Santorini in november is the month the island hands itself back to the people who live on it: highs of 19 to 20 degrees early and 17 to 18 late, a sea at 21 falling to 19, six to nine wet days, and prices at roughly a quarter of August. Fira works all year; Oia and the beach resorts close progressively through the month.
Santorini Tours in November is a journey unlike any other that you must experience once in your life. Santorini is the Greek island that has all the lights focused on it. It makes perfect sense when you think about how many travelers from all over the world have a lifelong dream to be there even once in their life.
Landscapes that do not exist anywhere else in the world, gastronomy full of surprises and hospitality that is exemplary for all those involved in tourism! And if you are wondering when is the right time to be there? Know that September, October and the first months of summer are ideal to make the trip there!
Go to Emporio for an afternoon
This village has a character all its own and you have to give it the time it deserves. Explore it. Take photos in the wonderful frames it offers and feel the vibes the place has.
Early morning walk in Pyrgos
Another village that you must walk in Santorini is Pyrgos. Clean with vibrant colors and a bell tower that you can see from everywhere. Pyrgos will become the village with your most beautiful memories from Santorini.
Go to Thirasia for one day
Thirasia is the twin sister of Santorini that will really enchant you. Even if you have been to the island for a few days, dedicate one of them to make this one-day trip definitely worth it. In Thirasia you will find coffee, food and anything else you need.
Visit Akrotiri
There is nothing like it anywhere else in the world. Visiting is like traveling through time. Walk the streets and squares of a prehistoric city of thirty thousand inhabitants, see its elegant high-rise houses and admire the refined taste of the 17th century BC. You can take a tour of Santorini!
Go to Akrotiri Archaeological site
It is located on the southwestern tip of the island, 15 kilometers from Fira, and this archaeological site deserves to be on your schedule. The first installations in Akrotiri date back to the Late Neolithic Age.
Go to Red beach
Santorini is not famous for its beaches, but a walk here is a must. It will be difficult to get down here and it is not ideal for swimming, but the scenery is something you have to see up close!
The volcanic rocks and the result of landslides in the area, gave the famous beach its unique landscape and emblematic features. Get ready for a tough footpath from Akrotiri, between stones and rocks until you reach the beach. Its waters are cold and crystal clear, while if you get tired of walking you can rent a boat from Akrotiri.
Explore the White beach
You can get here on foot from Kambia beach by walking the path or by sea bus from Akrotiri. The beautiful relief of the rocks will remind you of Milos.
Take a tour with Santorini Tours
Prefer private packages of Santorini Tours that include a visit to Oia, Imerovigli, Firostefani, Pyrgos village, Profitis Ilias monastery, Akrotiri, Red beach and Black beach and the special Venetsianos Winery. However, the experience of the view of Santorini by boat is something you should not miss at all!
Enjoy the sunset in Oia
Even if you are not among the romantics of this world, it is impossible not to be seduced by this mysterious force that almost hypnotizes the crowd in the alleys of Oia when the clock approaches sunset time. Then, a huge demonstration with hats, cameras and the smell of sunscreen moves to the edge of Oia at the Kastelli of Agios Georgios, where you just watch the sun dip into the Caldera and the people applaud it.
Spend your evening in Fira
The evening rightfully belongs to Fira, the lively capital of the island which not only has beautiful cave houses on the side of the Caldera, but also countless bars, restaurants, taverns, which make you think you are living a fairy tale!
Try local flavors
It is one of the top culinary destinations in the Aegean both for its food and for the restaurants and taverns with their special decoration and unique view. Try tomato meatballs and Vinsanto wine. In any store you go to eat, you will find them. They are must try in Santorini and you have to try them.
There are taverns and restaurants for all budgets, but it takes searching and caution because it is very possible to choose the wrong tavern and pay very dearly for a not so good meal. To be sure that your money and experience will be worth it, choose places with award-winning chefs.
Stay in a cave
The architecture of Santorini is unique. The caves, the houses that the locals dug into the rock to protect them from the winds, are unique in their kind. In modern Santorini, great architects turned them into wonderful places to stay. It is worth even for one night to feel the characteristic smell of the rock, the immediacy they have with the caldera.
