Santorini Sends Cruise Tours to Athinios After Wall Collapse
Tour groups will tender to Athinios and board buses there, about two point two miles south of the old Fira port and a twenty- to twenty-five-minute drive from Fira.
Updated September 15, 2026
Santorini reopened the Karavolades Stairs on August 3, 2026, restoring the route between the old port and Fira after damage from a collapsed private wall was addressed. Mayor of Thira Anastasios Nikolaos Zorzos lifted the access restrictions after authorities determined that the danger to pedestrians had ended.
The wall collapsed on July 27, closing the 558-step route to foot and donkey traffic. That temporarily left the cable car as the only direct connection between the old port and Fira, which sits about 250 meters above sea level. No road connects the old port to the town.
Temporary Athinios arrangement ends
During the closure, organized shore-excursion passengers tendered to Athinios, Santorini's main ferry port, and boarded tour buses there. George Nomikos, president of the Municipal Port Fund of Thira, directed the temporary move after Zorzos ordered the Karavolades route closed.
Athinios is approximately seven miles from the Port of Fira. The drive takes around 25 minutes, and public buses and taxis serve the ferry port. Its facilities include waiting areas, ticket offices, toilets, ATMs, parking and nearby food outlets.
With the stairs open again, passengers arriving at the old port can reach Fira by the stepped path or the cable car. The cable car carries about 600 passengers per hour in each direction.
The reopening also restores the Municipal Port Fund's limit of no more than 30 percent of cruise passengers disembarking at Athinios. That rule, adopted in June to keep roads clear for potential emergencies, was suspended while shore excursions were temporarily based at Athinios.
August cruise calls continued
No cruise port calls were publicly reported canceled because of the closure. When the stairs reopened, 60 ship calls remained scheduled for the rest of August 2026, including vessels from MSC Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line, Celebrity Cruises and Princess Cruises.
Santorini recorded about 1.20 million cruise passengers on 728 calls in 2025, down from about 1.35 million passengers on 750 calls in 2024. The island caps cruise arrivals at 8,000 passengers a day. Peak-day volumes in 2023 and 2024 had reached 11,000 to 17,000 passengers.
Ships calling at Santorini usually anchor offshore and bring passengers ashore by tender. Fira's old port remains the principal arrival point under the restored allocation.
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