Santorini in August is hot, crowded and expensive, and it works if you plan the day around the clock: 28 to 32 degrees, no shade, up to five cruise ships in the caldera, peak rates and the strongest meltemi of the year. Six usable hours, at either end of the day.
Santorini Summer 2019
An image of Greek heaven, the celebrated island of Santorini lies in the core of the Aegean Sea. Its mark, whitewashed structures, blue-domed chapels and all encompassing bluff edge sees have attracted voyagers to it for a considerable length of time, adding to its status as the gem of the Greek islands.
Consolidate this with astonishing sustenance, lavish hotel and obviously some wonderful shorelines, you have the makings of a charming island occasion in this marvelous corner of the Mediterranean.
Enjoy the Greek summer in Santorini by booking now Santorini Tours and Santorini Transfers!
Santorini beach tours 2019
Made up from red and dark stones and sand, Santorini shorelines have many things to offer. The volcanic scenery makes for coarser sand and the lucidity of the seawater is all the better for it.
Prominent shorelines like Perissa, Kamari, Monolithos and the distinguished Red Beach. Apropos named for its lavish copper-conditioned sands, the Red Beach is viewed by numerous individuals as the most excellent stretch of shoreline in Santorini.
Things to do during Santorini summer 2019
With a scene that has propelled craftsmen and writers through ages, the island’s rich history penetrates advanced life. Cycladic engineering birthed the notorious white and blue structures that encroach Santorini’s caldera, which have turned out to be meaningful of Greece. Basically meandering the cleared pathways of interesting towns is sufficient to save the way of life of the island.
In any case, there’s a lot to be found in the archeological historical centers, its five old manors and the accumulation of religious landmarks.
For Santorini specialities, make certain to taste the spearmint-implanted Sfougato quiche and the delicious Tomatokeftdes (also called tomato misuses) cooked with olive oil, onions and herbs.
With regards to drink, wine is very popular in these parts. Book now a Santorini wine and history private tour, Santorini private wine tour or a Santorini sunset and wine testing private tour. You can take a tour of Santorini!
Enjoy Santorini 2019 nightlife
There are sufficient clubs and bars in the island capital Fira to keep you engaged for the entire of your vacation.
You are going to have to move the night away, while the beach front retreats of Kamari and Perissa in the east additionally gloat a vivacious gathering scene. In case you’re after a progressively loosened up night, make a beeline for the delightful town of Oia. Sentimental parlor bars and shocking nightfall spots are dissipated all through.
See more about Santorini island:
- Five magical shades of Santorini Tours
- The top Santorini Tours
- Santorini, the island that never rests
- Happy New Year’s Eve From Santorini
Santorini in August: The Short Answer
Hot, crowded, expensive and windy, and still worth doing if you plan the day around the clock rather than the list. Santorini in august means thirty to thirty-five degrees, no shade outside the villages, up to five cruise ships in the caldera on a single day, peak accommodation rates and the strongest meltemi of the year.
None of that makes it a bad month. It makes it a month with roughly six usable hours in it, split between early morning and evening, and the people who come away happy from santorini in august are the ones who accepted that on day one.
If your dates are movable, move them. May, early June, late September and the first half of October are better in every measurable way and cost a fraction. If they are not movable, everything below is how we would run a week of santorini in august.
The Weather
Temperature. Highs of 28 to 32 degrees, occasionally 35 and rarely above it. Nights sit around 23 to 25 and the pumice holds the day’s heat, so the villages stay warm long after dark.
Rain. Effectively none. August is the driest month of the year here and it is normal for the whole month to pass without a shower, so rain is not a santorini in august problem.
Sun. Around thirteen hours of daylight and twelve of them fierce. The UV index runs at extreme in the middle of the day, and there is essentially no natural shade anywhere on the island outside a taverna awning.
Sea. Around 25 degrees, the warmest of the year, and the single best thing about santorini in august.
Wind. The meltemi blows from the north through July and August, sometimes for days at a time. It makes the heat bearable, it cancels boat trips, it closes the old port, and it can delay ferries. It is the most underestimated feature of santorini in august and the one that most often disrupts a plan.
