Bus vs taxi vs transfer in Santorini, an honest comparison
The bus is the cheapest way around Santorini at a few euros a ticket, but nearly every trip changes at Fira and services thin out in the evening. A booked transfer costs from €30 for the whole car from the airport to Fira and €40 to Oia, runs at any hour and takes about 20 minutes to Oia.
Updated 10 September 2026. Written by the Santorini Taxi team, drivers on the island.
Every price and time on this page comes from our price list and route data, not from an estimate.
Santorini has four ways to move between the airport, the port, the villages and the beaches, and each is the right one for a different hour of the day. This page puts them side by side, plainly. The numbers we give are ours; the others are described in words because they change.
The comparison
| Option | Cost | Time | Luggage | Night | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus | A few euros per ticket, per person | Slow: every line runs through Fira, so Oia and the beaches mean a change and a wait | In the hold, you lift it in and out | Services thin out in the evening | None, tickets sold on the bus |
| Street taxi | Fare agreed with the driver, per car, no price to check in advance | Direct once you have a car; the wait at the rank is the unknown | In the boot | Ranks often empty after dark | Rank, hotel reception or the phone line, with no guarantee |
| Booked transfer | Fixed per car, for example €30 airport to Fira, €40 to Oia | Direct, about 20 minutes airport to Oia | In the car, the driver loads it | Any hour at the same price | Online, instant confirmation, paid in advance |
| Hire car | Daily rate plus fuel and parking | Direct, then the search for a space in Fira or Oia | In the boot | Any hour | Book ahead for July and August |
| Scooter or ATV | Daily rate plus fuel | Slow on the main road, fine for a beach hop | None to speak of | Not a road you want after dark | A valid licence and a helmet, rental desks in every resort |
The bus, plainly
Every bus line starts at the bus station in Fira. From the airport, from Athinios port, from Kamari or from Perissa you ride into Fira and change there for Oia or for the other side of the island. The buses are full in summer, luggage goes in the hold and tickets are sold on board. Timetables change by season and we do not reprint them; check the board at the station on the day. In the evening the frequency drops, and the last departures come earlier than most visitors expect. For a daytime hop between Fira and Oia with no luggage, the bus is good value. For an arrival with suitcases, an early ferry or a late flight, it is the wrong tool.
Street taxi or booked transfer
Both are private cars with licensed drivers. The difference is what you know before you get in.
With a street taxi you know nothing until you have one: not whether a car is at the rank, not the fare, not whether it takes cards. The island's few dozen taxis are shared between everyone who landed, docked or finished dinner at the same moment as you. In the quiet months this is fine. In summer the rank at the airport can be a queue with no cars at the end of it.
With a booked transfer you know everything before you fly: the price, fixed per zone and paid online, the car class, the meeting point and the free waiting time, 60 minutes at the airport from landing, 30 minutes at Athinios from docking, 15 minutes at a hotel. The driver holds your name and follows your flight or ferry. The private transfers page covers hotel-to-hotel rides and the prices page has every zone pair.
Hire car or not
If you are staying in Oia, Imerovigli or Firostefani, probably not: the centres are pedestrian, parking is outside and the car sits still while you walk. A car earns its keep for a beach-hopping week based in Kamari or Perissa, or for people who want to be at Akrotiri at opening time and at a winery at noon. In July and August book it before you fly, drive with care on the caldera road at sunset, and expect the search for a parking space in Fira to take longer than the drive. For a single day of villages and views, an hourly car with a driver, 3 hours minimum, does the same without the parking.
Which to choose, by situation
- Arriving with luggage, at any hour: a booked transfer. The airport transfers page explains the pickup.
- Fira to Oia in daytime, no bags, flexible: the bus, or a booked car at €35 if the timing matters.
- Sunset in Oia and back to Fira: book both legs; that is the hour when every taxi is taken.
- Five to eight people: one van, €55 for the whole car from the airport to Oia, instead of two cars found one at a time.
- Night flight or dawn ferry: a booked car, same price as daytime, on the night taxi page.
- A week of beaches from Kamari or Perissa: a hire car, or the bus and the occasional taxi.
Questions
Is there a bus from Santorini Airport to Oia?
Not a direct one. The airport bus runs to Fira's bus station and the Oia line leaves from there. With the change and the wait the trip takes well over an hour, against about 20 minutes by car.
Do the buses run at night in Santorini?
Services thin out in the evening and the last departures vary by line and season. Do not build a late dinner in Oia or a night flight around the bus; for those hours a booked car at the same price as daytime is the tool.
Is a taxi or a booked transfer cheaper?
A booked transfer has a fixed price you see before you pay, for example €30 from the airport to Fira for the whole car. A street taxi has no price you can check in advance and may not be there at all; the comparison is between a known number and a wait.
Can I get around Santorini by bus alone?
Between Fira, Oia, Kamari, Perissa and the airport, yes, with changes at Fira and patience in summer. For hotels off the main roads, early ferries, night flights or a night out, plan on a car for at least some legs.