Santorini Trip Report : 6 wonderful days of breath-taking beauty.

Introduction

We’ve all seen those iconic and romantic Santorini images… the bright blue domes perched atop the little gleaming white churches dotted along the sharply sloping cliffs. It’s the star of a million and one Instagram posts, and a dream honeymoon destination, but does it really live up to all the hype? Read on to find out…

When you think of Santorini, you are probably already picturing those blue topped churches and whitewashed buildings cascading down the steep volcanic cliffs toward the inviting deep cobalt blue Aegean sea. Your mind may also drift to dreamy images of glorious golden sunsets bathing the beautiful cliffs of the Caldera in a soft orange-yellow evening glow. You’ve seen these images in thousands of social media posts, but not a single one of these photos or videos can truly capture the sense of awe and wonder of seeing this remarkable island in person.

You may also be picturing hordes of cruise ship passengers shuffling shoulder to shoulder in narrow streets waving selfie sticks in the air. Huge crowds jostling for position in the evening to watch that famed golden sunset, or social media influencers disrespectfully climbing onto church roofs trying to get their ideal photos to gain the online attention they sorely crave. You may also be picturing your wallet emptying at an alarming rate!

All of these are realities of Santorini, but in my opinion it definitely is worth the hype. With a bit of clever planning, you can experience more of the amazing natural beauty of the island, and less of the crowds and the chaos.

Disclosure : this article contains affiliate links further down the article. This means that if you make a purchase through links in the article, I will receive a small commission which can help the blog to grow. I will only recommend hotels that we have personally stayed in and enjoyed.

Getting there

From the UK there are direct flights available into Santorini. EasyJet and British Airways are among those who fly there. You can easily use Trip.com to search your desired dates and nail down the best prices. Be aware that you are unlikely to get to this hugely popular island cheaply, especially in high season. However, we did manage to minimise our outlay on the flights by using loyalty points.

We flew from Heathrow with British Airways into Santorini airport. On this occasion our flights were paid for with points earned through my American Express credit card and then converted to Avios points, which can be used on British Airways. This gave us a massive saving over the cash price at the time.

You can sign up for the free card here which gives you one AmEx point per £1 spent, or for the paid British Airways Premium Plus Card (1.5 Avios points per £1 spent, chance to get a 2 for 1 voucher) here. If you sign up through either of these links your welcome bonus will be slightly increased over the standard one. I will explore airline and credit card points and their benefits in more depth in future articles.

If you’re flying in from outside of Europe, you will likely need to fly into Athens first and take a ferry or an internal flight from the Mainland to Santorini. Again, head to Trip.com to have a look for flights. You can use the Seajets.com page to search for ferries.

When to go

There are two MAJOR considerations here. Weather… and crowds!

Since the lifting of COVID related travel restrictions there has been a massive explosion in the popularity of travel. My news feed is now full of news articles on how to “beat the crowds”. Santorini is extremely popular, so is beating the crowds here realistically possible? I think the answer lies somewhere between yes and no.

The very worst time for crowds will be during the European holiday season in July and August. These two months will be the very hottest, with temperatures averaging 29°C, although in reality it will feel much hotter. These months will be the very busiest times in terms of visitors, including cruise ships (more on these later!). Accommodation prices are likely to be at their highest at this time also. Whenever you go, you should book as far ahead as you can in order to get the best prices and choice possible.

The shoulder seasons of May/June and September/October are a great time to go. They will be easily warm enough for most people, and relatively easier in terms of sharing the island with other visitors. Don’t get me wrong through, Santorini is insanely popular, and even at these times you will still be sharing the island with a lot of other tourists! Average temperatures in the shoulder seasons are 23°C in May, 27°C in June, 26°C in September, and 23°C in October.

We stayed near the end of May, and found it plenty warm and sunny enough for swimming in the sea or the hotel pool. It tried to rain once, but it didn’t get further than a couple of drops before it gave up and then sun came out again! We never even needed a light jacket to go out in the evening, but nonetheless you may want to consider taking one.

Getting around

I highly recommend hiring a car for your time in Santorini. This will allow you to fully explore everything the island has to offer without the hassle of having to use the buses (which use main town Fira as a hub, which can be very crowded).

