Greece: New marina for Santorini?

The crater island is one of the favourite destinations of many Aegean fans, but has had the disadvantage of a very poor infrastructure for yachts for many years. Although there is a marina in the south of the island near Vlichadia, it is practically fully occupied by local fishermen and excursion catamarans that sail day trippers through the lagoon and is also constantly silted up due to its unfavourable location, meaning that it is only advisable to enquire about the current conditions beforehand. The marina is also around 12 kilometres from the main town.

Now "Enterprise Greece", an agency of the Greek Ministry of Economy, together with the harbour authorities of Santorini (Thira Port Fund), has launched an initiative for the construction of a new marina on the east coast near Monolithos, close to the airport. The plan was presented at a meeting with representatives of the authorities and the mayor of Santorini, but basically only includes investment planning and a possible licence review. Only then will investors be sought for the approximately 40 million euro project, who will then develop concrete plans and take over the construction and operation.

The facility will then have around 350 berths and will probably also be designed for mega yachts. Monolithos is a fishing harbour close to the airport and around 5 kilometres from Santorini town. According to the authorities, the realisation should take place in "about two years", which seems very optimistic.

If you want to visit the island by yacht at the moment, the best option is to moor at the large iron buoy off Oia on the north coast and take a long shore line to a derelict pier. From there, it's just a climb to Oia, which is actually the prettier place on the island, as the main town of Thira is mercilessly overrun by cruise ship and land-based tourists. This also applies to Oia on many days, but if you moor there and arrive early in the morning and later in the evening when the cruise ships have left, you will find a fantastically beautiful spot.