Santorini in january is the emptiest month of the year, and the one that separates people who want the island from people who want the photograph of it. Rooms cost a quarter of August, about a third of the businesses are trading, and the winter light is the best there is. We are here all winter at Santorini tours, running the transfers and the private days, so this is what is actually open.
While summer is the island’s peak season, visiting Santorini Tours offers a unique experience that is often overlooked. You can take a Santorini private tour in the fall of 2024 and get to know the island without too many people and fuss.
1. Milder Weather and Comfortable Temperatures
One of the main reasons to visit Santorini in the fall is the weather. Summers in Santorini can be really hot, making it difficult to explore the island during the hottest parts of the day. In contrast, fall offers much milder temperatures. This comfortable weather is perfect for strolling through the charming streets of Fira and Oia, hiking along the caldera, or relaxing on the island’s famous beaches without being overwhelmed by heat.
Moreover, the Mediterranean Sea is still warm enough for swimming well into October, so you can enjoy the beaches without the intense summer crowds. Imagine floating in the crystal-clear waters of the Aegean, soaking up the last rays of the autumn sun, without the pressure of packed beach resorts.
2. Fewer Crowds and More Intimate Experiences
Santorini is infamous for its high tourist numbers in the summer months, which can detract from the island’s charm. In fall, particularly in September and October, the crowds thin out considerably, making it easier to explore at a more relaxed pace. The streets are less crowded, the queues shorter, and the overall atmosphere is more tranquil.
For those looking for a more intimate experience, fall is the ideal time to visit Santorini’s top attractions without battling through hordes of tourists. You can savor the island’s beauty in a more personal way, enjoying quiet moments on the caldera cliffs and taking photographs that aren’t filled with people. Sunsets in Oia, which are famous but notoriously crowded in summer, can be enjoyed in a much calmer setting.
3. Better Accommodation Deals and Availability
Due to the decreased demand in the fall, accommodation prices drop significantly compared to the peak summer months. Luxury hotels, boutique guesthouses, and traditional cave dwellings become more affordable, allowing you to experience the best of Santorini at a fraction of the cost. Not only are prices lower, but availability is also higher, meaning you can choose from a wider range of options.
This is especially important in Santorini, where accommodations with prime views of the caldera and sunset are highly sought after. During fall, you have a better chance of securing a room with a perfect view, enhancing your overall experience.
4. Breathtaking Sunsets and Sunrises
Santorini is famous for its sunsets, and they’re no less spectacular in the fall. The cooler air often brings clearer skies, enhancing the vibrant hues of the sunset as it dips below the horizon. Watching the sunset from Oia when you are taking a Santorini private tour, the island’s most famous sunset spot, is a magical experience year-round, but in the fall, you’ll be able to enjoy it without the huge crowds that often gather during the summer months.
For those who enjoy quieter, more serene moments, fall also brings the opportunity to experience stunning sunrises. Imagine waking up early, heading to the cliffs, and watching the sun rise over the Aegean Sea, casting soft, pastel colors over the island. It’s an experience that will stay with you long after your trip ends.
5. Unique Cultural and Historical Experiences
Santorini’s history is as rich as its landscape, and fall is an excellent time to explore the island’s cultural and historical sites. The Akrotiri archaeological site, often called the “Minoan Pompeii,” offers a glimpse into an ancient civilization preserved by a volcanic eruption. Fall provides a more relaxed environment for exploring these ruins and learning about the island’s fascinating past.
The island’s museums, such as the Museum of Prehistoric Thera and the Archaeological Museum of Thera, are also less crowded, allowing for a more immersive and personalized visit. You’ll have the time and space to truly appreciate the artifacts and exhibits that showcase Santorini’s history, from its Bronze Age beginnings to its role in Greek mythology.
6. Unforgettable Culinary Experiences
Fall is also a great time to indulge in Santorini’s culinary offerings. The island’s fertile volcanic soil produces an array of unique ingredients, such as fava beans, cherry tomatoes, and capers, which are the foundation of its delicious local cuisine. In the fall, you can enjoy these fresh, seasonal dishes at local tavernas and restaurants, many of which offer open-air dining with stunning caldera views.
The cooler temperatures also make taking a Santorini private food tour more enjoyable. Imagine savoring a traditional Greek meal, paired with a glass of Santorini wine, while watching the sunset over the Aegean—an unforgettable dining experience.
Take a Santorini private tour in fall 2024
Santorini in fall 2024 offers a blend of beauty, culture, and tranquility that’s hard to match. With perfect weather, fewer crowds, more affordable prices, and unique seasonal experiences, it’s the ideal time to visit this iconic island. One of the best ways to immerse yourself in everything Santorini has to offer during this time is by taking a Santorini private tour. By fall, the summer crowds in Santorini have largely dispersed, leaving the island with a more peaceful ambiance. However, some of the more popular spots like Oia, Fira, and Red Beach can still attract tourists, especially during peak hours. A private tour allows you to time your visit perfectly to avoid the busiest periods.
