Santorini's donkeys climb down the stairs to Fira. I approached my visit to Greece with some clear preconceived notions. I envisioned sun-baked stairs leading from the crystal clear Mediterranean and bright white-washed houses perched atop cliffs. I knew I’d see those iconic blue-domed churches, and I anticipated spectacular views. At home in Alaska, it was those images that were my idea of a “Greek Island paradise.”
As our ship maneuvered to drop anchor at Santorini, I got my first glimpse of the island’s iconic steep cliffs. Though I may have glimpsed what towered above me at that point, my attention was actually focused downward, as I contemplated the fact that we had just sailed into a giant, submerged volcanic crater, or caldera. Santorini is what remains from an enormous volcanic eruption more than 3,000 years ago, and we were anchoring in the deep lagoon formed when the crater of the volcano collapsed. I wondered, as many now believe, if this caldera could really be the site of the Lost City of Atlantis, the legendary civilization that sunk to the bottom of the sea. With my attention now back on the island’s 300-meter high cliffs, I could see our destination, the town of Fira, perched high on the rim above. But, how best to get there? The answer became delightfully apparent. Waiting at the bottom of the steep string of switchbacks and stairs that formed a zigzagging path up the steep incline, were donkeys.
I happen to love donkeys (actually, anything with a tail), so I was as excited to see them as I was to explore the island. But at this point I found myself torn. I could travel up the cliffs by donkey as has no doubt been done since mythical times, or I could walk up and hopefully work off the wonderful desserts I’d been enjoying on the ship. Since it was a beautiful crisp October day – perfect for hiking – I decided to set out on foot.
An iconic blue-domed church in Oia.
I climbed around corner after corner up more than 500 steps, passing donkey teams headed up or down along the way. The donkeys all wore colorful beaded neck collars with a bell attached that jingled as they clomped along. Each switchback brought the tinkling of bells and better views of the crystal clear waters below.
After about 45 minutes we reached the top eager to explore Fira, and then afterward set out by local bus to the small town of Oia, located at the north end of the island. My immediate impression was that this magical place should definitely be on a travel bucket list. Oia is situated atop an impressive cliff with more views of the sparkling expanse of sea, and the charming village is made up of traditional white houses and blue domed churches, with the narrow streets between buildings just wide enough for pedestrians and the occasional passing donkey. We discovered that many artists have made this picturesque setting their home and enjoyed wandering through the array of art galleries full of original works.
After a day in this island paradise, it was time to head back to Fira where we would descend down the cliffs to our anchored ship. Again I decided to make the journey by foot, once more passing the donkeys and their sweet sounding bells along the way. When I got to the bottom, I realized I had encountered a sound I did not want to leave behind. And as I really do like to support the local economies of the places I visit, I had the perfect idea for a souvenir!
Kristen talks the donkey herder out of her perfect souvenir.
Not speaking any Greek, I somehow was able to communicate with a donkey herder that I would like to buy one of the donkey bells with the colorful beads. What a perfect addition to my collection of authentic animal bells (I have many…really…including cow bells from Bali and Switzerland). Although it did take some time to convince him that it really wasn’t a ride on his donkey that I was after, I finally was able to walk away with the perfect memento of this perfect day.
Now, as I sit in our cabin in Alaska, our wonderful cruise may seem a distant memory, but I keep my donkey bell in a spot where I see it often and can reflect on my journey to the cliffs of Santorini.
The scenic Santorini coast.
A donkey sporting his colorful beaded harness.
Kristen enjoys the beautiful views from an Oia cafe.
Santorini and the Greek Islands are my favorite. I was lucky enough to visit by cruse
twice. I am now 72 and this is my favorite. The cruse also included Rome, Florance
and etc. Italy and Greece should be at the top of all bucket list.
Nov. 13, 201
Another place to add to my bucket list. No donkey ride though.
Carol, we had fun taking the donkey ride up, but DO NOT take the ride down. These animals know the food is waiting for them and waste no time getting there.
Try walking down and you can still have some experience out of it.
