The caldera clifftop, cave houses, whitewashed churches, blue domes and THAT sunset – everyone should try to spend at least one day in Santorini (and a night too, ideally…).
Here’s our guide to spending one day in Santorini, the extraordinary volcanic Greek island in the sparkling southern Aegean Sea.
If you have a day spare in your Greece itinerary then there is nowhere more spectacular to spend it than Santorini.
It’s one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe, indeed the world, with its whitewashed villages, cave houses and blue-domed churches, not to mention its breathtaking sunsets.
Staying overnight means you’ll get to experience a Santorini sunset. If your schedule doesn’t allow this we’ll show you how to see the best of Santorini in a day, giving you an unforgettable few hours in this amazing place.
We’ll also advise on possible tours, how to get around Santorini and places to eat. Enjoy!
Overview Of a 1 day Santorini itinerary
Here’s a quick snapshot of things you can see with a day in Santorini:
- Explore the white buildings and blue-domed churches in the beautiful village of Oia
- Visit gorgeous Ammoudi Bay
- Explore the beaches of Santorini
- See a famous Santorini sunsets at Fira
Why Visit Santorini
Santorini is one of the most beautiful Greek islands, with a unique, stunning landscape formed by volcanic eruptions.
Santorini’s architecture, with its cave houses and whitewashed churches with blue domes, is the most striking in Greece.
Santorini’s sunsets are among the most magical anywhere in the world, looking out over the Aegean Sea with the sun setting behind distant islands.
It’s also worth seeing at least one of the volcanic beaches in Santorini, where you’ll encounter mostly black sand.
One Day In Santorini Planning Tips
I’ve written this one-day trip to Santorini guide on the basis that you will be staying in Santorini for one night.
I’ll tell it straight. Seeing a Santorini sunset is by far the best Santorini experience that we had, and we’d strongly urge you to factor this into your overall Greece itinerary.
You can visit on a Santorini day trip from Crete, or from some of the neighbouring islands such as Ios, but the ferry schedules just aren’t conducive to seeing a sunset in Santorini, getting back to the port and then travelling onwards or back to wherever you’re staying.
I’ve included an alternative one day in Santorini guide for day trippers and cruise passengers who will only have a few (probably a maximum of eight) hours in Santorini. I also summarise these after the main itinerary.
Top Tip: Cruise ships call at Santorini, but give you very little time on the island. They berth in the caldera, with passengers making their way via boats to the Old Port below Fira.
By the time passengers make their way up to Fira (most will go by cable car, few will walk up, especially in the heat) and then the return journey later in the day, the most they will get in Santorini is eight hours.
With this in mind, we suggest a range of day tours – some covering the main sights in the villages of Oia and Fira, and others delving a little deeper, taking you to some of the best Santorini villages and beaches or to one of the Santorini vineyards.
Good to know: If you’re looking to see as much of Santorini as possible, hiring a car will get you around much further than if you’re using public transport.
If you’re relying on Santorini buses, you’ll have time to visit Fira, Oia and possibly one of the best beaches in Santorini.
How to spend a magical 24 hours in Santorini
Morning – Oia
You arrive in Santorini – either waking up in a hotel, arriving at the ferry port or, if you’re a cruise passenger, boarding a boat to get to Fira old port, from where you catch the cable car up to the main town.
If you opt to hire a car, we recommend booking through discover cars, which compareall agency prices, giving you best value for money.
If you’re travelling by bus, most Santorini buses terminate at Fira bus station, a 5-minute walk from the caldera.
Whether driving or travelling by bus, I suggest starting your day by catching a bus to Oia, half an hour away from Fira.
Oia (pronounced EE-a) is one of the most famous Santorini villages, where many people (and I mean hundreds) to a small area for sunset.
It’s a breathtakingly beautiful place, its simple white buildings and blue-domed churches among the most famous landmarks in Greece.
I suggest heading there in the morning so you can appreciate the blue domes without the sun flaring directly at you later in the day.
The famous three blue domes (pictured above) in Oia belong to two different churches, and make a striking sight with the whitewashed buildings around and the dramatic view over to Thirasia island.
The viewpoint for the three domes can be found off Oia’s main street, Nik. Nomikou – turn off near the Apollon Gallery shop.
You can also walk down to the Byzantine Castle for the famous view over the village with the Windmill. This is where massive crowds gather at sunset, but in the daytime you’ll only have a few visitors for company.
It’s one of the most beautiful villages in Europe, and this is one of the best views of it.
Noon – Lunch
Oia has plenty of places for lunch. Up in the village, Elinikon Oia is one of the best, a short walk away from the caldera and across the street from the Windmill of Oia.
