Fira (Santorini)

Given that we assume you know that visiting Santorini by boat requires a considerable amount of patience, spirit of endurance (because of the tourists popping up everywhere) and adaptability (because of the often “fancy” moorings to which you are forced), we feel we can recommend even a quick visit to the town of Fira, the island’s capital (also often called by the same name, Santorini).

One viable option is definitely to moor at the marina in Vlichada, rent a car and visit the town as part of a complete tour of the island; the other option, more complicated but in a way also more fascinating, is to get there directly by boat, to Fira, and try to look for space along the quay that constitutes the town’s “ports” (which actually has a real port of call, but is exclusively dedicated to passenger ferries).

As mentioned, arm yourself with patience: Fira is in a spectacular location, overlooking the sea and the flooded caldera; it is a kind of splendid balcony from which to admire the natural spectacle that is Santorini in this area, with the volcanoes, the newly emerged islands, and the dark overhanging cliffs dotted with very white houses. In front of Fira the traffic is considerable, the large cruise ships, moreover, often stop at anchor just ahead, making it a bit more complicated and crowded.

In fact, the second element to contend with is the crowds: the tourists in Santorini are simply…too many, throughout the warm season. If you want to have any chance of finding a place and being able to enjoy visiting Fira, choose spring or from September onward. And if you can find a place, don’t miss the spectacle the town offers, starting with the mule ride up the long flight of steps from the sea to the town above.

Fira, almost completely destroyed by the 1956 earthquake, has been rebuilt almost the same as the original; you will find white houses, blue-domed churches, Cycladic architecture. You will find tourists everywhere, confusion and noise, but nevertheless it is worth a visit. In town you will find the archaeological and prehistoric museums, with interesting finds from the Akrotiri excavations. Also worth visiting, if you have time, is ancient Thira (Fira), an archaeological site of extraordinary beauty, with beautifully preserved mosaics and graffiti, located 400 meters above sea level on Mesa Vouno, a short distance from Fira (and The views from here, are spectacular).

All this of course-if you can find room in Fira! Getting there is no problem; navigating around the crater and the newly emerged islands is very fascinating; beware of traffic, however, which intensifies near the town, in front of which it turns into a bustling downtown bustle at rush hour. It should also be noted that the shelter offered is not great: one is sheltered from winds from the north and northeast, while suffering with winds from all other quadrants. Some current is to be considered always present. Add to this the considerable swell generated by ferries and ships always in transit.

The “ports” of Fira actually consist only of a quay, carved into the reef. The part sheltered by a breakwater is reserved for tourist boats. Visiting pleasure boats moor on the right-hand side; one could moor directly to the quay (stern), but the seabed is very deep and it is often not possible to bottom the bow anchor, so the most practiced solution is to secure the bow to one of the buoys present and pull the stern mooring lines into the quay. The downside is that if a boat wants to leave before you do, because there are few buoys and you all moor at the same ones, you have to haul out, let it out, and re-buoy.
There is only water at the dock. Very good depths near the dock (about 5 meters).