I went to Santorini very very early in the morning on a small ship from a small Greek island in the Cyclades. What a sight to see the dawn break over Santorini. In those days there was a small bus taking people up the zig zag route to the top and after all our sightseeing we made our way to the other end of Santorini for the downward journey. I hated seeing large people going up on the small donkeys which were being whipped to go faster in the heat of the day and opted to walk down to our ship. My knees ached for days afterwards!! The second visit to Santorini in May 2005 was a bit different as we were on a large cruise ship and the sea was too rough to lower the tenders to go ashore, even though it was sunshine and blue skies. The Meltemi can blow up at any time and we therefore only viewed Santorini from the ship. Still a sight worth looking at though!
10 years ago on the “Royal Princess” we did the Mediterranean Cruise from Lisbon to Istanbul with many stops between. Santorini was one of the highlights. A beautiful Greek Island that should be on everyone’s bucket list. We also loved visiting Ephesus. What a thrill to be in the city where Paul walked in the Bible. I sang a few lines from Ava Maria in the outdoor amphitheater to experience the sound. Everyone with video camera’s said do it again, do it again so they could capture the sound. We loved the Princess Cruise experience!
While Santorini is gorgeous, the donkey ride was our least favorite part of our entire trip. They were beaten all the way up the hill and the “operators” were extremely agitated and mean – both to the donkeys and the tourists. One of our donkeys fell onto its knees and nearly sent our friend tumbling. If you look at the stalls for the donkeys, you won’t see any water, and we all got the distinct impression that they were overworked and abused. One of the grouchy guys started yelling at our friend and she didn’t know what he wanted so he walked up to her and literally pulled her off her donkey, hit the donkey hard and then threw her onto another donkey. Needless to say we walked back down, but I would recommend the cable car.
I have been to Santorini 4 times now. I have walked up and down the winding trail and have taken the donkeys up on 2 occasions. I don’t see what all the fuss is about. The donkeys looked fine to me. Of course, I would not know a sad donkey face as one woman above seems to. This world was built on both human and animal endevour. When will the lefties stop this nonsense!
It really is abusive to the donkeys to run up and down the mountain all day. They are continually going up and down with very little rest in the meantime. I know the handlers are there to make money but I think they should give the animals some much needed rest in between. Aside from this, the trip was beautiful. The whole time on the island will be forever with me.
There is no economic base in Santorini except the occasional restaurant, gift shop, or donkey ride. If you don’t want to ride the donkey take the tram for 11 euros each way. I think the donkey was 9 euros each way. Your choice. Santorini was beautiful. Thank you Princess for making this trip something we will always remember.
I loved Santorini. It was beautiful. I would suggest riding the tram so you will have the energy to walk at the top. lol…We got lost but found our way back to the ship. We saw another couple from the ship and they were lost too. I would ready love to go back. It will forever be embedded in my memory.
The donkeys are being abused…plain and simple. What part of abused do you not understand? Please replace this story with one that does not promote donkey riding as an acceptable option. Princess Cruises…you can do better….Jennifer
I hardly think riding a donkey is any more abusive than riding a horse…..Princess you are fine.
ok…after reading on maybe walking would be the way to get there.
It’s a no brainer. There is a history of abuse of donkeys on Santorini. Do what I did and walk up and down or take the tram.BTW on no account miss the trip to Oia. Views are spectacular.
I agree, the donkeys are being abused. 24/7 up and down. I was just there. There wasn’t even any water for them at the top. Take the tram!
I agree about the donkey abuse. I wemt to Santorini about 20 years ago and rode the donkey up the steps. He was tired and needed water. I chose to take the tram down.
The condition of the donkeys, and the donkey master who tosses you upon his back is something I do not want to remember about that lovely island. I would not walk up those steps because they were all slippery with animal droppings and the smell was bad.
Hi Jennifer,
Our intention of this blog was to share a travel story from one person and the experience she had while in this port. We are very sorry if the pictures posted upset you in any way as this was not our intention.
