Santorini: Europe’s Best Island at US Global Traveler Awards
Greece and Santorini again stood out at this year’s “Global Traveler” awards of FXExpress 2020, which took place through an online event on December 14, and won three new awards. In Santorini private tours we know better than anyone that Santorini is worthy of these awards and any other awards might win in the future! Anyway, every single person who has visited Santorini has experienced the unique beauty of the wonderful Cycladic island. Santorini it’s much more than its sunset.
Specifically, Greece emerged for the first time as a favorite tourist destination internationally, by the readers of the online magazine trazeetravel.com and took second place in the category “Best Wedding Destination” after Tahiti and before the Cook Islands. In the same event, Santorini was distinguished for the 7th time in a row as the best island in Europe and won the title “Best Island in Europe” of the “Leisure Lifestyle Awards”.
Totally won three new awards – Recognition of the Greek island by the US confirms its high position worldwide
Santorini: Europe’s Best Island at US Global Traveler Awards
As stated by the General Secretary of EOT Dimitris Fraggakis: “The new distinctions of our country, this time from the United States of America, are another confirmation of the high position of preference that Greece holds as a destination abroad. But it is also an encouraging sign for 2021 – a year in which the recovery of Greek tourism will gradually begin. In an extremely competitive environment, our country will show its comparative advantages in international markets.
Especially the USA is a very important market for our country over time, but also especially in view of the new season, EOT is already elaborating a projection plan with the spearhead of the Organization’s office in the USA which is strengthened and takes a more active role. I want to thank the organizers of the awards and the international public who honored Greece once again with their trust “.
You can take a tour of Santorini!
Awards given to Santorini
As announced by the organizing company, the results of the competition for Europe’s Best Island at US Global Traveler Awards will be published in the December issue of “Global Traveler” and will be posted on the following websites: globaltravelerusa.com, trazeetravel.com and webfamily.com.
The EOT Service in the USA has already received the award of the online magazine “Trazee Travel” and is thankful for such an award.
The FXExpress 2020 event brought together – due to the conditions – a single internet connection:
-The 17th Annual “GT Tested Reader Survey” awards
-The 8th “Leisure Life Style Awards”
-The 6th “The Trazees” awards,
-The 3rd “Wherever Award”
-The “Wine on the Wines Airline Wine Survey”
Take a tour in Santorini anytime with Santorini tours
Santorini is Europe’s Best Island at US Global Traveler Awards for 2020. One of the greatest things that will happen if you visit Santorini is that you can explore it as much as you desire. In fact, it is even better because we offer our tours and there are many more available spaces in our schedule! This way you can see the archaeological sites, visit the volcano, have a private island tour and live a remarkable experience!
Our office offers a variety of tours which can be customized according to your wants and needs. You can contact us and book your own private tour anytime! Take the chance and explore Santorini with our private personalized tours and enjoy the marvelous scenery of the most famous Cycladic island!
What “Best Island in Europe” Actually Means
The award described above is one of several reader-voted titles that Santorini collects year after year. Before deciding what the phrase “Santorini best island in Europe” is worth, it helps to know how these titles are produced and what they do and do not measure.
Santorini best island in Europe: Reader surveys, not inspections. Most island awards, including the Global Traveler Leisure Lifestyle Awards named on this page, come from readers voting in a survey. Nobody travels round Europe scoring islands against a checklist.
Santorini best island in Europe: Who votes. Readers of the magazine or website running the survey, usually frequent travellers from one country. The Global Traveler awards reflect a largely American readership.
Santorini best island in Europe: What they measure. Reputation and affection. An island wins because many people have been, loved it, and remember it well enough to vote.
What they do not measure. Price, crowding, beaches, accessibility or value. A Santorini best island in Europe title says nothing about whether August on the caldera rim is comfortable.
Why Santorini wins repeatedly. It is the most recognisable island in Europe. The image of white houses on a volcanic cliff is known to people who have never been to Greece, and that recognition carries into every vote.
Santorini best island in Europe: Why other islands sometimes win. Different surveys, different readers. Rankings in recent years have placed Milos, Crete and Paros at the top of some lists, with Santorini close behind rather than first.