Visit a winery
The volcanic land gives the wines special characteristics. A visit to a winery with Santorini tours, to see traditional vine cultivation and winemaking, and to taste some of the island’s unique wines is a fantastic experience.
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 November: The Short Answer
Santorini in november is the month the island hands itself back to the people who live on it. The crowds have gone, the caldera path is empty, half the cliff-edge hotels have closed for the winter, prices have collapsed, and the weather is mild, changeable and occasionally spectacular.
Eight numbers cover almost everything people want to know about santorini in november.
Temperature. Highs around 19 to 20 degrees early in the month, 17 to 18 by the end. Nights around 13 to 15.
Sea. Roughly 21 degrees at the start of November and 19 by the end. Swimmable for anyone who swims in the Atlantic; cold for anyone expecting August.
Rain. The first proper rain of the year, typically six to nine wet days across the month, usually in short heavy bursts rather than all-day drizzle.
Daylight. Sunset moves from about half past five to around five o’clock, so the day is short and the light is very good.
Crowds in santorini in november. None, in any meaningful sense. Oia at sunset in November holds dozens of people rather than thousands.
Prices. The cheapest of the year. A caldera-view room that costs 600 euros in August can be found for 120 to 180 in November.
What is open. Fira all month, Akrotiri and Ancient Thera on winter hours, some wineries, a good number of tavernas, and progressively less in Oia as the month goes on.
The Weather, Honestly
November is the switch from Mediterranean autumn to Mediterranean winter, and in santorini in november it happens somewhere in the middle of the month. The first ten days often feel like a warm late October: 20 degrees, sunshine, an empty island and a sea that is still perfectly swimmable. The last ten days feel like a different place: 17 degrees, a wind with an edge to it, and the first real storms of the year coming across the Aegean.
Rain in Santorini in november is not the rain of northern Europe. It arrives as a front, dumps a great deal of water in a couple of hours, and leaves. Two or three days of a November trip will probably have rain in them. It is rare for a whole day to be lost, and the light after a storm over the caldera is the best light of the year.
Wind is the more relevant factor. The summer meltemi is gone, replaced by southerlies and westerlies that arrive with the fronts. They can be strong. What they affect is not comfort but boats: the volcano trips, the caldera cruises and the fast ferries all become weather-dependent, and cancellations in November are normal rather than exceptional.
Humidity is low, the air is exceptionally clear, and visibility across the caldera in November regularly reaches the point where you can see the outline of Crete on the southern horizon, which is impossible in the summer haze and one of the quiet pleasures of santorini in november.
What Is Open and What Is Not
This is the question that decides whether Santorini in november works for you, and the answer is more encouraging than most people assume — with one important geographical split.
Fira. The centre of santorini in november, and the island’s only town with a year-round population. Supermarkets, bakeries, pharmacies, banks, restaurants and bars operate all winter. This is where to stay in November.
Oia. Largely seasonal. A steady stream of hotels and restaurants close from the first week of November onwards, and by December it is very quiet indeed. Still worth visiting, and a difficult place to be based.
Firostefani and Imerovigli. In between. Some hotels stay open into November, most restaurants close by the end of it.
Akrotiri. Open through santorini in november on winter hours, and far better in November than in August — you get the excavation almost to yourself.
Ancient Thera. Open on winter hours, weather permitting. The access road is exposed.
The Museum of Prehistoric Thera and the Archaeological Museum. Both open through the winter in Fira.
Wineries. Several of the larger estates stay open year-round with reduced hours, which is enough for a proper tasting day.
The cable car. Runs through santorini in november and all year, on a reduced timetable.
Beach resorts. Kamari and Perissa largely shut. A handful of tavernas stay open for the local trade.
Boats to the volcano. Some operators run into November, weather permitting, and none of it is guaranteed.
Getting There in November
Access is the practical constraint that catches people out, because the seasonal machinery that makes summer travel effortless switches off during this month.
Six things to check before booking travel for santorini in november.
Direct European flights. Most stop by the end of October or the first week of November. Assume they do not exist and check before you plan anything around one.
Athens to Santorini. Runs year-round, several flights a day, forty-five minutes. This is how almost everyone arrives in November.
