santorini private tours 2024

Santorini villas are the right answer far more often than people realise, because once there are more than four of you the arithmetic turns sharply against hotel rooms. An inland house with a pool costs less than four caldera doubles and comes with a kitchen, a terrace and flat ground. We run the group transfers and the private days that go with them at Santorini tours, so these are real prices and real practicalities.

Santorini Tours is one of the most enchanting islands in Greece and you must have this experience once in your life, especially in summer 2024. It is a rocky island directly opposite the volcano, with black and red beaches and its towns perched on the caldera and cliffs of the volcano offering unique views and fantastic sunsets.

The island of Santorini has a dramatic beauty in contrast to the lush vegetation and greenery on other islands. Santorini has the only inhabited caldera of a volcano in the world, this is the main reason for the millions of tourists who visit the island every year.

The colored layers of volcanic rock are spectacular in their own right: chocolate brown, rusty red, yellow ocher, white, and cream. But the geological uniqueness is not the only thing that makes Santorini a magical holiday destination. Many holidaymakers prefer to stay on the beaches, Perissa and Kamari, and others in Fira, Imerovigli, and Oia, the towns on the caldera, which are very beautiful and full of cafes, shops and other interests.

The majestic sunsets of Santorini in summer 2024

Many have read about the spectacular sunsets that occur on this island and the skeptic may wonder if the sunset can really appear differently here than on the neighboring islands of Naxos or Ios and Anafi. However, the sunset in Santorini, from the Caldera, really is a magical painting with the volcano as a backdrop. The colors change from deep red to yellow to orange and purple as the sun sinks into the Aegean and turns golden red reflecting the light on the sea and surrounding islands.

Fira

Fira is the capital of the island of Santorini. The setting is simply spectacular, the city perched on the edge near vertical cliffs plunging into the caldera, the sea-flooded crater of the volcano that created the island.

Giant cruise ships moor to floating buoys in the harbor and passengers ride the cable car up the 250m cliff or climb a mule to take them up the steep zig-zag path. Fira is also every photographer’s dream with its whitewashed traditional houses and blue-domed churches, but always full of holidaymakers and day-trippers. The popularity of the island means that nothing comes cheap in Fira, especially in taverns and bars with the best views of the caldera, where prices can be astronomical.

The resort is busiest at sunset when cameras try to capture the spectacular fiery sunsets that Santorini is famous for. There is a small archaeological museum and exhibits include 8th century red and black urns and the Museum of Prehistoric Thira has artifacts from Akrotiri. Also, there are daily boat trips to the active volcanic islands located in the center of the caldera whose sulfurous mists are mainly responsible for these dramatic sunsets.

Oia

If Fira is modern, Oia is modern. Oia has great views of the caldera rim and a winding staircase that leads to a small dock. Many houses here survived the 1956 earthquake and most have been tastefully renovated. Some are in bright, rich colors, but most are bright white, clinging to the red and gray rocks so close that one family’s roof is another’s backyard

Oia’s shops tend to sell more authentic goods, the food is more traditional Greek, and disco music is usually absent. Oia is a place for designer jewelry, art galleries, and beauty boutiques. Oia’s main square overlooks the caldera and acts as a gathering point for sunset watchers who sometimes offer a wild round of applause as the sun sinks below the horizon.

It is worth visiting the Maritime Museum, with models of ships and other marine paraphernalia. Oia has several art galleries and a cultural center among the souvenir and gift shops. Unlike Fira, Oia has access to the sea at Ammoudi and Armeni, where there are small piers with seaside tavernas. Both are at the bottom of very steep stone steps of about 300 steps, or visitors can opt for a donkey ride.

What to do in Santorini in summer 2024?

There are tennis courts in Kamari and Karterados. In Perissa there is mini golf, a water park, go-karts, and roller skating. There are volleyball and basketball courts in Fira and Kamari. There are also many places to go cycling

Many enjoy the two-hour or so walk from Imerovigli to Fira, which is a very beautiful experience, but make sure you have water with you, although today the two towns with Firostefani in the middle are almost connected.

There are also possibilities to go horse riding. Nightlife is concentrated in Kamari, Perissa, and Fira. Do not forget the famous wineries of the island, where you can visit and taste the local wines of Santorini by taking a Santorini private wine tour.

In Fira, you can also visit the Archaeological Museum and the Prehistoric Museum where you can see objects from the excavations at Akrotiri, as well as many sculpture objects covering the rich historical past of Santorini, from prehistoric times to the Neolithic, Minoan, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine era.

Nightlife and entertainment in Santorini in summer 2024

Santorini has a varied nightlife, and most bars and clubs are located in Fira, Perissa, and Kamari. Fira is probably the most popular place, here you should not miss the opportunity to have a drink in one of the bars and cafes towards the side of the caldera. The amazing view, relaxed atmosphere, and soft music will give you an unforgettable 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 Villas: The Short Answer

A villa is the right answer on this island far more often than people realise, and for a specific reason: once there are more than four of you, the arithmetic turns sharply against hotel rooms. Four caldera rooms in August cost more than a villa with a private pool, and the villa comes with a kitchen, a terrace and somewhere to sit in the evening.

What counts as one of the santorini villas. A whole house let privately, with its own pool or plunge pool, two to six bedrooms, a kitchen and outdoor space.

Where the santorini villas are. Inland at Megalochori, Pyrgos, Emporio, Vothonas and Exo Gonia, along the south coast at Akrotiri and Vlychada, on the east at Kamari and Monolithos, and a small number on the caldera rim.

What santorini villas cost inland in August. 350 to 700 euros a night for six people with a pool.

What they cost on the caldera in August. 900 to 2,500 euros a night and upwards.

What they cost in May or October. Roughly half of the August figure.

Per person. An inland villa for six at 500 euros a night is 83 euros a head, which buys a basic double room in Fira and nothing else.

Who santorini villas suit. Families, groups of friends, multi-generation trips, small weddings and anybody staying a week or more.

