Visit Nea Kameni crater in Santorini: tickets, prices, schedules

Are you leaving for the island of Santorini in the Cyclades? Here’s the main thing to know about Nea Kameni’s crater: tickets, prices and schedules!

Located in the center of the caldeira of the volcanic island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea of the Cyclades in Greece, the crater of Nea Kameni is the active part of the volcano of the island. It is an island surrounded by the sea, one of the four islands of the archipelago of Santorini. Run by a crater, it reaches its highest point, 150 meters above the sea. We visit the island of Nea Kaméni from the port of Fira, after a crossing in a secular or ten-minute boat. Nea Kameni means “young burnt”, by reference to the fact that it is the most recent volcano of the archipelago. Visiting the crater of Nea Kameni will allow you beautiful views and a hike in the middle of a barren, lunar landscape, composed of volcanic rock, the island of Santorini and the great blue as a backdrop. This is one of the must-see tourist activities for thousands of tourists visiting Santorini.

You want to be part of it? Here’s everything you need to know about Nea Kaméni’s crater: the history, what to see, the rates and the schedules of visits!

History of the crater of Nea Kameni

The crater of Nea Kaméni formed following the minoan eruption of the volcano of Santorini, which occurred around 1600 before our era. During this period, 40 to 60 km 3 de magma aurait été déversés dans la mer. The centre of the island collapsed and was completely immersed. According to some researchers, this eruption would be responsible for the weakening of the Minoan civilization – which then dominated the island and the Crete – which will later be found the ruins of the Minoan culture in Akrotiri, on the island of Santorini. For others, it would be at the origin of Myth of Atlantide . For others, it would be the cause of the ten plagues of Egypt, even if these assumptions are not shared by the whole scientific community.

During Antiquity, the melting rock in the centre of the submarine volcano gradually goes back to the center of the caldeira, which helped form the island of Paléa Kameni . The island of Nea Kameni, it, was born around 1570, in the form of an island named Mikri Kameni. The island that is currently known ranged between 1707 and 1710, and then its area ranged from 1866 to 1870 thanks to new lands that emerged. Several eruptions during the 20th century continued to alter the appearance and surface of the island, the last dating from 1950. However, the volcano had experienced a renewed activity in 2011. The researchers observed an elevation of the altitude of 5 centimetres, and for cause: the radars estimate that there would be a magmatic pocket containing 14 million m 3 melting rocks, 4 kilometres deep, north of the island.

Nea Kaméni, still active and moving, would have the particularity of being one of the most recent islands of the entire Mediterranean Sea, with only 500 years of age.

What to see and do in the crater of Nea Kameni?

Many excursions are possible to the Nea Kameni crater, from the island of Santorini. What to do by visiting the Nea Kameni crater? Why go see this lunar landscape, deserted, unworked?

Go from the port of Fira or the port of Fira Athinios by boat to find out. You can hike on a hot ground, from where the smokers escape from it, to feel like in the deepest part of the earth’s innards, and to see a landscape that is delightful, unique. There are few active volcanoes in the world that allow safe hiking in the hollow of their crater. Visiting and hiking can be done alone, but it is recommended that you be accompanied by a tourist guide if you want to know more about it geology of the island and in the traces left by volcanic activity.

The island allows you to stroll around the entire natural geological park. You will see fields of black, ochre, red and beige rocks, on which grow suulant (malacophyte) green and red carpets. Also watch how the landscapes change dramatically in a few meters. Cherry on the cake, you can also swim in the sulphurous hot waters of the volcano!

How do I go to the Nea Kameni crater?

Going to the island to visit the crater of the Nea Kameni is simple: you can easily find departures, organized by travel and tourism agencies, for the crater from the cities of Santorini. We can choose to go there quick shuttle , in sailboat (round 3 hours) or Caicos .

Start by climbing to the top of the volcano after the crossing. You will find yourself in the middle of a hostile landscape of dark rocks, spitting Smoking, and junctioned with pain crystals. There is no other sense of visit than that of the only path – it is a protected nature reserve – that you will borrow with the tourist guide. Walking to the top requires about half an hour, but you are advised to stay at least one hour half day on the island to fully enjoy swimming and hiking. Touch the rock of your hands: you will feel the heat, recalling the intense volcanic activity that takes place under your feet. Note that it is formally not advisable to touch the stone bolts that you will see here.

When to go to the crater of Nea Kameni?

The spring and autumn are logically the best moments of the year to visit the crater of the Nea Kameni: it is less hot and there is less world. In the summer, it is about ten boats per day loaded with a hundred people to each boat, which land on the island. Imagine the flow of people (even if the path is wide enough to drain the crowd).

Schedules and rates of the Kamen Nea crater

HORARI

Two daily departures are available from the port of Fira:

• Departures 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.,
• Returns to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m..

RATES

Entrance to the national park costs 2.5 € .

There are many agencies offering their excursions to visit the Nea Kameni crater, of course, at different rates.

However, we found one offer to 44 € per person, with support from your hotel, audio comments in the boat, a stop at the crater of Nea Kameni and a swim in the hot water sources of the island of Thirassia, nearby.