We are thinking about renting some vespas while in Santorini. From what I gather from my other posting (thanks guys), there appears to be some more rural areas between villages that would make this a less terrifying experience (I'm not a total scaredy-cat, I'm just not looking to ride along cliffs and Italian-like traffic).
Has anyone rented a vespa in Santorini and would you recommend it? Any recommendations on where to get one? Thank you!
I guess it depends on when you will be there. When we were there, it appeared the roads were over-run with mopeds and four wheelers (ATVs) along with the bus, taxi and car traffic. I would not have drove in that mess even if the moped was free. Maybe if you get to the coast, away from Fira, it would be better, but any of these rentals in the islands warrant caution.
Local drivers are a bit crazy and tend to drive too fast. The road between Fira and Oia is the one that poses the most danger, but other than that if you're experienced on a motorscooter you won't have any problems. If you're new at it you must be extremely careful and not be prone to panic. There is a secondary road to Oia that is much safer, flat and relatively straight with no surprises, so the scary part of the main road can be avoided. Here's a good map of the island.
http://www.santorini-web.com/map.pdf
The 'safe' road is the one that passes by Imerovigli Port, Cape Kouloumbo and Baxedes.
