Where to stay in Santorini

The one decision that shapes everything

Santorini’s accommodation question is not really “which hotel”. It is caldera rim or beach coast, and that single choice decides your view, your budget, your walking and how your days are shaped.

• The caldera rim - Oia, Imerovigli, Firostefani, Fira - is the Santorini of the photographs: white villages along a cliff several hundred metres above a drowned volcano. You pay a large premium for that, and you walk up and down a lot of steps. There is no beach beneath you.
• The beach coast - Kamari, Perissa, Perivolos - is the flat, dark-sand side of the island. Far cheaper, you can walk to the sea, and you have no caldera view at all.

Neither is wrong. Booking the rim and then spending every day at the beach is wrong, and so is booking the beach for a honeymoon built around the sunset.

This page names areas, not hotels. We have not slept in Santorini’s hotels, so we will not rank them. What we can tell you is exactly what each area is like to stay in, which is the part that is hard to work out from a booking site.

The areas at a glance

The caldera rim, area by area

Area	The view	Feel	Walk to a beach	Costs
Oia	The caldera, and the sunset	Beautiful, crowded, polished	No	Highest
Imerovigli	The caldera, highest point of the rim	Quiet, romantic, few shops	No	High
Firostefani	The caldera	Calm, walkable to Fira	No	High
Fira	The caldera	Busy, central, nightlife, bus hub	No	High–mid
Pyrgos / Megalochori	Inland, over the island	Traditional, local, very quiet	No	Mid
Kamari	None	Organised resort beach, families	Yes	Mid–low
Perissa / Perivolos	None	Longer, looser beach strip	Yes	Lowest
Akrotiri	Some caldera	Very quiet, needs a car	Near	Mid–low

Oia is the famous one, at the northern tip. It is genuinely beautiful and it is genuinely mobbed - the sunset crowd is a phenomenon in its own right, and the main lane becomes difficult to walk in the hour before it. Staying here means you are inside the crush rather than travelling into it, which is either the best reason to stay or the best reason not to. Highest prices on the island.

Imerovigli is the highest point of the rim, between Oia and Fira. It has the same caldera view, a fraction of the crowd, and very little else: a handful of places to eat, no real nightlife, and a lot of steps. It is the standard recommendation for couples who want the view without the circus.

Firostefani sits just above Fira and is the quiet compromise - caldera view, a ten-minute walk into the island’s main town, calmer streets and slightly lower prices than Imerovigli.

Fira is the capital and the transport hub. Buses radiate from here, so it is the easiest base without a car. It also has the island’s nightlife, which means noise, and it is busy in a way the other rim villages are not. If you want to be able to do everything without driving, this is the practical choice.

The rim’s universal caveat: steps. These villages are built down a cliff face. Rooms are reached by stairs, often many of them, and “sea view” and “step-free” rarely coexist. If anyone in your party has limited mobility, read accessibility in Greece and ask the property directly rather than trusting a listing.

The beach coast

Kamari is the organised one: a long dark-sand beach under the bulk of Mesa Vouno, with a promenade, sunbeds and a family-resort feel. It is the easiest beach base, and the closest to the airport - which is also the catch, as you will hear aircraft.

Perissa and Perivolos sit on the other side of the same headland: a longer, looser, slightly younger strip with the cheapest rooms on the island and a good run of beach bars. Perivolos is the quieter southern end.

The honest trade on this coast: the sand is black volcanic sand and it gets extremely hot - hot enough that crossing it barefoot at midday is a genuinely bad idea. Bring something for your feet. The sea shelves quickly on much of this coast too, so it is less forgiving for small children than the shallow sandy islands like Naxos.

You can visit the caldera easily from here - Fira is a short bus ride - so a beach base does not cut you off from the views. It just means the views are an outing rather than a window.

The quiet inland option

Pyrgos and Megalochori sit inland on the island’s high ground. They are traditional villages, still lived in, with far fewer visitors, real tavernas and views over the whole island rather than down the caldera. Prices are mid-range.

The trade is that you will want a car, and you are not walking to either a beach or a sunset. For a second visit to Santorini, or for travellers who find the rim exhausting, this is often the best part of the island to sleep in.

Akrotiri, at the south-western tip near the excavated Bronze Age town, is quieter still and has some caldera outlook. It needs a car.

Do you need a car?

Mostly no, and often it is a liability. Santorini is small, the bus network radiates from Fira and covers the places most people go, and parking in Oia and Fira in high season is genuinely difficult.

Hire a car if you are staying inland, or if you want the south of the island on your own schedule. Otherwise buses plus the occasional taxi is cheaper and less stressful. See which islands need a car.

How the areas map onto trips

• Honeymoon or a couple’s trip built around the view: Imerovigli, or Firostefani for a bit more life.
• First visit, no car, want to see everything: Fira.
• Inside the famous village, accepting the crowds: Oia.
• Families, swimming, keeping costs down: Kamari.
• Cheapest workable base: Perissa or Perivolos.
• Second visit, or you want the island rather than the postcard: Pyrgos or Megalochori.

When to book

Santorini is the most heavily-booked island in Greece, and the rim villages have a small, finite number of rooms with a caldera view. For July and August, book months out. For the shoulder season you have more room, but the best-positioned places still go early.

If you are coming by boat, note that ferries dock at Athinios, well below the towns up a steep switchback road - arrange your transfer before you arrive. Getting to the island at all is covered in Athens to Santorini and Mykonos to Santorini.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best area to stay in Santorini?

It depends on what you came for. Imerovigli for the caldera view without Oia’s crowds, Fira if you want to get around by bus and have things open around you, Oia if being inside the famous village matters more than the crowds, and Kamari or Perissa if you want to walk to a beach and spend less.

Is it worth paying for a caldera view in Santorini?

If the view is the reason you chose Santorini, yes - it is the island’s actual product and there is no cheap substitute. If you plan to spend your days swimming, no: you will pay a large premium for a view you are not in, and the rim has no beach beneath it.

Where should I stay in Santorini on a budget?

Perissa and Perivolos are the cheapest workable bases, with Kamari close behind. All three are on the beach coast with no caldera view, and all three connect to Fira by bus.

Where should I stay in Santorini for the first time?

Fira if you have no car, because the bus network radiates from it and you can reach the rest of the island easily. Firostefani if you want the caldera view but still want to walk into town.

Do I need a car in Santorini?

Usually not. The island is small, buses run from Fira to most places visitors go, and parking in Oia and Fira is difficult in summer. A car is worth it mainly if you stay inland or want the south on your own schedule.

Is Santorini’s beach coast worth staying on?

Yes, if you want to swim. Kamari and Perissa are proper beaches with a promenade and a resort infrastructure, and they cost far less than the rim. Be ready for black volcanic sand that gets very hot, and take the bus up to the caldera for the views.

Next

Read the Santorini travel guide for the island as a whole, the Santorini beaches for the swimming, or work out whether it is the right island at all with Santorini vs Mykonos and Santorini vs Naxos.