Humidity. Low, which is why 32 degrees of santorini in august is more comfortable than 28 in Athens.
Practically: hat, high-factor cream, a litre of water each per outing, and nothing outdoors between noon and four. That rule alone makes santorini in august workable.
Crowds and Cruise Ships
This is the part of santorini in august people underestimate.
Around 15,500 people live on Santorini and in high summer the island holds many times that. Cruise traffic is concentrated: ships anchor in the caldera and tender passengers into the old port below Fira, and on a heavy day five ships can put more than ten thousand people ashore between eight in the morning and five in the afternoon. They all use the same cable car, the same donkey path and the same two villages. The local authority has moved to cap daily cruise arrivals precisely because of this.
What that means on the ground is a sharp daily rhythm. Fira and Oia are almost empty at half past seven in the morning, unbearable from eleven to six, and pleasant again after eight in the evening. Santorini in august runs on that rhythm. The cable car queue can run past an hour in each direction in the middle of the day.
The cruise schedule is public and worth checking before you fix each day. A day with no ships in the caldera is a completely different island from a day with five, and anybody visiting santorini in august who ignores that will spend the week in a queue.
The inland villages take almost no cruise traffic at all. Pyrgos, Emporio, Megalochori, Exo Gonia and Vothonas are quiet even in the second week, and they are the escape valve of santorini in august.
Santorini in August: What It Costs
Santorini in august is the most expensive fortnight of the Greek year and the caldera is the most expensive place on it.
Caldera-view double. From around 350 euros a night and climbing steeply into four figures for a cave suite with a plunge pool.
Inland or south-coast hotel. Roughly 90 to 180 euros for a good room at Karterados, Megalochori, Kamari or Perissa, which is a third of the rim for the same standard.
Dinner on the caldera. 60 to 120 euros a head with wine, and you are paying for the view rather than the food.
Dinner inland. 20 to 35 euros a head, and usually better food.
Sunbeds. 15 to 40 euros a pair at an organised beach.
Hire car or ATV. 45 to 70 euros a day at peak, plus fuel, plus the parking problem.
Private full-day tour. From around 340 euros for the vehicle rather than per person.
Flights. Direct European routes are at their annual peak and the airport is small and slow.
The single largest saving available for santorini in august is to sleep inland and eat inland, and to buy the caldera view once, at dinner, on a night you have booked.
Where to Stay
The choice matters more in this month than in any other, because in santorini in august heat, crowds and parking all compound.
Firostefani. The same caldera view as Oia, ten minutes along a level rim path from Fira, noticeably cheaper, and several hotels with road access rather than a stairway. Our usual recommendation. See Firostefani.
Imerovigli. The highest point on the rim, the best view of all, and almost entirely stepped. Glorious, and hard work with luggage in santorini in august.
Fira. Central and convenient, and the noisiest place on the island in August.
Oia. No vehicle access into the village, hotels fifty to eighty steps below the road, and packed from eleven until eight. The least practical base of all in high summer.
Kamari and Perissa. Flat, on the beach, ordinary prices, organised, and a bus into Fira. The sensible santorini in august compromise.
Vlychada and Monolithos. Quiet, level, easy to park at, and the calmest bases on the island. See Vlychada.
Megalochori and Pyrgos. Inland, cool in the evening, the best food, and a vehicle needed. See Megalochori.
Two questions to ask any property before booking for santorini in august: how many steps lie between the road and the room, and does the air conditioning run all night.
What to Do, and When
Every recommendation here comes with an hour attached, because in santorini in august the hour is the recommendation.
Oia, half past seven in the morning. Empty, level, cool, and the light behind you. Back for breakfast by nine. This is the best hour of santorini in august. See Oia.
Akrotiri, at opening. Roofed and shaded, so it works even at midday, but the first hour is quiet. Ninety minutes, and far better guided. See Akrotiri.
The wineries, from four. Terraces, shade, and Assyrtiko grown in volcanic ash. Three estates with a driver so both of you can taste. See the wine tour.
A caldera boat, morning or late afternoon. The cliff from below, gold at the end of the day, and the only reliable breeze on the island. Check the wind first.
