Free at the airport, port & Fira with most local firms
Cruise handovers at the top of the cable car
In 2026 the easiest way to start a Santorini rental is to have it delivered to the spot where you arrive. Book an ATV, quad, buggy, scooter or car with an established local company, give it your flight or ferry and arrival time, and a representative meets you at Santorini Airport (JTR), Athinios port, the top of the Fira cable car or your hotel door. Most of these firms deliver and collect free at the airport, the port and Fira, and charge extra mainly for Oia, remote spots and overnight hours.
The calendar above is for the One-Way Transfer Port/Airport (4.4/5 from 3,692 reviews on GetYourGuide), for the day you'd rather be driven to your hotel and collect a vehicle later. Delivery matters more in Santorini than on most islands. There are only a few dozen taxis, Athinios port has no town and one steep switchback road out, and the caldera villages are largely pedestrian-only. A pre-arranged handover is often the biggest time-saver of the whole trip.
The same routine applies to ATVs, quads, buggies, scooters and cars.
Give the arrival point and time, plus your flight number or ferry name. Santorini's rental market is mostly local, family-run firms, and they compete on how easy they make the delivery.
They wait at the airport arrivals exit, the Athinios port disembarkation area, the top of the Fira cable car for cruise passengers, or your hotel, with the vehicle ready.
Sign the contract, walk around the vehicle and photograph any existing damage, then drive off.
The return works like the delivery: the place and time you agreed when you booked.
Many operators advertise free island-wide delivery and collection with no deposit, no card hold, unlimited mileage, free helmets and 24/7 roadside assistance. Last-minute bookings are quick too: some firms can have a vehicle ready in about 20 minutes at their main points (the airport, the port and Fira) or roughly 40 minutes anywhere else on the island.
You book these direct with the rental company, because GetYourGuide doesn't sell self-drive rentals with delivery. Our ATV, quad and buggy rental guide compares the vehicles, and the rental prices page has the daily rates.
Riders who collect a quad at the airport or Athinios port often add a guided ATV tour of the south island, a catamaran cruise around the caldera, a sunset in Oia, or a wine tasting at the Megalochori cellars and Santo Wines above Fira.
Santorini Airport is on the island's east side, about 6 km southeast of Fira. Its single terminal is small for the traffic it carries, about 2.42 million airport passengers in 2025, and it gets congested in peak season. Two handover models work side by side. The big chains, Sixt, Europcar, Enterprise and Goldcar, have desks just outside arrivals with a rental lot a short walk away. Local firms and ATV and scooter specialists meet you at arrivals holding a sign with your name.
Airport delivery is free with almost every local operator, and the firms track flight numbers and wait if you land late. The airport is also the easiest place on the island to collect a vehicle: the roads out are wider and the traffic lighter than at the port or in the caldera towns.
Athinios is Santorini's only passenger-ferry port, on the southwest coast at the foot of the caldera cliffs and about 8 km by road from Fira. It is a working port, not a town. The only way out is one steep road that zigzags up the cliff in switchbacks, shared with buses and trucks. Walking out isn't practical, the KTEL bus that meets every ferry goes only to Fira (where you change and buy another ticket), and taxis are few.
A pre-arranged port handover takes all of that out of your arrival. The vehicle is waiting, you load your luggage and drive straight to your accommodation without the bus scramble or the taxi queue. The company times the meeting to your ferry and meets you at a set point near the terminal. If you don't drive a manual every day, ask for an automatic for the switchback climb, and book it early: port availability for automatics is limited.
Athinios and the Old Port below Fira are two different places. All ferries use Athinios. The Old Port is the tender port for cruise ships and has no road access, so no rental vehicle can reach it. From the Old Port you go up to Fira by cable car, on foot up the roughly 588 steps, or by donkey. The cable car costs €10 one-way for adults and €5 per luggage item on the operator's current price list, issued for 2025.
Rental firms meet cruise passengers at the top of the cable car in Fira instead. Agree the exact spot and time in advance, and leave time at the end of the day for the cable-car queue on the way back down. To ride with a guide, the ATV-Quad Experience Tour meets cruise passengers in front of McDonald's in Fira; our cruise passenger guide covers the timing.
Door-to-door hotel delivery covers the whole island, including Fira, Oia, Imerovigli, Firostefani, Kamari, Perissa, Perivolos, Akrotiri and Megalochori. Give the company your hotel name and area, your arrival time and, if you're arriving that day, your flight or ferry details. The team brings the vehicle to your accommodation or to the nearest point it can reach.
The caldera villages are the hard part. Central Oia, much of Fira and the cliffside parts of Imerovigli and Firostefani are pedestrian-only, and many hotels there are reachable only on foot. For those hotels the company sets a meeting point at the nearest accessible road or public parking area, confirmed in advance. Returns mirror delivery: you bring the vehicle back to the agreed point at the agreed time, and some local firms let you park it and leave the keys when you return it at the airport or port.
Free at the main arrival points. Oia, short rentals and night-time handovers are where charges appear.
| Handover | Typical cost | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Airport (JTR) | Free with almost all local firms | One named firm charges €10 |
| Athinios port | Usually free | One named firm charges €15 |
| Fira, including the cable-car top | Usually free | Agree the exact meeting spot |
| Oia and remote spots | Free with many firms; €12–€40 where charged | One firm charges a flat €12 each way covering the airport, port and Oia; another charges €30 for Oia or Finikia on 2+ day rentals and €40 for a one-day rental |
| After hours (commonly 22:00–08:00) | Around €30, up to €40 at some chains | Some firms charge a smaller €10 for the shoulder hours, around 07:00–08:00 and 22:00–24:00 |
| Short rentals | Free delivery may need 3+ days (or 2+) | An out-of-station charge on shorter bookings |
| One-way (collect in one place, return in another) | Often free at local firms | International chains charge a formal one-way fee |
Confirm before you pay: delivery fees and free-delivery conditions change often and vary by operator, season and rental length. Treat these euro amounts as representative. Oia is where policies differ most and there's no single market rate: get the price for your village in writing.
