Santorini travel guide
Where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Things to do in Santorini, planned over three days
Best time to visit Santorini
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best weather, warm sea, everything open and long evenings. June and September are effectively peak for hotels.
Heat and crowd season, 28 to 35 degrees, meltemi winds, highest prices and maximum cruise pressure.
Wildflowers and a walkers bargain, but cool sea and many hotels and restaurants reopen only mid-April.
Island exhales from mid-October. Most caldera hotels and many restaurants close, light is gorgeous and prices lowest.
Much of the island is closed. Fira is the only practical winter base, ferries thin out and weather swings mild to cold and windy.
What's on
- Ifestia Volcano Festival 19 September
Fireworks and light over the caldera simulate the eruption, watched from rim villages and boat cruises.
- Greek Orthodox Easter and Holy Week dates vary in spring
Good Friday lantern processions in Pyrgos and Megalochori, and Easter Saturday midnight fireworks in Fira.
- Assumption of the Virgin 15 August
Biggest summer religious feast, with services and village panigiria in Emporio, Pyrgos and on Thirassia.
- Santorini Jazz Festival July
Summer jazz festival in Kamari.
- Profitis Ilias feast 20 July
Village feast at the summit monastery.
- Vedema harvest festival at Santo Wines early August
Grape stomping, music and theatrical performances at Santo Wines.
- Transfiguration feast in Pyrgos 6 August
Basil-decorated church and an evening feast in Pyrgos.
- Megalochori traditional island feast 19 August
Traditional village feast in Megalochori.
- Agios Ioannis feast at Vothonas late August
Village feast at Vothonas, one of the summer panigiria.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Santorini
Akrotiri Archaeological Site
Bronze Age town preserved under volcanic ash, with multi-storey houses and paved streets under a protective roof.
Museum of Prehistoric Thera
Holds the frescoes and finds from Akrotiri, so it completes the story the buried town starts.
Oia
Blue domes, cave houses and marble lanes that are magical before the tour groups arrive.
Pyrgos
Former capital with a Venetian castle, lived-in lanes and churches, away from the rim crowds.
Monastery of Profitis Ilias
Eighteenth-century monastery at the island's highest point, with 360 degree views across Santorini.
Megalochori
Neoclassical mansions, cave houses and quiet squares fifteen minutes from Fira, with no caldera crowds.
Emporio
Best-preserved medieval kasteli on the island, a warren built against pirate raids, plus the Gavrilos windmills.
Domaine Sigalas
The connoisseur winery pick near Oia, best done as the food-pairing tasting of Assyrtiko and Vinsanto.
Where to stay in Santorini
Imerovigli
first trip, all-round base, couples
Highest caldera village with fine views over Skaros Rock, quiet and romantic, with few restaurants.
Firostefani
value on the caldera, calmer nights
Fifteen minutes walk from Fira buses and restaurants, with caldera views and lower prices than Oia.
Oia
postcard luxury and early mornings
Most beautiful village and best luxury bench, but the priciest rooms and lanes that fill to sunset.
Fira
logistics, nightlife and no-car travellers
Every bus radiates from here, with the most restaurants and mid-range hotels, plus cruise-day crush.
Karterados
true budget base near Fira
Lived-in village a short walk from Fira, with no caldera view and prices a fraction of the rim.
Pyrgos, Megalochori and Akrotiri
repeat visitors, drivers and calm
Village life and lower prices in the quieter south and inland, but you need a car or buses.
Think twice about
- Oia main pedestrian spine
In June to September your lane is a slow crowd from mid-morning to after sunset, at premium prices. Stay two lanes back or in Finikia.
- Immediate Fira bus station and cable car blocks
Cruise tenders, buses and taxis converge here all day and bars are loud at night. A short walk south or to Firostefani removes it.
- Isolated caldera-cliff or rural properties without confirmed access
Many listings involve 50 to 150 steps or unlit rural roads and no restaurant nearby. Confirm step count and porter service in writing.
Best restaurants in Santorini
Metaxi Mas
Cretan-Santorinian taverna with two courtyards and huge portions, the meal many people remember from the island.
To Psaraki
Whole fish picked from the chiller and grilled at the marina, where locals ask to eat fish.
Ammoudi Fish Tavern
Water-edge tables under Oia's red cliffs for grilled octopus, fresh fish and Santorinian salad.
Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna
Sunset seafood lunch at the water edge below Oia, with fish priced by weight agreed first.
Roka
Modern Greek cooking in Oia back lanes, in a cosy old house at fair prices for the village.
