Well……it had to done. If only to see if Santorini was as wonderful, hectic or overrated as people make out. I was banking on the ’wonderful’ for this Greek island hopping first stop.

Truth be told, it was a bit of all three, most of the rumours I’d heard were true.

It’s another long post so grab a drink ☕️ 🍹and let’s dive in.

The Caldera

With Santorini it’s all about the views, more specifically the ‘Caldera views’, that’s the highlight. It’s all just as stunning as we’re led to believe and even more so than any photographs can convey because you have to feel the beauty as well as see it – it’s an ambiance that’s hard to put into words. 

Some say Fira is the best place to stay

Fira (or Thira, both used interchangeably) is the capital, the buzzing hub off the Santorini, and some say you should stay there because it’s in the thick of everything with quick access to buses, making it easy to get to other parts of the island, since all buses begin and end in Fira. 

I’m glad we didn’t stay in Fira. Fira is crowded, (super crowded at times) busy, noisy and hotter than heading a bit further north up the Caldera. Fira’s great to dip in and out of, but I wouldn’t want that as a base every night. 

Staying in Firostefani meant a lovely short scenic walk (about 15 mins) down into the central hub of Fira, but removed enough for a feeling of calm and space from the crowds and noise, plus – arguably better Caldera views and sunsets, being at a slightly higher point than Fira.

A further 5/10 min walk up is Immerovigli, the next village up the Caldera, a bit higher and quieter still. 

Others say Oia is the best place to stay on Santorini 

Much depends on personal preferences but my take is no, for a first visit, it’s not the best place to stay for the following reasons: 

Oia is on the far northern tip of the caldera with not much life in the evenings from what I’ve heard, its small and low key once all the day time and sunset selfie crowds have gone and it’s generally more expensive than other parts of Santorini with more high end designer brands, pricier souvenirs, and pricier accommodation.

Oia is a bit of a journey away from some of the other popular Santorini villages and not so easy to walk or make a direct journey to and from other areas, yet saturated with people waiting in long queues to get a ‘blue dome’ selfie in certain spots (crazy – when there are plenty of blue domes elsewhere, like quaint and quiet Pyrgos)

Santorini is steep and there are steps everywhere

True.

A Strong Warning.

This is an understatement. Please please please think hard about the accommodation you’re booking if mobility is difficult. Those cute Caldera cliff rooms might look glamourous, but there will likely be a mountain of uneven steep slippery stairs to contend with and no lifts. I’m guessing this has a lot to do with my properties all have PO Boxes instead of door to door deliveries. 

More generally, you need to think a bit more about comfort for Santorini, cobbles and stairs, steep climbs and uneven walkways etc…. 

It’s a stair-happy place, Santorini loves steps!!  It’s beautiful, and it will keep you fit!

The narrow winding walk ways are often cobbled, uneven at times with some pretty steep rustic and quirky slopes – but it makes for lovely strolling with plenty of spots to stop and admire the caldera views. 

Honestly, there is no point trying to wear high heels on Santorini unless you want to do yourself an injury. Good luck if you do. Bring flats as well, you’ll need them, and the grippier the better on those slippery smooth stones.

What about costs? Rumour has it – Santorini is the most expensive Greek Island.

I touched on this with a few tips in the last post, ‘Four Weeks Island Hopping in Greece’

From what I can tell Santorini and Mykonos seem to have shared this crown for a while. That’s not to say you can’t make it affordable – it all depends largely on what accommodation you book and the time of year, but yes, Santorini is noticeably quite pricey overall, compared to other Greek Islands. 

Most travellers seem to echo the same points when it comes to Santorini costs and budget – which I tend to agree with: here’s my round up: 

• Restaurants/drinks on the caldera will be more expensive than those without this view 

• Consider travelling in a group to make accommodation more affordable  

• Cost per night for accommodation can as much as triple from the shoulder months to high season. July and August are the most expensive (hottest and crowded) months. Try to plan ahead if you have your eye on particular accommodation – things can get booked up fast, more than six months ahead 
• April/May or September/October tend to offer lower hotel prices with fewer crowds and more comfortable temperatures. All those narrow streets in the heat of summer with numerous cruise ships loads of people swarming the island must be awful at times.  

• Traditional tavernas offer more authentic Greek food, family run generous portions and more affordable prices – they’re usually tucked away, off the main tourist strips 

• Bakeries offer more affordable meal/breakfast options, at just a few euros (there’s a very popular one in the main square in Fira, near McDonalds, tourists were popping in to take pictures then walking out without buying anything, lots of Youtubers plug it as a ‘go-to’) 

• I mentioned previously that ferries are the cheaper option for island hopping….but just to add – try not to book the last scheduled ferry of the day. If it’s cancelled, you might have to wait until the next day to get on another one and end up needing to book unexpected accommodation for the night.