Several titles, one island. “Best island in Europe”, “best island in the world”, “most romantic destination” and “best wedding destination” appear across different publications. Santorini features in all of those categories at one time or another.
The seven-in-a-row claim. The article above reports Santorini winning the Leisure Lifestyle title for the seventh consecutive time. Consistency over many years is the part of a Santorini best island in Europe claim that means most.
Santorini best island in Europe: Official recognition. The Greek National Tourism Organisation accepted and publicised the 2020 awards, as the statement quoted above shows. Greece treats these titles as part of its international promotion.
Santorini best island in Europe: How to read the title. As evidence that a very large number of travellers found the island unforgettable, not as a promise that every visit will be perfect.
What this page covers. Why Santorini keeps earning the title, where it genuinely leads Europe, where it does not, how it compares with the other contenders, and how to see the island that the voters were describing.
How Santorini Became So Famous
The awards are recent. The fame behind them took decades, and knowing how it happened explains why the Santorini best island in Europe reputation is so durable.
A working island first. Until the mid-twentieth century Santorini lived from wine, tomatoes, fishing and shipping, with very few visitors.
The 1956 earthquake. A powerful earthquake destroyed much of Oia and the northern villages, and many residents left. The ruined cave houses later became the boutique hotels the island is known for.
The excavation. Systematic excavation at Akrotiri from 1967 brought international attention and linked the island to the Atlantis legend in the public imagination.
Tourism arrives. Electricity, a new airport and regular ferries in the following decades opened the island to international travellers.
Film and photography. Films including scenes shot in Oia and on the caldera carried the white-and-blue image around the world, and social media multiplied it.
The cruise era. Large ships made the caldera a regular stop on Mediterranean itineraries.
The awards. Reader surveys began naming Santorini among the world’s best islands year after year, confirming what the photographs had already made it.
Today. A global icon that still depends on the same things that made it: a volcano, a cliff, a village on top and the light at the end of the day. That is what the Santorini best island in Europe title is really about.
Why Santorini Keeps Earning the Title
Voters do not choose an island at random. There are specific things Santorini offers that almost nowhere else in Europe can match, and they explain why the phrase Santorini best island in Europe keeps appearing.
Santorini best island in Europe: The caldera. A flooded volcanic crater around eleven kilometres across, ringed by cliffs three hundred metres high, with villages built along the rim. No other inhabited island in Europe looks like this.
Santorini best island in Europe: The architecture. White cubic houses, blue domes and cave dwellings cut into volcanic rock, stacked down a cliff face. It is the single most photographed island landscape on the continent.
Santorini best island in Europe: The sunset. The caldera faces west, so the sun drops into the sea behind Thirasia every evening. Oia’s sunset is arguably the most famous in Europe.
Santorini best island in Europe: The archaeology. Akrotiri, a Bronze Age town buried around 1600 BC with its streets and multi-storey houses intact. Few islands anywhere hold a site of this importance.
Santorini best island in Europe: The volcano. An active volcanic system visitors can walk on, with a crater, hot springs and a geological story that explains everything they can see.
Santorini best island in Europe: The wine. Assyrtiko from ungrafted vines trained into baskets on volcanic ash, made continuously for more than three thousand years. A genuine world-class wine region on a small island.
The food. Fava, cherry tomatoes, white aubergines and capers, grown without irrigation and intensely flavoured.
Santorini best island in Europe: The hotels. Cave suites with plunge pools on the caldera rim are among the most distinctive places to stay in Europe, which matters a great deal to the readers who vote in these surveys.
The romance. Santorini is one of the most popular honeymoon and wedding destinations in the world, and couples are exactly the travellers who vote.
The access. An international airport with direct seasonal flights from much of Europe, and ferries from Athens and the other Cyclades. A Santorini best island in Europe reputation needs visitors, and access delivers them.
Santorini best island in Europe: The combination. Many islands have one of these. Santorini has all of them within seventy-six square kilometres, and that density is the real reason it keeps winning.
