Santorini car rental

There is a lot to see on Santorini, so renting a car makes a lot of sense. In every major tourist town there are usually several car rental agencies. Either you can rent a car online in advance or you look around directly on the spot. It is practical and time-saving to book online if you want to have the car available immediately upon arrival at the port or airport of Santorini. The booked car is immediately ready and it can quickly go. This is especially for day tourists, for example, from Crete or for travelers from cruise ships a good option, because you usually have little time on the island. Booking a rental car on the spot in Santorini has the advantage that you can compare local and online rates.

Which rental car to take?

Of course, this is a question of price and personal preference. For most of the routes on Santorini, a small me car is quite sufficient, only if you want to drive extremely bad gravel roads, an off-road vehicle is necessary.

We recommend these car rental providers

We recommend the following minimum selection when searching for a Santorini rental car on "Billiger Mietwagen" or "Check 24 Car Hire":
Fully comprehensive insurance without excess | Premium protection | Third party liability min. 1 Mio. € | Fair fuel regulation | All kilometers free of charge

Santorini Car Hire Tips

Insurance

Just as you would at home for your own vehicle, you need to consider what level of insurance you would like to take out for the rental car on Santorini. A fully comprehensive insurance is always recommended. You should make sure that you are covered in the event of theft, as well as for underbody damage (very popular that these are excluded) or damage to tires are covered.

Takeover / delivery

When picking up the Santorini rental car, it is recommended to take a close look at the rental car. All scratches, dents, etc. should be noted and confirmed in writing by an employee of the rental company. Photographs can also be helpful in the event of a dispute when the car is returned. For this reason, when you pick up the rental car, take pictures of all sides and detail the damage to the car. Also check the time of pick up and drop off of your Santorini rental car, as a late drop off is often subject to a high fee.

Payment rental car

A full credit card is usually required to rent a car in Santorini. Rarely you can book a car without a credit card. You should check this when renting the car, because without a card it is often not possible to pick up the car in Santorini.

At this point we would like to point out a popular rip-off trick:

This is about the tank conditions. One of the conditions "Full to Empty", i.e. you get the rental car with a full tank and return it empty, has a very disadvantageous effect for short rental periods. One must pay the complete tank content, no matter how little one uses only of it.
Here, everyone must check which tank condition is included in the contract and whether it meets his needs. Otherwise, it is worth negotiating another one.

What to see in Santorini?

Fira - Main town of the island with fantastic sea view and beautiful alleys
Oia - Offers a dreamlike sunset
Perissa - Beach town with a very long beach on the south coast
Kamari - Touristically well developed beach town on the southeast coast
Red Beach - Great reddish beach at the south coast
Old Thera - Ancient city on the mountain Mesa Vouno, reachable over serpentines from Kamari

Gas stations

Can be found in every major town on the island.

Parking

In the larger towns such as Oia and Fira on Santorini, it can take longer in the evening to find a suitable parking space for the rental car. Otherwise, the parking is quite unproblematic.

And now we wish you a lot of fun with your rental car on Santorini.