Santorini in October is the best month of the year, with one condition: come in the first half. The warmest sea of the year at 23 degrees, thinning crowds, softening light, prices at half the August rate, and everything still open until about the twentieth. Santorini Tours is a local operator running private tours and transfers on the island.
Why you should visit Santorini during October
Santorini, Mykonos and Athens are the most attractive Greek destinations this autumn for foreign tourists, according to a survey by Trivago.
From the best sunset to Santorini Experience, this island has it all and not just in August.
Majestic sunset, rides to Caldera, award-winning events, top culinary trips and paths leading to the streets of wine.
Who said that you can not fully enjoy all the above without the heat of July and (certainly) without the crowd of August?
Autumn in Santorini is mild. This means that October is the ideal month to visit the most famous island of the Cyclades.
A world-class destination awaits you to guide you to every secret corner of the island, but also to give you a unique experience that only you can experience in this place: Santorini Experience.
Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at the reasons why we propose to make a suitcase for the Aegean in October.
1. The Santorini Experience Festival
Santorini Experience takes place for the fourth year in the most famous island of the Cyclades, 5-7 October. And you have every reason to be there.
On Saturday October 6 the program includes 3 different routes that enjoy the unique view of the volcano from the Caldera, as well as the settlements of Imerovigli, Firostefani and Oia.
2. Midday in Ammoudi
In the area around Ammoudi, scenes were shot by Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. Is there a better thing than one noon on a beach – in a scenario (literally) taken out of a movie – enjoy the sea and relax without the voices and the beach sports.
3. Ascension to the volcano
Without the 35 degrees Celsius in July, everything seems easier. Climb into the volcano, go through the Red and Black seashore and enjoy the uniqueness of Santorini without a sweat .
You may also meet the champion Kelly Araouzou to swim at your side – but that’s the best case scenario.
4. Reservations
This is the time when you can visit the greatest attractions of Santorini without restrictions and no plans for days. Whatever you like, whenever you like it because it’s not August but October.
5. The sunset
Last but not least is the famous sunset of Santorini! The sunset of Oia is the most impressive you may ever see. The sunset of Oia without the tourists having caught all the good spots is something that matters.
October offers you an astonishing scenery that makes people from all over the globe talk about. You walk awkward, you arrive last minute before the sun makes its famous dive and thr rock has kept for you the best spot. Fair enough, don’t you think?
How to enjoy Santorini during Autumn
In order to help you find out every magic corner of the island we suggest to you Santorini transfers and the following tours of Santorini:
- Santorini full day private tour
- Santorini sightseeing private tour
- Santorini exclusive shore private tour
- Santorini impressive Caldera private tour
- Santorini south part private tour
- Santorini north part private tour
- Santorini historical private tour
- Santorini sunset private tour
See more about Santorini island:
- Santorini summer tours
- Greek island hopping: How to combine it with Santorini Tours
- Santorini festival tours
- Tradition tours in Santorini
- Santorini group tours
Santorini in October: The Short Answer
The best month of the year, with one condition: come in the first half. Santorini in october means the warmest sea of the whole year, thinning crowds, softening light, falling prices and everything still open until about the middle of the month.
After roughly the twentieth, things begin to shut. Beach bars close, some boats stop, hotels start announcing their last week, and the island tips into its winter shape. Both halves of santorini in october are good; they are simply different holidays.
Come for five nights, hire a car, and expect to walk the rim path in comfort for the first time since May. That alone is the case for santorini in october.
The Weather Week by Week
First week. Twenty-three to twenty-six degrees by day, nineteen or twenty at night. Effectively summer without the heat, and the best week of santorini in october. Rain is unlikely.
Second week. Twenty-two to twenty-five, cooling in the evenings, still reliably sunny. The best seven days of santorini in october.
Third week. Twenty to twenty-three, first proper showers possible, evenings noticeably cooler on the rim.
Fourth week. Eighteen to twenty-two, more unsettled, and the clocks go back at the end of the month so sunset in santorini in october drops from about seven to about six.
