Home Best Of Santorini Private Tours with Expert Guides, Wineries & Caldera Sunset

Santorini Private Tours with Expert Guides, Wineries & Caldera Sunset

Private Tours in Santorini - Beyond the Postcard

Everyone arrives in Santorini with the same photograph in mind. The blue dome. The white walls. The caldera at sunset. What they don't expect is how much exists beyond that image, and how different the island feels when you're not moving through it in a group of forty strangers.
Our private tours in Santorini cover everything the island has to offer, from the prehistoric ruins of Akrotiri and the ancient vineyards of the caldera rim to the volcano itself and the beaches most visitors drive past without stopping. Dionysia accompanies guests personally on every tour, working alongside guide Panos for the hiking routes, guide Maria for Akrotiri, and driver Loucas, who knows every road and a few that aren't on any map.
Pickup from your hotel, the cruise tender port, or Santorini airport. The itinerary is built around you.

What Sets Our Private Santorini Tours Apart?

Our private tours in Santorini have been running for 17 years. Here is what sets them apart from every other option on the island:

100% private, your group only, never combined with other passengers
Dionysia accompanies you personally, ensuring every detail of your day is handled
Licensed guides Maria and Panos, specialists in Akrotiri archaeology and caldera hiking
Driver Loucas, 17 years on Santorini roads with local knowledge no GPS carries
Wineries Gavala, Argyros, and Venetsianos, chosen for quality not tourist footfall
A catamaran sunset cruise with dinner and drinks inside the caldera
Pickup from hotel, tender port, or airport
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour for a full refund

Explore Our Private Santorini Tours

What's Included

Private licensed guide focused entirely on your group
Private air-conditioned vehicle with door-to-door pickup and drop-off
Fully personalised itinerary based on your interests and available time
Oia, Fira, Imerovigli, and the caldera villages at your pace
Akrotiri archaeological site with expert commentary from guide Maria
Winery visits at Gavala, Argyros, or Venetsianos on request
Red Beach, Black Beach, and Vlychada beach on request
Volcano and hot springs excursion available
Catamaran sunset cruise with dinner and drinks option
Pickup from hotel, cruise tender port (old port Fira), or airport

How Long Is a Private Tour in Santorini?

Our private Santorini tours run from 3 hours to a full day of 8 hours or more. A 3-hour private tour covers Oia and Fira comfortably. A half-day adds Akrotiri or a winery. A full day brings in the volcano, the south coast beaches, lunch at Kipos in Fira, and the catamaran at sunset on the caldera.
Cruise passengers or hotel guests?
We build shore excursions in Santorini around your tender schedule and guarantee your return to the port before departure. For guests staying on the island, multi-day itineraries cover every corner at genuine depth.

What to See on a Private Santorini Tour?

Our private tours in Santorini go further than the postcard version. For everything beyond the iconic views, the full guide to things to do in Santorini is a good starting point. For local expertise on the ground, our Santorini local guides make the difference between a day out and a day you remember. And for cruise passengers, our shore excursions in Santorini are built around your tender schedule from the first minute.

What Our Guests Say

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Panos took us on the caldera hike from Fira to Oia at seven in the morning, before a single tourist bus had arrived. The island was completely ours. Nothing we read prepared us for that."
- James & Helen, couple from the UK

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Dionysia arranged a private tasting at Argyros with someone from the family. The Assyrtiko was unlike anything we'd had before. Then Loucas drove us to Vlychada beach, which we'd never heard of, and we had it almost entirely to ourselves. Perfect honeymoon day."
- The Kowalski Family, USA

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ "Tender docked at 9am, back by 4pm, having covered Akrotiri with Maria, lunched at Kipos in Fira, and watched the volcano from the water. Dionysia was at the port when we arrived and sorted everything without us thinking once. Best shore excursion we have ever done."
- Patricia M., traveller from Canada

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you pick us up from the cruise tender port?
Absolutely. Cruise passengers arrive by tender at the old port of Fira. Dionysia meets you at the dock, arranges the cable car tickets, and accompanies you up to Fira town where Loucas is waiting with the vehicle. We return you to the old port in time for the tender back to your ship. Our shore excursions in Santorini for cruise passengers are among our most requested bookings and we have never missed a return.

What is the small group sunset cruise on the caldera?
Our catamaran sunset cruise is a small group experience on the caldera, with dinner and drinks, swimming stops at the hot springs and the volcano, and the best possible position to watch the Oia sunset from the water. Groups are kept small deliberately, this is not a shared boat with fifty strangers. Details at our catamaran sunset cruise page.

Which wineries do you visit?
Gavala is a family estate with some of the oldest Assyrtiko on the island. Argyros is among the most acclaimed producers, with century-old basket-weave vines. Venetsianos sits on the caldera rim and is the right place to end a day as the light changes over the water.

