Renting a car in Santorini will give you the greatest freedom and opportunities to discover the more remote villages. Even in Santorini, the general guidelines for renting a car apply, and if you're new to this segment, read our article How to rent a car abroad for the first time.
Where, when and how to book a car in Santorini
There are dozens of different car rental companies operating in Santorini, so the easiest option is to use one of the comparison engines that will sort the offers of all available car rental companies according to your criteria. We have a long experience with this comparator:
Compare car rental prices on booking.com
For each offer, you will always see the specific car rental company where you will physically rent the car. The price in the price comparator is usually the same or even better than on the rental company's website. We recommend avoiding offers from Rental Yours due to the lack of reliability. On the other hand, Europcar is generally a very popular car rental company in Santorini.
Car rental branches are mainly concentrated at Santorini airport, but many companies have local branches right in Fira. Again, you will see all the options in the search engines above.
For car hire bookings, generally the earlier you make the booking, the cheaper it will be. The ideal time to book a car is about 2-3 months before your trip.
Car rental prices in Santorini
Due to relatively limited competition, car rental prices in Santorini are quite high, at least by Greek standards. The price depends on the length of the rental, the longer the rental, the cheaper the daily price will be. There are also big differences between renting in the high or low season. Examples of prices:
- 7-day rental - high season: small car from 400 eur
- 4-day rental - high season: small car from 200 eur
- 7-day rental - low season: small car from 200 eur
- 4-day rental - low season: small car from 100 eur
- Compare prices of car rental companies
Prices can also vary according to the current situation regarding the availability of new cars or unexpectedly increased demand, for example after the massive introduction of new airline routes, to which smaller car rental branches are unable to respond.
International driving licence and other documents
Santorini is part of the European Union, so you don't need an international driving licence to rent a car. You can get by with a classic European driving licence, which all rental companies must accept, as well as any police checks.
Car rental companies usually require a credit card to rent a car, and will often lend on a debit card, but either on less favourable terms or with a very high deposit, often in excess of 1 000 eur.
Petrol prices and parking in Santorini
Petrol is significantly more expensive on Santorini than in mainland Europe. In general, one litre of conventional 95 octane petrol costs about 1,65 eur to 1,80 eur. The density of petrol stations is quite sufficient, located in all the larger villages.
Parking in Santorini is a pain and a joy at the same time. The main problem in the cities is lack of space, narrow streets and heavy traffic. On the other hand, the advantage is that the vast majority of parking is free, as is street parking. In high season, however, arm yourself with patience in the most touristy destinations (Fira, Oia, Imerovigli) or take the bus.
Traffic and traffic regulations
Driving on Santorini is... slow. The roads are narrow, very winding and the signage isn't very good. However, the size of the island makes it virtually impossible to get lost, as there is de facto only one main road across Santorini, from which other roads branch off to the sea. In the summer season, driving can be somewhat stressful due to the high density of all kinds of traffic.
Traffic regulations are similar to those in all other European countries. Driving on the right is classical here, seat belt use is compulsory and talking on the phone while driving is forbidden! Speed limits are as follows:
- 50 km/h in the village.
- outside the village: 80 km/h
There are no motorways on Santorini and you will use the 80 km/h speed limit very little on the island. A somewhat loose enforcement of the rules is to be expected, Greeks and Santorinians not excluded are among the worst European drivers, so you need to arm yourself with patience and a little assertiveness.