Rain overall. The wet season starts now, but October is the beginning of it rather than the middle. Showers rather than days of rain, and a fortnight of unbroken sun in santorini in october is entirely normal.
Wind. The meltemi has dropped, which is the single most underrated fact about santorini in october. Boats run far more reliably than in July and August.
Sun. Still strong. The UV is lower than August and the glare off white walls is not, so the hat stays through santorini in october.
The Sea and Swimming
This is the part people do not expect.
Sea temperature. Around 23 to 24 degrees in the first half of the month, falling to about 21 or 22 by the end. That makes santorini in october warmer for swimming than June and warmer than most of the Mediterranean at any point in the year.
Why. The sea takes months to heat and months to cool, so it lags the air by about six weeks. It peaks in late August and September and is still holding that heat through santorini in october.
What that means. Swimming in santorini in october is more comfortable than swimming in May or June, and the beaches are almost empty.
The black sand. Walkable barefoot again, which it is not in July and August.
Beach bars. Open in the first half of the month, thinning through the second.
Sunbeds. Available and cheap in santorini in october, and frequently free if you eat at the bar.
Anybody who wants to swim and does not want a crowd should be here now rather than in June. See Perivolos and Vlychada.
What Is Open
Hotels. Almost everything is open through the first half of santorini in october. Caldera properties begin closing from about the twentieth, and a few stay open into November.
Restaurants. Fira, the inland villages and most of the caldera rim run normally until mid-month, then thin out.
Akrotiri and Ancient Thira. Open, on summer hours until the end of the month. See Akrotiri.
Museums. Open all year.
Wineries. All open, and the harvest is done, so the cellars are busy and the estates have time again.
Boats. Volcano trips and catamarans run through the month, weather permitting, and with far fewer cancellations in santorini in october than in August.
Flights. Direct European services run into late October and then stop for the winter.
Buses. Full summer timetable to the end of santorini in october.
Cable car. Running, with fewer cruise ships to feed it.
Practically, santorini in october before the twentieth is the full island at half the price.
What Starts Closing
Being precise about this is the difference between a very good santorini in october and a slightly deflating one.
Beach bars. Perissa, Perivolos and Kamari thin out from the middle of santorini in october and are largely done by the end of the month.
Some boats. The daily volcano schedule reduces, and private charters become weather-dependent.
Caldera hotels. A steady wave of closures from about the twentieth of santorini in october.
Oia restaurants. Several shut before the hotels do.
Direct international flights. They stop through the last ten days.
Fast ferries. The catamarans wind down; the Blue Star continues all year.
Watersports. Mostly finished by mid-month.
What does not close. Fira, the inland villages, both museums, Akrotiri, the wineries, the buses and the car hire.
The practical rule for santorini in october is to confirm your specific hotel, boat and restaurant if your dates fall after the twentieth, and to assume nothing from a summer guidebook.
Santorini in October: What It Costs
Caldera-view double, first half. 150 to 280 euros a night in the first half of santorini in october, against 350 and up in August.
Caldera-view double, second half. 100 to 200, where anything is still open.
Good hotel with a pool, off the rim. 60 to 130.
Simple room or apartment. 40 to 90.
Dinner on the rim. 50 to 100 a head with wine, and you can usually get a table.
Dinner inland. 18 to 30 a head, and better food.
Hire car. 25 to 45 a day, against 45 to 70 in August, and in santorini in october you can park in Fira and Oia again.
Catamaran. 90 to 150 a head with lunch.
Flights. Direct fares fall sharply through santorini in october, and the Athens hop is cheap all autumn.
A week of santorini in october costs roughly half the same week in August, with a warmer sea and a fifth of the crowd. That combination does not exist in any other month.
Where to Stay
Firostefani. The caldera view with road access, ten level minutes from Fira, and still open through the month. Our usual recommendation for santorini in october. See Firostefani.
Imerovigli. The best view on the island, and the evenings are cool enough to make the steps pleasant rather than punishing. See Imerovigli.