The inland villages, any time. Pyrgos, Emporio and Exo Gonia are shaded, quiet and lived in. See Emporio.
Ancient Thira, early or not at all. A Hellenistic city on a ridge with no shade whatsoever. Wonderful at nine, dangerous at two. See Ancient Thira.
Sunset, anywhere but Oia. Imerovigli, Firostefani, the Akrotiri lighthouse or a winery terrace in the south.
The middle of the day. A pool, a shaded terrace, a long lunch or a museum. Not a sight, ever, in santorini in august.
What to Skip
The volcano climb at midday. Thirty minutes over loose black scoria with no shade and no water on Nea Kameni. In August this is genuinely unpleasant and occasionally unsafe. Go on the first boat or not at all in santorini in august.
The donkeys. On welfare grounds, and because it is 588 steps of the least pleasant kind in the heat.
The cable car between eleven and six. An hour each way.
Oia at sunset with a coach party. Several thousand people, ninety minutes and a meeting point, which is the worst hour of santorini in august.
Red Beach in the afternoon. Small, rockfall-prone, and a suntrap under an iron cliff.
The hot springs. A lukewarm brown patch you swim to, in a month when the sea is already 25 degrees.
Three sights in a day. Two, and one of them indoors or on the water.
Cutting those seven is most of the difference between a good and a bad week of santorini in august.
Beaches in August
The sea is at its warmest, around 25 degrees, and the sand is at its most hostile. That is the trade of santorini in august.
Perissa and Perivolos. Long strips of black sand and small pebbles, organised end to end with beach bars and sunbeds. The black absorbs heat and by two in the afternoon you cannot walk on it barefoot. Take shoes to the water’s edge, which is standard practice in santorini in august.
Kamari. The same rock in a coarser grain behind a promenade, with more shade from the cliff at Mesa Vouno in the late afternoon.
Monolithos. Flat, shallow, shaded by tamarisk trees, with a playground. The best beach on the island for small children in any month and especially in santorini in august.
Vlychada. Pale wind-carved cliffs above black sand, a marina, and the calmest stretch on the south coast. Exposed to the meltemi.
Red Beach. Photogenic, small, reached by a scramble, with a rockfall risk and no escape from the sun.
White Beach. Boat access only, and better for it.
Ammoudi. Not a beach but a swimming spot off the rocks below Oia, three hundred steps down and three hundred back up.
The wind decides the day. With a northerly running, the south coast at Perivolos and Vlychada is calm while the exposed stretches are unpleasant, so ask at your hotel each morning which coast is sheltered. Anyone whose trip is built around lying on soft sand should know before booking santorini in august that Naxos, Milos and Paros all do beaches considerably better.
Santorini in August with Children
Workable with the right base and a firm rule about the middle of the day. Santorini in august rewards a pool.
Stay flat. Kamari, Perissa, Monolithos or Vlychada. Not the caldera, where a pushchair is useless and the hotel may sit eighty steps below the road.
Swim early and late. Before eleven and after five. The black sand is genuinely too hot in between.
The boat. Older children love a catamaran day; the volcano climb suits energetic ones and nobody else.
Akrotiri. Roofed, shaded and interesting to children over about eight.
The wine museum. Underground, cool, and stranger than it sounds.
Food. Every taverna will do a plate of chips, grilled chicken and tzatziki without comment, which makes santorini in august easy on that front, and Greek restaurants are unbothered by children at ten at night.
Heat. Hats, high-factor cream, water constantly, and a hotel with a pool that is used every afternoon.
Families who plan santorini in august as two short outings a day and a pool in between have a good week. Families who plan a full itinerary do not.
The Fifteenth of August
Dekapentavgoustos, the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin, is the biggest holiday of the Greek summer and the busiest single day of santorini in august by a distance.
Expect church services in the morning, family lunches that run into the evening, village panigiria with food, wine and music, and a great many Greek visitors on top of the international ones. Some shops and offices close. Ferries and flights around the date are booked out weeks ahead and cost more.
