It is also black. Santorini has no pale sand anywhere, and Kamari is dark volcanic grit rather than the fine white stuff people arrive expecting.
Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.
The sand gets too hot to walk on, and that is not an exaggeration
This is the single most useful thing to know before you go. Dark volcanic sand absorbs heat all morning, and by the middle of a July afternoon crossing it barefoot is genuinely painful rather than merely uncomfortable.
Bring something for your feet. Flip-flops to the water’s edge, and swim shoes if you burn easily, because the same grit is coarse underfoot in the shallows.
The sunbed rows exist partly for this reason: they are the shaded, walkable spine of the beach.
It is the organised end of Santorini swimming
Kamari is not a wild beach and does not pretend to be. Expect:
- Sunbeds and umbrellas in rows for most of its length, with the free sand at the margins
- A paved promenade immediately behind, with places to eat and drink all along it
- Water sports at the busier central stretch
- A lifeguard presence in high season, which is not universal on Greek beaches
If you want the beach organised, this is where to be. If you want an empty cove, Santorini is the wrong island and the south coast around Vlychada is the closer compromise.
The water shelves quickly
The sea off Kamari drops away faster than it does off a shallow sandy island like Naxos. It is fine for confident swimmers and worth knowing about with small children, who can be out of their depth closer to shore than the flat surface suggests.
The bay is fairly sheltered from the summer meltemi, which blows from the north, so the water here is often calmer than on the exposed coasts.
Mesa Vouno, and what is on top of it
The rock at the southern end is not scenery. Ancient Thera, the Hellenistic and Roman town, sits on the ridge above, and the road up switches back from Kamari itself. It is a genuine hilltop archaeological site with a view down the whole south-east coast, and almost nobody on the beach below climbs it.
The same headland separates Kamari from Perissa on the other side. They are minutes apart on foot over the rock and a long way apart by road.
Kamari or Perissa?
They are the same dark sand and the same mountain, from opposite sides, so the choice is about character rather than scenery:
- Kamari is tidier, slightly older in feel, with a paved promenade and a more hotel-led strip.
- Perissa is looser, cheaper and younger, and runs on into Perivolos with the beach bars.
Neither has a caldera view. Both are a bus ride from Fira. If you cannot decide, where to stay in Santorini sets out the whole rim-versus-coast question that sits underneath it.
Getting there
Kamari is on the south-east coast, and buses run there from Fira through the day in season. It is also the closest beach to the airport, which is a short drive north - close enough that you will hear aircraft, which is the honest trade for the convenience.
Parking exists behind the promenade and fills in August.
What to take from this page
Come for an organised swim with somewhere to eat behind you, not for a picture-postcard beach. Bring footwear for the sand, expect the water to get deep quickly, and climb Mesa Vouno to Ancient Thera if you have a spare morning - it is the part of Kamari that most visitors never see.
Last checked August 2026. Prices, opening hours and sunbed arrangements change - see our editorial policy.
Common questions
Is Kamari beach sandy?
It is sand rather than pebble, but black volcanic sand rather than pale grit, and it is coarser underfoot than the sandy beaches of the Cyclades islands further north.
Why is the sand at Kamari black?
Santorini is a volcano. The dark sand is weathered volcanic rock, and it is the same story on every beach on the island - there is no pale sand anywhere on Santorini.
Does the sand at Kamari get hot?
Very. Dark sand absorbs heat, and by mid-afternoon in high summer crossing it barefoot is painful. Bring flip-flops or swim shoes.
Is Kamari or Perissa better?
They share the same dark sand and the same headland between them. Kamari is tidier and more hotel-led with a paved promenade; Perissa is looser, cheaper and younger.
Can you walk from Kamari to Perissa?
There is a path over Mesa Vouno, the rock between them, and it is a real climb rather than a stroll. By road they are a long way apart.
What is on the mountain above Kamari?
Ancient Thera, a Hellenistic and Roman town on the ridge, reached by a switchback road from Kamari. Few people on the beach make the trip up.
Next
Read Santorini beaches for the whole coast, where to stay in Santorini for the rim-or-beach decision, or the Santorini travel guide.