Oia. Genuinely worth staying in during santorini in october, because the crowd has gone and the village is a village again. Still stepped, and check the closing date. See Oia.
Fira. Central, open all year, everything walkable.
Kamari and Perissa. Level, cheap and still swimmable through santorini in october. Quiet after mid-month. See Kamari.
Megalochori and Pyrgos. Inland, warm in the day, cool at night, and the best food. See Megalochori.
One question before booking santorini in october: what is the property’s closing date, and is it before or after your last night.
What to Do
The rim path. Fira to Oia, ten kilometres, three to four hours. Twenty-three degrees and a light breeze, which is the first time since May it has been comfortable. The single best thing to do in santorini in october.
Swim. The sea is 23 or 24 degrees and the beaches are empty.
Akrotiri. Roofed, quiet, and in santorini in october there is no coach queue.
The wineries. The harvest is in, the cellars are working, and the estates have time to talk. See the wine tour.
A catamaran. Calmer seas than summer and, in santorini in october, a genuine chance of a flat glassy day.
Ancient Thira. Comfortable now, and punishing in August. See Ancient Thira.
Oia at any hour. Not just at seven in the morning.
The inland villages. Pyrgos, Emporio, Exo Gonia and Vothonas, in their own season rather than the tourist one. See Emporio.
The Grape Harvest and the Wineries
The harvest here is one of the earliest in Europe, running from early August into September, so by santorini in october the work has moved indoors.
What is happening. Fermentation in the cellars, the first tastings of the new vintage from tank, and the vines going gold and then bare across the terraces.
Why it is the best month to visit an estate. The summer rush is over, the staff pouring are frequently the people who made the wine, and the tasting rooms in santorini in october are quiet enough for a real conversation.
What to taste. Assyrtiko, the barrel-aged Nykteri, the sun-dried Vinsanto, and the red Mavrotragano if anyone has it open.
The vineyards themselves. The basket-trained kouloura vines are at their most photogenic in autumn colour, lying on black ash.
How to do it. Three estates in an afternoon with a driver so both of you can taste, starting at four. See the wine tour and the wine museum.
Of all the reasons to choose santorini in october over June, this is the one wine people give first.
Beaches and the Coast
Perivolos and Perissa. Organised into the middle of santorini in october, then quiet. Long black sand, warm water and space.
Kamari. The promenade stays open longer than the beach service does.
Monolithos. Shallow, sheltered and still the best beach for children in santorini in october.
Vlychada. The pale carved cliffs at the end of the day, and almost nobody on the sand.
Red Beach. Comfortable to walk to now, with the light on the cliff late in the morning.
White Beach. Boats run in the first half of the month and then stop.
Ammoudi. Rock swimming below Oia in warm water, with the fish tavernas still open.
The wind. Gentler than summer, so in santorini in october the exposed north coast at Baxedes is usable for once.
The combination of a 23-degree sea and an empty beach is what makes santorini in october better for swimming than half of high summer.
Boats, Wind and the Sea
The meltemi drops through September, and by santorini in october the Aegean is at its most cooperative.
Catamarans. Running through the month, and cancelled far less often than in July or August. A flat day in the middle of santorini in october is one of the best sailing days of the year.
The volcano. Boats to Nea Kameni run on a reduced schedule. The climb is far more pleasant at twenty-three degrees than at thirty-four.
Thirasia. Excursions run in the first half.
Ferries. Fast catamarans thin out through the month; the conventional Blue Star runs year round from Piraeus.
Fishing and diving. Excellent visibility and warm water, with schools operating until about mid-month.
What to check. Whether the boat is still running on your dates, and the cancellation policy. Autumn weather is more variable than summer even if it is calmer.
Walking and the Rim Path
Santorini in october is when the island’s best walk becomes properly enjoyable.
Fira to Oia. Ten kilometres along the caldera rim through Firostefani and Imerovigli, past Skaros, three to four hours. In August it is a heat risk. Now it is twenty-three degrees with a breeze, and the light in the second half of the afternoon is superb.
