I visited Santorini in April of 2022 and had an absolute blast. It is definitely a bucket list destination because of its gorgeous views, unique landscape, awesome food and so much more. With that being said, there are a some things I think people should know before traveling to this magical island. Here is a list of 10 things to know before visiting Santorini.
1. Santorini Is Expensive
Especially if you are coming from Athens the prices are about 3X in Santorini compared to Athens. There are some budget friendly hotels and restaurants but most are quite expensive. I don’t recommend visiting Santorini if you’re on a tight budget, you’ll have a lot more fun if you can pay the higher prices for the views and and activities. With that being said, Santorini deserves to have these prices! It is an island in the middle of the Aegean Sea and getting anything here is expensive. Just prepare yourself for the prices and know it’s totally worth it for these views!
2. Skip Red Beach and check out other Beaches
I actually tried to go to Red Beach because I read so many controversial blog posts before we went and I wanted to see for myself. I read that it was unsafe for tourists due to landslides, but people just ignored the signs and kept visiting it. When I got in the taxi and asked to go there the driver turned to me and said, “I really don’t want you to go. It is unsafe, one time I took people there and they got hurt. I wish people would stop going because erosion is happening quickly there.” I was glad he told me and decided to walk the hike towards Oia instead. If you’re looking to check out other beaches I recommend Kamari Beach, Perissa Beach, and Caldera Beach.
3. A lot of the Jacuzzi’s are cold in Santorini
Yup. You read that correctly. When I think of a jacuzzi, the last thing that comes to mind is that it could be cold. During Santorini’s busy season temperatures can rise to about 100 degrees F, so when that’s the case you wouldn’t really want hot water to soak in I guess. When we were visiting in April our Jacuzzi at Amelot Art Suites was warm and we were so grateful. Unfortunately when we got to our hotel in Oia though, our jacuzzi was cold and when we asked about it and looked online it is actually more common for your jacuzzi to be lukewarm than hot in Santorini. I recommend reaching out to your hotel before you book and make sure that their jacuzzis are heated so you aren’t surprised when you get there.
4. You will get sunburnt, even in April
Woooo mama, I made it the first week in Greece without sunburn but on our first day in Oia we ended up having to wait longer than we planned for our taxi and I got fried. The Santorini sun is no joke and I highly recommend bringing a hat, lathering your body in sunscreen and bringing sunscreen for your scalp as that’s where we got burnt the most! This is my favorite sunscreen for your scalp.
5. The service is hit or miss and restaurants close for breaks whenever they want
This is the laid back lifestyle of Europe that I love at times and hate as times. Where I struggled with Greece, was for the majority of restaurants we went to, the service didn’t seem to be a priority. But then there were a few places where the service completely blew us away. There was no consistency. Also, if an owner needs to run an errand, they will just put a sticky note on the door saying be back soon! So, even if hours are posted online, they might not be open! I always recommend calling ahead to make sure they are open and it’s even better to make reservations in Santorini as places fill up quickly. Although it can be unorganized, I promise the views and food will be worth the wait.
6. How to choose between Oia and Fira
As I write this I realize I don’t even have a straight answer for this question. If you have the opportunity to stay in both I highly recommend it. If I ever go back I would want to stay two nights in Fira and one night in Oia as they both have awesome things to offer. Everyone goes crazy for the sunsets in Oia, but the sunsets in Fira aren’t too bad either…
7. Crowds and Lines are insane come Summer
We visited Santorini in April and although it was busy at times, overall it was perfect. We didn’t have any long waits or huge crowds except for our sunset at Castle of Oia. If you are in Santorini anytime between May-October expect large crowds. If you want photos without large crowds make sure you get up extra early! I still think it’s worth it to visit Santorini in high season, I just prefer shoulder season because I feel you get more time to chat with locals, experience the culture and not have to worry about long lines.
8. Not Everything Will Be on Time
I hate to say anything bad about Greece as I really loved my time here and would highly recommend visiting. With that being said, I always want to be honest and I’ve got to say, Greece is one of the most unorganized countries I’ve ever been to. Some tours and pickups were exactly on time and others were extremely late. The airports were the most unorganized I’ve ever experienced. I also understand airports worldwide are quite a mess right now due to staffing shortages. The difference was the airport workers were unorganized AND rude and that was a bummer.
I only warn you about this because I wouldn’t recommend having a tight schedule in Greece. Give yourself a few buffer hours before and after activities so you aren’t late to everything. Here is a photo from our wine tour with Santorini Wine Tour. Although, not everything was on time in Santorini, this tour was and I couldn’t recommend their Santorini Wine Roads Tour more!
9. Listen to the No Enter Signs in Santorini
This is something that really frustrated me when visiting Santorini. I know everyone wants the best Instagram photos, but that doesn’t mean you can walk on someone’s private property to do so. I saw so many people ignore the signs, Please be aware of the “Do Not Enter” signs and respect the local’s properties. This way we can continue to visit beautiful places like this!
10. Santorini is very different from Mykonos
If you’re coming from Mykonos and you expect Santorini to be the same, it’s going to prove you wrong immediately. Now, you can create your own chill beach vacation on each island, but aside from that the overall vibes are quite different. Santorini is more of a day drinking and sightseeing town and everything starts to shut down after sunset. Mykonos on the other hand is pretty chill during the day as most people are hungover from the night before and then it really starts to come alive around 11pm. We were definitely in bed by then, but the wild parties are there for you if you want them! Also, Mykonos is known as the windy island so expect temperatures to be a bit colder here especially if you are visiting in the Spring!
I hope this blog post was helpful as you plan your trip to Santorini! Thanks so much for reading along and please let me know how your trip goes. I loved this magical island and love hearing about how others enjoyed it as well. Click this link to check out my other posts about Greece.
