Neighbourhood · Greece

Santorini

Santorini is two or three nights of caldera views, not a week of beach holiday. Its villages sit on the rim of the caldera, and its beaches are volcanic, with black and red sand.

Best for couples · photographers · a two- or three-night stop on a longer trip

Wrong for anyone who wants a week of beach days.

From Where to Stay in Greece 2026: An Island-by-Island Base Guide.

Where to stay in Santorini

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  • Citorah PickHotel · Santorini

    Canaves Oia Suites

    Citorah says Four hotels in Oia: Canaves Ena, Canaves Oia Suites, Canaves Epitome and Canaves Sunday. Canaves Oia Suites, registered as a five-star, has a 17th-century cave spa.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Santorini

    Mystique, a Luxury Collection Hotel

    Citorah says A five-star carved into the caldera cliffs at Oia.

    The catch It isn’t strictly adults-only: guests must be 14 or over.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Santorini

    Andronis Boutique Hotel

    Citorah says 24 Suites and villas on the cliffs at Oia, with a heated shared infinity pool facing the caldera.

    The catch It takes guests aged 13 and over.

  • Citorah PickHotel · Santorini

    Vedema, a Luxury Collection Resort

    Citorah says A five-star grown from a 400-year-old winery in the medieval village, for travellers who’d rather have village privacy than a caldera view.

Where to eat in Santorini

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  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Santorini

    The Athenian House

    Citorah says The Athenian House sits on the caldera cliffs here: a restaurant on three terraces looking out to Skaros Rock, and the Evzon Bar.

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Santorini

    Selene

    Citorah says In a former 18th-century Catholic monastery, now the Katikies Garden hotel. Since 2021 its kitchen has been run by chef Ettore Botrini, cooking degustation menus.

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Santorini

    Lauda

    Citorah says Led by Emmanuel Renaut, the chef behind the three-Michelin-star Flocons de Sel, with Orestis Sotiriou as its new head chef.

    The catch It doesn’t seat children under 13.

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Santorini

    1800-Floga

    Citorah says In what its owners say was Oia’s first traditional bakery, a renovated cave. Mediterranean cooking, open daily from noon to midnight, April to October.

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Santorini

    Metaxy Mas

    Citorah says A restaurant inland on the island’s eastern slope, cooking Cretan and Santorinian food.

    The catch There’s no caldera view

  • Citorah PickRestaurant · Santorini

    Ammoudi Fish Tavern

    Citorah says Ammoudi Fish Tavern on the water below Oia (open 11am to 11pm, April to October).

Bars and nights out in Santorini

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  • Citorah PickBar · Santorini

    Tango

    Citorah says Tango Champagne & Cocktail Bar is on Fira’s cliffside, facing the sea, the volcanoes and the sunset.

    The catch It doesn’t publish its hours or prices, so ask before you order.

  • Citorah PickBar · Santorini

    2 Brothers

    Citorah says 2 Brothers, in Fira, opened in March 1983, and it’s where the night carries on: open daily from noon to 5am, with DJs every night from 10pm.

  • Citorah PickBar · Santorini

    PK Cocktail Bar

    Citorah says PK says it was Santorini’s first cocktail bar: it began in 1976, cut into Fira’s cliffside, and it’s named after Palia Kameni, the volcanic island in the bay below.

  • Citorah PickBar · Santorini

    Evzon Bar

    Citorah says The Athenian House sits on the caldera cliffs here: a restaurant on three terraces looking out to Skaros Rock, and the Evzon Bar.

  • Citorah PickBeach club · Santorini

    Wet Stories

    Citorah says Perivolos has beach bars: Wet Stories hosts DJ parties, and Seaside, between Perivolos and Agios Georgios, calls itself a beach and sunset lounge bar.

    The catch Neither site had been updated for 2026 when we checked in October, so check they’re open before you plan around them.

  • Citorah PickBeach club · Santorini

    Seaside

    Citorah says Perivolos has beach bars: Wet Stories hosts DJ parties, and Seaside, between Perivolos and Agios Georgios, calls itself a beach and sunset lounge bar.

    The catch Neither site had been updated for 2026 when we checked in October, so check they’re open before you plan around them.

Things to do in Santorini

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  • Citorah PickSight · Santorini

    Akrotiri

    Citorah says Akrotiri, the prehistoric town preserved under volcanic ash, 15 km from Fira, in the island’s south-west.

