Santorini, the volcanic Greek island that launched a thousand sundown selfies, and get together isle Mykonos are standard for good cause. Luxurious accommodations carved into precipitous cliffs peer out over Santorini’s sunken caldera, and slender alleys wind between blue-shuttered, whitewashed homes in Mykonos. However if you happen to’re planning to go to Greece’s most well-known islands by cruise ship, be ready to shell out some further money.
In December 2024, the Greek parliament handed a invoice approving a peak summer season season levy on cruise passengers, in an effort to handle a surge in customer numbers and improve native infrastructure. The payment will probably be 20 euros (about US$21 primarily based on present conversion charges).
How a lot does the cruise passenger payment price?
Through the islands’ peak season, which runs from June to September, disembarking cruise passengers might want to pay the 20-euro payment. In April, Could, and October, the levy will drop to 12 euros; then from November to March, it can lower to 4 euros. A seasonal payment may also be utilized for all different island ports at a fee of 5 euros, 3 euros, and 1 euro, respectively.
When will the payment be carried out and the way will it work?
A joint ministerial determination on precisely when the payment will probably be carried out, who will probably be answerable for accumulating it, and the way it will likely be paid is anticipated within the coming months. The identical invoice additionally features a provision for vacationers staying in a lodge or short-term rental lodging: They’ll pay a per-night local weather resilience tax.
Why is Greece charging cruise passengers to go to the islands?
On July 23, 2024, a Santorini metropolis councillor precipitated a neighborhood uproar when he introduced on social media that 17,000 cruise passengers had been scheduled to go to the island that day and suggested inhabitants to “try to reduce their actions”. The publish was swiftly taken down however residents had been outraged on the suggestion.
Santorini, a mere 29 sq. miles in measurement, is residence to round 25,000 everlasting inhabitants, in line with the town council. Within the peak of summer season, 1000’s of holiday makers cram slender cobblestone streets, lining up for hours within the warmth to seize the island’s famed sundown over the caldera. Photographs illustrating the truth versus rigorously edited Instagram selfies have considerably besmirched Santorini’s romantic repute of late.
“Greece doesn’t have a structural overtourism downside. . . . A few of its locations have a major difficulty throughout sure weeks or months of the 12 months, which we have to take care of,” mentioned Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis when he introduced the cruise passenger levy in September 2024.
The PM mentioned revenues from the payment would go towards enhancing infrastructure, together with the constructing of a long-discussed second port in Santorini, in Monolithos village on the island’s jap coast. Cruise ships presently moor within the caldera, and passengers are ferried by tender to Fira’s small previous port, the place a cable automotive whisks them as much as the caldera-side capital Fira. Throughout peak season, nonetheless, the queues will be lengthy. As of April, an e-ticketing system will probably be launched for the cable automotive to manage customer move with timed entry. Discussions are additionally being held on the set up of a second cable automotive and the creation of a marina.
Following Mitsotakis’s announcement, CLIA (Cruise Strains Worldwide Affiliation) responded, saying any “enhance within the present port payment” needs to be utilized to all guests and benchmarked in opposition to different Mediterranean port charges to make sure Greek ports stay enticing and aggressive.
In keeping with the Santorini municipality press workplace, a 2018 College of the Aegean examine concluded Santorini may maintain as much as 8,000 cruise passengers per day. The island hosts a mean 7,000 to eight,000 now, however this determine can attain 15,000, in line with the municipality. Santorini Mayor Nikos Zorzos mentioned that, along with the brand new payment, he would reinstate a berth allocation system in 2025 to handle passenger flows and guarantee this determine wasn’t exceeded. Cruise traces might want to apply two years upfront for a berth (a mooring spot within the caldera) on the date they wish to name at Santorini. If it seems that cruise passenger numbers will exceed 8,000, the system mechanically allocates a special date. Cruise operators are suggested 18 months forward of crusing. Zorzos mentioned that native authorities ought to decide the payment and obtain the income in full so as to decide its allocation. “These funds are required to enhance infrastructure and for day-to-day operations on the island,” he instructed Greek state broadcaster ERT.
Are cruises responsible for overcrowding in Santorini?