Some of the best restaurants in Santorini are at the bottom of the hill from Oia in the waterfront Ammoudi Bay, including the Ammoudi Fish Tavern and Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna. You can either get there down a 278-step staircase or by taxi (usually around €10), and there’s also the option of walking down the steps then getting a taxi back up the hill – the restaurants will order a cab for you.
There is also a small swimming area around the corner from the restaurants, where you can swim out to a small islet and back.
Afternoon – Head For The Beach or Fira
If you’re staying overnight in Santorini then now is the time to visit one of the famous Santorini volcanic beaches. Most of them have black sand (it’s often close to pencil grey) but there aren’t too many places in the world to see it so there’s a novelty value to seeing one.
There is also a red beach in Santorini, more on which later in this section.
If you’re driving, I suggest driving the length of the island to the best and busiest of the Santorini beaches, Perissa beach.
The village has plenty of restaurants, and there is also a proliferation of beach bars stretching all the way to the far end of the sand, which is known as Perivolos beach.
We also recommend Vlychada beach in the south of the island.
TIP: – The black sand gets painfully hot on your feet. Wear some flip-flops.
Many visitors also make their way to Santorini Red Beach. It’s a spectacular sight, with dark red cliffs and sand, but it is not safe. Major rock falls have happened numerous times on this beach, most recently in 2022, so we recommend seeing it from the headland (from where I shot the image above) and heading back to your car or the bus stop.
Signs everywhere tell you not to go down to the beach – heed them.
Depending on how much time you have available, there are more beaches to explore in the vicinity of Akrotiri village. I loved Mesa Pigadia beach – also known as Black Beach Santorini – a secluded black sand strand with a great little taverna.
And there’s also Caldera Beach, the one Santorini beach that is on the caldera, at its southern end, below Akrotiri.
If you’re travelling by bus and still have a few hours after lunch, head back into Fira then change at the bus station for Perissa or Kamari, another great black Santorini beach just beyond the airport.
If you need to return to your cruise ship or ferry, you should catch the bus back from Oia, but don’t go all the way back to Fira – alight at Firostefani (the stops are all clearly announced) main square to begin your caldera walk to Fira.
Late Afternoon / Evening – Fira
However you get around the island, we recommend finishing your one day in Santorini in Fira. The caldera views are the main reason to visit Santorini, and this is the best place to spend the rest of your Santorini day.
There are many places to eat in Fira, but many of those with caldera views serve up mediocre food at extortionate prices. I found several places serving great food a little back from the caldera, including Romantica, which is close to the square in Firostefani, at the northern end of Fira.
Our friends stayed in Santorini at the same time as us, and raved about Parea Tavern, on a side street between the main square and caldera.
Now you’re free to savour your Santorini sunset, the magical experience that makes this wild place so special.
I loved walking along the caldera rim, from Agios Minas church at the southern end to Agios Stylianos, then detouring through the back streets to the Three Bells of Fira, a typical Santorini church with a triple bellcote and blue dome which is one of the best places to watch a sunset that I have ever visited.
Then find a bar overlooking the caldera, buy yourself a glass of Santorini wine (or Mythos or Alfa beer) and savour the incredible afterglow behind the other islands of the Aegean.
Santorini One Day Itinerary Summary
If Driving On Santorini
Morning – Oia
Lunch – Oia or Ammoudi Bay
Afternoon – One of the beaches on Santorini – Perissa, Perivolos, Vlychada, Kamari or Red Beach
Evening – Fira with sunset on the caldera
If Travelling By Bus On Santorini
0900 – depart for Oia
1200 – lunch in Oia or Ammoudi Bay
1300 – 1700 – Perissa or Kamari Beach
1800 – Fira with sunset on the caldera
Cruise Passengers / Day Trippers
0900 – Santorini day tour or make your way to Oia
1200 – lunch in Oia or Ammoudi Bay
1400– Bus to Firostefani (on Fira route) then caldera walk via the Three Bells of Fira church
1700 – return to cruise ship
More Than 1 Day In Santorini – Other Things To Do In Santorini
If you have more than one day in Santorini, you have time to branch out further and experience more of the island.
Having visited Oia and Fira, I would suggest visiting one of Pyrgos and Emporio, two of the best villages in Santorini.
Pyrgos – also known as Pyrgos Kallistis – is the highest village in Santorini. It has a minute fraction of the throngs of Oia and Fira passing through its whitewashed alleys, and I loved exploring every corner of it.
As well as the superb Cyclades architecture, there are also a couple of great cafes (step forward, Franco’s Café) and places to eat around the village.
Emporio is a couple of miles inland from Perissa village and beach. I particularly loved the narrow alleyways in and around the Venetian kastelli, and you can even stay in some of the wonderful cave houses there.