Thank you Kristin for sharing your adventure. Great story and photos. We will be traveling with Princess next Sept on a Greek Isles cruise; as well as a Holy Land tour. Sanotrini has been on our Travel Bucket List and now will be able to cross it off, thanks to Princess.
I went to Santorini on a Greek cruise ship and they made it very clear that we should not ride the donkeys and alternative arrangements were offered us. It is a pity that Princess Cruises are not more considerate.
we rode them down the hill after being told by a tour guide in athens to avoid the trip down as it was a ride from hell. I wish we would have listened to her. After much encouraging by my travel companion who missed her 4 legged friends at home I let her talk me into it. BIG mistake. THe handler was a jerk who spoke no english the saddles were not secure and you had no way to control the animals. Three of the others in our group had no experience riding and one elderly gentleman fell off as his saddle rolled on him. Bless the donkey’s poor heart he did everything in his power not to step on the man. we all jumped off to help and were yelled at by the donkey man. We asked the man if he wanted to continue and he said he would then the crazed man started runing them dwn the hill wil us on board. He fianlly stopped about 3/4 of the way down grabbed me to pull me off the donkey and my foot got stuck in the bungee cord that had the donkey’s tetherd together. This man was a maniac ! We ended up walking the rest of the way down the hill. We ran in to the man that fell the next day and thank god nothing was broken but he was bruised and sore. So while it sounds tempting and fun I definately would not advise it. The donkeys are probably fine as that is what they are bred for but i’m sure he is not a very humane person.
Santorini is the quinessential Greek island; whenever you see the pictures of Greece with the blue sea and white-washed buildings, the credits always say it is Santorini. Oia was breathtaking; the streets are actually made of marble! The only down side to going there via a cruise, is that you just don’t have the time to sit there and soak in the beauty as long as you want. Re: the donkeys: oru experience was horrible — a bus took us to the top and the cable car was packed, so we decided to walk. The slippery cobblestones were full of donkey droppings. It was EXTREMELY treacherous to walk. Every time the donkeys would pass, going up or down, they would press us tight against the walls. Apparently, I am allergic to horses, because I ended up having a terrific allergy attack from the exposure to the droppings and dander; half-way down I stopped and wiped myself down. The crew was waiting at the bottom with wet cloths which helped — we ran into many passengers later that had been hurt on the walk down: falling off the donkeys or slipping on the cobblestones. We saw a lot of crutchesm, casts and canes! I would go back to Santorini in a heart-beat; just avoid the snake path winding its dangerous route to the shore!
This is a letter I sent to Princess. I am sure not having ridden the donkeys Kristen probably didn’t realize the terrible abuse these animals suffer. The last thing I would want is a souvenir of one of those abused animals. This is a site to petition to stop the abuse – please help.
http://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk/campaign/santorini
I just received your e-mail of 50 Essential Experiences – The Travel Bucket List. I am not sure if this is the best way to let someone know at the Princess Company, but it was the only e-mail address listed. My family and I have been long time users of the Princess Cruise Line and we would like to continue to cruise with the line in the future. I must tell you I was shocked to open your e-mail and find a picture of the Santorini donkeys making this look like one of the best experiences in the world. I can say this was probably the worst travel experience of our family in all our years of travel, and believe me we have had some bad ones. Nothing compares to the feeling of horror we experienced upon finding ourselves being a part of severe animal abuse. We unwittingly took the donkeys up the hill in Santorini totally unaware of the conditions the donkeys had to suffer. It was blazing hot that day and we had no idea how arduous the journey would be for them, especially with people on their backs. The guides refused to let us get down and would only hit the donkey harder to make them keep going so we weren’t able to dismount. The shame we felt and the severe dismay of my daughter will never be forgotten when a woman walking down stopped and started yelling, “Look at that animal’s face! You should be ashamed of yourselves for abusing an animal like that.” We have since looked into trying to stop this horrible abuse and we are not alone. If you check your sites comments under the Santorini article you will see many people feel the same. The Princess line should be doing all it can to stop this abuse and should not be seen as a company that promotes animal abuse. I hope you remedy the situation immediately and hopefully you are informing passengers that the donkeys should never be taken to get up the hill. Due to the insensitivity of posting the pictures and the article I am not sure my family, my friends, and myself will choose to sail with Princess again without making this right.
