Santorini: Adventures in the tourist zone

I had just met Theo that evening, a friend of my sister, and we were talking about which islands in Greece to visit, as one does.  Being Greek, he had some ideas.  Travel snob that I am, I was telling him I didn’t want to go to some of the popular islands, but also that I wanted to do some photography there.

“Photography?” Theo said quickly.  “Then go to Santorini.”

Yeah, but that’s one of the popular islands.  Theo was having none of it, and quickly labeled my attitude self-defeating.  “There are reasons that the popular islands are popular,” he concluded, explaining to me how photogenic the place is.  He was diplomatic enough, but clearly let me know I was being a fool for not going to a beautiful island just because other tourists are there.

 

Yet.  After the trip now, having spent almost three days on the island, I wonder if it was worth it.  You’ve seen Santorini already—it’s the canonical shot.  If you’ve seen photos of Greece, white houses spilling down a cliff next to blue-domed churches with a view of the sea, decent chance that photo is Santorini.  That drawing on your container of Greek yogurt is probably of Santorini.  It’s a caldera island, the result of a volcanic eruption 3,500 years ago that left such a dramatic landscape that it was bound to be popular.

Santorini has been a must-see since the 1960s (even though it only got electricity in 1974), and today more than two million people visit the island every year, many of them day-trippers from the cruise ships.  They will affect your visit, so much that the island has started in 2019 to limit them.  The electric grid and water supply are at a breaking point.  It’s the most popular Greek island, overwhelming the local population of only about 16,000.  Greece in general is seeing about twice as many tourists as just a decade ago.

 

The crush of tourists to snap the sunset

 

I expected this, as would you.  But to see if visiting the island is worth it, let’s break it down slowly.  If you go to Santorini, you must learn two things that tourism hath wrought:

(1) The largest attraction there is the sunset, because it’s supposed to be dramatic and beautiful.  When the sun goes down, people go mad.  Wherever you are, a bit before sunset every day, anything overlooking the caldera will fill up.  Restaurants and cafés, railings, parking lots, anything with a view will be mobbed.  Every public place goes to great lengths to construct a good caldera and sunset view.

People will line up on walls, on overlooks, anywhere there’s a view.  Many locals have taken to posting signs saying “Do not climb on our roof” because people do that, for The View, and for the shot of them on the rooftop in front of The View

(2) The second-largest attraction is the views of the caldera in general.  One-half of Santorini, the west side, is dramatic cliffs overlooking the sea, and from there tiny buildings spill down the cliff towards the water.  The other half, the east, is gradually sloping land gently coming to the water, and there you’ll find few restaurants or hotels.  Anything that gives a caldera view, such as restaurants and hotels, will cost much more than anything inland with no view.

 

As you walk along the caldera side of the island, you’ll see couples doing photo shoots, tourists taking turns snapping each other, and hundreds of selfie sticks.  I can’t possibly emphasize how crazy the crowds become watching the sunset over the caldera side.  Madness.

My own Santorini sojourn started by arrival at the ferry dock, from Milos (a much better island).  Hundreds of us tramped off the boat and were greeted by bus and taxi drivers.  Only one two-lane road connects the dock to the island so expect some traffic jams to and from the place.  I was staying in the main town of Fira, and several inquiries to private taxis revealed a price around €40, very expensive.  Shared rides are available, but they’re difficult to arrange on the spot.  I finally paid €20 by walking all the way to the end, finding a mini-bus that was dropping off a group and then running back to Fira.  He was glad to have a paying passenger for the return trip.

 

 

Coming off the ferry dock, the tourism hits you quickly

 

Let’s break down the island

Santorini can be divided into four sections:

(1) Fira, the largest and most central town.  If you’re not renting transportation, this is the place to stay, as probably every bus route starts or stops here.

(2) Oia, the northernmost town and by far the most scenic and crowded and expensive.

(3) The beaches on the south part of the island.

(4) Everywhere else.

 

A closer look at these areas:

(1)  Fira, known locally as Thira, is where I stayed, and I’m fine with that.  I’d stay there again, as it’s central and the most convenient, offers the most choices for hotels and restaurants and everything, and has caldera views.  It has long ago lost whatever local culture and vibe it once had.  If you want to be near restaurants and nightlife and services, stay here.  I’m no clubber anymore, but I do want some hang-out spots and late-night food, and Fira has them.