Day Trips From Santorini
The Santorini ferry schedules mean that relatively few islands are feasible as day trips from Santorini. For example, most of the Santorini ferries to Crete leave in the middle of the day or afternoon, and the return trips all tend to leave in the morning. When you island hop in Greece you often have to stay on each island.
Thirasia is the one island you can comfortably reach and return to Santorini in a day. It’s only a 15-20 minute boat ride from Santorini, and is worth visiting for its completely different feel.
It was once part of Santorini, until separated by a violent volcanic eruption, and has similar Cycladic architecture. This includes the distinctive cave-like houses and whitewashed churches with blue domes. And you’ll largely have the place to yourself.
Boats depart from Ammoudi Bay (below Oia) or Athinios (the modern Santorini port), or you can also book tours to Thirasia and nearby Nea Kameni island, with its volcanic hot springs.
Where Is Santorini
Santorini – which is also sometimes referred to as Fira, Thira or Thera – is located in the southern Aegean Sea, in the eastern Mediterranean.
It is the southernmost island in the Cyclades chain of islands – the islands to the east of Santorini are part of the Dodecanese archipelago.
Santorini is 235 km from the Greek capital Athens, and 123 km north of Heraklion, the capital of Crete.
How To Get To Santorini
You can get to Santorini by air or by boat.
If you’re planning to fly there, Santorini Airport (airport code JTR) is served by flights from over 20 countries, including most in western Europe and Turkey, Israel and the UAE in the Middle East. Within Greece, there are regular flights to Santorini from Athens.
Alternatively, you can reach Santorini by ferry. We caught the Heraklion to Santorini ferry, which took a little over two hours, and made the return journey a week later. Day trips from Crete to Santorini are popular, partly because of the relatively short journey time.
If you’re travelling from Athens to Santorini, the ferry takes five hours, sometimes more. So this rules put any day trip from Athens to Santorini – unless you fly back late in the evening!
How To Get Around Santorini
Buses will cover you for getting around during your one day in Santorini. Bear in mind that all services terminate at Fira bus station. If you’re travelling from the port or airport to Oia, you need to get a bus to Fira, then change for another service to Oia. You pay the driver or conductor in cash on the bus, and most single fares are €1.80.
You can also arrange transfers from the port or airport to your hotel – this saves a lot of hassle queuing in the heat before a not particularly enjoyable zig-zag journey up the mountainside from the port to Fira.
Driving is by far the easiest way to get around Santorini. The buses cover you between main locations such as Fira and Oia, but if you’re looking to head anywhere off the beaten path, particularly some of the beaches, then you should think about hiring a car for your one day in Santorini.
Taxis are another way useful way of getting around. We stayed in the village of Karterados for the first few days of our stay, and had a 1 km walk from the nearest bus stop. Taxis are very useful for covering the gaps between places not covered by the buses.
Typical fares from the port (Athinios) are €30 to Fira and €45 to Oia, while fares from the airport to the same destinations tend to be around €5 less.
Best Time To Visit Santorini
The Santorini tourist season is from April to October, and the beginning and end of the season – April to May and late September to October are the best times to visit. The one thing to bear in mind with visiting Santorini – or any of the other Greek islands – in the ‘shoulder season’ is that some places (e.g. restaurants and hotels) aren’t necessarily open, and ferry and bus services are less frequent than during peak season.
Summer – when we visited – is hot, and that’s when prices are highest, especially for accommodation. It’s also when it’s at its most crowded. Santorini is small, and overtourism does make it feel like its infrastructure (especially on buses and at busy places like the Byzantine Castle in Oia) is bursting at the seams.
How Many Days In Santorini Ideally
Four or five days is plenty of time to see Santorini. This will give you time to enjoy the sunset at both Oia and Fira and visit at least one of the volcanic beaches in Santorini. You would also have time to explore one of the less-frequented villages of Pyrgos and Emporio with this amount of time available.
One Day In Santorini – Final Thoughts
You come to Santorini for the extraordinary caldera views, and the most important thing is that you leave Santorini having experienced that magic. Anything else is a bonus.
So allow yourself some time in Oia and Fira, and if you’re on the island long enough, soak in a Santorini sunset at either of these.
Explore more of Santorini
- Three Bells of Fira – one of the best sunset views in Santorini
- Sunset in Santorini – the best places to watch one
- Best beaches in Santorini
- Beautiful villages in santorini
- Churches in Santorini
David Angel is a British photographer, writer and historian. He is a European travel expert with over 30 years’ experience exploring Europe. He has a degree in History from Manchester University, and his work is regularly featured in global media including the BBC, Condé Nast Traveler, The Guardian, The Times, and The Sunday Times. David is fluent in French and Welsh, and can also converse in Italian, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech and Polish.
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