The Old Port below Fira where the only way up and down to the town is by donkeys, cable car or to walk. GaryRBenson/Getty Images
Tossed like a boomerang into the Aegean Sea and shaped by the towering cliffs of its caldera, Santorini is an island defined by geography and geology. For millennia, this island has been rocked by earthquakes and buried under hot ash and lava - the volcano last blew its top in 1950, though it grumbled back in 2012. And the result is an island of smouldering, cinematic beauty, with shimmering white Cycladic houses contrasting with the cobalt blue domes of Orthodox churches, black-sand beaches glittering like the midnight sky and fiery sunsets.
Lovely? Yes, but everyone else thinks so too. With a year-round population of 15,500 and visitor numbers topping 3.4 million, this dinky island has become a poster-child for overtourism. If you travel to Santorini, sidestep the peak summer months and get started with these 12 unmissables.
1. Fira
Best for volcanic drama
The best way to arrive in Santorini’s capital, Fira, is by sea. As you sail into the immense crater of the drowned volcano, gaze up to dark, rugged cliffs whooshing above the blue sparkle of the Aegean and the town rising in a helter-skelter of Cycladic houses in whites, pinks and ochres, blue-domed churches and curving facades. Puff up the 588 steps that stagger along cliffs from the Old Port to the alley-woven, flower-draped center of town and the magic is complete.
Culturally, there’s plenty to keep you here, including the Museum of Prehistoric Thera, hiding treasures from Minoan ceramics to fossilized olive-tree leaves dating back to 60,000 BC, and the lavishly frescoed Orthodox Cathedral. For entrancing views, hike to Skaros Rock, a jagged peninsula jutting out into the caldera, once crowned by a 15th-century fort that protected the island from pirates.
Planning tip: With a year-round population of 1500 and as many as 17,000 visitors daily rocking up in summer, Fira gets insanely busy. Avoid the high summer season when the town groans under the weight of Instagrammers and cruise ship day-trippers.
2. Ancient Akrotiri
Best for a real-life Atlantis
A spectacular Minoan city buried under volcanic ash from a cataclysmic eruption in 1613 BC, Akrotiri is right up there among the candidates for a real-life Atlantis. In the island’s south, Ancient Akrotiri wings you back to the brilliance of the Bronze Age and a once vibrant hub of trade and culture, as you stroll among well-preserved ruins, including three-story buildings, drainage systems and pottery. There’s no need to brave the heat as they are housed in a cool, bioclimatic shelter, with wooden walkways allowing you to explore freely.
After a morning at Akrotiri, spend the rest of the day on secluded southern coves like White Beach, only reachable by boat, before heading to Akrotiri Lighthouse at the tip of the promontory to see the sky turn to flame at sunset.
Planning tip: Frequent buses run from Fira to Akrotiri, a journey of 20 minutes. Arrive as early as you can (the site opens at 8am) to beat crowds.
3. Vlichada Beach
Best for bizarre rocks and baring all
Wind and waves have dramatically sculpted the crumbling, softly layered ochre cliffs rising above Vlichada Beach on Santorini’s south coast. Formed from white pumice and volcanic ash, the weirdly shaped cliffs are like the stage-set for a fantasy film, diving down to dark sands and the bright blue Aegean. At sunset, the rocks take on an otherworldly golden glow.
You can keep your bathers on or strip down (this is one of Santorini’s few nude beaches). Or if lounging around isn’t your jam, saddle up to ride along the beach by horseback. Efippos arrange trots of an hour or two along the coast.
Planning tip: Before the island was shaken by the 1956 earthquake, it processed a lot of tomatoes. Lodged in a former tomato factory, the Tomato Industrial Museum spills the beans on this unique slice of island heritage.