The island’s roads are not pedestrian friendly at all, and on the whole have no pavements, which can make walking even short distances between villages quite a scary experience. On top of this, the taxis are very expensive. On one night we left the car in Megalochori as we went for a wine tasting, and later got charged 25 euros for a one mile ride home to our villa!!! Despite our protests, the driver was not budging on this price.

You will see people riding around on ATVs (all terrain vehicles) looking like they’re having the time of their lives. However this is not a very safe way to get around, and these vehicles will handle very differently to your car back home. We saw a couple of accidents involving these ATVs. A hire car will have the advantage of being more comfortable, having space for your luggage, and giving you the freedom to easily explore some of the slightly quieter places on the island.

The roads in Santorini can be very narrow and tight, hence I would not recommend going larger than a VW Golf/Ford Focus sized car. The airport is small with one terminal, hence the car hire desks are very easy to find, and the cars are literally parked opposite the entrance. Make sure that you book as far ahead as you can in order to get the best prices. We used Expedia to find a good price on our hire car for the week. If you are hiring a car, make sure that your hotel has allocated parking, as some hotels right in the centre of Oia or Fira may not.

How long to stay

Although Santorini is a relatively small island (you can drive North to South in around 40-45 minutes), there is plenty to keep you occupied for a week or more if you so desire. Most people think of the two main areas (Oia and Fira) with the white buildings on the cliffside, but there is a lot more to see and do than this (wineries, beaches, museums, hikes, boat trips), meaning you always have things to see and do. Do leave yourself plenty of time to just kick back with a glass of the local wine and admire the gorgeous sunsets of an evening though.

Have a look at our packing checklist for some suggestions of essential items to take to Santorini.

Accommodation

One of the great things about Santorini is that despite its popularity, it is not blighted by the huge and unsightly high rise hotels towering into the sky that you might see at some other popular holiday spots. In that sense, Santorini retains a whole lot of its beauty and character, despite its popularity.

Accommodation options can vary hugely in price and amenities. The two busiest and most expensive places to stay will be the two most popular villages of Oia and Fira, both of which are along the Caldera and have the much desired cliff top location with the sunset view, blue domed churches, and windmills. Cave houses and small hotels with plunge pools abound in Oia and Fira, and these two will also have the most dining and shopping options.

The main village of Santorini, Fira is where cruise ships set down and pick up passengers. It is also a hub for the buses and coaches that can take you around the island. If night life is your thing, Fira is the best option, although Santorini has generally more of a honeymoon/romance vibe. During the day, Fira will be full of cruise passengers climbing the many many steps, taking the cable car, or being taken up those many steps on donkeys. Most of these visitors will either fill out the streets of Fira, or be taken by coach up to Oia, which is the second largest village, and felt by many to be the prettiest.

Prices for accommodation in both of these villages will be higher (sometimes at eye watering levels!), with Oia usually being slightly more expensive.

One consideration when you choose your pretty cave house apartment with private plunge pool along the sloping cliffs of Oia or Fira is whether your plunge pool is in fact in full view of the crowds of tourists wandering up and down the steps and alleys of these two villages. When we were walking around in Oia, we often found ourselves descending the narrow paths with people’s “private” plunge pools in full view of everyone!

We certainly wanted to experience the legendary beauty of Oia, and spent our first few nights in the luxurious Andronis Arcadia hotel just on the outskirts of Oia. With ample parking and with full privacy in our suite with its private pool, this was a glorious and indulgent five star experience which I review in full here.

Imerovigli is a village that lies between Fira and Oia along the caldera, and is virtually a part of Fira. It has restaurants with caldera views, and similar accommodation types to Oia and Fira.

Other villages which may be quieter and less expensive but still with Caldera views include Megalochori, Firostefani, Akrotiri, or Pyrgos (further back from the caldera but higher in elevation and hence still with epic views). These are ideal places to stay if you have hired a car.

For the second part of our trip we opted to stay in the quieter Southern Part of the island at Ambeli Sunset Villas, which is a small cluster of villas, all of which have absolutely staggering caldera and sunset views. I will review Ambeli in full in another article at a later date.

It was lovely to split our trip into two like this, and staying a few days in the quieter South gave us an opportunity to explore the time capsule village of Emporio, the historic Akrotiri archaeology site, and the absolutely wonderful Gavalas Winery in Megalochori.