Who santorini villas do not suit. Couples on three nights, who are better served by a cave suite on the rim.

The car question. Almost every villa needs one. Inland santorini villas are ten to twenty minutes from a beach and the buses do not serve them well.

The santorini villas pool question. Ask whether it is private or shared with the house next door, and whether it is heated for April, May and October.

The santorini villas steps question. Inland villas are flat. Caldera villas are not, and the same forty-to-a-hundred-and-fifty-step rule applies.

The one-line answer. For four or more people staying five nights or longer, santorini villas beat hotel rooms on cost, space and comfort, and the inland villages are where the value is.

Where They Are, Area by Area

Megalochori, the best of the santorini villas. The best single area for a villa. A flat, quiet, genuinely beautiful village with vaulted houses, three wineries within five minutes and the south coast beaches fifteen minutes away.

Pyrgos. The old capital, built up a hill with a Venetian kastro at the top. Villas here have views inland and over the vineyards rather than the caldera, and the village has real tavernas.

Emporio. The largest inland village, with a fortified medieval core, almost no visitors and the lowest prices on the island for a house of this kind.

Exo Gonia and Vothonas. Small, agricultural, full of cave houses in a ravine, and ten minutes from Kamari.

Akrotiri. The south-west corner, with caldera views from outside the rim, sunsets, the excavation nearby and a handful of well-designed modern houses.

Vlychada. The marina and the pumice cliffs, with a small cluster of design-led properties and an empty beach.

Kamari and Monolithos. The east coast, flat, near the airport, with beaches across the road. The easiest option with small children.

Perissa and Perivolos. The south coast, walking distance to the beach clubs, and good value.

Imerovigli and Firostefani. A small number of caldera villas, spectacular and expensive, with the step problem intact.

Oia and Finikia. A handful of large cliff houses at the very top of the market, plus quieter village houses in Finikia just inland.

Karterados and Messaria. Central, plain, five minutes from Fira, and the cheapest santorini villas with a pool on the island.

Which santorini villas we recommend. Megalochori for a first villa trip, Kamari for families with young children, and Akrotiri if somebody in the party insists on a caldera view.

What They Cost

Two-bedroom villa with a plunge pool, inland, August. 220 to 450 euros a night.

Three-bedroom villa with a pool, inland, August. 300 to 600 euros.

Four-bedroom villa with a pool, inland, August. 400 to 800 euros.

Five or six bedrooms, inland, August. 550 to 1,100 euros.

Two-bedroom villa, Kamari or Perissa, August. 180 to 380 euros.

Three or four bedrooms, south coast, August. 280 to 650 euros.

Caldera villa, two or three bedrooms, August. 900 to 1,800 euros.

Caldera villa, four or more bedrooms, August. 1,600 to 4,000 euros and upwards.

Santorini villas rates in June. Around seventy-five to eighty-five per cent of the August rate.

May or the second half of September. Fifty-five to seventy per cent.

April or late October. Thirty-five to fifty-five per cent, and pool heating becomes the question that matters.

Santorini villas in winter. Many close, and the inland ones that stay open let for 90 to 200 euros a night.

Weekly rather than nightly. Most santorini villas quote by the week in high season and several offer seven nights for the price of six.

Santorini villas minimum stays. Five to seven nights in July and August, three in the shoulder months, and Saturday-to-Saturday changeovers at some properties.

Deposit and balance. Typically thirty per cent to book and the balance four to eight weeks before arrival.

Security deposit. 300 to 1,500 euros held against damage, refunded after departure.

The santorini villas cleaning fee. 80 to 250 euros, usually one-off and often not included in the headline rate.

The comparison that matters. Six people in three good Fira doubles in August is 330 to 600 euros a night with no kitchen and no terrace. An inland villa for the same six is 400 to 800 with both.

What You Actually Get

The pool at inland santorini villas. Usually four by eight metres or thereabouts inland, which is a real swimming pool rather than the two-by-four plunge pools on the rim.

The kitchen in santorini villas. Full, with an oven, a hob, a dishwasher and enough equipment to cook properly. This is where the savings come from.

Outdoor space at santorini villas. A terrace, a pergola or a vaulted veranda, usually with a barbecue and a long table. On a week-long trip this is where most of the evenings happen.

Air conditioning. Standard in every bedroom, and the vaulted stone rooms barely need it.

Wi-fi. Good almost everywhere on the island.

Parking. Free and on-site at inland santorini villas, which matters more than it sounds when Oia and Fira have none.

Washing machine. Almost always, and on a fortnight it changes what you pack.

Cot and high chair. Usually available on request at no charge. Ask when booking.

Cleaning. Typically a mid-stay clean on a week, and daily service only at the top end.

Breakfast and staff. Not included at most properties. The luxury caldera houses offer a chef, a butler or daily breakfast at 40 to 120 euros a head.

Towels and linen. Provided and changed mid-stay. Pool towels usually separate, so check.

What santorini villas rarely include. Airport transfers, a car, and pool heating. All three are worth arranging before you arrive.

The Architecture You Are Renting

Most inland houses on this island are built the same way and it is worth knowing why, because it explains how they feel to live in. The traditional form is a barrel-vaulted room of volcanic stone, plastered and whitewashed, with thick walls and a curved ceiling. Some are cut into the slope of a ravine, as at Vothonas and Karterados, where the back of the house disappears into the rock. Others are freestanding with the vault built above ground.

The practical effect is that these rooms stay cool. Several metres of stone and ash above the ceiling holds the night temperature through the day, which is why houses built two hundred years ago before electricity are comfortable in August. The best santorini villas leave that vault exposed rather than flattening it with a suspended ceiling, and you can usually tell from the photographs.

The other characteristic feature is the courtyard. Village houses face inward onto a walled yard rather than outward onto a street, which is where the pool now goes. It also means the outdoor space is genuinely private in a way that a caldera terrace is not.