    The catch Ancient Thera, which the same ticket covers, has been closed since 27 June 2026, until further notice.

  • Citorah PickSight · Santorini

    Nea Kameni

    Citorah says The islets of Nea Kameni and Palia Kameni, in the middle of the caldera, are what santorini.gr calls “the volcano”. You can go on an organised tour or arrange the trip yourself. The path climbs to the top of Nea Kameni, 127 metres up, and the boat then stops for a swim in the hot springs of Agios Nikolaos, at Palia Kameni.

  • Citorah PickBeach · Santorini

    Perissa

    Citorah says Santorini.gr calls Perissa “a sprawling fully-organized beach with black sands”

  • Citorah PickBeach · Santorini

    Perivolos

    Citorah says For a beach stay, Perissa, Perivolos and Agios Georgios form what the official tourism site calls “an expansive five-kilometre stretch of black sand, replete with beach bars”.

  • Citorah PickBeach · Santorini

    Agios Georgios

    Citorah says For a beach stay, Perissa, Perivolos and Agios Georgios form what the official tourism site calls “an expansive five-kilometre stretch of black sand, replete with beach bars”.

  • Citorah PickSight · Santorini

    Ammoudi Bay

    Citorah says A small fishing port about 300 steps below Oia, for a fish dinner by the water

  • Citorah PickSight · Santorini

    Akrotiri lighthouse

    Citorah says At the south-western tip of the island

  • Citorah PickSight · Santorini

    Skaros Rock

    Citorah says Imerovigli is the caldera village just north of Fira, with Skaros Rock as its landmark. Santorini’s official visitor site recommends a walk out to the rock and a visit to the church of Panagia Malteza.

  • Citorah PickSight · Santorini

    Panagia Malteza

    Citorah says Imerovigli is the caldera village just north of Fira, with Skaros Rock as its landmark. Santorini’s official visitor site recommends a walk out to the rock and a visit to the church of Panagia Malteza.

  • Citorah PickVenue · Santorini

    Cine Kamari

    Citorah says Kamari has Cine Kamari, an open-air cinema showing films in English with Greek subtitles.

    The catch Its 2026 season has ended; it reopens in May 2027.

  • Citorah PickDay trip · Santorini

    Pyrgos

    Citorah says A day inland in Pyrgos, the hillside village that has been a protected settlement since 1995.

  • Citorah PickBeach · Santorini

    Kamari

    Citorah says Santorini.gr calls Kamari “a beautiful stretch of black volcanic sand”

Other neighbourhoods

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  • Neighbourhood · 24 places

    Athens

    Spend a night or two in Athens at the start or end of the trip, or skip it and fly straight to an island. It’s worth a night even if the trip is about the islands: the Acropolis at golden hour justifies the detour.

    Best for first-timers · culture-first trips · anyone flying in and out of Athens

  • Neighbourhood · 22 places

    Mykonos

    Mykonos is the party island, built around its beach clubs: Scorpios on Paraga beach, Nammos on Psarou, Principote at Panormos and Branco on Platys Gialos.

    Best for groups whose trip is the scene: beach clubs, long lunches, late nights.

  • Neighbourhood · 6 places

    Crete

    Crete is the largest Greek island, and the one most travellers should consider for a real island holiday.

    Best for week-long trips · families · anyone who wants one base and a hire car

  • Neighbourhood · 14 places

    Paros and Naxos

    Paros lies at the centre of the Cyclades, says GNTO, and Naxos is the largest and most fertile island in the group. Both have the white-and-blue Cycladic look, long sandy beaches, and less hype than Mykonos and Santorini.

    Best for travellers who want the Cycladic look with less hype · couples · families on a multi-island trip

  • Neighbourhood · 7 places

    Rhodes and Corfu

    Rhodes (in the Dodecanese) and Corfu (in the Ionian) feel very different from the Cyclades. Rhodes has its Medieval Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the village of Lindos with its acropolis.

    Best for families · anyone who wants an old town and a resort on the same island

  • Neighbourhood · 3 places

    Hydra, Spetses and Aegina

    The Saronic islands make an easy weekend from Athens, and a good extra-night option if you’d otherwise lose a day flying to a more distant island.

    Best for an extra night or two from Athens · anyone who’d rather not lose a day flying

Plan the trip

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