Where the Title Is Fair, and Where It Is Not
An honest local answer to the question of Santorini as best island in Europe is: for some things, clearly yes, and for others, clearly no. Knowing which is which is the difference between a trip that matches the award and one that disappoints.
Santorini best island in Europe: Scenery: fair. Nothing else in Europe combines a volcanic caldera, cliff villages and open sea in the same view.
Santorini best island in Europe: Sunsets: fair. The west-facing rim makes every evening an event, and several viewpoints away from Oia are just as good and far calmer.
Santorini best island in Europe: Archaeology: fair. Akrotiri is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the Mediterranean.
Santorini best island in Europe: Wine: fair. Assyrtiko from Santorini stands among Europe’s distinctive white wines.
Romance: fair. It has earned its reputation for honeymoons, proposals and anniversaries.
Santorini best island in Europe: Beaches: not really. Black and red volcanic sand, organised strips on the east and south coasts, and nothing to swim from on the caldera side. For beaches, Milos, Naxos and parts of Crete are better.
Santorini best island in Europe: Crowds: not in high season. In July and August, Oia and Fira are extremely busy, especially when several cruise ships are in port.
Price: not for value. Santorini is the most expensive island in Greece. A Santorini best island in Europe holiday on the caldera rim in August costs far more than a comparable week elsewhere.
Santorini best island in Europe: Accessibility: difficult. The rim villages are staircases with very few step-free routes.
Tranquillity: only at the right hours. Early morning and the inland villages are peaceful; the famous lanes at midday are not.
The summary. Santorini deserves the title for what it looks like and what it contains. It does not deserve it for beaches, value or quiet in August. Plan around those three and the island lives up to every award it has won.
Santorini Against the Other Contenders
Every year a handful of islands compete for the same titles. Here is how Santorini compares with the islands most often ranked alongside it, and why the answer to Santorini best island in Europe depends on what a traveller wants.
Santorini best island in Europe: Milos. Voted best island in Europe in at least one major reader survey, with the most varied coastline in the Cyclades and white volcanic rock formations. Better beaches and fewer people; no caldera villages.
Santorini best island in Europe: Crete. Greece’s largest island, with mountains, gorges, Minoan palaces, cities and long beaches. More variety than Santorini, but nothing like its compressed drama.
Santorini best island in Europe: Paros. Balanced and relaxed, with good beaches, attractive villages and lower prices. Easier than Santorini, less spectacular.
Santorini best island in Europe: Naxos. Bigger, greener, with sandy beaches, mountain villages and excellent food. A natural second island after Santorini.
Mykonos. Nightlife, beaches and style. A different kind of holiday rather than a direct rival.
Santorini best island in Europe: Capri. Italy’s most famous island, with cliffs, grottoes and glamour. Comparable fame, very different landscape, and even more crowded day trippers.
Santorini best island in Europe: Sicily. A large island with Etna, Greek temples, baroque towns and a great food culture. It rivals Santorini for history and volcanoes but is a region rather than a single island experience.
Mallorca. Beaches, mountains and a major city. Far larger and more varied, less singular.
Santorini best island in Europe: Madeira and the Azores. Atlantic volcanic islands with dramatic walking landscapes. They win on nature and hiking; Santorini wins on its villages and sea views.
Malta. Dense history and fortified harbours, but not the island scenery that decides these votes.
Corsica and Sardinia. Wild coastlines and some of Europe’s best beaches. More space, less iconic imagery.
The honest verdict. For a single unforgettable view, Santorini has no real rival in Europe. For a relaxed beach fortnight, several of these islands are better. That is why the Santorini best island in Europe title is both deserved and incomplete.
Seeing the Island the Voters Were Describing
The Santorini that wins awards is not the crowded midday lane. It is a specific set of experiences at specific hours. These are the ones we build days around when guests tell us they came because of the Santorini best island in Europe reputation.
Santorini best island in Europe: Oia at seven in the morning. Empty lanes, blue domes, the castle ruin and the light on the cliff, before the village fills. This is the image every award photograph shows.