Read more about Santorini Tours:
- Santorini Sightseeing Private Tour
- Exclusive Shore Santorini Private Tour
- Impressive Caldera Santorini Private Tour
- South Part Santorini Private Tour
- North Part Santorini Private Tour
- Santorini Historical Private Tour
- Santorini Sunset Private Tour
Santorini in January: The Short Answer
January is the emptiest month of the year on the island, and the one that separates people who want Santorini from people who want the photograph of it. The festive week is over, the Greeks have gone back to Athens, and for four weeks the caldera belongs to about fifteen thousand residents and a handful of visitors.
Santorini in january temperature. 11 to 15 degrees by day and 8 to 11 at night, with the occasional bright afternoon touching 17.
Santorini in january rain. Eight to twelve wet days and around 70 to 95 millimetres, in short heavy bursts rather than all-day drizzle.
Santorini in january sea temperature. Around 16 to 17 degrees, which is genuinely cold.
Santorini in january daylight. Sunrise around 7:40, sunset around 17:30, and lengthening noticeably by the end of the month.
Santorini in january crowds. None at all. Oia in January has more cats in it than people.
What is open. Fira almost entirely, the inland villages properly, Akrotiri and the museums on winter hours, and two or three wineries.
What is shut. Most of Oia, almost all of Imerovigli, every beach business, all the boats and most caldera hotels.
Santorini in january room prices. 40 to 120 euros a night, the lowest of the year.
Flights. One or two a day from Athens and nothing international.
Epiphany, 6 January. The blessing of the waters at the old port, with a cross thrown into the sea. The one event of the month and worth timing for.
Who santorini in january suits. Photographers, walkers, writers, wine travellers and anybody who has been before and wants the island without the industry.
Who santorini in january does not suit. First-time visitors, families, honeymooners and anybody expecting a beach.
The one-line answer. Santorini in january is the cheapest, quietest and most atmospheric month on the island, and it is the wrong month for almost everybody who has not been before.
The Weather Through the Month
Santorini in january average high. 13 degrees, and the coldest month of the year alongside February.
Santorini in january average low. 9 to 10 degrees, and it almost never drops below 6.
Record cold. Around 2 degrees. Frost is rare and snow is effectively unknown, though the island did see a dusting in the great cold snap of a few winters back.
Santorini in january sunshine. Four to five hours a day, which means roughly half the days are bright.
Rain pattern. Heavy and brief. A January downpour on Santorini lasts twenty minutes and then the light comes back hard and low.
Santorini in january wind. The winter northerly is the main event and it can be strong enough to ground the ferries for a day or two. There is no meltemi in January.
Humidity. Around seventy-five per cent, which makes 12 degrees feel like 9 on the rim.
Storms. Two or three in the month, usually overnight, and spectacular from a warm room with the lightning out over the caldera.
The light. Extraordinary. Low sun raking across the cliff at three in the afternoon is the single best reason to consider santorini in january.
Cloud. More of it than in summer, and it does more for the photographs than a clear sky does.
First week against last week. Almost identical, with an extra twenty minutes of daylight by the 31st.
What a week typically looks like. Three bright days, two grey ones, one or two wet, and one where the wind stops the boats.
Compared with December. A degree or two cooler and slightly wetter, with the festive crowd gone.
Compared with February. Effectively the same weather, with February marginally wetter and carnival arriving at the end of it.
What Is Open and What Is Shut
January is the deepest point of the winter closure, deeper than December because the festive trade has finished. The honest picture is that about a third of the island’s businesses are trading.
Fira, open through santorini in january. Trading normally. Supermarkets, bakeries, butchers, pharmacies, banks, a dozen restaurants and several bars, because several thousand people live here and need them.
Oia, mostly shut in santorini in january. Perhaps four or five restaurants and a handful of shops. Beautiful, silent, and you will drive to eat most evenings.
Imerovigli and Firostefani. Effectively closed. They are almost entirely accommodation and almost all of it shuts.
Pyrgos, Megalochori, Emporio, Exo Gonia and Vothonas. Properly open, because they are villages with residents. This is where you will eat well in santorini in january.
Kamari. Two or three tavernas and a hotel or two. The promenade is empty and the beach is yours.
Perissa and Perivolos. Closed. The beach clubs shut in October and reopen in April.
Akrotiri excavation. Open on winter hours, under a roof, warm and dry. The best thing to do on a wet day.
Ancient Thera. Winter hours and frequently closed in bad weather, because the ridge road is exposed.
The museums in Fira. Open on reduced winter days and hours. Check before driving in.