Santorini has been a extremely fascinating port of name for cruise passengers for many years. In 2023, about 800 cruise ships introduced 1.3 million guests to the island, up from 592 vessels and 980,771 passengers in 2019, in line with Zorzos. And 2025 is predicted to interrupt a brand new file, with 1.5 million passenger arrivals.
Some locals imagine that Santorini has develop into a sufferer of its personal success. Store proprietor Maria Psychogiou, who sells Greek-made home goods at her retailer Sivaris within the tourist-magnet city of Oia on the island’s northwestern tip, retreats indoors when the solar begins to go down. Situated simply steps from the celebrated sundown spot, she mentioned that, for a lot of cruise passengers, Santorini represented “merely a blue church dome and a flying costume.”
“They don’t care to study in regards to the island’s historical past or tradition, or go to historical Akrotiri, or get to know the native folks. They like to go to the Pink Seashore,” she mentioned.
Hotelier Dimosthenis Leontis, who owns Amaze Suites within the quieter caldera-side village of Imerovigli simply north of Fira, expressed related frustration.
“Santorini is a prime vacation spot however it’s going by means of a disaster that must be handled,” he mentioned. “When 4 or 5 cruise ships arrive daily carrying 5 to 10,000 folks . . . it’s catastrophic for me as a hotelier.” Leontis mentioned buses transferring cruise passengers to Oia and Fira trigger extreme bottlenecks, whereas the plenty of individuals hinder views, create noise air pollution, and depart behind an unlimited quantity of litter.
Orlando-based luxurious journey advisor and cruise knowledgeable Nick Pena mentioned he has witnessed a gentle enhance in curiosity in Santorini amongst his purchasers, notably postpandemic.
He mentioned he didn’t count on the cruise passenger levy to dissuade cruise passengers from disembarking in Santorini, “an aspirational, bucket-list journey vacation spot” typically reserved for celebrating particular events. “There’s not a single one who pays the 1000’s of {dollars} it prices to go there who’s going to say, ‘ what, possibly I’m going to go within the shoulder season as a result of I’m going to avoid wasting the 20-euro levy’,” Pena mentioned.
He added that he hoped payment income could be invested in higher safety, a port the place ships may dock, and a well-organized staging space the place cruise passengers may simply find native operators with whom that they had booked personal guided excursions.
I’m planning to journey to Santorini throughout the subsequent couple of years. Ought to I nonetheless go?
Lately, Greece’s tourism ministry has sought to encourage journey to the islands past summer season. Santorini attracts nearly all of its guests from March to October; nonetheless, numbers are fewer in early spring and late fall.
Kristin Rattini, of Missouri, visited with household in early June, staying at a lodge within the seaside city of Kamari on the southeastern coast, away from the caldera. “Oia was extraordinarily crowded at sundown with all of the cruise ship passengers,” she mentioned. “We appreciated the pleasant, laid-back vibe in Kamari.”
Marielle Michalopoulos, of North Carolina, visited in late September with cruise line Explora Journeys. She mentioned the island was “busy however not overwhelming,” although she returned to the ship within the early night earlier than crowds began to assemble. Michalopoulos opted for a cooking class throughout her time on the island, the place she “felt like part of the household. They had been extraordinarily congenial and welcoming.”
Jodi Mekyten, of Atlanta, Georgia, mentioned she was wanting ahead to experiencing Santorini on a visit with Norwegian Cruise Line, together with her husband and two teenage youngsters, in late July subsequent 12 months. She mentioned she expects it to be busy however that vacationer crowds have by no means involved her. “It’s crowded for causes that we’re going then as a result of that’s when your children are out of faculty and that’s when folks can journey,” she mentioned. Mekyten added that, whereas the payment wouldn’t discourage her from visiting, different households confronted with paying 80 euros for 4 folks may wait and go to one other island that doesn’t cost as a lot as an alternative.
Though November is cooler and rain is a risk, it’s a good month for these inquisitive about experiencing a slow-paced Santorini. A handful of traces together with Silversea and Viking have lately prolonged their Mediterranean season and are scheduled to name on the island in November 2025.
For many who choose lesser-visited locations, small ship operators Sea Cloud Cruises, Atlas Ocean Voyages, and Greek-owned Selection Cruises enterprise to islands like Karpathos, Ithaki, and Syros between spring and early fall.
