Is Santorini worth visiting? – A travel lover’s honest opinion

In our Greece Travel Reflection, I (Jaisy) told the story of how I’d once bought a large George Meis print of Oia, Santorini at the college poster fair. At the time, my rental room was painted a bright blue, and I’d decorated it with white paper lanterns, gauzy white curtains, and flowers in brightly coloured vases.

Fast forward a decade later, and we were standing in Oia, the very picture of what I’d been seeking to emulate right before our eyes. We stayed in Santorini for three days and two nights, the last stop on our two week trip to Greece.

It took us over 2 hours to find our way to our first hotel. We wandered about the alleyways in scorching heat, frequently squeezing between crowds of visitors. On our way, we passed nearly a dozen couples shooting their engagements/weddings. Our first night, we paid quadruple the price for a meal than we had paid anywhere else in Greece.

Was Santorini a dream come true? Or a bit of a rude awakening?

Is Santorini truly worth visiting as a travel destination, or is it best served as a dreamy landscape on the wall?

Our TL:DR answer is this: of course, Santorini is worth seeing. We wouldn’t take it back for the world. BUT. 1) Check your expectations. Santorini (Oia, in particular) offers a very specific type of experience. 2) You need to work a little bit harder to create the experience you want.

Santorini is worth seeing

Santorini is considered among the top 5 most beautiful islands in the world. It is *the* most romantic (or at least also amongst the top 5, depending on which list you’re consulting).

All those people can’t be wrong, right?

Santorini is *SO* easy on the eyes

Santorini is gorgeous. Period.

Most of Santorini is dry, a semi-arid desert island. But the towns are spectacular. Oia, especially, which is what I think most people refer to when they think of Santorini. The main towns sit along the lip of the caldera (the cone part of a volcanic “crater”), with mind-boggling views of the Aegean Sea. Combine that with the classic cyclades-island white sugar-cube houses and blue domed roofs, cobblestone pathways and doors that seemingly end at the sky, and flower trellises everywhere, and you have a picture-perfect view.

Go on a photo safari (or heck, why not have a photoshoot.) Stop at every corner. Take a thousand photos. (When we visited, a dust storm had blown in from across the Mediterranean, and it was hazy for two of our three days. It was still beautiful, but when the dust cleared – what a difference that made!)

Santorini is romantic, and luxurious

Or perhaps it could be said, Santorini is romantic *because* it is luxurious.

It’s nice to stroll hand-in-hand around Oia, or watch sunset from Oia castle. But I would argue you can get these experiences (more intimately without the crowds) on any other Greek island.

In our opinion, what elevates Santorini as a “romantic” destination compared to its Cyclades neighbours is its level of luxury. Luxury boutique hotels with infinity pools overlooking the sea, high end restaurants where you get to dress up for dinner, the option to book private yachts and luxury sailing trips. If you want a few days of pampering, Santorini is the perfect getaway for couples.

We booked two different “mid-range” luxury hotels for our two nights. Each hotel had a very different vibe, but we could have easily spent our entire time on our private patio or by the hotel pool, sipping wine and enjoying each other’s company. By the Aegean Sea, under the Mediterranean sun – it could be the title of a movie. (Or a George Meis Poster… just sayin’.)

Check your expectations

The entire notion of expectations is probably why the debate on whether Santorini is worth seeing arises at all. Visitors – like myself – come to Santorini with such high expectations.

Santorini is beautiful and luxurious, there is no question about it. But because it’s such a tourist hotspot, Santorini has lost a lot of the authentic and rustic charm you find on many other Greek islands.

I should add that there are many quieter places in Santorini. We’re mostly talking about Oia, with the most famous views (and also the most expensive).

And boy, is it expensive. You pay a hefty premium for any hotel with a caldera view. Food is expensive. Drinks are expensive. And there are a lot of high end shops.

Then, I would be wary of touristy gimmicks. One of the most notable is the donkey ride you can take going up and down the cliffs of the caldera to the bay below. (While it might be tempting, these donkeys are not well treated. PETA has been petitioning to stop the way these animals are handled.)

The main thing to be mindful of, is just to expect everything to be touristy.

You won’t find locals on their front steps feeding the town’s “stray” cats, like we did in Milos. You won’t find the local children playing around the central square, like we did in Nafplio. By contrast, boutique and souvenir shops and restaurants line the pathways in Oia, and the infamous doors and gates “to nowhere”, mostly lead to hotels nestled along the cliff face.

The base of the infamous windmill at Oia’s tip is actually… a cafe.

And speaking of that windmill. To get that infamous sunset shot of Oia from Oia Castle, you need to get there at least an hour early to stake out a spot. (This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – while waiting, we met a lovely couple traveling from Argentina.)

Create the experience you want

With all of that being said, you *can* still have the kind of experience you want in Santorini. You just have to work a little harder around planning it.

We knew what we were getting into going to Santorini. Our goal was to relax and luxuriate with the beautiful view of the caldera and the Aegean. That was it. We didn’t plan to chase history or culture (which we experienced in plenty in mainland Greece), or beaches or swimming (which we did in Milos).

We are generally budget travellers with the occasional spurge, and Santorini was it. Believe it or not, Santorini does have budget-friendly hotels, mostly on the non-caldera side. We really wanted those caldera views, so paid the premium for it.

Our hotel on the first night was at the edge of town, at the Gabbiano Traditional Cave House. It had a generous sitting area and luxurious bedroom in traditional aesthetics. No pool (although each suite now has a large Jacuzzi), but a large patio from which you can see all of Oia.

Our second hotel was right in the heart of Oia, the Delfini Villas, through one of those gates that open to nowhere. (In actuality, those gates open to steps that lead to the hotel reception.) This hotel did have a pool, and we spent most of our day there, with a million-dollar view, which was *exactly* what we’d come here to do.

We treated ourselves to dinners out (I tried octopus for the first time!) but cut down on food costs by buying groceries and our own wine from the store.

We did most of our Oia-wanderings early in the morning, and took our time admiring the town before most of the crowds and cruise ship passengers arrived for the day.

As to what else Santorini has to offer…

Besides Oia, you can choose to stay in Fira (Santorini’s capital, close to the port). Fira is vibrant and hectically busy during the day with tourists and traffic, but has more of a nightlife. Firastefani is an extension of Fira (the “suburb”, if you will) – it is much quieter, with boutique hotels and lovely views.

If you want an even more intimate experience, choose to stay in Imerovigli, a village between Fira and Oia. It is the highest village along the caldera, boosts a gorgeous view of the Aegean, and a popular destination for honeymooners.

And if you want to be more adventurous, there are hiking options, ruins and archeological sites to explore, wine tours (wine is a big part of Santorini agriculture), and beaches. The most notable beaches in Santorini are Red Beach and Perissa Beach. But to be honest, unless you’re spending your entire vacation in Santorini, it’s best to look elsewhere in Greece for this.

Final thoughts – is Santorini worth visiting?

Ultimately (possibly because of idyllic girlish dreams in college) we considered Santorini a must visit destination on our Greek island itinerary. We were not disappointed. Getting to savour such gorgeous scenery in such an idyllic place made us feel on top of the world. Can you say you’ve seen Greece without having been to one of its top destinations? We strongly recommend adding Santorini to your Greek itinerary. See firsthand what all the hype is about, and you will be charmed and enchanted along the way. Santorini might not offer everything, but it perfectly compliments everything else Greece had to offer.