Skaros Rock. Twenty minutes down and rather longer back up, on a loose path.
Ancient Thira from Kamari. The old path up Mesa Vouno rather than the road, steep and exposed and finally comfortable.
Vlychada. Flat, sheltered and strange, under the carved cliffs.
The village loop. Pyrgos to Exo Gonia to Mesa Gonia on farm tracks through the vineyards.
Kit. Proper shoes, water, a windproof layer for the rim in the evening, and a torch if you are walking back after sunset, which now falls around seven and then six.
Anyone who walks should treat santorini in october as the single best fortnight of the year to be here.
Early October or Late October?
The single most important decision on this page, because the two halves of santorini in october are genuinely different trips.
The first fifteen days
Effectively late summer. Twenty-three to twenty-six degrees, a sea at twenty-three or twenty-four, everything open, beach bars running, boats reliable, and prices already well below August. If you want one recommendation for santorini in october, take the first two weeks.
The last fifteen days
The shoulder tipping into autumn. Twenty to twenty-two degrees, the first real showers, beach bars closing, hotels announcing their last night, direct flights ending, and the clocks going back so sunset moves from about seven to about six. Cheaper again, quieter again, and the least certain part of santorini in october.
How to choose
If the trip is about swimming, beach days and boats, book the first half. If it is about walking, wineries, archaeology and having Oia to yourself, the second half is arguably better and noticeably cheaper.
Whichever you pick, santorini in october rewards a five-night trip with a spare day in it, because the weather is less predictable than in June.
Santorini in October Compared With Other Months
Against September. September is warmer and busier, with the same sea. October is quieter and cheaper. The overlap between the last week of September and the first of santorini in october is the sweet spot of the entire year.
Against May. May is green, dry and reliably sunny with a cold sea at eighteen or nineteen degrees. October is browner, warmer in the water and slightly more likely to rain. If you want to swim, santorini in october. If you want wild flowers and guaranteed sun, May.
Against June. June is the better bet on weather certainty. Santorini in october has the warmer sea and a fraction of the people.
Against July and August. No contest on anything except the number of open beach bars. Half the price, a fifth of the crowd, no cruise gridlock, no meltemi and a sea just as warm.
Against November. November is the shutting-down month, cheap and quiet with much of the caldera closed.
Ranked honestly across the whole year: late September and the first half of October first, May second, June third, and August last.
Santorini in October for Couples
Santorini in october is the best value romantic month of the year, and the reason we recommend it more than any other.
A caldera room that costs 400 euros in August runs 150 to 280 now. The terrace is warm enough to sit on until ten. Restaurants have tables without a booking made weeks ahead. Oia can be walked hand in hand rather than shuffled through. The sunset falls at seven rather than half past eight, so dinner afterwards is at a civilised hour.
What to book. Firostefani or Imerovigli for the terrace, one catamaran on a flat day, one winery afternoon, and one rim dinner.
What to skip. The Oia sunset crush, which barely exists now anyway.
See honeymoons.
Santorini in October with Children
Santorini in october is easier than August in every respect, including the sea.
Swimming. Twenty-three degrees, warmer than June, and the black sand no longer burns underfoot.
Heat. Gone as a planning problem. You can be outdoors at two in the afternoon.
Crowds. A fifth of August, so Fira and Oia are walkable with a pushchair.
Beaches. Monolithos and Kamari, still organised in the first half.
Boats. Calmer seas, which matters with anybody prone to seasickness.
Prices. Family rooms at half the August rate.
The catch. Half-term dates push prices up in the third week, and after the twentieth some facilities close.
For families, santorini in october in the first fortnight is the best compromise the calendar offers. See Monolithos.
A Five-Day October Itinerary
Day 1. Arrive, transfer, settle in, and the rim path from Fira to Firostefani for sunset at seven. Dinner in town.
Day 2. Akrotiri at opening, lunch in Megalochori, three wineries from four with the new vintage in tank, dinner inland at nine.