It is genuinely worth seeing if you are here for it. The panigiri in a village square, with long tables, a band and everybody from ninety-year-olds to toddlers dancing, is the most Greek thing that happens on Santorini all year and it is not put on for visitors.
Practically: book everything early, do not plan to travel on the fourteenth, fifteenth or sixteenth, and expect Fira to be busy well past midnight. It is the loudest night of santorini in august.
What to Pack
A hat with a brim. There is no shade.
High-factor sun cream. Reef-safe if you are swimming.
Flat shoes with grip. The marble lanes are polished and slippery, and the volcanic paths are loose.
Water bottles. The island runs on desalination and everybody drinks bottled.
Something with sleeves. For the evening on the rim, where the meltemi cools things quickly.
A light layer for the boat. The wind at sea is stronger than on land.
Swimming shoes. The beaches are pebbly in places and the black sand burns.
A dress code garment. Some caldera restaurants and beach clubs expect more than a swimsuit.
Nothing warm. It does not get cold in santorini in august, at any hour.
Santorini in August for Couples
The island sells itself as a honeymoon destination and santorini in august is the month that tests the claim hardest.
What still works: the terrace, the plunge pool, the light at seven in the evening, dinner at nine with the cliff going gold, and the fact that nobody expects you to do anything. What does not: the notion of a quiet romantic wander through Oia, which in this month is a slow-moving crowd from eleven until eight.
Our advice for couples doing santorini in august is to buy privacy rather than proximity. A hotel at Firostefani or Imerovigli with its own terrace beats a room in Oia at the same price, a private boat afternoon beats a shared catamaran, and dinner inland at Pyrgos or Megalochori beats a rim table with a queue behind it. See honeymoons.
Eating and Drinking in the Heat
Greek summer food is built for santorini in august and the timetable is part of it.
Breakfast until ten, and then nothing much until lunch at two.
Lunch is long, shaded and slow. Fava, tomatokeftedes, white aubergine, horta, a village salad and grilled fish.
Dinner starts at nine and the caldera rim restaurants are the ones built around the sunset rush, so book them or eat inland where nobody minds when you arrive.
Wine. Assyrtiko is high-acid, mineral and served cold, which makes it one of the few white wines that genuinely improves at 32 degrees.
Water. The island runs on desalination and everybody drinks bottled. Carry more than you think.
Coffee. Freddo espresso and freddo cappuccino, which is what the entire country drinks between June and September.
Eating inland is the single best value decision available for santorini in august, at roughly a third of the caldera price and usually better food.
Heat, Health and Common Sense
None of this is medical advice, and all of it is what the island’s own pharmacists say about santorini in august every year.
Hydrate constantly. The dry air and the wind hide how much you are losing, and dehydration is the commonest complaint here.
Avoid the middle of the day. Noon to four indoors, in water, or under something.
Sun cream twice. Once before you leave and once again by lunchtime.
Watch the wind on the water. It disguises how much sun you are taking on a boat.
Mind the steps. Polished marble, thin sandals and a hot afternoon account for most of the twisted ankles on the caldera.
Pharmacies. Fira, Oia, Kamari, Perissa and Emporio, with a rota for nights and Sundays. Health centre in Fira, and anything serious goes to Athens.
Emergencies. 112.
What Sells Out, and When to Book
Hotels. The good caldera rooms are gone by February for the first fortnight of santorini in august.
Flights. Direct European routes peak now and the last seats are punishing.
Ferries. Book the Piraeus and inter-island sailings well ahead, and never for the same day as an international flight.
Caldera restaurants. Sunset tables need a week or more.
Catamarans. Shared boats fill days ahead; private charters weeks ahead.
Private tours and transfers. A fortnight is comfortable; the fifteenth of August is not.
Everything about santorini in august rewards booking early and punishes improvisation, which is the opposite of how the island behaves in May.
Getting Around
Buses. Cheap and frequent, and every route goes through Fira, so most journeys need a change. Coaches fill by mid-morning and standing on a full one at 32 degrees is nobody’s idea of a holiday.
Taxis. Around thirty for the whole island. Not a plan at any hour of santorini in august.
