Where to Stay in Santorini: The Caldera Side Has No Beaches

Santorini is the rim of a drowned volcano. The western edge is a cliff about 300 metres high looking down into the caldera; the eastern side slopes gently to black sand beaches on the Aegean Sea.

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That gives the island two faces, and you have to pick one.

• The caldera side — Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia. The views, the sunset, the blue domes, the plunge pools. Also the highest prices on any Greek island, hundreds of steps, and no swimming at all, because the cliff drops straight into deep water.
• The east coast — Kamari and Perissa. Actual beaches, flat ground, tavernas, and roughly a third of the price. No caldera view, and no sunset over the water.

Nobody sells you both, because nowhere on the island has both. Planning a trip here starts with picking a side of the island, and this guide works through every place to stay in Santorini on that basis. Walking times, bus routes and village positions checked 8 September 2026. Rates change constantly, so check current prices yourself.

The best areas to stay in Santorini: all the areas to stay at a glance

If you want one answer, the best place to stay in Santorini is Firostefani. It is a ten-minute walk from Fira along the cliff path, it has the same view of the caldera as Imerovigli, and it costs noticeably less than either Oia or Imerovigli. It is one of the best places on the island for value.

Fira: the capital of Santorini

Fira is the capital and the transport hub — every bus on the island runs from here, which matters more than it sounds on an island where taxis are scarce.

• The widest choice of hotels in Santorini at every price, from hostels to caldera suites, and the easiest booking outside peak weeks.
• The nightlife is concentrated here, along with most of the shops and the best restaurants outside Oia.
• A great view from the western edge, though the town behind it is ordinary. Fira also has plenty of restaurants, which the smaller villages do not.
• The cable car down to the old port, and the steps beside it. Bus connections from Fira reach every part of the island.
• Busiest when cruise ships are in, since they tender passengers up to Fira.

Stay in Fira if it is your first trip to Santorini, you are not renting a car, or you want to be able to walk somewhere at night. It is the practical choice rather than the romantic one.

Firostefani and Imerovigli

Walk north from Fira along the caldera path and you pass through Firostefani after ten minutes and reach Imerovigli after about thirty. Both are quieter than Fira and both have the same view.

• Firostefani is the value caldera option — close enough to walk into Fira for dinner, far enough to be calm, and cheaper than Imerovigli for a similar outlook.
• Imerovigli sits at the highest point of the rim, which gives it the most jaw-dropping views over the caldera and Skaros Rock. It is a great place to stay for a honeymoon and an alternative to Oia, and it is almost entirely hotels.
• Both are steep. Properties are stacked down the cliff and reaching them means steps, often a lot of them.
• Neither has many restaurants, so you will walk to Fira or use the on-site restaurant at your hotel.

Oia: the classic Santorini experience

Oia is the village at the northern tip with the blue domes, the windmills and the sunset. It is what people picture, and it is the most expensive place to stay in Santorini by a wide margin.

• If you want the classic Santorini experience — cave houses cut into the cliff, white walls, and the caldera below — this is the postcard, and Oia, Greece is where it was taken.
• Sunset is a crowd event. Thousands of people arrive by bus each evening for it, and they leave straight afterwards.
• Staying here means you have the village before ten and after nine, which is genuinely worth something.
• It is 25 minutes by bus from Fira and a long way from the beaches on the other side of the island.
• The steps to the old port at Ammoudi are 300 of them, and the fish tavernas at the bottom are the best meal on the island.

Should you stay in Oia or Fira? Oia if the view is the trip and the budget allows. Fira if you want to move around the island, eat out cheaply, or are here for more than three nights. Fira and Oia are 25 minutes apart, so you will see both either way, and plenty of people split the stay between them.

Kamari and Perissa: the most popular places to stay for a beach

The east coast has the beaches, and it is a completely different holiday.