Ferries from Piraeus. Reduced but running. Conventional ferries operate through the winter; the fast catamarans mostly stop or run rarely, and they are the ones cancelled by weather.
Inter-island ferries. Thin out sharply. Crossings to Ios, Naxos and Paros drop to a few a week, and some routes stop entirely.
Crete. A reduced service continues, and it is weather-dependent.
Build in a buffer. Never plan a ferry on the day of an international flight in November. A cancelled sailing in August costs you a day; in November it can cost you three.
Where to Stay for Santorini in November
The rule is simple: stay in Fira or immediately beside it. Everything that is open in Santorini in november is either in Fira or reachable from it in twenty minutes, and the town has the only genuine year-round life on the island.
Fira. Restaurants, shops, museums, the bus hub and the cable car. The obvious base.
Firostefani. The best value base for santorini in november. Five minutes’ walk from Fira along the rim, quieter, with the same caldera view and often better value.
Imerovigli. The best views on the island and the emptiest streets. Check what is open before booking; you may be walking to Fira for dinner.
Oia. Beautiful and largely shut. Visit it; do not base yourself there in the second half of November.
Karterados and Messaria. Inland, ordinary, cheap, open all year, and five minutes from Fira by car.
Kamari and Perissa. Almost entirely closed. Skip them as a base.
What it costs. Caldera-view suites that go for 500 to 900 euros in August sit at 120 to 200 in November. Standard doubles in Fira run 50 to 90. This is the single biggest argument for the month.
Things to Do in Santorini in November
The absence of crowds changes what the island is worth doing, and nine of these are simply better in santorini in november than they are in summer.
Walk the caldera path. Oia to Fira, ten kilometres along the rim, in cool air with nobody on it. In August this walk is a heat-stroke risk; in santorini in november it is one of the best walks in Europe.
Akrotiri without a queue. The Bronze Age town under its roof, in near silence, with the option of an hour there rather than twenty minutes.
The wineries. By santorini in november the harvest is long finished and the estates have time. A November tasting is a conversation rather than a production line.
Ancient Thera. The Hellenistic city on the ridge, empty, with weather sweeping across the view.
The museums in Fira. The frescoes from Akrotiri in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera are the reason to go, and they are indoors on a wet afternoon.
Pyrgos and Emporio. The inland villages are at their most authentic in November, when they are simply villages.
Sunset from Imerovigli. At five o’clock rather than half past eight, with a handful of people rather than a wall of them.
Eat properly. Winter menus in Fira are for locals: slow-cooked dishes, fava, wild greens, and prices that bear no relation to July.
Drive. The roads in santorini in november are empty. The whole island opens up in a way it never does between June and September.
Who November Suits, and Who It Does Not
Santorini in november is an excellent month for some travellers and the wrong month for others, and the split is clean.
It suits photographers. Empty locations, long shadows, storm light and clear air. There is no better month for the caldera on a camera.
It suits walkers. Santorini in november gives cool air, no sun exposure problem, and trails to yourself.
It suits couples on a second visit. You have seen the sights; now you get the island.
It suits anyone on a budget. Santorini in november costs a quarter of Santorini in August.
It suits people who hate crowds. Categorically.
It does not suit beach holidays. The sea is cold by the end of the month and the beach resorts are shut.
It does not suit a first-and-only visit with a fixed schedule. Boats cancel and some things are closed.
Santorini in november does not suit nightlife. The clubs closed in October.
It does not suit island hopping. Ferry connections are too thin to build an itinerary on.
What to Pack
Seven things to put in the bag for santorini in november.
Layers. Twenty degrees in the sun and thirteen after dark is a fifteen-degree swing inside one day.
A waterproof. Not a heavy coat — a proper light shell. The rain comes hard and briefly.
Grippy shoes. Wet marble steps in a Cycladic village are genuinely dangerous.
A windproof layer. The rim in santorini in november is exposed and the November wind has weight.
Swimwear, optimistically. Early November still delivers swimmable days.
Sunglasses and sunscreen. The sun is low and the light off whitewash is still strong.
Nothing formal. The restaurants that are open in November are not the ones with a dress code.