• Use buses to get around the island, they seemed to be 3 euros or less and fairly straight forward from the bus station in Fira…but be careful, it’s a bit manic with buses pulling in and out and dodging pedestrians – there is no separate walking area for people, you have to weave your way up to the bus to board, so keep sharp and look out for reversing or arriving buses on the move all around you. On Santorini, it seemed like all the buses took payments once you were on the bus (not the case on Naxos and Paros where you buy a ticket before you board). 
• Fira is better for shopping than Oia, along with the smaller villages – for cheaper prices and a less pretentious vibe 

• Pick up sim cards in the airport – I didn’t bother with this but that’s the advice I heard – but didn’t notice anywhere for this at Santorini Airport….it’s very small on arrival
• Shopping and souvenirs are generally more expensive on Santorini than some of the other islands, so don’t be surprised.  

Staying in a Caldera cave room is a must??

You can definitely enjoy Santorini without staying in a cave room. Many of those rooms are quite small, low ceilings so not great if you’re claustrophobic. Bear in mind, most of the cave rooms come with the horrendously steep stairs to get to the hotel and usually even more steps to get to your room and other parts of the accommodation – never ending stairs. Also, pay close attention to the set up when booking a cave type room because privacy might be compromised with people walking up and down, nosey-ing into your outdoor space. 

The cave hotel I stayed in was a bit of a splurge, right on the Caldera in Firostefani including Skaros rock within clear view.

They’re surprisingly cool inside (temperature-wise) without the need for air conditioning.

The hotel manager was a great host, most welcoming (as per the Greek way) and always reminding us to make good use of him if we needed anything at all. Like most Greek hoteliers, he clearly possessed super-human strength to be able to carry the amount of luggage he did, in the blazing heat, up and down very steep narrow staircases. He had one suitcase on his shoulder, another in his hand – and I am far from a light packer!  

You’ll see this ‘lifting and carrying suitcase’ action quite a bit when new guests are arriving at their hotels.

If I went to Santorini again, I’d choose to go at a quieter and cooler time of year when the deals are better and with far fewer people around. If I’d known the beginning of June would be so hot I’d have picked an earlier month.

Hotels on the Caldera with panoramic private views are all very nice, but not really worth the high prices per night, it’s ridiculous really for what you get in return. You can enjoy the views any time of the day or night from countless viewing points as you walk up and down the Caldera, with seats and walls to sit on and soak it all up.

They say you must do a Caldera Cruise

It’s a popular day trip/excursion on Santorini.

Some are sunset cruises.

I didn’t do one, but on the ferry heading away from Santorini to Naxos, I re-affirmed my suspicion that the view from below wasn’t anything to get excited about. The views and sunsets from on top of the caldera is where it’s at. Plus the cave trips and organised boat trips are quite long with snorkelling stops, so unless this is a personal ‘must’ I’d say skip it.

The volcano stop seemed to have mixed reviews too – some say ‘nothing to see here’ especially if you’ve seen a volcano before. If you do decide to jump out of your boat to swim in the hot springs, don’t wear a white swimsuit, apparently the sulphur in the water stains things an orangey colour and also smells….like sulphur. 

Depending on the time of year it can get very chilly at night so bring warm things to wear – restaurants often give out blankets to wrap up in when dining if it gets nippy. In June, it wasn’t really cold, but on a couple of nights, the higher up the caldera you went, late at night, the cooler the breeze. 

Cruise Ship Mania. There are just too many tourists?

In high season (July/August) Santorini is said to be overrun with cruise ship tourists, making the already narrow crowded streets and walkways a congested mass. Plenty of locals and travellers will tell you this, like Theposhtravelblog By Stuart and Christina who did a quick vid on their cruise ship arrival nightmare…..as one example.

I’ve heard people say Santorini is no longer a pleasure to visit for this reason, and that many small local businesses have been driven under and taken over by more domineering international brands.

Just recently I read something in the news about ‘Greece going to war with the cruise ships’, it’s been talked about before but tensions seem to be heightening. They want to put a cap on how many cruise ships can come in each day. I’m surprised they haven’t done this already, but then again the economy desperately needs the tourism, catch 22…..yet, more widely, complaints about too many tourists and the impact on rents for locals seems to be worsening (similar thing in Spain).

I think someone told me that in Santorini you can see as many as 8 monster cruise ships mooring up to this tiny little island at once, per day, swamping it with cruisers. Building a second port is also being thrown out there for consideration but the tourists are still all going to be flooding into the same hotspots (Fira and Oia) so….

The picture below is one I snapped from almost the front of a queue for the cable car to take cruisers back down to the boats, back to their ship. One night, this queue was insane, it wound its way in and around and down a long long length of lanes and walkways making it crammped for other people trying to walk by. I was talking to somone about this and saying how I was surprised people didn’t miss their ship – but apparently, the ships won’t go without them!!

I’ve heard that in scorching hot heat, with no shelter, some cruisers have collapsed whilst standing in this never-ending queue.

Oia is the best place to see the sunsets 

The more I researched, the more I came across people saying this was fake news, not true and that there were equally beautiful if not better sunsets all over the island, including Fira, Immerovigli, Akatori – all without the manic crowds. Around sunset you’ll see buses bound for Oia filling up fast and coach loads of people arriving into Oia to get that Instagram sunset shot, but I’d probably say it’s not worth the aggro of the crowds – go find a sunset somewhere else and enjoy it in peace. 

