Santorini

Oia, rebuilt after the devastating 1956 earthquake that leveled much of its cave houses, is today Greece's most photographed village, perched 300 meters above the caldera at the island's northernmost point. Its immaculate cube-shaped houses and blue domes, originally simple homes of merchant marine captains, cling to the volcanic cliffs in a maze of pedestrian stairways and car-free lanes. The sunset from the ruins of the Venetian Ligios Castle, destroyed by the same earthquake, draws hundreds of visitors every evening under a golden light legendary across the Mediterranean - arrive at least an hour early in high season to find a seat on the steps.

KTEL bus from the Fira bus station (about 30 min, every 30-60 min) - or taxi (about EUR25-30).

Oia guided tour

Imerovigli, whose name literally means 'watching the day' in reference to its role as a Byzantine coastal watchpost, is the highest village on the caldera rim at 300 meters, barely a 20-minute walk north of Fira but infinitely more peaceful. Nicknamed the 'Balcony of the Aegean', it paradoxically offers an even wider view than Oia, since it takes in the caldera's full length, from Fira to Oia, past the volcano. Skaros Rock, a rocky promontory that held a medieval Venetian castle until the 17th century, now entirely eroded by earthquakes, is reached by a roughly 30-minute hiking trail offering a 360-degree view of the island and one of the best sunset spots, far less crowded than Oia's.

20 min walk from Fira along the caldera path, or KTEL bus.

Imerovigli hike

Fira (or Thira), the island's capital since around 1800 after the decline of the former capital Pyrgos, perches 260 meters above the caldera on a dizzying ledge offering one of the most spectacular panoramas in the Cyclades. Its stepped shopping lanes overflow with jewelry boutiques, art galleries, and restaurants with terraces suspended over the void. The Museum of Prehistoric Thera, holding the most precious frescoes and objects found at Akrotiri (including the famous Antelopes fresco), makes an ideal complement to the archaeological site visit. The cable car, opened in 1985 and partly funded by shipowner Evangelos Nomikos following a tragic accident involving pack donkeys, links the town center to the old port in minutes, from where caldera boat excursions depart.

Central KTEL buses to/from anywhere on the island - Santorini's main transport hub.

Fira audio guide

Santorini's caldera, a gigantic 12km by 7km sea-filled lake, was created by the Minoan eruption around 1600 BC, one of the most powerful in human history, an explosion that may have wiped out an entire civilization and could have inspired the myth of Atlantis according to some researchers. The current crescent-shaped island is just the rim of the collapsed volcano; at its center, the black, barren islets of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni, born of more recent historical eruptions (the last in 1950), remain volcanically active. Sailboat or catamaran cruises let you climb Nea Kameni's smoking crater, then swim in the warm sulfurous waters off Palea Kameni, before a stop at Thirassia, the inhabited fragment of the original island still spared from mass tourism.

Boats depart from Fira's old port (reached by cable car or 587 donkey-trodden steps) or Ammoudi port below Oia.

Caldera cruise

Santorini's vineyards rank among the oldest in the world, some vines having escaped phylloxera thanks to the volcanic soil and grown ungrafted for potentially over 400 years. With little rain and to withstand the fierce meltemi winds, the vines are pruned into a low, woven basket shape close to the ground (kouloura), a unique technique that protects the grape clusters and captures nighttime moisture from sea dew. The Santo Wines cellar, perched on the Pyrgos cliffside, and Venetsanos, one of the island's oldest, founded in 1947, offer tastings with sweeping panoramic views over the caldera and the volcano. The native Assyrtiko grape, dry and marked by the terroir's characteristic saline minerality, along with Vinsanto, a sweet dessert wine made from sun-dried grapes, are the must-tries.

Vineyards scattered around Pyrgos and Megalochori - a rental car/quad bike is recommended, or organized excursions with transport from Fira.

Wine tasting tour

Pyrgos, the island's capital until the early 19th century before being overtaken by Fira, has kept its medieval defensive layout of concentric circles climbing toward a ruined Venetian fortress at the top - anti-piracy urban planning inherited from Venetian rule, where the houses themselves formed the outer ramparts. Its labyrinthine stepped lanes, deliberately designed to confuse would-be attackers, have retained a rare authenticity, largely spared from the mass tourism that has reshaped Oia or Fira. Five blue-belfried Byzantine churches punctuate the village, and the view from the castle ruins at the top, taking in the whole island down to the caldera, is considered by many locals to be Santorini's finest at sunset - without the crowds.

KTEL bus from Fira (about 15 min) - or 30 min by electric bike.

Pyrgos guided tour

Kamari beach, on the island's east coast facing the Aegean Sea (unlike the west-facing caldera side), is Santorini's busiest, with pebbles and characteristic black volcanic sand formed by the erosion of basaltic lava from nearby Mesa Vouno. Its crystal-clear waters and gentle slope make it one of the island's few beaches suited to family swimming. The long pedestrian promenade lined with tamarisks, fish restaurants, and cocktail bars comes especially alive in the evening, with an open-air cinema under the stars screening Greek and international films throughout summer - a local institution since the 1970s. The black sand heats up intensely in the sun: beach shoes are strongly recommended during the day.

KTEL bus from Fira (about 20 min, frequent in summer).

Beach excursion

Ancient Thera, founded in the 9th century BC by Dorian settlers legend says were led by the hero Theras, spreads along the narrow rocky ridge of Mesa Vouno mountain at 360 meters, between Kamari and Perissa beaches. Occupied continuously from the Geometric era through the Byzantine period, the city has yielded the remains of an agora, an ancient theater with a sweeping view over the Aegean, Roman public baths, and a temple dedicated to Apollo Karneios where male ritual dances were once carved into the rock, discovered by German archaeologist Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen in the late 19th century. The climb from Kamari or Perissa, best done in good shoes and avoided in peak heat, rewards visitors with one of the island's most dramatic and least crowded panoramas.

Hiking trail from Kamari or Perissa (45 min to 1 hour uphill) - or a drivable road by taxi to the summit parking lot.

Book Ancient Thera tickets

Akrotiri is one of the most important archaeological sites in the Mediterranean, a prosperous Minoan port city buried under several meters of ash during the cataclysmic 1600 BC eruption, which preserved it in exceptional condition - somewhat like Pompeii, but without the bodies, suggesting the population was evacuated before the final catastrophe thanks to early warning signs. Excavated since 1967 by Greek archaeologist Spyridon Marinatos (who died accidentally on the site in 1974), it reveals multi-story houses with sophisticated plumbing, wide paved avenues, and above all remarkably fine polychrome wall frescoes depicting antelopes, blue monkeys, and scenes of Minoan daily life, now displayed at the National Museum in Athens and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira. A modern bioclimatic roof now protects the whole site from the elements.

KTEL bus from Fira (about 30 min) to the Akrotiri terminus, then 5 min walk.

Book Akrotiri tickets

Red Beach (Kokkini Paralia), nestled at the foot of the volcanic headland where the ruins of Akrotiri's medieval castle stand, owes its striking color to ancient iron-rich lava flows, eroded over millennia into blood-red cliffs and pebbles that plunge straight into a turquoise sea. Reached on foot from the Akrotiri archaeological site in about 15 minutes via a steep rocky path (or by water taxi from the nearby port), it's one of the most spectacular and photographed beaches in the entire Mediterranean, though its growing popularity and recurring rockfalls have led to restricted access at certain times. Snorkeling and photography are the main activities; little shade and no facilities onsite, so bring water and sun protection.

15-min walk from the Akrotiri parking lot, or water taxi from Akrotiri port - access sometimes restricted depending on cliff conditions, check locally.

Red Beach excursion