Santorini in November Against the Other Months
Every month on this island is a trade between weather, crowds and cost, and it helps to see where November sits in that.
Santorini in november against October. October is warmer, busier and more expensive, with everything still open. November is emptier, cheaper and half-closed. October is the safer choice; November is the more interesting one.
Santorini in november against December. December is colder and quieter still, with Christmas lights in Fira and even less open. November has better weather and slightly more life.
Against March and April. Spring has the island greening and reopening, with similar temperatures and rising rather than falling activity. Spring is the better mirror image if you need things to be open.
Against May and June. The shoulder proper: warm, open, and busy enough to feel like a season. Better weather, three times the price.
Against July and August. A different island entirely. Heat, crowds, full prices and a great deal of noise.
The honest summary. If you want reliability, come in May, June, September or early October. If you want the island itself, at a quarter of the cost, come to santorini in november and accept the trade.
A Four-Day November Itinerary
A realistic shape for four days of santorini in november.
Day one. Fly in through Athens, transfer to Fira, walk the rim to Firostefani in the afternoon and watch the sun go down at five. Dinner in town.
Day two. Akrotiri in the morning with the place to yourself, lunch at Vlychada or in Megalochori, a winery at three, back for sunset from Imerovigli.
Day three. The caldera path from Oia to Fira, four hours at a walking pace, with the whole rim empty. Museum of Prehistoric Thera in the afternoon if the legs have gone.
Day four. Pyrgos, Emporio and Ancient Thera by car, then a long lunch. Transfer to the airport.
If it rains. The two museums in Fira, a winery, a cooking class, and a long lunch. A wet day here is not a lost day.
If it is warm. Swim at Vlychada or Perissa. Early November regularly allows it.
Practical Notes
Seven practical points that santorini in november turns on.
Hire a car or book a driver. The bus network reduces to a skeleton timetable in November and taxis are few. Without transport the island shrinks to Fira.
Check opening hours the day before. Winter hours change and small places close on a whim.
Book the hotel late. There is no scarcity in November, and rates drop rather than rise as the date approaches.
Confirm your hotel is actually open. Listings sometimes stay live after a property has closed for the season.
Carry some cash. Cards work everywhere in Fira; a village taverna in November may prefer not to.
Expect early dinners. Kitchens that serve until midnight in August close at ten in November.
Watch the forecast for boats. Anything on the water is provisional this month.
Santorini in November: Frequently Asked Questions
Is santorini in november worth visiting? Yes, if you want the island rather than the season. Empty, cheap, mild and half-closed.
How warm is santorini in november? Highs of 19 to 20 degrees early in the month, 17 to 18 late, with nights around 13 to 15.
Can you swim in santorini in november? In the first half of the month, yes — the sea is around 21 degrees. By the end it is 19 and the beaches are deserted.
Does it rain a lot? Six to nine wet days across the month, usually short heavy bursts rather than continuous rain.
Is anything open in santorini in november? Fira operates all year. Akrotiri, Ancient Thera, the museums, several wineries and the cable car all run on winter hours. Oia and the beach resorts largely close.
Are there direct flights? Mostly not. Fly through Athens, which runs year-round.
Is the sunset still good? Yes, and it happens at about five o’clock with almost nobody watching it.
How much cheaper is santorini in november? Roughly a quarter of August prices for accommodation, and noticeably less for everything else.
Where should I stay in santorini in november? Fira, or Firostefani next to it. Not Oia, and not the beaches.
Do I need a car? Effectively yes, or a private driver. The buses run a skeleton winter timetable.
Can I do the volcano boat trip? Sometimes. It depends entirely on the weather and on which operators are still running.
Is santorini in november good for a first visit? It is good for a curious first visit and poor for a once-in-a-lifetime one with a fixed list.
See the Island With Nobody On It
We are a local operator running private tours and transfers in our own vehicles, and we work all year — which in santorini in november means we are often the only vehicle at Akrotiri.
Tell us your dates and we will build a day around what is actually open that week, with the weather taken into account rather than ignored.
Prices are per vehicle rather than per person, hotel pickup anywhere on the island is included, we guide in twelve languages, and an 80 EUR deposit confirms a date.
See the personalised tour, the private transfers, or contact us.
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