The small villages (really just northern extensions of Fira) called Firostefani and Imerovigli are good alternatives to park it.  They’re a 20-minute walk north and much, much less crowded and noisy.  Sunsets from there are excellent, though they don’t have the view of all the cute white buildings and blue churches in them.

Wherever you are staying, make sure you have damn good directions to your place, or better yet, have someone meet you.  Street addresses mean little here, as the villages are a maze of walkways.  Maps, even GPS, are helpful but they don’t show that your destination is 15 meters below where you are standing, and which walkway you need to get there.  Wherever you go on the island, expect plenty of stairs.

 

(2) Oia is a smaller village, impossibly photogenic and impossibly crowded.  I was there at the end of September and the crowds were so thick pedestrian traffic came to a standstill on the main walkway through the town.  Come sunset, every view looking over the water is mobbed.  You should see this place, but I would suggest arriving in the morning and leaving by early afternoon.  I was there for sunset and it’s not worth the crowds.  I blew off dinner plans there just to get the hell out.

If you want photos of Oia, and you do want photos, try to force yourself to come early morning for sunrise or just post-sunrise.  The midday sun on all those white buildings is harsh and not good for photos.  Oia is probably fine a while after sunset, less crowded as the cruise people go back to their ships, but there’s also much less to do.  Oia may be good for a romantic getaway trip, or perhaps for one night and then moving to someplace else on the island.  Oia is on the northern tip of the island, and it’s a long trek to anywhere else.

A 10k trail connects Fira and Oia, supposedly lovely, but no walk in the park.  It will take several hours, with numerous ups and downs, and there’s no shade.  Every travel guide and write-up and blog post and everything everywhere suggests you do this.

 

The main square in Oia, a crush of humanity

 

(3) Santorini is not known for beaches, though it certainly has some good ones.  It’s just that the beaches are far better on other nearby islands.

Perissa and Kamari are two of the most popular beaches, with their black pebbles, but those pebbles get superheated in the hot sun.  Far better is the Red Beach on the south coast.  You must hike a bit from the parking area to get there, but it’s worth it, and the water is lovely.  These and other good beaches are on the south end of the island, not even remotely close to Fira or Oia.

Perissa especially becomes wildly crowded in the summer, and is known for being a backpacker haunt, complete with the cheap food and shops.  A walk along the waterfront reveals dozens of restaurants, drinking spots, and other establishments dealing with rentals, swimwear, tours, and everything else a visitor needs.  Perissa has no local town attached—it is its own entity.

 

(4)  The rest of the island has some charms, but don’t expect lots of cute villages that beg to be explored, like I’ve seen on other islands.  The best are Pyrgos and Emporio, not far from Fira.  Pyrgos is absolutely worth it, a little stunner with some great eating places and a maze of streets.

The south part of the island has an important archeological site, the ruins of Akrotiri, destroyed in the last volcanic eruption.  Although damn impressive to see, it’s not one of the top sights in Greece.  The second archeological site is called ancient Thera, and it’s little besides a pile of crumbled rocks, and the road leading to it is madness, with a few dozen hairpin curves.

 

Just wait your turn to get a chance on the wall to snap a photo

 

The tourist feelings started for me in Fira, where I was staying.  You don’t need to walk far, just spin around and note what’s near you.  It’s not just all the souvenir shops or the little grocery stores that only sell Greek treats to take home on the plane and impress your friends.  It’s the shops selling gold by the cable car, the shops with vacuum-packed olives and jars of figs and honey, for gifts.  The tee-shirts and bathing suits.  The Thai and Indian food, first I’ve seen in Greece.  The smoothies and waffle shops.  You just know there’s a Swarovski about, and there was.

It was Oia that pushed me over the edge, the way you couldn’t move even through the main walkway.  The tour groups assembled in the main square.  The lack of seemingly anything organic.  The old advice about looking for a restaurant full of locals rather than tourists doesn’t apply to a place where the tourists outnumber locals 125 to 1 during the year.