Canava houses among the santorini villas. Some of the larger properties are converted wine canavas, the old underground pressing and storage cellars, which gives you enormous vaulted spaces and very thick walls.

Cave houses. Cut into a ravine at Vothonas or Karterados. Cool, dark at the back, and atmospheric.

Modern santorini villas. A growing number of new houses at Akrotiri, Vlychada and Megalochori, built in the vernacular style with better glazing and level access.

What to look for. An exposed vault, a walled courtyard and a pool that is not overlooked. Those three things separate a good villa from a converted apartment with a plunge pool.

Season by Season in a Villa

April. Green, wildflowers, 18 to 21 degrees, and a pool you will not use unless it is heated. Rates at a third of August.

May. Warm days, cool water, everything open, and the best value of the year for santorini villas.

June. The pool works unheated from about the middle of the month. Long days and rates below August.

July. Hot, windy at times, and the pool becomes the centre of the day.

Santorini villas in August. Peak on everything. Book by February.

Santorini villas in September. The best month. Warm sea, warm pool, thinning crowds and falling rates after the first week.

October. Very good to the third week, with heated pools worth having and rates at half of August.

November to March. Many close. The inland ones that stay open are cheap, and a fireplace matters more than a pool.

The sweet spot. The second half of September, when the pool is at its warmest, the island is emptying and a six-person villa costs two-thirds of the August figure.

Who a Villa Suits

Santorini villas for families with children. The strongest case. A pool you can watch from the kitchen, flat ground, a washing machine, somewhere to eat at six in the evening and no neighbours through the wall.

Two couples travelling together. Cheaper than four caldera rooms and considerably more sociable.

Multi-generation trips. Grandparents who cannot manage steps and children who need a pool are both solved by one inland house.

Santorini villas for groups of friends. Six to ten people, a barbecue and a pool at 70 to 110 euros a head a night.

Small weddings. Several santorini villas take ceremonies and receptions for twenty to forty, which costs a fraction of a hotel venue.

Long stays and remote workers. Weekly and monthly rates inland are genuinely cheap outside July and August.

Santorini villas for limited mobility. Inland villas are the only level accommodation with character on the island.

Anybody staying a week or more. A kitchen and a terrace change a week in a way they do not change three nights.

Couples on a short honeymoon. No. A cave suite on the rim is the better three nights.

People without a car. No. Inland villas need one, and it is the main reason a villa trip goes wrong.

People who want to walk to dinner. Depends entirely on the village. Megalochori, Pyrgos and Emporio have tavernas within a few minutes; Karterados and Messaria do not.

The summary. Four or more people, five nights or more, and a hire car. Meet those three conditions and santorini villas are the best value on the island.

What to Ask Before You Book

Is the santorini villas pool private. Some properties share one between two or three houses and the listing may not be explicit.

What size is the pool. In metres. Four by eight is a swimming pool; two by four is a plunge pool.

Is the pool heated, and in which months. Critical for April, May and October. Unheated water is around sixteen degrees in May.

Is the pool fenced or gated. Almost never on this island. If you have a toddler, ask specifically and plan accordingly.

How many steps at santorini villas. Inland almost none. Caldera and Oia properties can be forty to a hundred and fifty, and the listing rarely says.

Where a car parks at santorini villas. On site, on the lane, or in a village car park five minutes away. It matters with luggage and shopping.

How far to the nearest taverna and supermarket. The difference between walking and driving to dinner every night.

What is the changeover day. Many santorini villas run fixed Saturday or Sunday changeovers in July and August.

What is the cleaning fee and the security deposit. Both are often outside the nightly rate.

Is there a mid-stay clean. Standard on a week and worth confirming.

Is air conditioning metered. Rare but it happens in older properties.

What is the cancellation policy. Villas usually have stricter terms than hotels, with the deposit non-refundable inside eight weeks.

Is there noise from a neighbouring property. Villages are dense. Ask what is on the other side of the terrace wall.

A Week in a Villa, Costed Out

The party. Six people, two families, one week in the second half of September.

The santorini villas house. Four-bedroom villa with a pool in Megalochori, seven nights at 420 euros a night. Total 2,940 euros.

Cleaning fee. 150 euros, one off.

Cars. Two small cars for seven days at 38 euros a day. Total 532 euros plus around 60 in fuel.

Transfers. Airport to the villa and back for six with luggage, 140 euros return.

Supermarket shop. 260 euros for the week, covering every breakfast, most lunches and the drinks at the house.

Dinners out. Four taverna evenings for six at 130 euros each. Total 520 euros.

One caldera dinner. 380 euros for six in Firostefani.

A shared catamaran. 130 euros a head for six. Total 780 euros.

Akrotiri and the museum. 90 euros for the group.

A winery. 210 euros for the four adults.

Beach days. 120 euros in sunbeds across the week.

The total. Roughly 6,180 euros for six people for a week excluding flights, which is 1,030 each.

The hotel comparison. Three mid-range Fira doubles for the same week at 160 euros each a night is 3,360 euros in rooms alone, with no kitchen, no pool of your own and no terrace. Eating every breakfast and lunch out adds another 700 to 900.

What the numbers say. For six people santorini villas come out ahead by roughly a thousand euros a week and deliver a better holiday. Below four people the comparison reverses.

Mistakes People Make

Booking santorini villas without a car. The single most common error. An inland villa without a car means taxis you cannot reliably get on an island with about thirty of them.

Assuming the pool is heated. In May and October it is the difference between using it and looking at it.

Booking a caldera villa with small children. The steps and the unfenced infinity edge make it the wrong choice.

Not checking the changeover day. A Saturday-to-Saturday villa and a Wednesday flight do not combine.

Underestimating the shopping. The good supermarkets are in Fira, Karterados and Messaria. The village shops are small and dearer.

Ignoring the walk to dinner. Six people and two cars means somebody is not drinking. Choose a village with tavernas in it.