Debbie – Thanks for shedding light on the abuse of the donkeys of Santorini,
Hi Debbie,
We are very sorry if the pictures posted on this blog upset you in any way. The pictures were intended to show the culture and things passengers would see in this port.
I HAD THE UNFORTUNATE EXPERIENCE OF “RIDING” A DONKEY ON THE WAY UP FROM THE WATER. THE GREEK MAN LEADING THE PACK ALMOST THREW ME UP ON THE ANIMAL AND FORCED THE GROUP TO RIDE SO FAST, I NEARLY FELL OFF MORE THAN ONCE. I’M NOT OVERWEIGHT BY ANY MEANS, BUT IT WAS SUCH AN UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE I WALKED BACK DOWN, TAKING CARE NOT TO SLIP ON THE ANIMAL DROPPINGS. I WOULD NEVER REPEAT THIS EXPERIENCE – WOULD RATHER WAIT AS LONG AS IT TOOK TO RIDE THE CABLE CAR OR WALK!!!!!!!
I visited the island many many years ago when there was no other form of transport up to the city other than the donkeys. Being an animal lover my heart broke for these poor creatures – I wonder how long they manage to survive with the huge effort they must have to put into climbing all those steps with heavy loads so many times a day, all their lives. PLEASE DONT RIDE THE DONKEYS. In those days the city was uncommercialised and absolutely charming with few tourists.
Santorini is indeed a beautiful location but sadly ruined by tourism. While I would not put anyone off from visiting such a unique destination, I would agree that the donkeys do not get the care that you should expect and would ask people not to line their owners’ pockets. In fact, I would avoid walking up or down that track. It is covered in droppings (just look at the photo in the article!) which are not routinely collected and stink to high heaven in hot weather. It also makes the cobblestones very slippery. When my wife and I walked down last time we were there, we saw a woman sitting on the path. She had slipped and broken her wrist. Her husband and I had to help her down to our ship. We had to walk very slowly for fear of slipping again. It was a very long and smelly half-hour! I suggest you just use the cable-car in both directions.
Save the donkeys, save your legs and ride the tram. Cheap and quick.
We went to Santorini in October on Pacific Princess. Absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, we just reached the top when it started to pour. It did not dampen our spirits though. Please, please do not ride the donkeys. Perhaps if there was a boycott the owners would get the message and treat them better and not let all those obese people ride them. That was really the only downside. Fabulous cruise.
Kristen – Oh, so want to see those Greek islands. My first request was to see these islands, however, now 2 yrs. into retirement & w/ 2 Princess cruises (China to Thailand) & (Singapore to Cape Town, SA) under our belt, it is high time to see this special area of the world. I suspect October would be a perfect time to visit. Good story & loved your photos especially! Thanks – see you somewhere in the world – via the Princess! ….from PA (USA)
GO! We did the Greek island cruise in 2006. Flew into Venice and spent 2 days before the boat sailed. Greece was incredible, as was Pompei. I would go back in a second, but other venues call. We are taking Princess to Alaska in May, and doing two of their lodges on the land side.
The tourist season on the islands is from the 1st Apr to the end of Sept. outside of this time period most tourist facilities are closed. All there is is the island itself and it is very beautiful. We went for the first two weeks of March on our own and it was kind of cool… especially the winds.
Going at the beginning or the near end would be much better. When we went we visited Mykonos, Naxos and Santorinni. Great places and I’d go back, but this time via a cruise.
Our next cruise is Asia with Princess.
My daughter and I went on the Princess cruise that began the first week of November and had a great time. We were the last cruise ship in Santorini but we did not have the crowds of summer and the prices were good on things as people were getting ready to close for the season. I would recommend going from the middle of October to the end. The weather was cooler and no crowds!