Day 3. Beach day. Perivolos or Vlychada, a swim in a 23-degree sea, lunch on the sand, and the carved cliffs in the late afternoon.
Day 4. Catamaran round the caldera on a flat sea, swimming stops off Thirasia, and the cliff lit gold from the water at the end.
Day 5. The full rim walk from Fira to Oia, three to four hours starting at nine, lunch in Oia, a driver back, and one caldera dinner to finish.
The spare day. Build one in. Autumn takes an afternoon off you occasionally, and having a day in hand turns that into a swap rather than a loss.
Five days is the right length for santorini in october, because you get both a beach day and a walking day, which no other month comfortably allows.
On a Cruise Stop in October
Santorini in october is the best month to have this island as a port call, for one reason: there are far fewer ships.
The season is winding down, so instead of five vessels in the caldera you may be one of two. That changes everything about the day. The cable car queue that runs past an hour in August is minutes now, the tender turnaround is quicker, and Oia is walkable at midday.
What fits. Akrotiri, a winery and an inland village, with Fira or Oia last, and lunch that is not eaten standing up.
What still does not. The volcano climb, because the tender and the boat schedule still eat the day.
The Athinios option. If your excursion can collect from the road port instead of the old port, take it, though the pressure to do so is far lower now.
See the shore excursion.
Photography in October
The light is the quiet argument for santorini in october, and photographers who come once tend to come back.
Softer sun. Lower in the sky all day, so the middle hours are workable rather than flat and brutal.
Longer golden hour. The last hour before sunset stretches, and the colour on the cliff is warmer than in summer.
Sunset at a civilised time. About seven early in the month and six at the end, so you can shoot it and still eat at a normal hour.
Empty foregrounds. The Oia blue domes, the castle ruin, the Firostefani church and the rim path, all without a queue.
Weather. The first autumn cloud arrives, which makes far better skies than the empty blue of August.
The vineyards. Basket vines in autumn colour on black ash.
Blue hour. Twenty minutes after sunset, from the rim, with the villages lit and the sky still deep. The best frames of any santorini in october trip are usually taken then.
Food in October
Santorini in october is the best eating month of the year, and almost nobody says so.
The harvest is in. Grapes finished, tomatoes finished, and the autumn produce arriving.
What is in season. Figs at the start of the month, late tomatoes, aubergine, capers put up for the winter, and the first of the greens after the rain.
Fish. Better now than in summer, with calmer seas and boats going out reliably.
Kitchens have time. Tavernas are no longer turning tables three times an evening, which shows in the food.
Tables. Available. You can walk into places that needed a booking three weeks ahead in August.
Where. Inland at Pyrgos, Megalochori, Emporio and Exo Gonia, at a third of the caldera price, and Ammoudi for fish while it is still open.
Wine. The estates are pouring last year’s Assyrtiko at its best and tasting this year’s from tank.
See the food experience.
Getting Here in October
Direct flights. European services run through most of santorini in october and then stop, with the last departures usually in the final ten days. Check that your specific route is operating on your dates rather than assuming the summer schedule.
Fares. Falling steadily through the month. A seat that cost a small fortune in the first week of August is a fraction of it now.
Via Athens. Fifty minutes, several a day, all year, and cheap. This becomes the only air route once the direct services end.
Ferries. The fast catamarans wind down through the month; the conventional Blue Star from Piraeus runs year round in seven to eight hours.
Inter-island. Mykonos, Naxos, Paros and Crete are all still connected in the first half, with reducing frequency after that.
The airport. Calm again. The arrivals scrum of July and August has gone, though a transfer is still the easiest way to reach a hotel.
Booking. Less pressure than summer, with one exception: half-term weeks fill quickly on the direct routes.
On travel alone santorini in october is easier and cheaper than any month between May and September.
Who Else Is There
The mix changes noticeably in santorini in october, and it is part of why the island feels different.
Fewer families. Except during half-term, most children are back at school, which empties the beaches and the buses.
More couples. Honeymooners and returning visitors who have learned not to come in August.