Booking santorini villas too late. The good santorini villas go by February for August, earlier than hotel rooms do.

Expecting hotel service at santorini villas. There is no reception, no daily housekeeping and no room service at most properties.

Forgetting the pool towels. Often not provided and the house rules usually forbid using the bathroom ones.

Missing the security deposit. Several hundred euros held on a card, and it surprises people at check-in.

Not asking about the neighbours. Village houses share walls and terraces. It is usually fine and occasionally not.

Choosing on photographs alone. Wide lenses flatter small pools and small terraces here exactly as they do on the caldera.

Villas Against the Alternatives

Against a caldera cave suite. The suite wins for two people on three nights. The villa wins for four or more on five nights or longer, by a wide margin on cost and space.

Santorini villas against three or four hotel rooms. The villa is cheaper from about four people upward and adds a kitchen, a pool and a terrace.

Against a large hotel with a pool. The hotel gives you breakfast, a bar and no cooking. The villa gives you privacy, space and a considerably lower bill.

Against an apartment in Kamari. Cheaper than a villa and smaller, with no private pool. Good for four, cramped for six.

Against all-inclusive. There is very little genuine all-inclusive stock on this island, so the comparison rarely arises.

Against a short-let apartment in Fira. Central and walkable, with no pool and no parking, which is the trade.

For a wedding party. Santorini villas beat blocks of hotel rooms because everybody is in one place, and several properties take the ceremony as well.

Santorini villas for a two-week stay. No contest. The kitchen, the washing machine and the terrace are what make a fortnight comfortable.

For a three-night trip. The rim, every time. A villa does not repay the effort over three nights.

The clean rule. Under four people or under five nights, book a hotel. Over both, book a villa.

Santorini Villas: Questions People Ask

How much does a villa cost in Santorini? Inland with a pool, 350 to 700 euros a night for six in August and roughly half that in May or late September. On the caldera, 900 to 2,500 and upwards.

Are villas cheaper than hotels? From about four people upward, yes, and the gap widens with group size and length of stay.

Do all santorini villas have private pools? No. Some share a pool between two or three houses. Ask explicitly before booking.

Are santorini villas pools heated? Some are, from April to June and in October. Unheated water sits around sixteen degrees in May.

Where are the best value santorini villas? Megalochori, Emporio, Exo Gonia, Karterados and Messaria, all inland and all flat.

Do I need a car? Yes, for anything inland. This is the single most important practical point about villa stays here.

Can you get a villa with a caldera view? Yes, in Imerovigli, Firostefani, Oia and above Akrotiri, at three to four times the inland price.

What is the minimum stay? Five to seven nights in July and August, three in the shoulder months.

Are santorini villas good for families? The best option on the island for families, on flat ground with a pool and a kitchen.

Is breakfast included? Almost never. The luxury caldera houses offer a chef or daily breakfast at extra cost.

How far ahead should I book? February for August. Villas sell out earlier than hotel rooms because there are fewer of them.

Can you hold a wedding at one? Several take ceremonies and receptions for twenty to forty people, subject to the property and local rules.

Arranging the Rest of the Trip With Us

A villa solves the accommodation and creates two logistical problems: getting six people and their luggage from the airport or the port, and getting around an island where the buses do not reach the inland villages. Both are what we do.

Group transfers to santorini villas. Minibuses for six, eight, sixteen and more, from the airport or Athinios port, at a fixed price agreed before you travel.

Private island days. Five or eight hours with a driver and a vehicle that takes the whole party, which removes the two-cars-and-a-designated-driver problem.

Caldera boat days. Shared and private catamarans, with collection from the villa rather than a meeting point you have to find.

Winery visits. Driven, so everybody can taste.

Wedding transport. Convoys for guests, which the island’s thirty taxis cannot provide.

Ask us directly. Tell us the village and the party size and we will quote the transfers and the days out, so the only thing santorini villas require of you is the shopping list.

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

Santorini vs crete is not a comparison between two islands; it is a comparison between a landscape and a region a hundred times larger. This page sets out beaches, food, archaeology, walking, cost, crowds and every kind of traveller, and says which to choose.

The most beautiful island on the planet for many is Santorini Tours in 2024. It is Europe’s most enchanting summer destination. Santorini’s fame is so absolute, that when you finally land in its port, you don’t know what to see first and which corners to explore to feel its intoxicating charm that makes all the tourist guides speechless. And here we come, to condense the entire experience of a trip to Thira, in ten essential steps around the Caldera.

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 instead of banners and hoods, moves towards the edge of Oia at the Kastelli of Agios Georgios, where you just stare open-mouthed at the sun dipping into the Caldera and the people watching it. he applauds. However, if you are looking for a similar spectacle with fewer spectators, other amazing spots on the island to see the sunset are the peak of the prophet Ilias, the hill of ancient Thira, the Lighthouse, the castle of Pyrgos, and the beach of Vlychada.

The unreal beaches

You have probably heard that Santorini is not famous for its beaches. Don’t pay attention to the rumors so you don’t arrive with your towel in a negative mood: You may not see turquoise waters and golden sands, but you will see other exotic things. In Vlychada, the sandy beach has as a background rare geological formations, which look like they were taken from a lunar landscape, on which you can climb.

At the rugged Red Beach, you’ll swim in waters that touch a salt sand beach, with purple, almost earth-like, otherworldly sand. In Kamari, Perissa, or the rest of the eastern coasts of the island, you will be able to stretch your legs against the background of the large pebbles and black sand of the island, a result of the volcanic activity. There you will also find the cheapest organized beaches, as the sunbed is not charged on this side of Thira. Delightful, alternative, and even more picturesque are the dives in Ammoudi, the small port below Oia.

Overnight in Fira

The day belongs to the beaches, the sunset time belongs to Oia, and the evening rightfully belongs to Fira, the lively capital of the island that not only has beautiful cave houses on the side of the Caldera but also a multitude of bars, restaurants, taverns, fast food and squares, which “buzz” pleasantly all night long.

