Guide: Greece – Santorini
Santorini is a true island of beauty where you will wake up to magical views overlooking the caldera each morning, and enjoy the most surreal sunsets every night. Santorini is also known for its 30+ varieties of Greek wine, excellent cocktail bars & vibrant night life.
Contents
- Where to Stay in Santorini
- Getting Around Santorini
- Activities & Things to Do In Santorini
- Dining & Nightlife in Santorini
Where to Stay in Santorini
Where you stay in Santorini truly depends on what type of traveler you are and what you want to see and do on the island. Regardless of what location you pick, I highly recommend staying in a hotel room or airbnb with a Caldera view. If you’re going to splurge on a hotel room with a view, Santorini is definitely the island to break out the Benjamins. While Santorini has beaches, that is not what they’re known for and you can get your beach days in on other islands that you visit instead, or if you have extra days on the island. Because Santorini is one of the most popular islands, I recommend booking your hotel more than 3 months in advance – I booked ours 3 months out and the options were limited, but I eventually found a hotel with a beautiful caldera view in our price range.
Firostefani
While most travels blogs and sites will recommend staying in Fira or Oia, my personal pick is Firostefani. This is for the traveler that enjoys being walking distance from the downtown but not staying in the heart of it. If you enjoy getting your steps in, rather than calling a cab everywhere, Firostefani is a 10-15 min walk to the main downtown of Fira, and a 15-20 min walk to the romantic village of Imerovigli. Being in the middle of these two locations walking distance is ideal, and walking is the best way to explore and take all of the sites in, in my opinion. Firostefani also has a better caldera and sunset view than Fira because that area of the island is raised higher. While the streets are less crowded compared to Fira and Oia, there are still many hotels and restaurants in the area, though most of the restaurants close by 11pm.
We stayed at Damigos Caldera World in Firostefani for $310/night. While the room was average, the full wrap around deck with a Caldera view (which we enjoyed every morning at breakfast, and several evenings sipping wine & Mastica) was incredible. This hotel was also much more affordable compared to other hotels in the area with a full, unobstructed caldera view.
Fira
If you prefer to be in the center of the action, Fira (the capital), is the main downtown of Santorini. Fira is the most popular location for travelers and has a plethora of restaurants, shops, bars, and clubs – so if you want to stay near the nightlife, this is the option for you! There are also a lot of cocktail bars in Fira along the caldera cliffs which is perfect for enjoying drinks & watching the sunset. But be prepared – there are a LOT of tourists walking along the narrow cobblestone streets of Fira (similar to how crowded the Santa Monica or Jersey boardwalk is on a Saturday in the summer). The white walls of Santorini will be lined with Instagram influencers, girls, and couples snapping pics with the caldera view in the background (but you can easily walk 10 min North for a similar photo with less crowds). If you don’t mind the crowds and want to be a quick 5-10 min walk to your dinner reservation or walk to the bars/clubs at night, then Fira will be a good choice for your stay in Santorini.
Imerovigli
Imerovigli is the highest point on Santorini and has some of the best caldera views to watch the sunset. It’s a quieter, more laid back town perfect for couples looking for a low key romantic getaway. There are many hotels and several fine dining and casual restaurants in Imerovigli, and it’s a 20-30 minute walk to downtown Fira or 5 minute bus ride.
Oia
Oia (pronounced EE-aa) is the northern most village on Santorini. Another popular recommendation, this upscale town is filled with boutique and high-end shops, restaurants, and wonderful caldera views. It also has a winery, Domaine Sigalas, that offers wine tastings & appetizers. While Oia has plenty of restaurants and some cocktail bars, it is not known for it’s nightlife as there is only 1 actual bar that stays open late – Marykay’s. In terms of accessibility, Oia itself is very walkable but venturing outside the town will require a taxi or car rental since it’s a 20 min drive to Fira or Imerovigli, which is why it’s last on my list. However, if you are planning on taking a sunset sail or day cruise, it will likely leave from Ammoudi Bay which is also in Oia.
Getting Around Santorini
We arrived to Santorini via ferry, and unlike the other islands, the port of Santorini is very secluded, away from the rest of the island. Whether you arrive to Santorini by ferry or by plane, you will need a taxi to pick you up and take you to your hotel. I HIGHLY recommend scheduling a taxi pick up in advance because the pick up area is VERY chaotic.
As far as getting around the island, Santorini is the one island where I would say you can easily get away with saving money on a vehicle rental, depending on where you stay. We stayed in Firostefani and ended up only using our motorbike for 2 days out of the 4 days that we rented it ($35/day). If you’re in Oia, it will make more sense to rent a car/bike/ATV, otherwise you can call a taxi or walk most places. If you’re scheduling a tour or excursion, you can opt for one that includes hotel pick up (which most do).