What is your cancellation policy?
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour for a full refund.

Related Shore Excursions You May Love

Shore Excursions Athens - The Acropolis, Privately
Docking in Piraeus and have one day for Athens? Your private guide and vehicle are waiting at the cruise terminal. The Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, and the charm of Plaka, done properly, at your pace, with a guaranteed return before departure.
⏱️ 4-8 hours | From €85 per person | ⭐ 5.0 Book Now

Shore Excursions Mykonos - Beyond the Windmills
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Shore Excursions Crete - Knossos, Chania and the South Coast
Docking in Heraklion or Chania? Guide Maria and driver Thanasis cover Knossos, the Venetian harbour, and beaches on the south coast that most cruise passengers never reach. Guaranteed return before departure, every time.
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Tailor-Made Tours - Built Entirely Around You
Not finding exactly what you are looking for? Tell us your dates, your islands, and the kind of experience you have in mind and we will design it from scratch. Dionysia handles everything personally.
Start Planning

What You'll See on Your Santorini Tour

Oia and the Caldera Villages
Oia before the tour buses arrive is a different island entirely. Loucas times the drive, Dionysia walks the village, and the caldera hike from Fira to Oia with Panos, a 3 to 4-hour walk above the water with the volcano on one side, one of the finest in the Greek islands. The blue domes, the kastro, the path down to Ammoudi Bay, all of it without a crowd. For cruise passengers arriving at the old port of Fira by tender, Dionysia meets you at the dock, handles the cable car tickets, and accompanies you up to Fira town where Loucas is waiting with the vehicle. No queuing, no confusion, no time lost.

Akrotiri - The Pompeii of the Aegean
Buried under volcanic ash around 1600 BC and preserved almost intact, Akrotiri is one of the most important Bronze Age sites in the world. Maria brings the site to life the way the frescoes alone cannot. The buildings, the streets, the storage jars still in the rooms where they were left. It is one of those places that requires explanation to be understood and rewards understanding completely.

Wine Tours in Santorini - Gavala, Argyros and Venetsianos
Santorini's volcanic soil produces Assyrtiko grapes unlike anything grown elsewhere in Greece, one of the great indigenous Greek varieties. Our private wine tours in Santorini visit Gavala, Argyros, and Venetsianos, each offering a different experience, from family cellars to caldera-rim terraces as the late afternoon light changes over the water. For guests who want the full experience, the small group sunset cruise combines a tasting at Venetsianos with a private catamaran sail as the sun goes down. Afterwards, Loucas drives to Vlychada, a long pale beach flanked by white pumice cliffs, quiet in a way that Red Beach and Perissa no longer are. Lunch at Kipos in Fira beforehand, where locals eat, sets the afternoon up properly.

Popular Private Tour Combinations in Santorini

The Caldera Morning - Oia at sunrise, Fira walk, cable car, caldera views, 3-4 hours

The Hike and Wine - Fira to Oia caldera hike with Panos, wine tour Santorini at Venetsianos, sunset, 5-6 hours

The Full Santorini Day - Oia, Akrotiri with Maria, Argyros wine tour, Vlychada beach, Kipos lunch, 8 hours

The Small Group Sunset Cruise - Volcano, hot springs, caldera, small group sunset cruise with dinner and drinks

Shore Excursion Santorini - Old port pickup, cable car, Oia, Akrotiri or winery, guaranteed return

Fully bespoke - your sites, your wineries, your sunset

What You'll Experience

Oia before the crowds, the cable car arranged, the kastro to yourself
Akrotiri with Maria, who makes 3,600 years feel like a conversation rather than a lecture
A private wine tour in Santorini at Gavala, Argyros, or Venetsianos, the estates that define the island
Vlychada beach and a stretch of south coast most cruise passengers never see
The caldera hike from Fira to Oia with Panos, 3 to 4 hours above the water
The small group sunset cruise on the caldera, watching the Oia sunset from the water
Dionysia with you throughout, making sure every detail works the way it should

Who This Is For

Honeymoon couples who want Santorini without the crowds around every corner
Cruise passengers arriving by tender at the old port, looking for shore excursions that go well beyond the standard
Wine lovers wanting a serious private wine tour in Santorini and an introduction to Assyrtiko
History enthusiasts drawn to Akrotiri and the Bronze Age world beneath the volcanic surface
Hikers who want the caldera walk done properly, with a guide who knows the path and the stories
Returning visitors who have done the famous version and want to find the real one

Travelers Say

"We thought Santorini would be beautiful but crowded. Dionysia and the team showed us an island we hadn't read about anywhere. We are already planning to come back."