The villages of Santorini in 2024

The villages of the Caldera naturally have the first say. The major walks follow the stone-built paths in Fira and Oia, with the characteristic all-white houses on the rock, the tufted bougainvillea and the unbeatable view. Oia in particular is a special experience, which is not at all bothered by the swarms of tourists – as long as you are there, in front of it, in the disarming beauty that you hardly realize is real and that it is inhabited by people. Between Fira and Oia, you will find two other “homes” of Cycladic luxury and picturesqueness, Imerovigli and Firostefani.

As for the rest of the island of Santorini, you will walk to the quiet settlement of Karterados, where it is possible to have a traditional feast with the windmill in the background, you will climb the Castle of Pyrgos and Emporio, you will admire the island churches of Vothona, the wineries of Foinikia and the view from Exo Gonia or Megalochori.

For those with reserves of energy and adrenaline, the walking route along the Caldera, which connects the villages of Fira, Imerovigli, and Oia, is recommended (you will need about three hours for the nine kilometers of a breathtaking route). Underwater, diving enthusiasts will love the sites of Trypiti and Palaia Kammeni, near the wreck of Taxiarchis, while near Akrotiri you will dive at the reef of Adiavati. Finally, Mesa Pigadia is suitable for exploring caves.

The archaeological treasures

The archaeological heart of Thira beats in Akrotiri, the ancient settlement from which frescoes, works of art and the ruins of a well-planned city with multi-level buildings, a water system, furnitures and all these have been well preserved after the Minoan earthquake that buried them have been saved. No human skeleton was found in Akrotiri, an element that advocates for the theory that there were warning earthquakes that prompted the residents to evacuate en masse. At an altitude of 396 meters stand the findings of ancient Thera in Mesa Vounos, with ruins from the Hellenistic period. Finally, in Fira, you will find the Museum of Prehistoric Thira and the Archaeological Museum, with sculptures, inscriptions, ceramics, kouros, and findings from Akrotiri and other parts of the island.

The wine

The special soil and climate of Santorini was… fertile ground for the Cycladic winegrowers, who endowed the island with a heavy tradition in winemaking. White Assyrtiko is the “ruler” of Santorini’s wine production, while Athiri and Aidani follow. The famous local wine Vinsanto is an experience for the taste buds in itself – you can try it in traditional wineries or in larger establishments. Take a private wine tour in Santorini in 2024.

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 vs Crete: The Short Answer

The santorini vs crete question is not really a comparison between two islands. It is a comparison between a landscape and a country. Santorini is seventy-six square kilometres you can drive across in forty minutes. Crete is eight thousand three hundred, with mountains to two and a half thousand metres, four cities, gorges, forests and four hundred kilometres of coast. They are not in the same category and choosing between them is mostly about how long you have.

Santorini vs crete: choose Santorini if. You have three or four days, you want the single most spectacular landscape in Greece, and you are happy with a short, intense trip built around a caldera, a boat and a sunset.

Santorini vs crete: choose Crete if. You have a week or more, you want beaches, gorges, real cities, food and a holiday that does not repeat itself, at roughly half the price.

Size. Crete is over a hundred times larger. This is the fact that settles most of the santorini vs crete argument.

Beaches on santorini vs crete. Crete, by a very wide margin. Elafonissi, Balos, Preveli, Vai and a hundred others, against black volcanic sand on one Santorini coast and no swimming at all on the other.

Spectacle. Santorini. Nothing in Crete looks like the caldera.

Cost on santorini vs crete. Crete, a third to a half cheaper for rooms, food and car hire.

Food. Crete, which has the strongest regional cuisine in Greece. Santorini has the better wine.

Archaeology. Both exceptional: Knossos and the Heraklion museum against Akrotiri and Ancient Thera.

Walking. Crete, and it is not close. Samaria, Imbros, the White Mountains and the E4 against one outstanding rim path.

Romance. Santorini, comfortably.

Families. Crete, for flat ground, sand, space and price.

The one-line answer. On santorini vs crete: Santorini for three days, Crete for two weeks, and both if you have ten.

Scale: The Number That Decides Everything

Everything else on this page follows from the size difference, so it is worth being concrete about it.

Santorini vs crete: Santorini. Seventy-six square kilometres, eighteen kilometres long, and at its widest about five. You can see the whole island from the top of Profitis Ilias. Nothing is more than twenty-five minutes from anything else.

Santorini vs crete: Crete. Eight thousand three hundred square kilometres. Two hundred and sixty kilometres from Kissamos in the west to Sitia in the east, which is four hours of driving on the national road without stopping.

What that means for a week. On Santorini a week sees everything twice. On Crete a week sees one third of the island, and most people spend it in either the west around Chania or the centre around Heraklion.

Population. Santorini around 15,500 residents. Crete around 630,000, with Heraklion alone at 180,000, which makes it a real city with a university, a hospital and a year-round economy.

Mountains. Santorini’s highest point is 567 metres. Crete has three ranges over two thousand, with snow into May.

Driving. A santorini vs crete trip planned the same way fails. On Santorini you barely need a car; on Crete you cannot do without one, and the distances are genuine.

Seasonality. Santorini largely closes from November to March. Crete’s south coast runs almost year-round and its cities never stop.

Airports. Santorini has one. Crete has three: Heraklion, Chania and Sitia.

The consequence. Santorini is a destination. Crete is a region, and comparing them is closer to comparing a famous monument with a county than comparing two beaches.

Beaches

The most one-sided item in the whole santorini vs crete comparison, and worth setting out rather than asserting.

Elafonissi. Pink-tinged sand and a lagoon of turquoise shallows in the far south-west. One of the best beaches in Europe, and four hours from Heraklion.

Balos. A triple-coloured lagoon on the north-western tip, reached by a rough track or a boat from Kissamos.

Preveli. A palm gorge running down to a river mouth and a sandy cove on the Libyan Sea.