The above sunset pics were from a hotel room in Firostefani, but along the Caldera walls people sit take in the views – so you don’t need to have this view from your hotel.

Pyrgos is a nicer alternative to Oia

I’d heard it described as ‘one of the most authentic and affordable locations on Santorini’.

For approx a 10 minute bus ride from Fira, you won’t have to fight to get a blue dome photograph here, it’s less congested, the village is more quaint, home to locals and a much quieter labyrinth of alleys for wandering, mainly a pedestrianised charming village with more locals living there and a noticeably slower pace.

You’ll notice more rustic textures and colours with panoramic views of Santorini from the high points. Pyrgos isn’t bending over backwards for tourists.

You don’t really go to Pyrgos to ‘do’ things, it’s more about soaking up the rustic beauty and traditional Greek village charm – a stark contrast to Oia, despite some similarities. The blue dome churches are not swarming with instagram hungry cameras and the streets of Pyrgos seem deserted in comparison. 

You won’t find high end global brands or overpriced boutiques, it’s all small local businesses.

There are some island tours that include Pyrgos, but unless you’re on a tight time schedule I’d recommend you go independently so you can take your time. 

Then time for a quick pick me up before jumping back on a bus to check out Perissa Beach. It’s the same bus route that drops you off in Pyrgos from Fira.

What about the beaches on Santorini?

The beaches are not white and sandy types – they’re more pebbly or black sand. Kamari Beach is one of the more popular beach resort areas, with a good vibe of beach front restaurants, shops and nice hotels, but no Caldera views….you’d need to drive or hop on a bus up to toward Fira or down to Akrotori for that. 

If you’re pressed for time, Kamari Beach is a much better choice.

Overall though, if a nice beach focused holiday is what you’re after, Santorini isn’t the island for that really.

Kamari Beach

Kamari was meant to be cleaner and more presentable than ‘scruffier’ Perissa beach – Perissa being more back packer type and cheaper. I can confirm this is correct, in my view.  Kamari is nicer than Perissa by far. 

I intended to visit Kamari and probably skip Perissa so I was shocked when a member of my hotel staff said Perissa was better than Kamari. What??? 🤨

I don’t really ‘get’ why some people think Perissa is a nicer beach. Perissa felt like there was no life down there, the beach had a lot of litter and wasn’t as pretty to look at as Kamari. Early June, the ‘beach/holiday vibe’ just wasn’t there, unfortunately. Now that’s fine if you want that.  

Other tourists I spoke to about this seemed to think the same – Kamari is king.  

Kamari beach makes you feel like you’re on holiday, it’s lively and people are enjoying themselves here, there are lots of beautiful little hotels, not to mention countless pretty restaurants and bars lining the entire beach strip, way more to choose from than Perissa….plus lots of shops and boutiques, and it’s true that you’ll find better prices in Kamari than Fira. 

Kamari has a softer sandy side (black sand) and then the more rugged side where the waves were more active and scenic. 

If you’re short on time and can only pick one beach go to Kamari. It’s also quick to get to from Fira – with frequent buses heading there and back all day. 

That said – I’ve heard others say Perissa had nicer beaches, sandier. Maybe it is a bit sandier…finer grains!!

Other thoughts 

Kamari is very close to the airport so you see and hear all the planes coming into Santorini over the beach, they fly pretty low….I saw quite a few Ryanair planes that day lol, great addition to the scenery. 

Great for a beach day.

Perissa Black Sand Beach

In terms of shops and restaurants, it’s much smaller and quieter with far fewer choices than Kamari Beach.

Persissa is meant to be cheaper for souvenir shopping.

Red beach and white beach – I didn’t visit these but don’t feel like I missed out by giving those a miss – not much to see here from what I could tell…. 

Taxis aren’t cheap

Avoid taxis as much as possible because they’re bloomin’ extortionate!!! It’s true what people say. From the airport to the hotel (approx 20 min hotel transfer drive) came in at 50 Euros.

Greek Island Hopping, Santorini First? 👆

Unless you’re only visiting Santorini, I’d advise making it your first stop, and definitely not your last stop. As lovely as it is, the closer to peak season you get, the more crowded it gets, very congested and hectic with tourists, hilly with narrow walkways, busy, busy, busy….so it’s nice to leave and head off to somewhere more relaxed to end your trip, before flying home. 

So was it as wonderful, hectic or overrated as people make out….?

In a word, yes it’s wonderful -the views and Caldera atmosphere are quite captivating.

Yes it’s hectic in terms of people and busyness, depending on the time of year you travel, but also equally soothing and enjoyable.

Was it overrated, well on two counts yes:

1. When you think about some of the costs, yes, especially for accommodation, but you can be savvy and curb your spending if you plan and research your trip well enough.
2. In terms of crowds and getting to certain instagram hotspots – yes. No photograph (that millions of other people have already taken) is worth the stress and aggro of battling thick crowds and having zero personal space for. That’s just silly to me. There’s plenty of the island to spread out and enjoy in equal measure.

What next?

The hike to Oia.

I’ll save that for the next post – this one’s gone on long enough lol. ☕️

Best wishes, safe travels and have a great week ahead!! 🤗💫x