Santorini best island in Europe: The caldera from the water. A boat to Nea Kameni, the crater walk, the hot springs and Thirasia. The cliffs seen from below explain the whole island.
Santorini best island in Europe: Akrotiri at midday. The Bronze Age town under its protective roof, cool and shaded when everything outdoors is too hot.
A winery in the afternoon. Assyrtiko, Nykteri and Vinsanto at an estate, with basket vines on volcanic ash outside.
Santorini best island in Europe: The inland villages. Pyrgos, Megalochori and Emporio, with their lanes, bell towers and Venetian fortifications. This is where guests say the island surprised them.
Santorini best island in Europe: A quieter sunset. Imerovigli, Pyrgos or the Akrotiri lighthouse give the same sun as Oia without the crowd.
Santorini best island in Europe: The rim walk. Fira to Oia along the caldera, about ten kilometres, started early. One of the great coastal walks in Europe.
Dinner in a village. Fava, tomatokeftedes and white aubergine in a taverna away from the rim, at a fraction of the price.
A stay of three to five nights. Enough to see the island at its best hours rather than rushing between viewpoints.
The result. Done this way, visitors understand why Santorini best island in Europe is more than a slogan. Done the crowded way, they understand why some people say it is overrated.
A Day That Shows Why
If you have one full day and want to understand the Santorini best island in Europe reputation for yourself, this is the day we would build.
06:45 — Oia. Walk the marble lanes to the castle ruin before the shops open. The caldera is still, the domes catch the first light and there are only a handful of people.
08:30 — Breakfast in Imerovigli. A terrace at the highest point of the rim, looking straight down to the volcano.
09:30 — Skaros Rock. A short walk to the headland that once held the island’s medieval capital.
11:30 — Akrotiri. The Bronze Age town under its roof, with streets and buildings standing as they were when the eruption came.
13:00 — Lunch in Megalochori. A village square, local wine and dishes built on island produce.
14:30 — A winery. Basket vines, a cellar and a tasting of Assyrtiko and Vinsanto.
16:30 — Pyrgos. Lanes spiralling up to the Venetian kastelli and a view over the whole island.
18:00 — The Akrotiri lighthouse. Space, sea and the sun dropping into the Aegean, without the Oia crowd.
20:30 — Dinner. Fira or Firostefani for the lights on the cliff, or a quiet village taverna.
Why this order. The caldera early, the roofed and indoor sites in the heat, the villages as it cools, and a sunset with room to breathe. It is the day that makes the Santorini best island in Europe title make sense.
Beyond the Caldera: The Island Most Voters Never Saw
Almost every award photograph is taken on the caldera rim. Yet many visitors say the part of Santorini that surprised them most was inland. The Santorini best island in Europe case is even stronger once you leave the famous edge.
Pyrgos. The old capital, a spiral of whitewashed lanes climbing to a Venetian castle, with churches at every turn and views over both coasts.
Megalochori. Vaulted passages, free-standing bell towers, old wineries and a square that fills with locals in the evening.
Emporio. The largest village, with one of the best-preserved fortified settlements in the Cyclades and a maze of lanes built to confuse pirates.
Mesa Gonia and Panagia Episkopi. A half-abandoned earthquake village beneath a Byzantine church founded in the eleventh century.
Profitis Ilias. The monastery on the island’s highest point, with the whole of Santorini laid out below.
Karterados and Messaria. Neoclassical captains’ mansions from the island’s nineteenth-century shipping wealth.
The vineyards. Low basket vines on grey-black ash, stretching across the inland plateau.
Vlychada. Wind-sculpted white cliffs above a quiet beach and marina on the south coast.
The Akrotiri peninsula. The lighthouse, the Red Beach viewpoint and a wilder landscape at the island’s southwestern tip.
Why it matters. The inland island is where Santorini still feels like a lived-in place, and where a Santorini best island in Europe visit becomes something more personal than a famous view.
When the Island Lives Up to the Title
The season decides whether Santorini feels like the best island in Europe or like a queue. Here is how it changes through the year.
Santorini best island in Europe: April and May. Green hillsides, wild flowers, mild weather and few crowds. The sea is cool, but for sightseeing this is Santorini at its most rewarding.