4. Oia
Best for postcard views and dreamy sunsets
If ever a village could shout about the beauty of the Greek islands from the rooftops, it would be Oia at Santorni’s northern tip: a crazily pretty parade of Cycladic sugar-cube houses, cobalt-blue domes, windmills, bougainvillea-draped gardens and boutique cave hotels with infinity pools marching up the steep caldera slopes. Just listen to the tuts of the many visitors roaming its narrow, whitewashed alleys in summer as they try - and fail - to capture its looks.
Roam Oia’s hidden corners and courtyards and you’ll find treasures, such as The Gallery, where island blues are captured on canvas by local artists, the Maritime Museum, shining a light on Santorini’s nautical history, and KooKoo Bar, where you can sip a cocktail or dig into lamb kebabs and feta-topped prawn saganaki (small plates) as the sun fizzes into the Aegean. The peach-pink sunsets here are among Greece’s most entrancing.
Planning tip: Let’s face it: you’re never going to have Oia all to yourself, but you can avoid the madding crowds by visiting in the shoulder seasons. In summer, it’s rammed.
5. Red (Kokkini) Beach
Best for lazy beach days
After a line-up of black-sand beaches on Santorini, you might do a double take when you clap eyes on surreally color-charged Kokkini in the island’s southern crook. Rust-red and ochre cliffs that blush fiercely at sunset and boulders give the beach a wild, near-otherworldly feel and winds create swirling patterns in the volcanic sands and shingle. Like all of the best beaches, it can only be reached on foot (a trail leads down from the car park) or by boat. Pop on a snorkel to swim in the glassy teal waters.
Lunch, you say? Just around the headland is the Cave of Nikolas, a family-run taverna hewn into the rock face, where you can dig into boat-fresh fish and calamari and island faves like caper-studded fava, stuffed zucchini flowers and sweet, creamy Chloro ewe’s milk cheese.
Planning tip: Whatever you do, avoid the beach during the peak summer crush, when towel space is at a premium. Arrive early to snag a good spot. Wear sturdy shoes for the walk down.
6. Ancient Thira
Best for archaeological wonders
It’s only a 4km drive from Kamari to Ancient Thira, but it’s 4km (2.48 miles) you’ll never forget. The heart-racing drive zigzags precariously around switchbacks, with cliffs sheering into the brilliant blue sea adding to the drama. And then, high on the rocky promontory of Mesa Vouno, are the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine ruins of temples, houses with mosaics, an agora (market), a theatre and a gymnasium. The Dorians from Sparta first settled here in the 9th century BC.
Planning tip: Arrive early to have the atmospheric ruins all to yourself, as well as some of the most riveting views on the island, reaching across the vast blue Aegean to the neighboring island of Anafi. There’s no public transport so drive - if you have the nerve - or hike up.
7. Moni Profitis Ilias
Best for heavenly views
To see the entire island from on high, buckle up for the heart-racing drive along a zigzagging mountain road to Moni Profitis Ilias, a three-domed monastery held aloft on the 567m-high (1860ft) peak of the same name. Built mighty and fortress-like in the early 18th century to ward off pirate attacks, the monastery is still inhabited by a handful of monks, so is largely off limits. But you can visit nearby churches and chapels and pop into the shop to buy monk-made products from wine to honey, candles and olive oil. And the sunsets up here are special.
If you want to explore further, tackle the challenging 6km (3.7-mile), two-hour hike that leads steeply down from the monastery to the seaside village of Perissa, with mesmerizing views of the island and caldera.
Planning tip: If you’re not up for walking, you’ll need your own wheels to drive up here as there’s no public transport.
8. Nea Kameni
Best for hot springs and caldera views
You can admire Santorini’s crescent-shaped caldera from many photogenic angles, but to really appreciate the island’s explosive beauty, hook onto a guided trip to the volcanic islet of Nea Kameni, a 15-minute boat ride from Fira. Here, swap sandals or flip-flops for solid shoes and make the half-hour hike up past lava formations and through the ashen landscape to the still-active volcano, where you can peer into the dark depths of its crater. The views back over to Fira and Oia are phenomenal.