Vai. A natural palm forest behind a sandy bay in the far east.

Falassarna, Seitan Limania, Matala, Plakias, Triopetra. Any one of them would be a headline beach on a smaller island.

Santorini’s beaches. Perivolos, Perissa, Kamari, Vlychada and Monolithos, all on the east and south coasts, all black volcanic sand or pebble, organised, and genuinely good for a day.

Santorini’s problem. The famous half of the island has no beaches at all. The caldera cliff drops straight into four hundred metres of water, so the view and the swimming are twenty-five minutes apart.

Water temperature. Crete’s south coast is the warmest water in Greece and runs longer at both ends of the season. Santorini’s is comparable in summer and shorter.

Which wins on santorini vs crete beaches. Crete, decisively and without qualification.

Santorini’s counter. A catamaran day in the caldera, which is a better day than any single beach on either island, and it is a boat trip rather than a beach.

Landscape and Spectacle

Santorini vs crete: the Santorini landscape. A flooded volcano. The caldera is a basin four hundred metres deep and ten kilometres across, with a cliff of red, black and white rock on its inner edge and white villages balanced along the top. It was formed by an eruption around 1600 BC and it looks like nowhere else on earth.

What that gives you. A view that does not diminish on the fourth day, a sunset that is genuinely worth the fuss, and an hour at dawn on the rim that people remember for years.

Santorini vs crete: the Crete landscape. A mountain range in the sea. The White Mountains, Psiloritis and Dikti all exceed two thousand metres, with gorges cut through them to the Libyan Sea, high plateaus, forests, caves and a coastline that changes character every thirty kilometres.

What that gives you. Variety rather than a single image. The Samaria gorge, the Lasithi plateau, the palm forest at Vai, the lagoons in the west, and a drive over a pass with snow on it in April.

The honest comparison. Crete is the more beautiful island and Santorini is the more spectacular one. On santorini vs crete that distinction is the whole of it.

Photography. Santorini, decisively, because the subject is concentrated and the light on whitewash at dawn is exceptional.

Hiking scenery. Crete, by a distance.

Driving scenery. Crete. The road over the mountains to Sfakia or along the south coast is a day in itself; Santorini has no drive worth taking for its own sake.

The single best view. Santorini, from Imerovigli at six in the morning.

The single best day outdoors. Crete, walking the Samaria gorge from Omalos down to Agia Roumeli.

Towns, Villages and the Cities

Chania, the santorini vs crete trump card. The best town in Crete and arguably in Greece: a Venetian harbour with a lighthouse, a maze of lanes behind it, Ottoman and Jewish quarters, and a working city around it. Genuinely lived in, year-round.

Rethymno. Smaller, quieter, with its own Venetian old town, a fortress and a long beach.

Heraklion. A real city rather than a tourist town: the Archaeological Museum with the Minoan collection, the Venetian harbour, the market street, and almost no visitors staying more than a night.

Agios Nikolaos and Elounda. The polished end of Crete, with a lake in the middle of the town and Spinalonga island offshore.

Cretan villages. Hundreds of them, in the mountains and on the plateaus, almost none of them visited, and several of the best meals in Greece among them.

Santorini’s villages. Oia for the domes, Imerovigli for the view, Firostefani, Fira for the transport and the night, Pyrgos and Megalochori inland, Emporio for the kastelli.

The comparison. Santorini’s villages are more dramatic and smaller. Crete’s towns are more substantial and more varied, and Chania alone holds more evenings than the whole of Santorini.

Crowds in town. Oia between five and nine is several thousand people on one lane. Chania’s old town in August is busy and absorbs it.

Which wins. Crete, on the strength of Chania and the mountain villages. This is where the santorini vs crete question turns for anybody who likes towns rather than views.

Santorini’s counter. The inland villages at eight in the evening, which are the match of anything in Crete and which almost no visitor to the island sees.

Food and Wine

Santorini vs crete: the Cretan cuisine. The strongest regional cooking in Greece, and a genuine reason to choose the island. Dakos, kalitsounia, snails, lamb with stamnagathi, slow-cooked goat, staka, graviera, raki at the end of every meal, and the olive oil that half of Greece cooks with.

Crete’s produce. A real agricultural economy. Mountain herbs, wild greens, cheese from transhumant flocks, honey, avocados in the south, and a growing wine region around Archanes and Peza.

Santorini’s cuisine. Narrower and very distinctive: fava with protected designation status, the small dense cherry tomato, white aubergine, capers and caper leaves, chloro cheese, tomatokeftedes.

Santorini vs crete: the Santorini wine. The one category where the island wins outright. Assyrtiko from ungrafted vines trained into low baskets on the ground, with no rain from May to October, and Vinsanto from sun-dried grapes. There is nothing like it in Crete or anywhere else.

Value. Crete, clearly. A taverna dinner in a Cretan village costs half what the same plate costs on Santorini’s rim and considerably more arrives.

Fine dining. Santorini has more of it per square kilometre and charges for the view. Crete’s best restaurants are in Chania and Heraklion and cost less.

Raki. A Cretan institution, brought free at the end of almost every meal. Santorini does not have an equivalent.

Which wins. Crete on food, Santorini on wine. On santorini vs crete for a food trip, Crete is the answer and Santorini is the better afternoon.

The combination. Two weeks with a Cretan fortnight and three Santorini nights gives you both, which is what a lot of experienced visitors do.

Archaeology and Culture

Knossos on santorini vs crete. The Minoan palace outside Heraklion, the largest Bronze Age site in Greece and the most visited archaeological site on Crete. Heavily reconstructed, controversial among archaeologists, and genuinely extraordinary.

The Heraklion Archaeological Museum. One of the great museums of Europe, holding the Minoan collection including the frescoes, the snake goddesses and the Phaistos disc. Two hours minimum.

Phaistos and Malia. Two more Minoan palaces, less reconstructed and far quieter.