• Kamari — a long black sand beach with a paved promenade, tavernas and family hotels right on the beach, below the Mesa Vouno headland. The more polished of the two, with easy access to the airport.
• Perissa — on the other side of the same headland, longer, cheaper and younger, with beach bars.
• Rooms cost a fraction of the caldera side for more space, and many have a swimming pool and a sea view.
• Flat ground, which matters with luggage, small children or limited mobility.
• Black sand gets extremely hot. Bring something to walk in.
• Buses to Fira take about twenty minutes and run frequently in season.

Stay on the east coast if you want to swim, you are travelling with a family, or the caldera prices are out of range. You will take the bus for the sunset, and that is a fair trade.

Where to avoid: a guide on where to stay and where not to

Nothing is unsafe. The warnings here are about position and stairs.

• Anything advertised as “caldera view” without a photograph from the room. The phrase is used loosely, and a partial view past a neighbouring roof is common.
• Properties described as a short walk from the main square that turn out to be 200 steps below it. Always ask for the step count.
• Karterados and Messaria are inland service villages near the airport — cheap and convenient for nothing in particular, with no atmosphere and no view.
• Directly on Fira’s main nightlife street if you are a light sleeper.
• Perivolos in a shoulder month, when the beach bars that are the reason to be there are shut.

The best hotels in Santorini and what they sell

Listings here are unusually hard to compare, because almost every property claims a caldera view and the categories overlap. These are the types, described by position and type only. Check rates and availability yourself rather than trusting any guide, including this one.

Cave suites on the caldera

The signature type and the reason people visit Santorini at all: rooms carved into the volcanic rock with a vaulted ceiling, a terrace and often a private plunge pool. They cluster in Oia, Imerovigli, Finikia and Firostefani. A cave room is cool in summer and can be dark, and the terrace is the point.

Luxury hotels and honeymoon suites

A luxury hotel here typically means fifteen to thirty suites down a cliff, an infinity pool, a spa and a restaurant. Grace Hotel in Imerovigli, Katikies and Canaves in Oia are the names used as reference points at this end. Note that a hot tub on the terrace and a genuine private pool are priced very differently and photographed similarly.

Boutique hotels in Fira and Firostefani

The middle of the market: a boutique hotel of ten to twenty-five rooms, a shared infinity pool over the caldera, and breakfast on a terrace. This is the best value on the caldera side and where most people should look.

Budget hotels, studios and the east coast

Budget hotels and studios concentrate in Perissa, Kamari and inland Karterados. Expect a pool rather than a view, a fridge and a kettle, and a bus stop nearby. There are also several hostels in Fira and Perissa, which is unusual for a Greek island this expensive.

These are listed as landmarks, not recommendations. Nobody here has stayed in them and we do not print rates. Check current prices and availability yourself.

Planning a trip: the best place to stay in Santorini for you

If you are wondering where to stay and want the shortlist rather than the whole guide, this is it. There are more accommodation options in Santorini than the size of the island suggests, and the differences are large.

Splitting the stay between two areas is underrated. Santorini for 3 nights works well as two on the caldera and one on the beach, and it is often a better deal for your stay than paying caldera rates the whole time. Choose the best mix rather than the best single village.

Things to do in Santorini, and where they are

Worth knowing before you fix a base, because the sights are spread across the island rather than concentrated on the rim.

• Akrotiri, the prehistoric city buried by the eruption around 1600 BC and excavated under a modern roof. The food and wine of the island both trace back to that volcanic soil. It is on the southern tip and it is the most interesting thing on Santorini.
• The Akrotiri lighthouse at the south-western point, which is a quieter sunset than Oia and has no crowd at all.
• The Fira to Oia cliff path — about ten kilometres along the rim, three to four hours, and the best walk in the Cyclades.
• A catamaran trip into the Santorini caldera, past the red and white beaches to the hot springs at Nea Kameni. This is how you see the volcano itself.
• The wineries in the interior around Pyrgos and Megalochori, where the vines are trained in low baskets against the wind. Assyrtiko is the wine.
• Pyrgos for the atmosphere of a Santorini village with no cruise passengers in it.
• Ferries to Naxos, Paros and Ios from Athinios port if you are island hopping.