June. Long days, warm sea from mid-month, and manageable heat. Many locals consider June the month that best matches the Santorini best island in Europe reputation.
Santorini best island in Europe: July. Hot and busy, with the meltemi wind cooling the island and sometimes cancelling boats.
Santorini best island in Europe: August. Peak heat, peak prices and the densest crowds. The island is still extraordinary, but only early in the morning and in the evening.
Santorini best island in Europe: September. The warmest sea, the grape harvest, softer light and thinning crowds. For many visitors, the best single month of the year.
Santorini best island in Europe: October. Quieter, cheaper and still warm by day, with shorter evenings and some closures towards the end.
November to March. Much of the caldera rim closes, boats stop, and the island belongs to its residents. Dramatic and peaceful, but not the Santorini the awards describe.
Easter. Processions, candles and fireworks, with the whole island celebrating. A remarkable week to visit.
Cruise days. Several ships in port can bring thousands of extra visitors into Fira and Oia between late morning and late afternoon. Check the schedule.
What we recommend. Late May, June or September for anyone travelling because of the Santorini best island in Europe title. Those months show the island the voters remember.
Does the Title Apply to Your Trip?
Whether Santorini is the best island in Europe depends a great deal on who is asking. The same island suits some travellers perfectly and others far less.
Santorini best island in Europe: Couples. Yes, without much argument. Caldera terraces, sunsets, wine and cave suites are exactly what the voters loved.
Honeymooners. Yes, with a stay split between the rim and somewhere quieter, and a visit outside August.
First-time visitors to Greece. Yes. The caldera is the image that brought you, and it does not disappoint in person.
Santorini best island in Europe: Photographers. Emphatically yes, at sunrise and in the hour before sunset.
History and archaeology lovers. Yes. Akrotiri alone justifies the journey.
Wine travellers. Yes. The volcanic Assyrtiko and the basket vines are unique in Europe.
Santorini best island in Europe: Families. Yes with qualifications: stay on the flat east coast, avoid midday heat and plan around the steps.
Santorini best island in Europe: Beach lovers. Only partly. The volcanic beaches are memorable but not Europe’s best; pair the island with Naxos or Milos.
Budget travellers. Possible with inland stays and village food, but Santorini is never cheap.
Travellers who dislike crowds. Only in shoulder season or at early hours.
Travellers with limited mobility. Difficult on the rim, easier in beach towns and at Akrotiri.
Cruise passengers. Yes for a memorable few hours, with a private plan that avoids the cable-car queue.
The honest answer. For the view, the history, the wine and the romance, the Santorini best island in Europe title fits almost everyone. For a beach week on a budget, it fits almost no one.
What the Awards Mean for Visitors
Recognition has consequences. The success behind every Santorini best island in Europe headline also shapes the practical realities of a trip here.
Santorini best island in Europe: Demand. Around two million visitors a year arrive on an island of roughly fifteen thousand residents. Popularity is the price of the reputation.
Santorini best island in Europe: Book early. The best caldera hotels, sunset restaurants and boat trips for June to September sell out months ahead.
Expect to pay more. Santorini’s fame supports the highest prices in the Greek islands, especially on the rim.
Cruise management. Greek authorities have moved to manage cruise arrivals because of the pressure on Fira and Oia. Checking the ship schedule helps avoid the busiest days.
Santorini best island in Europe: Transport pressure. Few taxis, busy buses and very limited parking. A booked transfer or a private driver removes most of the friction.
Quality at the top. The competition that comes with the title has produced excellent hotels, restaurants and wineries.
Santorini best island in Europe: Choice beyond the rim. Inland villages and the beach towns offer better value and calmer days while keeping everything within half an hour.
Timing matters more than elsewhere. On a famous island, the hour you visit a place decides the experience more than the place itself.
Local perspective. Residents are proud of the recognition and aware of its costs. Visiting in shoulder season, staying longer and eating in villages spreads the benefit.