Aktaion
Historic taverna by the caldera wall with tomatokeftedes and lamb shank, sunset without Oia chaos.
Selene
The island's fine dining flagship since 1986, now in Pyrgos, with tasting menus built entirely around island produce.
Aroma Avlis
Winery restaurant pairing Santorinian cooking with Karamolegos Assyrtikos in the courtyard.
Outdoor things to do in Santorini
Fira to Oia Caldera Rim Hike
Ten kilometre cliff-edge walk through Imerovigli to Oia, the island's signature active day.
Small-group sunset catamaran cruise
Half-day sail with swim stops, hot springs and dinner on board, ending with sunset below Oia.
Volcano and Hot Springs Boat Trip
Wooden-boat day hiking the Nea Kameni crater, swimming at the springs and stopping on Thirassia.
South-coast sea kayaking
Guided paddle past Red, White and Black beaches with sea caves, snorkelling and a homemade picnic.
Caldera scuba diving
Volcanic walls, lava formations, caves and a wreck, with beach sessions for complete beginners.
Profitis Ilias Hike
Inland hike from Pyrgos to the summit monastery and on toward Ancient Thera, exposed and view-filled.
Perivolos Beach
Long black-sand strip with beach clubs and tavernas behind, the island's main swim and lunch scene.
Perissa Beach
Long, serviced black-sand beach paired with Perivolos, good for a full swim day.
Best hotels in Santorini
Grace Hotel Santorini, Auberge Resorts Collection
Minimalist splurge in Imerovigli with an iconic infinity pool facing Skaros Rock.
Astra Suites
Long-running boutique favourite in Imerovigli, sunset-facing with strong service.
Cavo Tagoo Santorini
Design-led luxury at the north end of Imerovigli, with a party-luxe feel.
Stella Rocca a Mare
Smaller, better-value cave suites in Imerovigli with hot tubs.
Honeymoon Petra Villas
Smaller cave-suite value in Imerovigli, with hot tubs and caldera views.
Tsitouras Collection
Art-filled historic mansion suites in quiet Firostefani, a honeymoon staple.
Belvedere Suites
Mid-range caldera-view suites in calmer Firostefani, walkable to Fira.
Canaves Oia Suites
Benchmark cave luxury in Oia, carved into the cliff with plunge pools.
Is Santorini expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €110 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €250 a person |
| Splurge | €600 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Domaine Sigalas: weeks ahead
- Petra Kouzina: weeks ahead
- Small-group sunset catamaran cruise: weeks ahead
- South-coast sea kayaking: a few days ahead
- Caldera scuba diving: a few days ahead
- Grace Hotel Santorini, Auberge Resorts Collection: months ahead
- Astra Suites: months ahead
- Cavo Tagoo Santorini: months ahead
- Caldera-view hotel rooms go 4 to 8 months ahead for June and September. Confirm the room itself faces the caldera.
- Catamarans, Petra Kouzina, Sigalas pairings, Selene, Metaxi Mas and sunset tables should be booked as soon as dates are fixed.
- Ferries in July and August and around 15 August need booking ahead, with slack for meltemi delays.
- Go to Akrotiri at opening in summer for cool and quiet, and check winter hours and closing days first.
Is Santorini safe?
- Real risks are heat on shadeless hikes, cliff edges, slippery marble and cobbles, and steep shelving at black-sand beaches.
- Pickpocketing is a risk at Fira bus station and in cable car queues, not island-wide. Keep a hand on bags in crush points.
- Santorini is an active volcanic island. Follow local civil protection guidance and check cliff path closures on arrival. Emergency number 112.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Santorini travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Oia Castle at sunset, where spots are claimed 2 hours early and lanes gridlock. Watch from Imerovigli, Firostefani or a boat instead.
- Red Beach as a swim beach, closed to bathers over landslide risk. View it from above or a boat and swim elsewhere.
- Caldera-rim restaurants chosen by view alone in Oia and Fira. Have the drink there and eat from the Eat list.
- Donkey rides up the Fira steps, and flying dress shoots that trespass on church roofs and private terraces.
Getting around Santorini: public transport and more
- KTEL buses radiate from Fira bus station at about 2 euros a ride, frequent in season and sparse in winter.
- Taxis are scarce, so pre-book transfers through your hotel and agree the fare first.
- Rent a small car for 3 or more days based in the south or east, and book ahead in season.
- Tap water is desalinated and locals drink bottled for taste. Carry water, as shade is scarce outside villages.
Who Santorini suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Santorini your trip
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