The other side of the island has more direct access to the beaches, most of which have black volcanic sand. Accommodation prices here are more reasonable, and you might find some quite reasonably priced hotels around Kamari Beach or Perissa Beach. These black sand beaches have loads of cafes, with loungers spilling down onto the black sand, which can usually be attained for the price of a drink and a bit of food (although one beach-side café quoted us a 350 Euro “package” to have a lounger for the afternoon!).

Wherever you decide to stay, make sure you book as far ahead as you possibly can. Not only will prices go up the longer you leave it, you may also find yourself with very few options if you leave it too late. Santorini is absolutely not the kind of place where you can decide on accommodation at the last minute.

What to do

There really is so much to see and do on this magical island. I have read articles which claim that a day or two is enough, and I heartily disagree!

• Most visitors are likely to spend time in either Oia and/or Fira. These are the main villages which star in all the Instagram posts you will have seen. Blue church domes peek out into the sky, and shocking pink Bougainvillea plants add a stunning splash of colour contrasting against the whitewashed walls and houses. Oia and Fira can get extremely busy, but nonetheless are 100% worth visiting just to experience the pleasure of wandering around the pretty streets taking in those caldera views, the churches and the windmills, and browsing the numerous boutique shops. If you’re feeling brave and want to jostle for position with a crowd of other people, you can head to Oia Castle to take in that breath-taking sunset! I will cover some tips on how to avoid the worst of the crowds further down in this article.

• I highly recommend taking a boat trip. These can come in a range of prices, from the very highly rated large group Santorini Caldera Cruise Tour (less than £30 per person) all the way up to splurging on hiring a private boat with your own skipper. We opted for one of the Catamaran Sunset Cruises which was in a moderately sized group, and took in swimming and snorkelling around the nearby Thirassia island, then a trip to the hot springs at the tiny volcanic island Nea Kameni with another swimming opportunity. We sailed past the famous cliffs, and around the southern end of the island to see the famous red beach. The whole time we were being plied with liberal amounts of local wine, and the crew fed everyone with a barbecue and a very good Greek salad. The trip was around five hours, and it was great to see the views of the island and the sunset from out at sea. I highly recommend this option, which was really good value for an excellent day out.

• Those who love a bit of beach action can head to Perissa or Kamari beach, along the east of the island. Both have beach-side cafes and activities such as Stand Up Paddle boarding (SUP) which we tried and enjoyed greatly. This was 30 Euros each per hour for paddle board hire, which we felt was worth it considering the fun we had! The quieter Exo Gialos has a small beach with a trendy beach club, and a small and pretty harbour. Another quiet beach is Colombo’s Beach on the north east of the island, which is nudist friendly (but by no means compulsory!). The Red Beach (so called for it’s eye-popping red stone cliffs) is not officially accessible – due to the risk of rock falls on the path leading to it – but this does not deter large numbers of people from accessing it down the potentially perilous pathway. One thing I would really recommend for the pebbly beaches is to take water shoes. We bought these from Amazon, which were well up to the job.

Whichever Santorini beach you decide to visit, don’t expect the expanses of fine golden sands such as you might find in the Maldives (or on some other Greek islands). Santorini is volcanic, and although the reference is to black sand, in reality the the “sand” is made up of tiny pebbles.

• Wine! Santorini has a unique soil composition (due to it’s volcanic nature) is the home of a wonder-grape called Assyrtiko, which makes a truly delicious dry white wine. The grape imparts a unique minerality plus complex flavours and aromas to the wines of Santorini, which are made at a number of wineries across the island. These wines are not to be missed! The vines are trained low to the ground (as Santorini can get quite windy) and you will see these bright green vines everywhere as you drive around the island. You can see a list of wineries and book wine tours and tastings here. During our visit we chose to visit the Gavalas Winery in Megalochori, where we had a tasting and talk in the beautiful surroundings of this traditional family run winery.

• Those looking to take in some Santorini’s history would be well served with a visit to the Archeological site at Akrotiri where the remains of an ancient settlement can be seen, some of which is thought to date to at least the 4th millenium B.C. The site is right in the south of the island, and a visit could be combined with a trip to Akrotiri Village as well as the White Beach (named for its white cliffs) and Black Beach (another black sand beach).

