Choosing your Santorini catamaran cruise
A Santorini catamaran cruise suits you if you want a boat outing with a meal, coastal views and opportunities to swim. The three options here last five hours and include hotel pickup and drop-off. Their differences lie in the food, drinks and onboard programme. Choose the morning sailing with a light cooking activity if you want to take part in preparing food, or the meze format if a meal and time on the water are your priorities.
These are shared sailing experiences. A description such as semi-private does not mean that your party has the whole boat. Keep the day focused on the water rather than trying to combine it with a demanding walk. For the evening alternatives, read the separate sunset cruise comparison.
Catamaran cruises
Choose the morning cruise for its cooking activity, or the other sailing options for a meal and snorkeling equipment. Each includes a hotel transfer.
Hand-picked tours, booked through GetYourGuide and Viator. Prices are indicative starting prices in euros (as of October 2026). Tap a tour for live availability and the current price in your currency.
Caldera cruise with Greek meal
- Snorkel equipment
- Open bar
- Freshly prepared Greek meal
The morning option includes a light cooking class on board.
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Caldera sailing with a meal
- Snorkeling equipment
- Open white wine bar
- Greek meze
Lunch or dinner depends on the selected departure time.
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Catamaran sailing with barbecue meal
- Snorkelling equipment
- White wine
- Towels
The meal includes chicken, pasta and Greek salad. Direct arrivals should meet at the marina at least 30 minutes early.
Check availability →Catamaran trips with meals and snorkeling
Compare the morning cooking activity, meze sailing and the classic barbecue trip, each with hotel transfers and snorkeling equipment.
Santorini boat tour options and meals
Morning cooking activity and an open bar
The sailing with a light cooking activity includes a freshly prepared Greek meal with meat and vegetarian options, wine, beer, soft drinks and a cocktail. The cooking activity belongs exclusively to the morning departure. Snorkeling equipment, towels, flotation devices, wind jackets and an onboard shower are included. There is also a scheduled thirty-minute hot-springs stop, subject to the day's conditions. Skipper and crew are included; this is a sailing programme rather than a guided tour on land.
Meze, white wine and a meal
The meze sailing includes Greek finger food and lunch or dinner according to the departure you select. Its drinks are an open white-wine bar, unlimited soft drinks and bottled water. An experienced guide, snorkeling equipment, life jackets, pool noodles, towels and blankets are included. This makes a useful choice when you want the meal and swimming equipment covered together without choosing the morning cooking programme.
Classic barbecue sailing from Vlychada
The classic catamaran trip includes chicken fillet, pasta with tomato sauce, Greek salad, tzatziki, bread and vine-leaf rolls, together with white wine and soft drinks. It also includes towels and snorkeling equipment. Hotel transport is by air-conditioned minibus. For direct arrivals, its meeting point is Vlychada Marina at least thirty minutes before the cruise starts. Use that specific meeting information rather than treating every Santorini marina as interchangeable.
Swimming and Santorini snorkeling
All three selected trips include snorkeling equipment, but the actual swimming programme depends on weather and sea conditions. Follow the crew's instructions about entering the water and returning to the boat. Decide how important swimming is to your day before choosing a departure: a supplied mask is useful equipment, while the sea still determines where the boat can stop.
The warm-water stop at Palea Kameni is a swim from the boat, not a thermal pool reached on foot. Non-swimmers should stay aboard during the hot-springs swim. Dark swimwear is a sensible choice because the water may stain fabric. For the distinction between the swimming bay and the crater walk on Nea Kameni, see the volcano and hot-springs guide.
A Santorini cruise along the coast
Look at coastal place names as route descriptions. The sailing with the morning cooking activity specifically excludes beach landings and a volcano hike. If setting foot on volcanic ground matters to you, select a trip that expressly includes the Nea Kameni landing instead. Likewise, seeing the red cliffs from the water is different from accessing Red Beach. A report dated 27 September 2026 described the cliff path as closed after rockfalls; a passing boat is not permission to use that path. Read the beach guide for the separate access issues.
Transfers, weather and the rest of your day
Save the pickup instructions and the reachable meeting point at your accommodation. Leave space in your schedule for the road journey as well as the cruise, especially if you are connecting with a ferry or flight. Fira's Old Port and Athinios are different harbours, so use the port named on your confirmation. The arrival guide explains that distinction.
Pack swimwear, sun protection and a warm layer for the return. Even an afternoon chosen around sunset remains dependent on conditions; unsafe weather or harbour restrictions can lead to cancellation. Read the cancellation terms of the particular trip and avoid arranging an essential onward connection immediately after it. Seasonal planning is covered on when to visit Santorini.
Catamaran cruise questions
Which trip includes cooking?
The sailing with the Greek meal and open bar includes a light cooking activity on its morning departure only. Its afternoon option should be chosen for the sailing programme rather than that activity.
Do these trips land on the volcano?
Choose an explicit volcano-landing excursion for the crater walk. The morning-cooking sailing excludes both the volcano hike and beach landings.
Are towels and snorkeling equipment included?
Both are included with all three catamaran options compared here. Swimming locations and stops remain dependent on conditions.