The long one · 10 hours, private
Full-day Santorini cruise — the caldera with the clock switched off
Ten hours, your own boat, and the whole loop at anchor-pace: long swims, a proper lunch, an afternoon ashore on Thirasia, the hot springs when the light goes gold — and the sunset watched from the water on the way home.
The case for the whole day
Why give the caldera ten hours?
Because five hours is a tour and ten hours is a day at sea — and they are different holidays. On the full-day Santorini private cruise nothing is rationed: if Red Beach is perfect at eleven, we stay till it isn't; lunch happens at anchor in whichever cove is calmest, not on a schedule; and the afternoon holds the thing no five-hour cruise can carry — stepping ashore on Thirasia, the island across the water that tourism forgot.
Then the day folds into its second act. The hot springs at golden hour, wine on the trampolines, and the sail south with the sun dropping off Akrotiri — daylight swimming and the sunset finale in a single ticket. It's the itinerary we'd sail for ourselves if nobody was paying.
The arithmetic: €2,400 with six aboard, €100 a seat after that. Seventeen of you makes it about €200 a head for ten private hours — the price of a very good dinner, for a day nobody in the group will agree to stop talking about.
The plan
Ten hours, well spent
09:40–10:15
Hotel pickup, island-wide
Drivers collect you across Santorini — Fira, Oia, Imerovigli, Firostefani, Kamari, Perissa, Akrotiri, Megalochori — timed the evening before.
10:30
Cast off from Vlychada
Coffee poured as we clear the breakwater. The day's only deadline is sunset, and it's on our side.
11:00 Long swim
Red Beach, unhurried
The anchor goes down and stays down — snorkel the lava reef, swim to the sand, come back for a cold glass, repeat.
12:15 Swim
White Beach & Mesa Pigadia
The boat-only coves. On a private day you'll likely have them entirely to yourselves.
13:15
Indian Rocks, the lighthouse & lunch at anchor
Round the sleeping face in the rock and under the 1892 Venetian lighthouse, then the BBQ does its work — chicken and shrimp off the coals, salad, dips, pasta, wine — over water so clear the anchor shows.
15:00
The volcano crossing
Up the caldera's east side, the black lava fields of Nea Kameni to port and Fira's cliff villages stacked overhead, until Oia rises on the horizon and we bear west.
15:45 Ashore
Thirasia — the island time forgot
We put you ashore at Korfos, the little port under the cliff: whitewashed tavernas at the waterline, a windmill above, and not a tour bus in sight. Eat grilled fish a metre from the sea, or just wander until the bell says back aboard.
17:30 Warm swim
Volcano hot springs
The 30–35 °C iron springs at Palea Kameni, gold light on the water. Dark swimsuit — the minerals stain light fabric.
19:00 → sunset
The sunset sail home
South out of the caldera with mezze on the table and the sun dropping toward open water off Akrotiri. We time the last mile so the colour finishes just before the marina does.
≈20:30
Return & drop-off
Alongside at Vlychada in the last light, drivers waiting to take you home.
Included and what to bring
What's included
- Skipper & crew of 2–3 for the whole ten hours
- BBQ meal: chicken fillet & shrimp, Greek salad, pasta, vine leaf rolls, dips & bread — menu agreed in advance
- Local white wine, beer, soft drinks & water all day
- Snorkelling gear, towels, freshwater shower
- Hotel / Airbnb pickup & drop-off, island-wide
- Port fees, fuel & full passenger insurance
What to bring
- A dark swimsuit for the hot springs, plus a dry one — ten hours is two swims' worth of wardrobe
- High-SPF sunscreen, hat, sunglasses — the Aegean sun works a long shift too
- A little cash for a taverna table or a sweet on Thirasia (your one optional expense)
- A light layer for the sunset sail home
Cabins below deck are yours for shade, naps and changing — four of them, no queue.
Good to know
The small print, in plain words
Weather policy
If the port authority suspends sailings, you choose a full refund or a free rebooking. On marginal days we may propose shifting the start an hour — we message the evening before.
Is ten hours too long for kids?
Usually the opposite — it's the five-hour version that feels rushed with children. Here they swim, eat, nap in a cabin, and explore an island in the middle. Baby vests aboard; you set the pace.
Vegetarian, vegan or allergies
The menu is agreed in advance for every private day — halloumi and vegetable skewers, vegan mezze, gluten-free bread all come off the same grill with notice.
Can we shape the route?
Completely — it's a private charter. More Thirasia and no springs, double Red Beach, a lazy hour drifting mid-caldera: the skipper proposes, you decide, the weather keeps its one veto. Want to go further or longer? Custom plans and other-island runs are possible — ask.
From the logbook
Guests, verbatim
“An absolutely brilliant trip!! Aylin was the most gorgeous hostess — incredibly professional and super friendly.”
“Had a blast on board with my work buddies! Great views and food, lots of cold beers and laughs.”
“We enjoyed this moment so much — the crew was very helpful and attentive… the quantities were gargantuan.”
Keep exploring
Where this cruise takes you
Thirasia Island
Ashore on the island time forgot.
Volcano & Hot Springs
Warmest at the end of a long day.
Private Charter, 5 h
Same privacy, half the day, €1,200.
One boat · One full day at a time
Claim a whole day on the caldera
Date, party size and the occasion — we answer within 2 hours in season with the plan and a firm quote.
Plan the full dayLast updated: July 2026