Gortyna, Aptera, Lato. Greek and Roman sites across the island, almost empty.

Akrotiri on santorini vs crete. Santorini’s answer, and a strong one: a Bronze Age town buried in ash around 1600 BC and preserved under a roof, with streets, three-storey houses, drainage and frescoes. The same civilisation as Knossos, frozen at the moment of the eruption.

Ancient Thera. A Hellenistic city on a ridge at 360 metres above Kamari, almost empty and spectacular.

The connection. The two islands are linked: the eruption that made Santorini’s caldera covered Crete in ash and is argued to have contributed to the decline of Minoan civilisation. Seeing Akrotiri and Knossos on one trip is the best reason to refuse the santorini vs crete question entirely.

Museums. Crete, by volume and by quality. Santorini’s Prehistoric Thera museum in Fira is good and small.

Which wins. Crete, on depth. Santorini wins on the single most atmospheric site.

Walking and the Outdoors

Samaria, the santorini vs crete walking answer. Sixteen kilometres down a gorge from Omalos to the Libyan Sea at Agia Roumeli, five to seven hours, with a boat out at the end because there is no road. The best day walk in Greece.

Imbros. A shorter gorge, eight kilometres and two to three hours, and the right answer for anybody who wants the experience without the full day.

The White Mountains. Serious mountain walking with refuges, and Pachnes at 2,453 metres.

The E4. The European long-distance path runs the length of Crete, which is a month of walking if you want it.

Santorini’s rim path. Ten kilometres from Fira to Oia along the top of the caldera, three to four hours, and genuinely one of the best walks in Greece for the view rather than the terrain.

Santorini’s other walks. Kamari up to Ancient Thera, the Profitis Ilias ridge, and the Nea Kameni crater. Perhaps eight routes in total, all short.

Shade. Crete has forests, springs and gorge walls. Santorini has none at all, which limits walking there to the early morning for four months of the year.

Cycling. Crete, with real climbs and quiet roads. Santorini has an e-bike scene and not much else.

Water sports. Crete, on volume, with kitesurfing in the west and diving along the north coast. Santorini has better snorkelling on the volcanic rock.

Which wins. Crete, and it is the least close item on this page after the beaches. On santorini vs crete for an outdoors holiday there is no argument.

What Each One Costs

Santorini vs crete: accommodation on Santorini. 250 to 700 euros a night for a caldera-view room in high season, 150 to 500 in Firostefani, 70 to 200 inland or on the east coast.

Santorini vs crete: accommodation on Crete. 60 to 180 euros a night for a good hotel or apartment almost anywhere, with Elounda’s luxury resorts as the exception and villas widely available.

Dinner for two. Santorini 70 to 120 euros in a village and 160 to 400 on the rim. Crete 40 to 80 almost everywhere, with more food on the table.

Car hire. Santorini 40 to 80 euros a day in season. Crete 25 to 50, with a far better choice.

Coffee and drinks. Santorini 5 to 8 euros for a coffee on the rim and 12 to 18 for a cocktail. Crete 2.50 to 4 and 8 to 12.

Flights. Comparable from most of Europe, with Crete having more routes and more competition, which usually makes it cheaper.

A santorini vs crete week for two in August. Roughly 2,500 to 4,000 euros on Santorini and 1,300 to 2,200 on Crete, excluding flights, for an equivalent standard.

Why the gap. Santorini has a fixed supply of rooms with a view and demand that exceeds it. Crete has an enormous supply and year-round competition.

Which wins. Crete, by roughly a factor of two. On santorini vs crete with a budget, the question answers itself.

Santorini’s honest defence. Stay inland or on the east coast and the gap narrows considerably, to perhaps thirty per cent.

Getting There and Getting Around

Flights to Santorini. One airport, direct European routes from late April to the end of October, and year-round via Athens.

Flights to Crete. Heraklion and Chania both take direct European traffic for a longer season, plus Sitia domestically. More routes, more carriers, lower fares.

Ferries. Santorini is four and a half to nine hours from Piraeus. Crete is seven to nine hours overnight from Piraeus to Heraklion or Chania, with cabins, which is a genuinely pleasant way to arrive.

The santorini vs crete crossing. A high-speed ferry of about two hours to Heraklion, one to three sailings a day in summer, or a seasonal forty-minute flight.

On Santorini. Buses radiating from Fira, around thirty taxis, and a caldera you can walk along. You can manage without a car for three or four days.

On Crete. A car is effectively compulsory. KTEL coaches are good along the north coast and thin everywhere else, and the best of the island is on roads rather than bus routes.

Driving difficulty. Crete’s national road is straightforward; its mountain roads are narrow, steep and occasionally unsurfaced. Santorini’s villages cannot be driven into at all.

Parking. A genuine problem in Fira and Oia in August. Rarely a problem anywhere in Crete outside Chania’s old town.

Which wins. Crete for access and Santorini for not needing a vehicle. On santorini vs crete for a traveller who will not drive, Santorini is the easier island.

Crowds, Season and When to Go

Santorini’s season. Late April to the end of October, with most of the island closed in winter.

Crete’s season. March to November for most of it, with the south coast warm into December and the cities open all year.

Crowd density on santorini vs crete. Santorini takes over two million visitors onto seventy-six square kilometres, concentrated in two villages. Crete takes more visitors and absorbs them across an area a hundred times larger.

What that feels like. Oia at seven in the evening in August is a crush. Nowhere in Crete ever feels like that, including Chania in high season.

Cruise ships. Two to five a day on Santorini, funnelled through Fira and Oia. Heraklion takes them and barely notices.

Best months for Santorini. September first, then June, then May and early October.

Best months for Crete. May, June, September and October, with the gorges closed or dangerous in winter and spring flooding.

Winter. Crete, without question. Chania and Heraklion function year-round and most of Santorini does not.

Which wins. Crete on season length and on space. On santorini vs crete in high summer, Crete is the more comfortable island by a wide margin.

