Greece · South Aegean
Plan your Santorini trip
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01Your itinerary
02Where to stay
Oia
Best for honeymoons and first-time splurgesThe caldera village from the postcard — narrow lanes, cave-house suites carved into the cliff, and the island's most famous sunset on your doorstep. Also the most expensive and most photographed square kilometre on Santorini.
Perivolas
Book months ahead for summer; the handful of rooms with an unobstructed sunset view sell out first and earliest.
€€€€A smaller guesthouse on Oia's quieter eastern edge
Trade a few minutes' walk to the sunset crowd for meaningfully lower rates and a calmer lane at night.
€€€Fira, Firostefani & Imerovigli
Best for balancing walkability with calmThe central caldera stretch — Fira for restaurants, nightlife and the cable car; Firostefani for a quieter ten-minute walk from all of it; Imerovigli for the highest, calmest caldera views on the island.
Astra Suites
Higher and further from the rim's edge than Fira, so the sea view is just as good without Fira's foot traffic.
€€€A boutique hotel in Firostefani
Genuinely walkable to Fira's restaurants and the cable car, but far enough to sleep through the night undisturbed.
€€€Villa Roussa
The cheapest way to base yourself on the caldera rim; expect noise from nearby bars into the small hours in summer.
€€Pyrgos & Megalochori
Best for value and a slower island rhythmInland hilltop and village life away from the rim entirely — medieval lanes, working wineries within walking distance, and real quiet, at the cost of a drive or bus ride to reach the caldera view itself.
A restored village house in Pyrgos
Steps from Selene and the hilltop church view, with a fraction of the caldera-village price tag.
€€A converted farmhouse near Megalochori
Walking distance to several wineries and the quietest nights you will find on the island.
€€Kamari & Perissa
Best for families and beach-first tripsThe flatter east coast, fronted by black volcanic sand beaches, beach clubs and a straightforward resort-town layout. No caldera view, but real value and easy swimming.
Kamari Beach Hotel
Level ground, an actual pool, and a short walk to the black-sand beach — a genuine break from Santorini's endless stairs.
€€A budget studio near Perissa
The island's most affordable base by a wide margin, with easy bus links to Fira and the hike up to Ancient Thera on your doorstep.
€Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.
03Tickets & tours
Oia at sunset
The view that put the island on every postcard — whitewashed cave houses, blue-domed churches, and the sun dropping into the caldera.
Tip Walk fifteen minutes past the castle ruins to the quieter lanes toward the windmills; same sun, a fraction of the people.
Akrotiri archaeological site
A Bronze Age Aegean town buried intact by the same eruption that carved the caldera, sometimes called the Minoan Pompeii.
Tip Come first thing when the site opens; the covered structure traps heat badly by midday in summer.
The Fira-to-Oia caldera path
A roughly ten-kilometre clifftop trail linking the main villages, passing through Firostefani, Imerovigli, Skaros Rock and open countryside before…
Tip Start at dawn from Fira; there is almost no shade and the exposed sections get brutal after 10am in summer.
Red Beach
A small cove near Akrotiri walled in by dramatic rust-red and black volcanic cliffs, with correspondingly dark, mineral-heavy sand.
Tip Arrive by 9am or after 5pm; the approach path and the beach itself are genuinely small and fill up fast.
Ancient Thera
A windswept clifftop ruin above Kamari and Perissa, settled from around the 9th century BC through the Byzantine era, with a commanding view down…
Tip Reach it via the steep footpath up from Kamari or Perissa for the full effect, but bring water — there is none up top.
A working Assyrtiko winery
Santorini's volcanic soil and phylloxera-free, century-old vines make its dry white unlike anything else in Greece.
Tip Book a tasting flight rather than just a glass — comparing a young Assyrtiko against an oaked Nykteri and a Vinsanto tells the whole story.
Nea Kameni volcano and the Palea Kameni hot springs
A boat trip out into the caldera to the still-active volcanic islet at its centre, with a short hike to the crater rim, followed by a swim in the…
Tip Wear old shoes for the crater path and an old swimsuit — the hot-spring water stains fabric a mustard yellow.
Museum of Prehistoric Thera
Fira's small but excellent museum houses the frescoes, pottery and everyday objects pulled from Akrotiri, giving real context to the ruins before or…
Tip Visit before Akrotiri if you can manage the logistics — the frescoes make the buried streets far easier to picture inhabited.
Day trips from Santorini
Thirasia
The quiet, sparsely inhabited sliver of the original volcanic rim across the caldera from Oia, reachable by a short boat from Ammoudi Bay.
Day tripIos
A fast ferry away, Ios trades Santorini's caldera drama for laid-back beach life and a genuinely good sandy coastline.
Day tripAnafi
A small, sparsely developed island roughly ninety minutes east by ferry, with empty beaches and a monastery-topped rock that rivals Santorini's own…
Day tripEverything to do in Santorini
Skip-the-line tickets, guided tours and day trips, all in one place on Booking.com.
04Getting there & around
Getting around
There is no train, no metro, and the roads along the caldera rim are narrow, blind-cornered, and shared with tour buses, so give real thought to how you will move before you land.
Flights
Compare fares into Santorini and pick dates that suit the days you planned.
Airport transfers
Book a private or shared ride from the airport so the first evening starts at your door, not at a ticket queue.
Car hire from Santorini
Only worth it for day trips beyond the city — in town, the plan above works on foot and public transport.
Affiliate notePostcardRoute is reader-supported. Some links to Booking.com (stays, flights, car hire, tickets and tours, airport transfers) are affiliate links, tracked through CJ Affiliate: if you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only recommend places we would send a friend.