More walkers and photographers. Both groups know about the light and the temperature.
Wine visitors. The estates see a different sort of guest once the harvest is done.
Fewer cruise passengers. The schedule thins through the month.
Locals reappearing. Islanders start eating out again, going back to their own tavernas after five months of working in them, which is the clearest sign that santorini in october has arrived.
Half-term. British, German and Dutch school holidays fall in the third week or so and produce a brief spike in prices and occupancy. Worth avoiding if you can.
Compared With the Other Cyclades
Mykonos. Shuts hard and early, well before santorini in october ends. By mid-October a great deal of it is closed, and by the end there is very little open at all. This island keeps going far longer.
Naxos. Alive all year because it has farming and a real town, and cheaper than here in every month. Excellent in October.
Paros. Similar, winding down through the month.
Milos. Quiet, with reducing flights and few hotels open after mid-month.
Crete. Warmer for longer, especially in the south, with a genuinely long season.
Here. The advantage is that the archaeology, the museums, the wineries and Fira all work regardless of the beach season, so the island still has a full week in it when its neighbours do not.
For an autumn Cyclades trip, santorini in october is the safest bet after Crete and the most interesting one of the three.
What the Island Actually Feels Like
Worth describing, because the practical detail above misses the point of santorini in october.
The pressure comes off. Waiters who have worked one hundred and fifty consecutive days start sitting down at the end of a shift. Hotel owners appear at breakfast and talk to people. Tavernas that were turning tables all summer stop hurrying. The buses have seats on them. You can park in Fira.
The light changes too. The white walls go warm rather than glaring, the caldera holds shadow in the afternoon, and the first autumn cloud crosses the crater and puts weather in a sky that has been empty since May.
And the sea is still 23 degrees, which nobody expects and which makes the whole thing slightly improbable: a warm swim in an empty bay in the middle of October, with a jumper needed by nine that evening.
That combination lasts about three weeks and then it is gone. It is the reason we say, when anybody asks which month to book, that santorini in october is the answer and that the first fortnight is the answer to the answer.
The Villages, One by One
Oia. The transformation is the most dramatic on the island. In August the main street is a slow-moving crowd from eleven until eight; now you can walk it at noon. The shops and galleries stay open through the first half and start closing after that. Go once at dawn anyway, because the light is still better then.
Fira. Back to being a town rather than a funnel. The cable car queue disappears, the rim bars have tables, and the shops on the main street are no longer three deep.
Firostefani and Imerovigli. Quiet in any month and quieter now. The path between them is the best half hour on the island at this time of year.
Pyrgos. The castle ruin at the top with the whole island below, and the tavernas in the square full of people who live here.
Emporio. The medieval kasteli, and lanes with nobody in them at all.
Megalochori. Vaulted passages, bell towers and the best autumn cooking on the island.
Kamari and Perissa. Still swimmable, still organised in the first half, and emptying steadily. The promenades stay lively after the sunbeds have gone.
Vlychada. The marina, the tomato museum and the carved cliffs, all of it quiet and none of it seasonal.
Three Days, If That Is All You Have
Day one. Oia in the morning while the light is good, Ammoudi for lunch and a swim off the rocks, and the rim path back from Imerovigli in the late afternoon. Dinner in Firostefani.
Day two. Akrotiri at opening, lunch in Megalochori, three wineries from four, and a long dinner inland.
Day three. A catamaran, if the sea is flat, or Ancient Thira in the morning and Perivolos in the afternoon if it is not.
What you lose. The unbooked day, which is the one most people say afterwards that they enjoyed most. Three days works and five is better.
What not to do. Try to fit both a boat and the full rim walk into three days. One or the other, and the other one waits for the next trip.
What to Pack
Summer clothes. For the first half of santorini in october you will wear exactly what you would in June.
A jumper and a light jacket. The evenings on the rim are cool from about the tenth, and the wind takes several degrees off.
Something waterproof. A light shell rather than an umbrella, which is useless in any wind here.