Wineries in santorini in january. Two or three take walk-ins on reduced hours. Call ahead, because in January the person answering is often the winemaker.
The cable car. Reduced timetable and suspended on windy days.
Boats in santorini in january. Nothing commercial runs to the volcano or round the caldera. This is the biggest single loss of the month.
Car hire in santorini in january. Open, cheap and completely unbooked.
The rim path in santorini in january. Open, free and at its absolute best.
What It Costs
Caldera-view room, where open. 70 to 180 euros a night against 300 to 700 in August.
Hotel in Fira without a view. 45 to 100 euros.
Studio or apartment inland. 30 to 70 euros.
Village house with a fireplace. 90 to 220 euros a night, and a fireplace changes the whole trip.
Flight from Athens for santorini in january. 40 to 100 euros return, the cheapest of the year.
Ferry from Piraeus. 38 to 55 euros one way on the conventional boat, which is all that runs.
Car hire in santorini in january. 18 to 32 euros a day, roughly half the summer rate.
Santorini in january taverna dinner for two. 32 to 52 euros, eaten alongside people who live here.
Coffee. 2.50 to 4 euros, with no terrace premium anywhere because the terraces are shut.
Akrotiri entry. 6 euros on the winter rate rather than 12.
Wine tasting. 20 to 40 euros a head, poured by whoever is in the building.
Museum entry. 4 to 6 euros on winter rates.
A week of santorini in january for two, everything in. 800 to 1,300 euros excluding flights, which is roughly a quarter to a third of August.
Where the saving is. The room, overwhelmingly. It falls by seventy to eighty per cent while food falls by thirty.
What does not get cheaper. Getting here. Athens flights and the Piraeus ferry cost much the same all year, which means santorini in january rewards longer stays rather than short ones.
What to Do
Walk the rim from Fira to Oia. Ten kilometres, three to four hours, and in January you may pass nobody at all. The best walk in Greece, at its best temperature.
Epiphany at the old port. On 6 January a priest throws a cross into the sea and young men dive for it in 16-degree water. The one genuine public event of the month.
Akrotiri, the best wet day in santorini in january. Warm, dry, indoors and almost empty. A Bronze Age town preserved under ash with streets and three-storey houses.
The wineries. The vines are bare and pruned into their low baskets, which is strange and worth seeing, and the tastings are given by people with time.
Pyrgos and the kastro. Climb to the top for the whole island laid out below and cloud sitting on Profitis Ilias.
Skaros rock. Half an hour from Imerovigli onto the headland where the Venetian castle stood. Spectacular in winter light and slippery when wet.
Profitis Ilias monastery. The highest point at 567 metres, often above the cloud, with the whole caldera beneath.
Vlychada. Wind-carved white pumice cliffs above an empty beach, better in winter because you can walk it at midday.
The Prehistoric Thera museum. The Akrotiri frescoes indoors in Fira, twenty minutes from anywhere.
Storm watching. A southerly hitting the caldera, seen from a warm room, is one of the reasons people come back for santorini in january.
Eating in the villages. Emporio, Exo Gonia, Megalochori and Vothonas, where the tavernas cook for residents and the prices show it.
Sunset in santorini in january. Half past five, from any point on the rim, with nobody in the way at all.
What you cannot do in santorini in january. Volcano and caldera boats, the hot springs, catamarans, sea kayaking, beach days, scheduled wine tours and most of Oia.
Who January Suits
Photographers in santorini in january. The strongest case by a distance. Low light, heavy cloud, empty villages, no crowds in any frame at any hour of the day.
Walkers in santorini in january. Twelve to fifteen degrees with no sun is ideal walking weather, and the rim path in August is not.
Writers and artists. The quietest four weeks of the year anywhere in the Cyclades.
Wine travellers. Pruning season, empty tasting rooms and winemakers who will talk for an hour.
Repeat visitors. People who have seen the island working and want to see it at rest.
Budget travellers in santorini in january. A quarter to a third of the August cost for the same caldera.
Long stays and remote workers. Monthly rates inland are genuinely cheap and the island has full-time life in Fira.
First-time visitors in santorini in january. No. You will miss the boats, the beaches and half the restaurants and form a false impression of the place.
Families with children. No. There is nothing arranged for them and the weather rules out the sea.
Honeymooners in santorini in january. Only for the quiet. The cave suites with plunge pools are mostly closed and an unheated plunge pool at 12 degrees is scenery.
Groups wanting nightlife. No. Fira has a few bars and that is the whole of it.
The summary. Santorini in january rewards people who want the island rather than the itinerary, and it is the wrong answer for everyone else.
Getting There, Staying and Packing
Flights from Athens in santorini in january. One or two a day, forty-five minutes, 40 to 100 euros return. The only air route in the month.
International flights. None at all. Charters and low-cost routes restart in late March or April.