If you go, Fira is okay for sleeping and in the evening, but get out otherwise.  Oia would be unthinkable for me unless only just stay at your hotel enjoying the view.  The rest of the island is surprisingly uncrowded, even the beaches.  Likewise with the charming village of Pýrgos.

 

Being so recently volcanic, Santorini grows good wine, quite a rarity for the islands.  Being so overrun with tourists helps wineries there thrive.  I love going winetasting, but it’s also just one more reminder that everyone around you is a tourist.  At least wine helps in dealing with that fact.  I started with at Santos winery, where I found tour buses outside and tour groups inside.  Tasting five wines cost me €18.5 there, wildly expensive.  €33.5 would get me ten wines, or six wines and a snack.  The pours tend to be good, about a third of a glass each, unlike wineries in the U.S. that give you a jigger or two.

Three other wineries I visited were Boutari, Gavalas, and Venetsanos, all with similar setups and prices.  These wineries know they’ve got you, and they charge accordingly.  They’re slick operations.

 

Tourist-land, just off the beach area of Perissa

 

If you have the budget, Santorini is a good place to go high.  The hotels here can be as luxurious as you want, and staying in some of the cave room with your own private mini-pool must be great.  I guess.  But you won’t be alone.  In many other islands, you can’t go very high; they just don’t have it.

 

You’ll need to figure out transportation, and here I’ll recommend that you rent something.  The best by far is a scooter or motorcycle, but you’ll need a motorcycle license for those, even for a scooter.  Another option is an ATV, and you should consider that even if it seems unusual, as it’s not.  A regular driver’s license covers them, they’re easy on gas, easier to park, and lots of fun.  They’re very popular on the islands.  Last option is a car, but get a small one, and know that you’ll be parking well outside the larger towns.  Traffic in general is not terrible, anywhere, surprising for such a popular place.

Whatever you rent, if you don’t have an EU license, you absolutely need an international driver’s permit, for anything.  I’ve heard of many, many travelers assuming their home license is fine, then getting stuck because they can’t rent anything.  The other option is buses, but know that they can be crowded.  You may be standing, or they may have no space at all.  Taxis are not a good option, except for very off-peak travel.  Their numbers are very limited (only about 20, on the whole island), and they’re expensive.

You’ll be leaving Santorini by the airport or the port.  They’re small and crowded and you should arrange transportation there in advance and arrive a bit early.  Book your ferry in advance as well.

 

 

So what?

Santorini is mostly worth visiting because (1) the views are unique and fantastic.  As much as it doesn’t feel like Greece, yes, mostly it does because those white buildings and blue domes spilling down the rockface couldn’t happen anywhere else, not in these numbers.  The sunsets are great and your photos will look brilliant.  (2) The island has other attractions, such as the wineries, the ruins, and some beaches.

In a sense, Santorini has it all: views, beaches, wineries, small cute towns, and ruins.  The downside is the ruins and beaches and small towns are fine, but not enough of a reason to visit, as other islands do them much better.  The views and the wineries are the only edge Santorini has over other islands, and the wineries are so expensive I would say go to a cheaper island and just find a good wine bar instead.

Unless you’re in Greece to do photography or are really into wine, I wouldn’t recommend Santorini.  The crowds are nuts and the island isn’t cheap.

 

I had to give you at least one good photo.  This is why people go to Santorini, for the views of the caldera.

 

The most obvious advice is don’t visit Santorini in the summer.  I can’t imagine it.  Anytime you go, you can check how crowded the island will be with day-tripping cruise passengers by clicking on a date on this site.

Second advice is be prepared for Santorini to be more expensive than any other island.  Don’t do shopping here.  I found restaurant prices to not be terrible, but generally more expensive than other islands.  Food quality was fairly high, but I never had a bad meal anywhere in Greece.

Third:  Whatever you do, don’t make Santorini the only island you visit.  Plus, don’t combine it with nearby Mykonos—that’s the other super-popular island.  Combine a short trip to Santorini with visits to less popular islands (which are all the others).  I liked Milos quite much (2 hours away), and nearby Naxos and Paros get good reviews.  I truly think one day on Santorini is quite enough, just visiting Oia and some wineries.