Thank you Kristen, I would love to go with you. We were there but the weather kept us on the ship,after reading your story I do feel like I got a glimpse of Santorini and would love to go back. We really enjoyed all the other Ports like Sorrento,Patmos,Kusadasi {Ephesus}Haifa {Sea of Galilee},Ashdod {Jerusalem/Bethlehem} were amoung my favorite. Take care and Keep traveling. Loved the story
Kristen–Your description of Santorini makes the desire to return even greater! In fact of all the cruises we’ve taken the Mediterranean is the one we want to repeat. We would just see some different sites at each port.
Kristen – what a lovely description of Santorini! Mykonos was wonderful but we didn’t get to Santorini……yet! I have a beaded necklace from some horses in Istanbul from a trip I took as a child. It’s a wonderful souvenir.
Hi Kristen,
Never been to Santorini, may be one day, been to Mykonos a few times, nice story, may be even see Alaska. The bucket list just gets longer not shorter with time.
Kristen – Would you like to go back? I am ready! We had so much fun on our Mediterranean cruise with you that I am perfectly willing to let you take the lead again. The pictures reminded me of Mykonos. Beautiful scenery, blue water and the colorful homes/buildings. Take me back please
I think I’d have to try and ride a donkey though … never having done that before. Run into any dogs along the way?
Thanks for sharing …
That was a great overview of Santorini. I’m booked on the gorgeous Star Princess to visit that port next year and can’t wait to experience my own version of such a magical sounding place. Thank you for whetting my imagination!
Thanks, Kristen, now I have another place to put on my visit list. Your description was wonderful, I can hardly wait.
Thank you for all of your comments! Reading them makes me want to take another Princess Cruise to the Mediterranean! Santorini is truly a magical place. I also enoyed the islands of Mykonos and Rhodes. Oh, so much to see!
Kristen….that was a wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing it. I have added Santorini to my bucket list. After I read your lovely story I watched a move called “The Sisterhood of the traveling pants”, one of the girls traveled to Santorini and honestly your description of everything was so perfect. I hope to make it to Santorini very soon.
great writing kristen! makes me reeeeally want to go back! I like how your love of animals comes through loud and clear and how the most memorable souvenirs are the ones that don’t cost an arm and a leg(well, I don’t know how much you gave the man, but you know what I mean)
xo from Minneapolis
Really emjoyed reading about your experience. We visited Santorini last month with the Star Princess and it is so beautiful. We especially enjoyed experiencing the Greek food and wine in an outdoor cafe that overlooks the sparkling sea and cruise ship anchored below. Everyone needs to put this place on a bucket list.
thatsdefinently my next place to visit it looks great iwill put in my wish list for my next cruise
Great story and pictures! What a magical place and memory…thank you for sharing with us!
Kristen-
Thank you for sharing and I love your pictures 
That is a great story
Wow Kristen! It’s almost like I was there with you! What a delightful day you must have had!! It sounds like you have travelled the world…carry on and continue collecting all those animal bells. Happy Travels!
This was my ulitmate favorite place to go. i picked my cruise because of this location. i rode the tram up and the donkeys down. the view was breathtaking. i would love to go back and see this place again. the next time i would love to spend even more time at the top and possibly go see the beaches heard they awe inspiring. to see this in real life is so much better than any picture can show.
thank you for sharing your experience with the donkey herder. We will be traveling to the Holy Land and stopping in Greece. I am hoping to have just as good of an experience as you did. I also hope that you are keeping some of that warm weather in a jar for those beautiful Alaska winters (visited Alaska last year).
Wow! I’m impressed that you not only made the walk up, but down as well. I’m a wimp and rode the cable car. I wish I’d thought of bargaining for one of those sweet sounding bells as a remembrance. Instead, I have a lovely watercolor painting of a cat sunning itself on a terrace amid the whitewashed buildings with blue roofs in Oia.
We visited Santorini in June this year and it was absolutely beautiful just like the photos you see in the magazines and brochures. It is well worth a visit
YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE PUT IN A TRAVEL BOOK, IT WAS SO DESCRIPTIVE AND THE PICTURES GIVE A REAL TIME VIEW OF SANTORINI…..THANK YOU!!!