Most trips round out at the hot springs of Palea Kameni, where you can leap off the boat and swim in red-green, sulphuric waters purported to cure many ills.
Planning tip: The trails are exposed and in summer the heat can be overwhelming. Bring plenty of water, a hat and sunscreen. Also, start early in the day to avoid the heat and high sun.
9. Emporio
Best for traditional Greek life
In the foothills of Mount Profitis Ilias and topped off by a Venetian castle, the village of Emporio wings you back to pre-dawn of tourism Santorini in medina-like alleys pounded by centuries of sandal leather. The whites and ochres of softly contoured cave houses hacked out of the volcanic rock make every corner a potential photo op.
Go for a wander here to tune into the island’s more traditional side, stumbling across hidden courtyards and artisan studios, and stopping off at bakeries, cafes and tavernas. There’s joy to be had in aimless ambling, but you’ll want to see the blue-domed, fresco-filled Church of Panagia Mesiani and the historic windmills atop Gavrilos Hill.
Planning tip: For a roof terrace with staggering views out to sea, head to The Old Barber Shop, smuggled away down a back alley, for coffee, breakfast and classic Greek faves.
10. Ammoudi Bay
Best for a fish lunch by the sea
The tiny thumbprint at the island’s northwest tip is Ammoudi Bay, a traditional fishing port that unfurls at the foot of the village of Oia and is reached by tripping down some 300 steps. Canyon-like, rust-red cliffs soar above the harbor, which sizzles with life come midday, as grills are fired up to cook freshly cooked octopus and fish, smoke filling the air and piquing appetites. Arrive bright and early to see the fishermen hauling in the day’s catch, or come for a lazy lunch at a taverna like Dimitris Ammoudi, serving lobster spaghetti and shrimp saganaki right by the water’s edge.
For more adventure - or just to watch others being adventurous - wander along the boulder-strewn path and swim over to the rocky islet of St Nicholas, where cliff jumpers leap into brilliant blue waters. Or in summer, board a boat over to the small, serene island of Thirasia, which is like a micro shot of Santorini before tourism took hold.
Planning tip: Wear solid shoes for the walk down to Ammoudi and bring water shoes for sharp rocks and sea urchins if you’re planning on swimming or cliff jumping.
11. Pyrgos Kallistis
Best for quiet hill town vibes
Clinging to a hillside in a vision of white and blue, Pyrgos Kallistis in Santorini’s rugged heart is a knockout. The mood is mellow here, giving flickers of traditional island life in alleys that twist to courtyards where cats lounge in the sun and rooftop cafes peek out across rooftops and church domes to the blue ribbon of the Aegean Sea. Right at the top is a ruined Venetian castle with widescreen views of the island that are never lovelier than when the sun dips like a huge ball of fire into the sea. Franco’s delivers a fine panorama over a frappe or cocktail.
For a tasting of zingy white and honeyed dessert wines - as well as more sensational views - stop by the Santo Winery.
Planning tip: Pyrgos is too lovely to rush and you can stay the night in some fabulous B&B’s with caldera views for a fraction of the price on the coast. Particularly special are the Arexegono Cave Houses in a family-owned winery dating to 1870.
12. Kamari
Best for watersports
Cliffs rise sheer and rugged above a great sweep of black sand, pebbles and startlingly blue waters at Kamari on Santorini’s east coast. If you’re after seclusion, go elsewhere - this is the beach to ramp up the action a notch with a flurry of watersports tempting you out onto and under the water - canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, tubing, jet skiing and diving to caves and wrecks with Dive Center Volcano - you name it, it’s here. By night, the promenade fizzes with life in its array of cafes, tavernas, bars and clubs.
Planning tip: Stay into the evening to catch a movie at Kamari’s incredible amphitheatre-like open-air cinema. Arrive as the doors open at 8:30pm as they don’t take bookings.
Plan with a local