Santorini’s counter. Go in May or October, start at six in the morning, and the crowd argument largely disappears.

Santorini vs Crete by Traveller

Honeymoon on santorini vs crete. Santorini. The caldera, the cave suites and the sunset exist for it, and Crete has nothing comparable at any price.

First trip to Greece, one week. Crete, because it fills the week. Santorini fills four days brilliantly and then repeats itself.

First trip to Greece, three or four nights. Santorini. The most spectacular short trip available in the country.

Family with young children. Crete. Flat resorts, shallow sandy beaches, space, price, and no cliff edges.

Family with teenagers. Crete, for the gorges, the water sports and the beaches.

Beach holiday on santorini vs crete. Crete, without qualification.

Walking holiday on santorini vs crete. Crete, and nothing on Santorini comes close.

Photography. Santorini, and nothing in Crete comes close.

Food trip. Crete.

Wine trip. Santorini.

Budget trip. Crete, at roughly half the cost.

Luxury trip. Either. Santorini’s cave suites against Elounda’s resorts, which is a genuine contest.

Group of friends. Crete, for villas with pools at a third of Santorini prices.

Solo traveller. Crete, for the cities and the lower costs, although Santorini is easier to get around without a car.

Anybody with mobility difficulties. Crete. Santorini’s caldera villages are staircases, and only its east coast works.

Winter visit. Crete.

Second visit to Greece. Crete, and then Naxos or Amorgos.

Cruise passengers with one day. Santorini, which gives more in a single day than Heraklion does.

The pattern. On santorini vs crete, Santorini wins the short, romantic and photographic trips and Crete wins almost everything else that takes more than four days.

Doing Both on One Trip

For anybody with ten days or more, this is the right answer and the reason the santorini vs crete question is frequently the wrong one.

The santorini vs crete ferry. About two hours on a high-speed catamaran from Athinios to Heraklion, with one to three sailings a day in summer and fares of roughly 55 to 95 euros a person.

The flight. A seasonal direct rotation of about forty minutes, which is more reliable in strong wind and usually more expensive.

Which port. Heraklion only. There is no direct boat from Santorini to Chania, and Chania is a further two to two and a half hours west by road.

The order. Santorini first, Crete second. Three or four nights on the island that demands early starts, then a week on the one built for spreading out.

A santorini vs crete split of three and seven. The best split for ten days: the caldera villages, a boat and Akrotiri, then Crete’s north coast, a gorge and the south.

Four and ten. For a fortnight, and the proportion the two islands actually deserve.

Flights. Into Santorini and home from Heraklion or Chania, which is usually the same price as a return and saves a crossing.

Car hire. None on Santorini for three nights, and one on Crete from the moment you land.

The wind. The meltemi cancels fast boats between June and September, and the Crete route has only one to three sailings a day. Leave a night of slack.

The verdict on doing both. Excellent on ten days or more, tight on a week, and a mistake on five.

The Ten Questions People Actually Ask

Santorini vs crete for a week in August. Crete. It absorbs heat and crowds better, it is half the price, and there is somewhere new to go every day.

Santorini vs crete for four nights. Santorini. Four nights in Crete sees one region and spends a day of it driving.

Santorini vs crete with a hire car. Crete, which is built for one. On Santorini a car is a liability in Fira and Oia.

Santorini vs crete without a hire car. Santorini, where the rim villages connect on foot and the bus network radiates usefully from Fira.

Santorini vs crete for a milestone anniversary. Santorini, in Imerovigli, in May or September.

Santorini vs crete for two families travelling together. Crete, in a villa with a pool, at a third of what Santorini charges for the same thing.

Santorini vs crete in April or November. Crete, which is open and green while most of Santorini is shut.

Santorini vs crete for somebody who has been to Greece five times. Crete, because there is still two thirds of it left to see.

Santorini vs crete for somebody who has never left their own country. Santorini, because it is small, easy and unforgettable.

Santorini vs crete if the photographs are the point. Santorini, at six in the morning on the rim, and nothing in Crete competes.

The pattern. Every answer above turns on two variables: how many nights you have and whether you will drive. On santorini vs crete, those two questions do more work than any list of attractions.

Santorini vs Crete: Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, santorini vs crete? Santorini for three or four days of landscape, romance and photographs. Crete for a week or more of beaches, food, walking and value.

Which is bigger? Crete, at 8,300 square kilometres against Santorini’s 76. Over a hundred times larger.

Which has better beaches? Crete, decisively. Santorini’s are black volcanic sand on one coast only.

Which is more beautiful? Crete is the more beautiful island and Santorini is the more spectacular one.

Which is cheaper? Crete, at roughly half the cost for accommodation, food and car hire.

Which is better for families? Crete, for flat ground, sand, space and price.

Which is better for a honeymoon? Santorini, comfortably.

How long do I need on each? Three to four nights on Santorini; seven to fourteen on Crete.

Do I need a car? Not on Santorini for a short stay. Yes on Crete, without exception.

Can I do both in one trip? Yes. About two hours by high-speed ferry to Heraklion, or a seasonal forty-minute flight. Ten days or more makes it comfortable.

Is there a ferry to Chania? No. Land at Heraklion and drive two to two and a half hours west.

Which is better in winter? Crete, which has functioning cities year-round while most of Santorini closes.

Which has better food? Crete, with the strongest regional cuisine in Greece. Santorini has the better wine.

If I can only do one of santorini vs crete? Short trip, honeymoon or photographs: Santorini. Week or more, family, beaches, walking or budget: Crete.

If Santorini Is the One

We are a local operator on Santorini running private tours and transfers in our own vehicles, so we will declare the obvious interest and then be straight with you: if you have ten days and want beaches and gorges, Crete is the better holiday.

If you have three or four days and want the most dramatic island in Greece done properly, tell us your dates and we will handle it: the caldera villages at the hours when they are empty, Akrotiri before the coaches, the wineries at five, and the airport or the port at both ends.

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