Availability at the port and for automatic cars is limited, and last-minute walk-ups can wait 30–60 minutes and pay more.
Your flight number or ferry name, arrival time and hotel, so the firm can track a delay.
Reputable local firms monitor late flights and ferries and wait at no extra charge. Confirm it anyway: some operators cancel a booking about two hours after the scheduled pickup.
A valid driving license held for at least 1–2 years, a passport or ID, a credit card in the main driver's name and your booking voucher. ATVs, quads, buggies and cars need a Category B car license, scooters need a motorcycle category, and non-EU drivers from certain countries also need an International Driving Permit. Our license rules go through it country by country.
Have your confirmation ready, share a phone number that works on the island, photograph the vehicle before you drive off and confirm the fuel policy.
The Athinios switchback and the tight village lanes are the wrong place to practice with a clutch.
The island's transport makes delivery much more than a nicety. Santorini has only a few dozen licensed taxis, all based at the Fira rank, and that fleet can't keep up with peak-season arrivals. Taxi queues at the airport and port can run 45 minutes or more in summer, taxis are cash-only and unmetered, and the buses route through Fira and get crowded. The popular Fira–Oia bus is hard to board with luggage.
With your ATV, quad or car waiting at your arrival point, you skip those queues, load your bags and start exploring after a five-minute handover. Our getting around Santorini guide compares every other way to move about the island.
JTR is the least stressful handover point, and local firms deliver there free.
Book an Athinios port handover instead of gambling on a taxi, and choose an automatic if the switchback climb worries you.
Book a meeting point at the top of the Fira cable car, since vehicles can't reach the Old Port.
Confirm in writing whether delivery to your village is free; some firms charge €12–€40 or set a minimum rental. For a 1–2 day stay deep in pedestrian-only Oia, an airport or port pickup plus a short drive may be the better value.
After-hours delivery typically adds about €30. If your first evening doesn't need a vehicle, collect it the next morning.
Have your documents and a reachable phone ready, photograph the vehicle at the handover, and confirm the delay-waiting and fuel policies.
4.4/5 from 3,692 reviews on GetYourGuide.
A pre-booked one-way ride from the airport or Athinios port. It suits a late arrival when you'd rather collect the rental at your hotel next morning, or a short stay in pedestrian-only Oia where a vehicle is more trouble than help.
From €120 pp · 4.9/5 from 329 reviews · ~3.5 hours.
Hotel pickup and drop-off, a 450/550cc quad with fuel, training, a helmet and a guide on the south-island loop, with no rental paperwork at all. Pickup is from your accommodation, not the port or airport, so sort your arrival first.
Airport, port, cruise and hotel handovers, fees, delays and documents.
Yes. The big chains have desks just outside arrivals with a lot a short walk away, and local firms and ATV or scooter specialists meet you at arrivals with a sign. Airport delivery is free with almost every local operator, and they track your flight and wait if it lands late.
At the airport, Athinios port and Fira it usually is. Charges appear for Oia and remote spots (free with many firms, €12 to €40 where charged), for after-hours handovers (around €30) and, at some firms, for rentals shorter than 2 or 3 days.
Yes, and it is the arrival point where delivery helps most. The port has no town, one steep switchback road out, a bus that only goes to Fira and few taxis. The company times the handover to your ferry and meets you near the terminal.
At the top of the cable car in Fira. Cruise tenders use the Old Port below Fira, which has no road access, so no vehicle can reach it. The cable car costs €10 one-way for adults and €5 per luggage item; the alternatives are about 588 steps or a donkey ride.
Usually to the nearest road or public parking area, not the door. Central Oia, much of Fira and the cliffside parts of Imerovigli and Firostefani are pedestrian-only, so the company confirms a meeting point in advance. Check in writing whether Oia delivery is free or carries a surcharge.
Reputable local firms monitor your flight or ferry and wait at no extra charge. Confirm the policy when you book, because some operators cancel a booking about two hours after the scheduled pickup.
A valid driving license held for at least 1 to 2 years, a passport or ID, a credit card in the main driver's name and your booking voucher. ATVs, quads, buggies and cars need a Category B car license, scooters need a motorcycle category, and non-EU drivers from certain countries also need an International Driving Permit.
Usually. Local firms often offer one-way rentals for free, and some let you park at the airport or port and leave the keys. International chains treat it as a formal one-way rental with a fee.
The delivery fees are those published by named rental companies; they vary by operator, season and rental length, and change often. The cable-car fare is from the operator's official price list (scc.gr), whose latest edition is for 2025. The airport passenger total is confirmed for 2024 and 2025. Cruise-only rules, such as the per-passenger levy and the daily cap on cruise visitors, apply to cruise passengers, not to ferry or air arrivals.
Vehicles, daily rates, the rest of the island's transport and cruise-day timing.
Read next
Vehicle types, engine sizes, license rules and when self-drive makes more sense than a guided tour.
Our Santorini rental guide Read the rental guide
Read next
What ATVs, buggies, scooters and cars cost per day in 2026, and the extras that push up the bill.
Our 2026 rental prices guide See the prices
Read next
Buses, taxis, transfers, the cable car and rentals compared side by side.
Our Santorini transport guide Read the transport guide
Read next
Tenders, the cable-car queue and the all-aboard time, and how to fit a ride into a port day.
Our cruise passenger guide Read the cruise guide