Hire car or ATV. 45 to 70 euros a day at peak. The driving is easy; in santorini in august the parking is the problem. Oia has almost none, Fira fills by ten and the popular beaches fill by eleven.
A private driver. Hotel pickup, air conditioning, no parking and no walking from a car park. Priced per vehicle, which for four people is often close to the cost of a hire car once you add fuel and the fact that one of you cannot taste at the wineries. See transfers and car hire.
Walking. The rim path from Fira to Firostefani and Imerovigli is level and lovely at seven in the morning and punishing at two in the afternoon.
The cable car. Six people a cabin, and an hour of queueing in each direction at peak. Use it early or late.
Airport transfers. Book them. The airport is small, the arrivals hall is a scrum through santorini in august, and the taxi rank is not an option.
Santorini in August Compared With July and September
July. Almost identical weather, marginally less crowded, and prices slightly below the August peak. The meltemi is already blowing. If you must come in high summer, July is fractionally the better half of high summer.
The first half of August. The hottest and busiest fortnight of the year, ending in Dekapentavgoustos on the fifteenth.
The second half of August. Still hot and still full, but the Greek holiday traffic thins after the twentieth and rates begin to soften.
September. The month people wish they had booked. The sea is at its warmest, the crowds thin steadily, the light softens, prices fall through the month and the wind drops. The first half is still fully open and the second half is close to perfect, which is the case against santorini in august.
If your dates can slide by two weeks in either direction, slide them. The difference between santorini in august and the same island in the third week of September is the difference between enduring a place and enjoying it.
A Five-Day August Plan
Day 1. Arrive, transfer, pool, sunset from your own terrace, dinner nearby. Nothing booked.
Day 2. Oia at half past seven, breakfast back at the hotel by nine, pool until five, sunset from Imerovigli, dinner in Firostefani.
Day 3. Akrotiri at opening, lunch in Megalochori, three wineries from four, dinner inland at nine.
Day 4. Catamaran round the caldera in the morning if the wind allows, swim off Thirasia, back by four. Early night, because santorini in august is exhausting if you push it.
Day 5. Ancient Thira at nine, Kamari or Monolithos for the afternoon, one booked caldera dinner to finish.
Two outings a day at most, the middle of each day indoors or in water, and every famous sight seen at the hour it is worth seeing. That is the whole method for santorini in august, and it is why santorini in august still works.
Santorini in August: Frequently Asked Questions
Is August a good time to visit Santorini? It is the hottest, busiest and most expensive month, and it works if you plan around early mornings and evenings. May, early June, late September and early October are all better.
How hot does it get? Highs of 28 to 32 degrees, occasionally 35, with nights around 23 to 25 and almost no rain.
How warm is the sea? About 25 degrees, the warmest of the year.
Is it very crowded? Yes, in Fira and Oia between eleven and six, with up to five cruise ships a day in the caldera. The inland villages stay quiet.
What is the wind like? The meltemi blows from the north, sometimes for days. It cools the heat, cancels boat trips and delays ferries.
How expensive is it? Caldera-view doubles start around 350 euros a night; inland and south-coast hotels are a third of that.
Where should we stay? Firostefani for the view with road access, or Kamari, Perissa, Monolithos or Vlychada for flat ground and easy parking.
What should we skip? The volcano climb at midday, the cable car between eleven and six, the donkeys, and Oia at sunset with a coach party.
What happens on the fifteenth? Dekapentavgoustos, the biggest Greek holiday of the summer, with church services, family lunches and village panigiria. It is the busiest day of the year.
Can you swim everywhere? Yes, though the black sand burns underfoot and the water drops away steeply on most beaches. Monolithos is the shallow one.
Do we need a car? A driver is easier. Parking in Fira and Oia is the problem a hire car does not solve.
How many days do we need? Four or five, with two outings a day and the middle of each day spent out of the sun.
Let Us Run the Days Around the Heat
We are a local operator running private tours and transfers in our own vehicles, and in this month most of what we do is timing: Akrotiri before the coaches, the wineries after four, the villages when the ships have gone, and Oia when you can actually walk down the main street.
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 full list of tours, 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
