Three night stay in Santorini - arriving Thira

A rental car is the best way to explore the island. Spiridakos has a rental office at the ferry port and a website for reservations. Automatic transmissions are scarce. From the port you can take a taxi or a port bus to Fira then another bus as well as a taxi to wherever you're staying.

A2B Transfers and Santorini Transfers also pick up passengers at the port and take them to the village where their hotel is located.

If you want accommodation recommendations we need to know your maximum daily room budget and the sort of amenities/facilites you require: self-catering, B&B, full-service hotel, basic room, apartment, villa, etc.

Thanks Lee.

We - family of four will be on Crete June 2. Hoping to find a self catering villa or hotel for 100 euro per night. Do you have any suggestions - What about Chania?. Thinking about renting a car to explore.

Then leaving by ferry to Santorini June 7 or 8 -flexible and depart Santorini June 10 late afternoon.
Would like to visit Akrotiri and enjoy caldera / sunset view. Again, same type accommodations but I understand it will be more expensive.

Would you recommend reservations on the ferry?
Do you have recommendations on place to stay Santorini ?
Would you recommend a car for Santorini ?

I found this spot which looks fun - do you have any thoughts on the location ?
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2493684

I can't offer any suggestions for hotels on Crete. I asked that you state your daily budget for rooms. The airbnb property in your link is part of Golden Sunset Villas. Renting a car is the best way to explore the island.

Feng,

I'd suggest staying in Fira, as it's a good central location for visiting both ends of the island. There are lots of good hotels in that area, but you may find that the ones with great caldera views are somewhat "pricey". You could start by having a look at the Trip Advisor ratings here - http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotels-g482942-Fira_Santorini_Cyclades-Hotels.html

You could also contact one of the Greek travel agencies recommended on the excellent Greece Travel website. They will not only be able to provide you with a choice of hotels meeting whatever criteria you choose, but they can arrange transfers from the Ferry docks if necessary.

In terms of getting around the island, many people rent quads but they're somewhat noisy and slow so not the most efficient transportation. Having a car definitely makes it easier to explore but I'd recommend having an International Driver's Permit, as I believe it's compulsory in Greece. If you should happen to be involved in a "traffic incident", not having an I.D.P. could result in a very unpleasant holiday experience.

We stayed in Fira for 4 nights. While there we rented a car for one day only. This was enough to see the sights we were interested in around the island , Ancient Thera and some beaches, and we didn't have to worry about finding parking. We used the bus to get from Fira to Oia where we spent one day enjoying the town. We thought our one day rental was not enough time to visit the ruins at Akrotiri so we took the bus there the next day. When we visited Akrotiri we realized the site is not as large as we thought and we could have fit it into our rental car day. You will be there 2.5 days so you could allow one day to tour the island by car, one day for Oia, and the remainder of the time for Fira.

Feng,
Since you will be there only for 3 nights then I'd highly recommend you rend a car and make the arrangements to pick it up from the port the time of your arrival. Below is an answer to an other post:
So many things to do there, I'll give you some info:
a. The view from Profitis Ilias (Monastery)
b. Walking from Fira to Imerovigli (through Firostefani)
c. Breathtaking view from Faros (lighthouse) at Akrotiri
d. A few hours tour in Thirasia. I'll stay a little bit here because Thirasia is the island 1 mile from Oia, and around 40 years ago in time. It has a unique view to Santorini and a great landscape. You go there by boat (great feeling being among the two calderas). Look in TripAdvisor for an organized tour because only this way you will be able to combine them both. To me that is the best tour you shouldn't miss if you go in Santorini.
e. Akrotirion museum (Ruins of a city before the earth quick around 1531 bc)
f. Walk around to at least one Kasteli (old castle) (Pyrgos, Oia, Emporio)
g. Go to the church which is behind Skaros (The big rock at Imerovigli). It has amazing view
About beaches:
Perivolos is great
Kamari is very organized
Swimming in Ammoudi (Oia) is a must
Go and take a look at the red beach in Akrotiri. I think that it wouldn't be wise to stay on that bech.
3 days is not much but d,f and e are MUST DO THINGS.
Enjoy

H
Enjoy

Thank YOU