Private Guided Art And Architecture

For guests wishing to see the island and local art work from a different perspective, this private half-day program is the perfect fit.

Private Guided Art and Architecture

All of our tours on Santorini include a professionally-trained licensed guide to bring the more than 5,000 years of history to life. Your guide will meet you on the pier of Fira after you tender ashore. They will escort you via cable car to the town of Fira where you will walk to your transportation. Departing from Fira, you will proceed to the traditional village of Pyrgos, a small village that was once the island's capital. The remnants of a large Venetian castle overlooking the village testify to its former status. You will begin your walking tour through the village viewing the fine old houses and the remains of the Venetian castle on the hilltop.

Departing from Pyrgos, you will proceed to the village of Mesa Gonia. This village was the hardest hit area on the island in the earthquake of 1956, and as nearly all the houses were destroyed, the villagers abandoned their homes and relocated down the coast in Kamari where they rebuilt their lives. Over the years, people have bought the old abandoned houses in the village and rebuilt them as their holiday homes for the summer.

Next, you will visit the Art Space Cultural Center and Museum. Art Space is an old Santorinian winery, which was founded around 1830. The art gallery is in two "Kanavas", old wine cellars and in a cave carved in pumice stone. Art works are also displayed in the old distillery.

After your visit at Art Space, you will proceed to the Deximi Gallery. Here you will be able to meet the artist Bruce Salter who will show and talk about his distinctive artwork. Deximi Art Gallery offers a wide range of original works of art, as well as high quality prints, posters, cards, t-shirts, lamps, jewelry and candles for both serious collectors and discerning dreamers of all ages and tastes. At the completion of your visit, you can enjoy the town at leisure or perhaps relax over a coffee and enjoy the magnificent panoramic views of the volcanic island, the caldera and the sea.

When you are ready to return to the tender pier, use your included ticket for the cable car.

Please Note: The tour duration does not include the time required to tender ashore from your ship or to ascend from the tender pier to Fira Town by included cable car ride. Please be aware that waiting time for the cable car can be extensive when there are several ships in the port. Groups of ten or more guests will be tendered from the pier at Fira to the pier at Athinios and begin their tour from there. All tours end in Fira and include a return cable car ticket to the tender pier in Fira to be used at your convenience. This tour offers customized departure times between 7:30 AM and 7:00 PM. If your preferred departure time is not listed, please contact us to place your request.

About Shore Excursions Group

More trips from Shore Excursions Group

ABOUT US
Shore Excursions Group was created with one goal in mind: to provide exceptional travel experiences to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world. To accomplish this, we have compiled an exceptional array of tours delivered by local experts with decades of experience serving travelers and delivering excellent tours. Our owners and management team are comprised of seasoned travel industry executives who leverage their considerable experience to deliver memories of a lifetime.

We are experts in providing exceptional shore excursions. We understand that in today's fast paced world, vacations have become an increasingly important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and experience new and interesting places. With this in mind, we provide the highest quality tours by performing extensive research, and detailed reviews. While other companies also offer excursions, we strongly believe our expertise and approach set us apart. The large cruise lines sell shore excursions - typically in very large groups visiting high traffic sites. We focus on smaller groups visiting more interesting and authentic locations using more personalized local operators. While the cruise lines are experts in delivering cruises, we are experts in delivering shore excursions.

Our Approach
We believe quality service is not only highly valued by customers, but ultimately leads to better experiences and higher satisfaction. Unlike the cruise lines and other tour companies that rely almost entirely on websites, we encourage customers to call us. We want to invest our time answering your questions, providing input, and selecting the excursions that best meet your needs.

Our Tours
Our goal is to provide customers a wide array of exciting, appealing, and enriching tours. For those customers who prefer to travel in smaller groups with more personalized service, we offer a wide variety of small group tours around the world. These tours generally range in size from 2-12 people compared to larger tours which can number up to 50 people. While exploring the destinations and ports on this website, feel free to search for these "Small Group Tours". For those customers interested in private tours, we offer many outstanding excursions that allow you to travel with your party alone and, in many cases, to fully customize your tour. Search for "Private Tours" if you are interested in this experience. Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean. Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece. Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Our customers can kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France. Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.

Our People
In our experience, exceptional travel experiences are almost always delivered by exceptional people. With that in mind, we utilize a comprehensive approach to select and employ the leading tour guides and tour providers around the globe. We hold our people to very high standards which we measure by our comprehensive Quality Control process and, most importantly, by our customer feedback, which we will actively seek from each of our customers.

Our Owners
Shore Excursions Group is owned by seasoned travel executives possessing extensive experience across many sectors within the travel industry.

Bradford J. Miller
Mr. Miller is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Abercrombie & Kent, the World's leading luxury travel company. In that role, Mr. Miller was responsible for contributing to Abercrombie & Kent's international growth through the development and acquisition of tour products and travel experiences around the world with a specific focus on cruising and land based experiences. Prior to joining Abercrombie & Kent, Mr. Miller held a variety of executive positions with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises for more than a decade. These positions included Vice President of Guest Sales & Service, Vice President of Brand Development, and Vice President of Onboard Revenue (which included shore excursions). Mr. Miller also led Celebrity Expeditions, a collection of outstanding and unique tours around the World.

Michael Bonner
Mr. Bonner has over a decade of experience working in the cruise industry in a variety of roles for both Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Viking River Cruises. Most recently, Mr. Bonner was the Chief Operating Officer for The Scholar Ship, a Royal Caribbean program aimed at providing college students onboard educational programs in conjunction with enriching shore excursions around the world. Mr. Bonner also helped co-manage Viking River Cruises U.S. Operations, and he ran the corporate, strategic, and deployment planning functions at Royal Caribbean. While at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was responsible for forming Royal Celebrity Tours, Royal Caribbean's land-based tour operation in Alaska, which takes cruise passengers on multiple day tours through the interior of Alaska either before or after their cruises. Prior to working at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was a consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton.

from $100.00 (USD)

Per Person

Tour Type

Private

Group Size

Private

Activity Type(s)

Cultural, Active, Scenic

Tour Duration

4 Hours

Activity Level

Moderate

Tour Leaves From

Cruise Ship Tender Pier

Food/Beverage Provided

Not Included

Special Instructions

We recommend wearing comfortable clothing and comfortable, sensible walking shoes. We also suggest sunglasses and sunscreen.

Restrictions

Fira, as well as most of the island's villages, is a hilltop town that consists of mostly pedestrian streets. Many of these "streets" are nothing more than wide sidewalks of smooth stones pushed into cement which makes for a bumpy surface. There are considerable steps involved as well. To reach the town from the tender pier, guests can climb the more than 580 steps, (which are shared with the donkeys), ride one of the donkeys, (which is not recommended for the faint of heart), or ride the cable car to the town which is more than 1,100 feet above the harbor. As most guests opt for the later choice, expect long lines for the cable car.

Terms & Disclaimers

ID:

7620300

Location

Santorini