Sounds like paradise Kristen! Thanks for sharing your story. And what a unique travel souvenir idea.
Ahhh Santorini, my Happy Place.. thanks for sharing.
I certainly remember seeing those poor, smelly, wretched and abused donkeys at the bottom of the Santorini cliff, next to the Princess dock.
Awesome story Auntie Kristen! I love that photo of you haggling with the donkey herder.
It brings back memories of when I was in Santorini on the Pacific Princess in May ’08.
Please don’t ride the donkeys……they live a horrid life behind the scenes…look at their faces…they are sad as hell……
I agree with Lin – it’s disgusting the lives those poor donkeys ‘live’ – and they have to carry huge heavy adults (they need shooting too). Stopped there twice on cruises, most recently July this year, and they really upset me. The heat must be terrible for them, and I’ve never seen them being watered – nasty donkey men. PLEASE DON’T RIDE THOSE DONKEYS – IT’S SO CRUEL. Apart from that, Santorini is beautiful.
Agree with Lin 100 percent! Those poor overworked creatures break my heart and spoil my feelings on Santorini, which is beautiful.
Be advised if it were not for the riders, the donkeys would not even have a life and thus after a while become extinct on that isle. Be reasonable, their purpose in life on that island is for the tourists, their death soon to follow if not being that useful tool to serve man. How can you tell the animal is sad as hell by looking at it’s face? Let memories be made.
Santorini is one of the most beautiful places we’ve visited on cruises or otherwise. It was nice to actually take my own photos just like the ones we see in brochures. We had a wonderful time!
Thanks much Kristen for sharing and letting us see this beautiful city through your eyes and thoughts until hopefully we may see it in person for ourselves. I too have added this destination to my bucket list.
Kristen you have done a wonderful job of describing a beautiful destination. We scaled the cliffs of Santorini the easiest way . . in the venicular. . next time the donkeys. Oia is breathtaking. . we traversed a walkway that led right along the outside of the village – offering more fantastic views of the Agean than we ever imagined. The white stucco buildings with their vibrant blue domes backing gorgeous red bougainvellia bushes. . . diamonds of sunshine sparkling on the waters . . . a fantastic onboard back deck Greek buffet. . . watching the sun set with a glass of red wine in hand. . made this one of the most most memorable locations were have ever had the good fortune to visit!
I went to Santorini 2 years ago and I agree that everyone should go there at some point – it just breath taking – some of my favorite photos from my cruise were taken there. We took the cable cars down the cliff – not the donkeys. But we did take the time to visit the donkeys and take some photos with then but we felt so bad for them – the owners continually whipped them and we wanted to call PETA.
I have visited Santorino on 3 occasions now whilst on a Princess Cruise but will NEVER ride the Donkeys ….. these beautiful and gentle creatures are forced to plod along over 300 steps to the top and down again … often with some overweight tourist riding on its back!! My heart bleeds to see them standing in the intense summer heart with inadequate shelter!
Kristen, this is great. Now I can put this place on my bucket list. You look great. We are playing tourist for a few days. It is still hot in Calif. so we are on the cool, rainy cost of Oregon. We are parked right on the bay at Winchecester Bay. Some wind and rain. In fact we are getting salt water spray on the back of the rig…Trying to figure a way to come to Alaska for Christmas and Brittany’s 21st birthday. Hope all is well. Would love to hear more of this story. Charlene
My husband and I took a Princess cruise and loved Santorini, the whole experience was breathtaking and we would definitely take another cruise with the Princess Cruise Line.
We decided not to take the donkey ride but decided to go on foot on the way up and tram on our way down.
It is heart wrenching to know that the donkeys are being treated in an inhumane manner and we do agree that something should be done although we don’t think that the Princess has the responsibility of changing the donkey’s fate.
Tourists have the option not to ride the donkeys perhaps this might help with this unfortunate situation.