Nea Kameni: Santorini's Volcano, the Hike and the Fee

Is the Santorini volcano still active?

Yes. Nea Kameni's last eruption, in 1950, was small: lava pushed up into a dome. Wikipedia describes the island as a protected scientific site that scientists from the Institute for the Study and Monitoring of the Santorini Volcano (ISMOSAV), watch closely. Do not confuse it with the earthquakes of February 2025. That swarm was centred in the sea between Santorini and Amorgos, and its best-known effect on visitors was a rockfall that closed Red Beach.

When did Santorini erupt?

The eruption everyone means is the Minoan eruption, around 1600 BCE, which blew the old island apart and left the caldera that the boats now cross. Nea Kameni came much later. It and Palea Kameni were built over the last two thousand years by repeated eruptions of lava and ash, and Wikipedia lists five eruptions in the last 300 years.

• 1707 to 1712 — A major eruption.
• 1866 to 1870 — A major eruption.
• 1925 to 1928 — A major eruption.
• 1939 to 1941 — A major eruption.
• 1950 — A small eruption that pushed up a lava dome. Nothing since.

The hike to the crater

A gravel path climbs from the landing to the crater rim, and from the top you can walk a circuit around it. Boats give you between 1 hour 15 minutes and 1 hour 30 minutes on the island, according to the listings that state it. On the volcano cruise the walk is unguided, at your own pace. Reviewers say the same things: wear closed shoes, the ground is loose sand and gravel, and one guest on the full-day trip wrote that it is probably not suitable for anyone with restricted mobility. In July and August the average daytime high on Santorini is about 25 °C, and the path is dark rock.

The entrance fee

€5 per person, paid in cash on the island. Both volcano boats list it as not included in the price: the volcano cruise says cash only. Bring a note or coins before you leave the hotel, because there is nowhere on Nea Kameni to get cash.

How do you get to the Santorini volcano?

By boat, from one of two ports. The volcano cruise and the full-day trip leave from Athinios, the main ferry port below the cliffs south of Fira, and both include a bus from a pickup point near your hotel. The volcano cruise's sunset option has no transfer; it leaves Athinios at 4:30 p.m. and its listing quotes €2.00 for the public bus from Fira. Other caldera boats leave from Fira's old port, at the foot of the cliff: the cable car down costs €10 one way, or you walk about 600 steps. Of the 149 Santorini boat listings we read on GetYourGuide, 21 name Athinios and 30 name the old port.

Which cruises land, and which sail past

If walking on the volcano is the point, you need one of the two volcano boats. Everything else on this site sees Nea Kameni from the water and swims at the hot springs next to it.

• Volcano and hot springs cruise, from $34 — Lands on Nea Kameni with an optional, unguided walk to the crater, then a 30-minute swim at the Palea Kameni springs. Up to 150 guests. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
• Volcano, Thirassia and Oia full day, from $64 — Twelve hours: the crater, the springs, free time on Thirassia, then the sunset in Oia from land. Meals are not included. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
• Luxury catamaran and wooden boat — Both listings name the volcano hike as not included. They sail past the island and stop at the springs.
• Day, sunset, small-group, sailing and private catamarans — Sail past Nea Kameni, with the guide or crew pointing it out, and swim at the hot springs. No landing.