Emergencies in Santorini

Good to Know

• 112 works even from a phone with no SIM card, no credit, or no roaming — keep this in mind if your phone plan runs out while on the island.
• On Santorini, as on other Greek islands, response times for police/ambulance can be slower than in Athens due to distance and limited resources — locals recommend also alerting hotel staff or the harbour master directly for faster help in a remote-area emergency.
• If you don't speak Greek and the person answering 100 (police) has limited English, ask to be transferred to the Tourist Police (1571) or simply use 112, which has guaranteed English-speaking operators.
• Save 166 (ambulance/EKAB) directly in your phone in addition to 112 — locals note it's often the fastest route for a purely medical emergency.
• You may receive an SMS from your mobile carrier (Vodafone/COSMOTE) prompting you to download the mAiGreece app upon arrival in Greece.
• The island's main hospital, the General Hospital of Thira, is public and its Emergency Department is staffed 24/7, but it is a relatively small 44-bed facility — for serious trauma, major surgery, or complex cases, patients are typically stabilized here and then transferred by air or sea ambulance to a hospital in Athens.
• The public hospital is located in Karterados, a short drive (not walking distance) south of central Fira — worth noting if you're relying on taxis or rented ATV/car for emergencies.
• EU/EEA visitors should bring their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or GHIC; non-EU visitors will want private travel insurance, as the public hospital ER can involve out-of-pocket costs and comparatively long waits noted by past patients.
• Greece does not use the US-style Level I–IV trauma center classification system, so no hospital in Santorini carries a formal 'trauma level' rating — the General Hospital of Thira is simply the island's designated acute/emergency referral hospital.