Activities & Things to Do In Santorini
Book a wine tour! $$ – $$$ – Santorini grows 40 varietes of Grapes, and is home to over 20 wineries. You can either visit individual wineries on your own or book a tour to winery hop. I recommend doing this early on in your trip so that you can learn about the different types of Santorini wine and which ones you enjoy, so that you know what to order when you’re out to dinner. You can read about our semi private wine tour & food pairing experience in this blog post, which we booked through Get Your Guide with Santorini Wine Stories ($160/per person, includes hotel pickup/drop off, tasting at 3 different wineries, tapas at every winery, and a 3 course lunch at the 2nd winery)
Visit the Santorini Wine Museum $ – also known as Koutsoyannopoulos Winery, this winery has a cave that displays the history of Santorini wine and admission includes 4 wine tastings
Catamaran Day Sail or Sunset Cruise $$$ – we booked a day sail to enjoy the sun, views from the water, and took a dip in the volcanic hot springs. We booked a Small Group Catamaran Day Sail for $130/ per person (includes open bar, a delicious greek style lunch, and snacks) and there were only 11 people on our boat. You can read more about our experience in this blog post. They same operator also has an afternoon sailing option that includes food and an open bar.
Enjoy a private cabana & infinity pool at Le Moustache Caldera Pool & Lounge Bar in Imerovigli $$$$ – a great option if your hotel doesn’t have a pool. Read more about it in this blog.
Jet Ski Tour –$$$$ jet ski around the Southern Coast of Santorini. book early as I’m told they sell out sometimes in the summer
Rent ATVs for the day & drive around the whole island of Santorini $$ ($25-50/day)
Explore the downtown of Fira & watch the sunset from a cocktail bar
Explore Oia – go shopping & check out the famous Atlantis bookstore
Hike from Fira to Oia (3-4 hours) a popular route among travelers, I recommend starting EARLY to avoid the midday heat
Hike Skaros Rock
If you have extra days on your trip, visit the beaches of Santorini (Kamari, Perissa, Perivolos) or swim in Ammoudi Bay
Dining & Nightlife in Santorini
Steph & Steli’s Top Food Picks
Metaxi Mas (Exo Gonia) $$$ – this restaurant is a 10-15 min drive off the main strip of Fira and away from the caldera side of Santorini, but well worth the drive. This Greek restaurant is well loved by both locals and tourists with delicious dishes, views overlooking the villages below, and top notch service. The mushroom risotto and beef filet in VinSanto sauce were delicious.
La Maison (Imerovigli) $$$$ – for a fine dining experience look no further than La Maison, a modern Greek restaurant with a French flare so the portions are small but delectable. Here you have the option to do a 9 course menu for 110€ per person, or you can order a la carte – which we did and ordered several appetizers, two entrees to share, plus dessert. Some of our favorite dishes were the slow cooked beef appetizer with mushroom duxelle & arseniko cheese, the rooster entree, and the lamb filet
Aktaion (Firostefani) $$ – a Greek taverna that is a great spot for lunch or casual dinner. This small family owned restaurant is 100 years old, making it the oldest restaurant in Santorini, and the family recipes do not disappoint! I recommend ordering the feta loukumades and Kaitafi dough dessert stuffed with limon crema
Lucky Souvlaki’s (Fira) $ – searching for the best gyro? Lucky’s is a hole in the wall gyro place in the heart of Fira. Although it can get crowded and has very few tables inside, the line moves fairly quickly. We went during off hours at 12:30pm to avoid the crowd.
The Wine Bar (Imerovigli) $$ – a picturesque spot to enjoy dinner, sip on some wine, and watch the sunset. Also if you want a break from Greek food, they are known for their pizza – the dough is made daily in house, and their tomato sauce is cooked with white wine from Santorini.
Mylos Cocktail Bar (Firostefani) $$$ – chic cocktail bar with great views; we just walked in but if you make a reservtion definitely request a window seat
Svornos Bakery $ – open 24/7, this bakery is the go to late night spot for pizza, sandwiches, and homemade pastries after a night out in Fira.
Santorini Nightlife
If you’re looking to dance & party, the main nightlife in Santorini is in Fira. There are several bars like Murphy’s, Town Club, The Highlander, and Two Brothers that are open during the day, but around 10pm they usually have a DJ playing that caters to house music and Top 40s for the tourists, and by midnight they get packed! There are no covers to the bars in Fira and they’re all on the same street, so you can easily bounce around if you want to.
The clubs in Fira don’t open until 11pm, and all charge a $20 cover at the door but your first drink is included in that price. I recommend starting at Koo Club which is the biggest club in Santorini (3 sections – 1 inside, lower level outside, upper level). The music is mostly house/mainstream, but it’s a great party. If you’re with a larger group you can also reserve a table for the night.
If you prefer hip-hop and/or latin music I recommend going to Enigma, which was my favorite. They also mixed in some house, top 40s, and 2000s throwbacks which was fun. Enigma is mostly an indoor club but it’s right across the street from Koo Club, so you can experience both in one night if you want.
And last, if you’re a true night owl and looking to party with the locals, you can check out Mamounia, a Greek nightclub which really only plays Greek club music. In true Greek fashion, the party doesn’t start here until AFTER 1am (so if you go before then it will likely be empty) and continues until sunrise.