The practical conclusion. The Santorini best island in Europe reputation is earned, and planning is what lets you enjoy it rather than compete with everyone else who read the same headline.
Practical Tips for Visiting Europe’s Most Famous Island
A few decisions make an enormous difference on an island this popular. These are the ones we give to every guest travelling because of the Santorini best island in Europe reputation.
Stay three to five nights. Enough time to see the island at its best hours rather than racing between viewpoints.
Split the stay. A couple of nights on the caldera rim for the view, the rest inland or at a beach for value and calm.
Start early. Seven in the morning on the rim is worth more than any afternoon.
Use the middle of the day well. Akrotiri, museums, wineries or the sea between noon and four in summer.
Choose a quieter sunset. Imerovigli, Pyrgos or the Akrotiri lighthouse rather than Oia in high season.
Book the essentials early. Caldera hotels, sunset tables, boats and transfers in summer.
Check the cruise schedule. Plan Fira and Oia for days with fewer ships.
Arrange transport. Few taxis, busy buses and little parking make a transfer or a driver the easiest option.
Wear proper shoes. Marble steps, cobbles and volcanic gravel are everywhere.
Carry water and sun protection. There is very little shade outdoors.
Eat in villages. Better value and often better food than the rim.
Leave room for the unexpected. The inland villages, a winery or a long lunch are often the moments guests remember most.
The simple rule. Go early, go inland, and go in June or September. Follow that and the Santorini best island in Europe title will feel like an understatement.
Santorini Best Island in Europe: The Questions We Are Asked
Is Santorini really the best island in Europe? For scenery, sunsets, archaeology and wine combined in one small island, many travellers and several reader surveys say yes. For beaches and value, other islands rank higher.
Who gives these awards? Travel magazines and websites whose readers vote, such as the Global Traveler Leisure Lifestyle Awards described on this page.
Has Santorini won more than once? Yes. The awards reported above describe a seventh consecutive title as best island in Europe.
Which islands compete with Santorini? Milos, Crete, Paros and Naxos in Greece, and Capri, Sicily, Mallorca, Madeira and the Azores elsewhere in Europe.
Is Santorini overrated? The island is not. Visiting only Oia at sunset in August is.
What makes Santorini unique? An inhabited volcanic caldera with cliff-top villages. Nothing else in Europe looks the same.
When is the best time to visit? Late May, June or September.
How many days do we need? Three to five nights to see the island properly.
Is it expensive? Yes, especially on the caldera rim in high season. Inland villages and beach towns are better value.
Can we see the best of it in one day? A cruise or day visitor can see Oia, Fira and one more highlight with a good plan, but not the island at its best hours.
Is it good for families? Yes, with a beach base on the east coast and a plan around the heat.
Should we combine Santorini with another island? For a longer trip, yes. Naxos or Paros suits the beach half of a holiday.
What is the single thing we should not miss? The caldera seen early in the morning, from Oia or from the water. It is the reason the Santorini best island in Europe title exists.
Experiencing It With Us
We are a local operator, and our job is to show guests the island that earned the awards rather than the one that fills with crowds at midday.
The full-day private tour. Oia early, the caldera villages, Akrotiri under its roof, a winery and a quieter sunset, paced around the heat and the cruise schedule.
The caldera and volcano. Boat trips to Nea Kameni, the hot springs and Thirasia, arranged early in your stay in case the wind changes plans.
The historical route. Akrotiri, the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, Ancient Thera and Panagia Episkopi, for guests who want the story behind the scenery.
The wine afternoon. Two or three estates, the basket vines and the cellars, with somebody else driving.
The inland villages. Pyrgos, Megalochori and Emporio, the side of Santorini that most visitors miss.
Arrivals and cruise days. Airport and port transfers, and shore excursions built backwards from the tender time.
Honest advice. Which month, which hour and which viewpoint, and what to skip. We would rather you see Santorini best island in Europe at its best than tick every famous name off a list.
Our own recognition. Santorini Tours was named in the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards 2025, based on reviews from guests.
Plan your visit. The full range is on our private tours and activities page. Send us your dates and how long you have, and we will build the days around the island’s best hours.
