Santorini earthquakes: What is the current situation - is it safe to travel and will cruises still go ahead this summer?

Recent seismic activity has threatened the industry in Santorini, with its tourism down 20 per cent for the summer 2025 season. The Greek government is in a race to recover what they can, including ensuring cruises start as planned.

The island has experienced several earthquakes with some measuring up to 5.3 in magnitude. The Interdisciplinary Committee for Risk and Crisis Management at the University of Athens reported more than 20,000 earthquakes of magnitude one or higher between January 26 and February 22, 2025.

T he Greek government is now focused on ensuring the cruise season opens as scheduled by late March and that the upcoming April and May season isn't lost out on for hoteliers. In the coming weeks, the Greek government is expected to finalise decisions regarding cruise tax, the terms and conditions for ship arrivals and the protective measures that will apply to the scenic island.

Local Santorini stakeholders have also submitted their proposals to the government and now are awaiting official inter-ministerial decisions. While some industry figures have proposed the cruise season will start as planned on March 22, Greek authorities are expressing that for safety reasons ships should not dock at the main Fira port, where the cable car leading up to Fira is located.

Authorities have decided that the cable car will not be operational for at least the next three months as the government continues to observe seismic activity. Instead, stakeholders have proposed that the cruise ships should dock at Athinios Port and have suggested a temporary pier should be constructed at Monolithos to allow alternative access, reports tovima.com.

Currently no cruise cancellations have been reported. It also remains unclear what will happen with the cruise tax, which was suspended due to the seismic activity on the island.

The Foreign Office currently has no travel warnings for Greece. However it did provide advice on earthquakes. It said: “The area around the Cycladic islands of Santorini (Thira), Anafi, Ios and Amorgos, is currently experiencing frequent earthquakes which may continue for several weeks. The Greek authorities advised people in those areas not to attend large indoor gatherings, to avoid old or abandoned buildings and the ports of Amoudi, Armeni, Korfos and Old Port (Paleos Limenas) in the area of Fira and to choose safe routes when travelling, particularly in areas where the landslide risk is high.

“In case of a strong tremor, people should immediately depart coastal areas. The Greek Ministry of Civil Protection declared States of Emergency on Santorini, Anafi, Ios and Amorgos to allow its emergency services to facilitate access to and mobilisation of resources to prepare in case of a need to respond to a strong earthquake. If you are in the affected areas, you should keep up to date with and follow the advice of local authorities and emergency services.”