Swimwear. Genuinely needed in santorini in october. The sea is warmer than in June.
Walking shoes with grip. For the rim path and for marble lanes that are occasionally wet now.
Sun cream and a hat. The sun is still strong and the glare off white walls does not soften.
A torch. Sunset moves earlier through the month and the paths are unlit.
Nothing heavy. It does not get cold in santorini in october, even at the end of it.
Getting Around
Hire car. The obvious choice for santorini in october. Cheaper than summer at 25 to 45 a day, roads are quiet, and parking exists again in Fira and Oia. See car hire.
Buses. Full summer timetable until the end of the month, all routes through Fira, and no longer standing room only.
Taxis. Around thirty for the island. Not a plan in any month.
A driver. Worth it for the winery afternoon and any day the weather is deciding the plan. See transfers.
Airport transfers. Still worth booking, though the arrivals hall is far calmer than in August.
Cable car. Running, with a fraction of the cruise queue.
Walking. In santorini in october the rim path is finally comfortable end to end.
Mistakes People Make
Booking the last week and expecting the first. Santorini in october has two halves and they behave differently.
Not checking the hotel’s closing date. Several shut from about the twentieth.
Assuming the sea is cold. In santorini in october it is 23 degrees, warmer than June.
Leaving swimwear at home. The commonest packing error of the month.
Booking a boat for the last day. Autumn weather is more variable, so keep a spare day.
Forgetting the clocks. They go back at the end of the month and sunset moves an hour.
Assuming direct flights run all month. Many stop in the last ten days.
Planning around beach bars in late October. Most have closed.
Avoid those eight and santorini in october is close to faultless.
Is Santorini in October Worth It?
Yes if you want the warmest sea of the year, empty beaches, a comfortable temperature for walking, wineries with time for you, Oia without the crush, and prices at roughly half the August rate. Yes, emphatically, for the first fortnight.
Less so if you need guaranteed sunshine every day, want the full run of beach bars and watersports, or are travelling in the last week when closures begin and the weather is less settled.
Our own view, after watching every month of the year on this island, is that the last week of September and the first two of October are the best fourteen days it offers. Everything is open, nothing is crowded, the sea is at its warmest and the light has started to soften. Nobody who books santorini in october in that window has ever told us they wished they had come in August instead.
Santorini in October: Frequently Asked Questions
Is October a good time to visit Santorini? It is arguably the best, particularly the first fortnight. The sea is at its warmest, the crowds have thinned, prices are around half the August rate and everything is still open.
How warm is it in October? Twenty-three to twenty-six degrees early in the month, falling to eighteen or twenty-two by the end, with nights ten degrees cooler.
Can you swim? Yes. The sea runs 23 to 24 degrees in the first half and 21 to 22 at the end, which is warmer than June.
Does it rain? The wet season begins, but in showers rather than days. A dry fortnight is entirely normal, particularly early in the month.
Is everything open? Yes until about the twentieth. After that beach bars, some boats, several caldera hotels and the direct international flights start to close for the winter.
Is it cheaper than summer? Considerably. Caldera rooms run 150 to 280 euros against 350 and up in August, and car hire is roughly half.
Early or late October? Early for swimming, beach days and boats. Late for walking, wineries and the lowest prices, with more closures.
Do boat trips run? Yes, through the month, and they are cancelled far less often than in summer because the meltemi has dropped.
Is Oia crowded? Far less than in summer. It is a pleasant village to walk through at any hour.
What about the clocks? They go back at the end of the month, moving sunset from about seven to about six.
How many days do we need? Five, with one spare in case a day goes to weather.
Is it good for families? Yes, especially the first fortnight, when the sea is warm and the heat is no longer a planning problem.
Come While the Sea Is Still Warm
We are a local operator running private tours and transfers in our own vehicles, and this is the month we tell our own friends to book.
Akrotiri without a coach queue, three wineries with the new vintage in tank, the rim path at a temperature you can walk in, a catamaran on a flat sea, and Oia at an hour when it is still a village.
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