Ferries from Piraeus in santorini in january. The conventional boats run near-daily year-round, seven to eight hours, 38 to 55 euros. High-speed services are withdrawn.
Weather disruption. Winter northerlies stop the ferries two or three times in the month and occasionally ground the Athens flights. Leave a buffer night before an onward flight.
Santorini in january transfers. Airport or Athinios to any village, 25 to 45 euros, and the port is calm because only one boat lands at a time.
Buses. Running all winter on a thin timetable from Fira, with the last services early in the evening.
Car hire. The right answer. 18 to 32 euros a day, empty roads, free parking in Oia and Fira, and no queue for anything.
Where to stay in santorini in january. Fira for everything being open, Pyrgos or Megalochori for a village with a fireplace, Firostefani for the view if you find somewhere trading.
What to check before booking. Heating, hot water, whether the hotel restaurant is open, and how many steps there are, because a wet caldera staircase is a serious proposition.
Heating specifically. Ask for a heat pump or a fireplace rather than a single wall unit. Santorini buildings are designed to stay cool and January exposes that.
What to pack for santorini in january. A real waterproof, layers, shoes with grip, a hat, and a jumper for the evening indoors.
What to leave at home. Beach gear, sandals and the outfit you packed for the Oia photograph, because the light is different and there is no crowd to dress for.
Booking window. Two weeks is plenty. Nothing sells out in santorini in january except the few days around Epiphany.
Santorini in January: Questions People Ask
Is Santorini worth visiting in January? For a second or third visit, for photographers, walkers and anyone on a budget, yes. For a first visit or a beach holiday, no.
What is the weather like in santorini in january? 11 to 15 degrees by day, 8 to 11 at night, eight to twelve wet days and four to five hours of sun a day.
Does it snow in Santorini? Effectively never. Frost is rare and the record low is around 2 degrees.
Is anything open in santorini in january? Fira almost entirely, the inland villages properly, Akrotiri and the museums on winter hours, and two or three wineries.
What is closed? Almost all of Oia and Imerovigli, every beach business, all the boats and most caldera hotels.
Can you swim? The sea is 16 to 17 degrees. A few people do. Most do not.
How much does a week cost? Roughly 800 to 1,300 euros for two excluding flights, the cheapest week of the year.
Are there direct international flights? No. One or two a day from Athens, plus the year-round ferry from Piraeus.
Do the volcano boats run? No. Commercial caldera trips stop for the winter, and that is the biggest single thing you lose.
What happens on 6 January? Epiphany, when a cross is thrown into the sea at the old port and young men dive for it. The only event of the month.
Do I need a car in santorini in january? It is the best month of the year to have one, at 18 to 32 euros a day with empty roads.
Is January better than December? The weather is nearly identical. December has the decorations and the festive week, January has genuine emptiness and lower prices.
Planning a January Trip With Us
We are on the island all winter, which means we know which taverna opened last week and which winery will actually pour for you. In a month like this that is most of what local help is worth.
Santorini in january transfers. Airport and Athinios port at a fixed price, re-timed free of charge when a winter ferry moves.
Private island tours. Four, five or eight hours with a driver, which is how to cover the south and the wineries when the buses are thin.
The rim walk. We drop you at Fira and collect you at Oia, which removes the only awkward part of the best walk on the island.
Winery visits. We call ahead and confirm who is open, because published winter hours are optimistic.
Ask us directly. Send your dates and we will tell you exactly what is trading that week, so santorini in january is a plan rather than a gamble.
Every Village and Site on the Island
Any of these can be built into a private day. Each has its own page with what to see and how long to allow.
Caldera villages: Fira · Firostefani · Imerovigli · Oia · Finikia · Baxedes
Inland villages: Pyrgos · Megalochori · Emporio · Mesaria · Karterados · Vothonas · Vourvoulos · Exo Gonia · Mesa Gonia · Pigadia
Beaches: Perissa · Perivolos · Kamari · Vlychada · Monolithos · Red Beach · White Beach · Agios Georgios · Agia Paraskevi
Sites and landmarks: Akrotiri · Ancient Thira · Akrotiri Lighthouse · Nea Kameni · Palia Kameni · Thirasia · Athinios Port
All our tours: All Santorini tours · Full day tour · Sightseeing tour · Personalised tour · North part tour · Horse riding · South part tour · Sunset tour · Shore excursion · Caldera tour · Food experience · Wine tour · Historical tour · Small group tour
Planning and services: Famous sights tour · Private transfers · Transfers to Oia and Finikia · Transfers to other villages · Villages of Santorini · History of Santorini · Tours near you · Languages we guide in · Food and fun tours · Gay friendly tours · Our tour buses · Daily tours · Day tours · FAQ · Gallery · Tour photo gallery · About us · Contact · Blog