• Eating out is of course one of the cornerstones of any holiday, and Greek food is of course world renowned. We did not have a bad meal anywhere on the island, but in general those with caldera views in Oia and Fira will be the more expensive options. Our favourite was the fantastic To Psoraki restaurant at Vlychada Harbour, where we chose our own fish from the daily catch, and then settled down outside to enjoy wonderful views of all the sunset cruise boats coming home to drop off their passengers. Read our Santorini dinner date suggestions here.

• I highly recommend visiting some of the other Santorini villages other than Oia and Fira. A lovely little excursion we made was to visit the largely un-spoilt traditional village of Emporio, which is almost like something from a science fiction film in places, with it’s narrow whitewashed tunnels and traditional Greek houses. There were very few other tourists here, and it was a delight to quietly wander the labyrinth of alleys and tunnels just taking it all in. We really felt like we had gone back in time! My tips here are first of all to use the maps app on your phone and bookmark where you parked your car, and secondly to be respectful and remember that this village is not a theme park, it’s where people live.

• Megalochori village is another small village that is also very much worth a visit. As well as the aforementioned Gavalas winery, it also has some restaurants and boutique shops, but is much quieter than the hustle and bustle of Oia and Fira.

• Pyrgos sits up high and boasts incredible views of the island from up high. Again, do bookmark where you parked your car! We visited in order to find the Pyrgos Kallistis Castle and soon found ourselves climbing upwards getting pleasantly lost in another labyrinth of pretty whitewashed walls framed by Bougainvillea plants cascading over the walls. Eventually we reached the castle and enjoyed absolutely epic views of the caldera and the island below. Again there were several restaurants, cafes, and boutique shops to enjoy here.
• Something many overlook is to actually go inside one of the many Greek Orthodox churches on Santorini. Respect the local culture, ensure you are dressed modestly and behave respectfully. We popped into the one in Pyrgos for a look around, and enjoyed this immensely.

• The Heart of Santorini. Along the caldera near Megalochori you can take a short walk from a small dusty car park to this rock formation which gives a stunning photo opportunity. A picture says a thousand words… so see below!

Keeping the costs down

• Consider splitting your trip as we did, and book accommodation outside of Oia and Fira for at least part of your trip. As noted above, staying right in the heart of the two main villages can be the most expensive way to see Santorini, and you may find that your “private” plunge pool is in full view of hordes of holiday makers! Consider staying in one of the villages like Megalochori or Akrotiri, or along the beach side in Perissa or Kamari. The money you will save over staying in Oia or Fira will likely be more than enough for you to get a hire car anyway.
• Visiting outside of the most popular months of July and August can be much better value. This is relative of course, as Santorini is wildly popular as long as the sun is going to shine. Nonetheless, by visiting in shoulder season you can save a bit of money and probably have a better experience as the crowds will be thinner.
• Don’t plan to eat out with caldera views every night. Sure, we had a caldera view meal on one of our nights as we wanted to experience it, however it was the most expensive meal we had. There are loads of great restaurants on the island, and those without the caldera sunset views are often much better value and less like “tourist traps”. For the record, the best meal we had was on the other side of the island at the To Psoraki restaurant overlooking Vlychada Harbour rather than the caldera. Check out our top 5 Santorini dinner dates here.
• Don’t buy local wine in the shops in Oia and Fira. The local wines are freely available in many of the gift shops in the villages, but the prices here are very high. We bought local wines in the supermarket near Megalochori for much better prices.

Conclusion

We enjoyed our week in Santorini immensely. It was one of the best and most memorable holidays of our lives, and we were blown away by the natural beauty of the island at every turn and with everything we did. Sure it’s busy and insanely popular, but by putting a little thought into checking out the less obvious sites, and some careful planning as to when to visit the most popular attractions, we were able to avoid the worst of the overcrowding and enjoy as much peace and relaxation as we felt the need for.

I’m not going to pretend for one second that you can have a bargain basement holiday to Santorini, which tops many people’s bucket lists and honeymoon wish lists the world over. However, I can guarantee that if you do decide to splash out on a trip here, you will create memories that will last a lifetime, and you will never forget your visit to this magical destination.

Check out our top 5 Santorini dinner dates here

See our Santorini packing checklist here

Andronis Arcadia Hotel, Oia, Santorini. Reviewed here

Read how to “beat the crowds” in Santorini here