Getting around this Greek island, and whether to rent a car

• Buses radiate from Fira to Oia, Kamari, Perissa, Akrotiri and the airport. They are cheap, frequent in summer and thin in winter.
• Rent a car or an ATV if you are staying inland, want the wineries, or plan to move around the island daily. Parking in Oia and Fira is genuinely difficult.
• Walking distance is deceptive. The Fira to Oia cliff path is about ten kilometres and takes three to four hours; the Fira to Firostefani stretch is ten minutes.
• Taxis are very limited — there are only a few dozen on the island. Book transfers in advance.
• Book the airport or port transfer with your hotel if you are on the caldera, since the last stretch is often steps a car cannot reach.

How much does it cost, and when to go

• Santorini is the most expensive Greek island, and the caldera side is the most expensive part of it. The same standard of room on the east coast costs roughly a third, so where you stay matters more here than on any other Greek island.
• May, June, September and early October are the best months: warm sea, full bus timetable, and the island functioning.
• July and August are hot, extremely crowded and at peak prices.
• November to March is very quiet, with many hotels and restaurants closed and reduced ferries. Cheap, and a different island.
• Book caldera hotels months ahead for high season. The supply is small and fixed by the cliff.

Building the wider trip? See our Greece itinerary, and our guide to how many days in Santorini you actually need.

Comparing the two? Our guide to where to stay in Mykonos covers the other famous Cycladic island.

For beaches rather than a caldera, see where to stay in Naxos.

Check hotels in Santorini →

For a quieter, less expensive island nearby, see where to stay in Paros.

Frequently asked questions

What part of Santorini is the best to stay in?

Firostefani for most people — it has the same caldera views as Imerovigli, is a ten-minute walk from Fira, and costs less than either Oia or Imerovigli. Fira is the practical choice for a first trip because every bus runs from there. Oia is the most beautiful and the most expensive.

Where should first-timers stay in Santorini?

Fira or Firostefani. Fira is the capital and the transport hub, with the widest choice of hotels, the nightlife and the restaurants, so you can reach the whole island without a car. Firostefani is ten minutes north along the cliff and quieter, with the same view for less money than Oia.

Which is better to stay in, Fira or Oia?

Oia if the view is the point of the trip and the budget allows — it has the blue domes and the sunset, and staying there gives you the village before the day trippers arrive and after they leave. Fira if you want buses, cheaper eating and somewhere to walk at night. They are 25 minutes apart, so you will see both regardless.

Where should I avoid staying in Santorini?

Nothing is unsafe, but avoid anything claiming a caldera view without a photograph taken from the room, and anything described as a short walk from the centre without a step count — the caldera villages are built down a 300-metre cliff. Karterados and Messaria inland are cheap but convenient for nothing.

Can you swim on the caldera side of Santorini?

No. The caldera is a cliff dropping straight into deep water, so Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia have no beaches at all. Hotels there have pools instead. For swimming you go to the east coast at Kamari or Perissa, which have black volcanic sand, or take a boat trip into the caldera.

Where can I find budget accommodation in Santorini?

Perissa and Kamari on the east coast, where rooms cost roughly a third of the caldera side and often come with a pool and more space. Inland Karterados is cheaper again. Fira and Perissa also have hostels, which is unusual on an island this expensive. All are connected to Fira by frequent buses in season.

How much do hotels in Santorini cost?

Santorini is the most expensive Greek island, and the caldera villages are the most expensive part of it — a cave suite with a private plunge pool in Oia is a different market from a studio in Perissa. Prices roughly double in July and August, and caldera hotels sell out months ahead because the cliff limits how many can exist.