Santorini is a beautiful Greek island, famous for its stunning sunsets, white washed buildings and blue domed roofs. Although it is a small island, there are still plenty of options when it comes to where to stay in Santorini. The two most popular towns for tourists to visit are Fira, the island’s capital and Oia. There are lots of things to consider when deciding which town in Santorini would be best for you. Here is a comparison of some of the best areas to stay in in Santorini, Greece.
Accommodation Costs
Cost is a huge factor as accommodation is most likely to be the biggest expense of your trip. There are budget and luxury options in both towns but Oia does have a reputation for being slightly more expensive for similar rooms and apartments.
If you want to stay in a big resort or buy a package deal holiday (accommodation, flights and transfers all bundled together), you will probably need to stick with Fira. As it is the capital of Santorini, it is much bigger so has more space for larger hotels. Oia is a little smaller and has plenty of boutique hotels and apartments but not many larger resorts.
Hotels in Oia
The larger hotels in Oia that offer shared pools are La Perla Villas and Oia Mare Villas. There are lots of boutique hotels that offer small private pools and hot tubs too but these will tend to be much more expensive.
Budget Hotels in Oia
If you working with a tight budget but still fancy a dip in the pool, slightly further out you’ll find the budget hotels Anemomilos and Pension Villas. If you’re not desperate for a pool, your budget will stretch a little further. We stayed in MiCasa where we had a fairly central apartment for a decent price. You can always cool off in Lioyerma Pool Bar if your accommodation doesn’t offer a pool.
Hotels in Fira
Some of Fira’s most popular 5-star hotels could set you back thousands for a week’s stay. But for this you could get fabulous views over the caldera, luxury suites and perhaps even a private pool. If appeals to you, take a look at Villa Bordeaux and Katikies Garden. Astro Palace is another high-end option. Although it is set further back from the cliff, it still offers sea views and private pools.
If you look around, you might be able to find smaller hotels that also offer luxury experiences like private hot tubs but for lower prices. For example, On the Cliff Suites provides stunning caldera views from your own jacuzzi for around £700 for a week’s stay.
Budget Hotels in Fira
One lower cost hotel that immediately caught by eye was Sweet Pop. They offer economy rooms for less that £500 a week that are bright and clean with little pops of colour. Plus they are right in the centre of Fira!
If you want a little more for your money, venturing further out of town, you’ll find Moonlight Apartments. Here you can book an entire apartment with access to a swimming pool for less than £500 per week. It’s not quite in the centre but is just a 15 minute walk away.
Views and scenery
Both Oia and Fira have the iconic white-washed buildings and blue-domed roofs that Santorini is known for. However Oia is the town most famous for the iconic Santorini Sunsets. The best views of the sunset are from the ruins of Oia Castle. From there you can see over the bay, and the houses and windmills scattered across the cliff.
Fira still has great views across the Caldera and the volcano. You will still get a nice sunset from the terrace of balcony of a bar or hotel in Fira but it’s just not quite the same as the views from Oia!
Things to do
Oia and Fira are fairly similar on this point but I personally felt Oia offered a little more. Both have a great deal of boutique shops, gifts shops and art galleries to wander around. Oia also has the ruins of a castle and Ammoudi Bay to explore. Fira has more museums like the Museum of Prehistoric Thera and the Archaeological Museum.
So it really depends what kind of things you’re interesting in doing on your holiday as to which wins here. Each town is only a 20 minute bus journey from the other so you can can quite easily do a day trip to the other town and explore all the things it has to offer as well!
Read more about the Top Things to do in Santorini
Restaurants
According to Trip Advisor, Oia has 83 restaurants that offer dinner and Fira has 95. Fira is a much bigger town than Oia so it is expected that they would have more restaurants. Vegetarian options are widespread in both towns, with around 70% of restaurants in each being veggie-friendly. Gluten free options are slightly more common in Oia with around 50% of restaurants offering some gluten free options, compared to 42% in Fira. Melitini in Oia is a fantastic restaurant offering plenty of gluten free, vegan and veggie options served up a Greek tapas style.
