:30pm and ended at 9:00pm… It was the most amazing way to see this island that was destroyed many millenia ago by one of the strongest volcanic explosions in recorded history, destroyed the ancient Minoan civilization that lived there, created a tsunami that destroyed much of North Africa, Greece, and neighboring countries, and even shook the first great step-pyramid of Zozer outside of Cairo forcing it to partly collapse-now that must have been horrific… Anyway, we boarded our luxury boat where we were invited to sit on the nets, swim in the wine blue color of the Aegean Sea, and enjoyed a sumptuous Greek meal filled with fresh seafood prepared by Captain Ted’s amazing crew who also kept the drinks coming…

We swam inside the sulfur springs of the active caldera which apparently have a healing effect on those with arthritis and joint stiffness and in many bays in coves. The water was refreshing and the scenery was remarkable with the towering cliffs of this island towering around us at all times… It was impressive, exciting, invigorating, and I think every one who joined in, had one of the best shore excursion days-ever! I sure did…

At the end of the day, my group was pretty sad to have to leave as the time passed so quickly but the ride back to Fira at sunset was remarkable… I normally don’t gush about excursions but this was TOPS.. I even reviewed it on Trip Advisor!!!

Check out: www.SantoriniSailing.com

When you next visit Santorini, this is the one excursion NOT TO MISS!!!

Happy Travels…

 

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