Both offer a mixture of fine dining, mid range and cheap eats. However, there are far more fine dining options in Oia. A whopping 27% of restaurants in Oia are classed as fine dining. Whereas there are only 4 fine dining restaurants in Fira. However, this doesn’t mean that all food in Oia is more expensive, there are still street food options like PitoGyros offering gyros for around €6.
Whichever town you’re in, if you want to eat at a restaurant in the summer around sunset 7-9pm, I’d highly recommend booking in advance to avoid disappointment. You may just need to book the day before but for more popular restaurants you will need to book further in advance for peak times.
Getting around the Island
Fira definitely wins this one! As the capital, Fira is based in the middle of the island, it makes it super easy to get anywhere else on the island. Santorini’s bus terminal is based in Fira. From here you can take a bus to Oia, Kamari, Akrotiri and several other places for around €1.60 each way.
From Oia, you can pretty much only get a bus to Fira. From here you can then change and get a bus elsewhere without waiting too long, but it just adds an extra step. The bus to from Oia to Fira is around 20 minutes.
Read more about places to visit in Santorini
Other places to stay
Kamari and Perissa
Kamari is on the east coast of the island, close to the airport. The area is well known for its long stretch of black sand beach. There are lots of hotels and villas lining the beach so this area can be great if you’re looking for a beach holiday. However it doesn’t have the classic Greek cliff-top houses. If you do want a beach holiday, Santorini might not be the best destination as there are much cheaper, beach-ier islands you could visit – Santorini is mostly cliff tops!
Akrotiri
Akrotiri is a small village on the south of the island. This area is most famous for the archaeological site of ancient Akrotiri which is the remains of a 3,000 year old settlement that was buried but preserved by a volcanic eruption. This site is Santorini’s version of Pompeii and well worth a visit wherever you’re staying on the island. The village is also close to the Red Beach, named for its rust coloured cliffs.
Imervogli
Imervogli is a small town that is almost just an extension of Fira. It is a 30 minute walk from Fira but there is also a local bus. It is close enough for you to still enjoy all of the restaurants and sights of Fira but it is a little more quiet.
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Where to Stay in Santorini?
When deciding where to stay it does come down to your personal preference. What are your priorities? What kind of trip are you looking to have? I’ve summarised the points above in this table to make your decision a little easier.
| Fira | Oia | |
| Accommodation Costs | Slightly cheaper, more variety | Slightly more expensive |
| Views and Scenery | Great caldera views | Best sunsets |
| Things to do | More museums | More places to explore |
| Restaurants | Slightly more restaurants | More fine dining options |
| Getting around the island | Main bus terminal | 20 mins bus to Fira first |
I really enjoyed staying in Oia and spending most of our time there. Staying in Fira would definitely have made it easier to explore the island but that didn’t stop us too much as we still had day trips to Kamari, Akrotiri and Fira.
Where to Stay in Santorini on a Budget
If you’re on a tight budget but still want to visit Santorini, I would recommend looking for accommodation on the outskirts of Oia or Fira. Things tend to be a little cheaper further out of the towns but you still want to be within walking distance so you don’t have to spend a lot on taxis.
Where to Stay in Santorini without a car
Santorini is super easy to get around on public transport so there’s no need to worry if you don’t want to hire a car but still want to explore. The best place to stay in Santorini without a car is Fira. This is because the island’s bus terminal is here so you can reach almost anywhere on the island with one bus in 20-30 minutes. There isn’t much of a timetable, but if you turn up to the bus station you probably won’t need to wait too long for the next bus to wherever you want to go. All the buses are actually coaches with air con and comfy seats. Tickets can only be purchased on the bus, or as you get on or off. They range from €1.60-1.80.
If you don’t want to hire a car but also aren’t interested in exploring other parts of the island then Oia or Fira would work equally well. Both have lots to do, plenty of bars and restaurants without the need to venture to other areas.
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