If riding the donkeys/mules from the port is something you are considering, please take a few minutes to look into it before deciding.

When I visited Santorini, what I personally witnessed stayed with me... animals making repeated trips on the steep route carrying tourists and treatment that I found incredibly difficult to watch.

I have posted about this before, and I know some regular members of this subreddit have already seen my posts. But there are new people planning trips here every week and several people have told me they were grateful they learned about this before their vacation.

That is really the reason I keep bringing it up.

You don’t have to agree with me on every aspect of the issue. I just hope travelers make an informed decision rather than assuming that because something is offered as a tourist activity, there are no animal-welfare concerns surrounding it.

There are alternatives. You can take the cable car or walk the route instead.

And if you've visited Santorini recently, I would genuinely be interested in hearing what you observed...good or bad.

For anyone heading there soon: please consider admiring the donkeys, taking their picture and leaving the riding out of your trip. ❤️

I just got back from a three week trip to Greece. One of the highlights I was looking forward to was Santorini. Sadly, Crete was hit with a huge storm that lasted several days. Our ferry to Santorini was cancelled, then rescheduled for later in the day. We were receiving text message warnings from the local government to stay put. The Beaufort scale for sailing was still in the 8-9 range, (extremely high wind and seas). At this point there was no way we were going on the Jet Ferry. They bounce all over the place. The Hills Suites refused to refund out stay, and so did the taxi driver we booked with to pick us up. I don't think they care about the guests. Rant over.

Hi all,

We are two relatively active and fit walkers who would like to hike in Santorini (specifically Fira to Oia). We arrive on the island this evening and have to leave on Friday.

Does anyone have any knowledge about (1) whether the hiking path is still open at this point in the season (we have just come from Crete where Samaria gorge was closed) and (2) whether this would be safe over the next couple of days (we are thinking Thursday?)

thank you!

Hello! I visited beautiful Santorini today (did not ride a donkey!) and wondered if anyone could please send me a pic of the cruise ships below?

It looks beautiful up there from down here but I’d love to know how we look also :)

Have been to Santorini today, Imerovigli, and OMG… what is wrong with some of these flying dress photographers? 😂
They literally block the streets and pavements while doing their shoots and then get pissy and super rude when people actually need to get past. Do they own the streets and pavements, or rent them, to have such a disgusting attitude?
I was actually considering doing a photoshoot with one of them, but after today’s experience, absolutely not. We waited around 5 minutes for one Greek photographer to finish taking her shots, and she reluctantly moved aside to let pedestrians through. I said “thank you” just to be polite, and her Chinese assistant, who was wearing huge dark glasses, was extremely rude in response.
Jeez… how entitled can you be?
And honestly, after seeing the dresses in real life, I’m even less tempted. They don’t look that great in person they’re basically one-size-fits-all, look pretty awful from the back, and I’m guessing the final photos are edited to oblivion to make everything look good 😂

Hello
I will be traveling to Greece from October 14th-Oftober 23rd. I will be staying in Santorini and Athens. What clothes should I bring? How has the weather been there so far? What is a necessity to bring and what could I forgo? Thank you so much for the advice!!! :)

Hello, Im travelling to Santorini next week and am interested in going to Lignos Folklore museum. Google says its temporarily closed but I am not seeing a website for the museum so was just wondering if anyone could confirm that it is infact closed/ why it would be closed? Is it only open during the summer months? Also if anyone has any other recommendations for similar attractions let me know!

Hi All!

I am going to be in Santorini from October 21 thru 24th with my partner, and we just learned that Katikies Gardens in Fira where our reservation was is now closing earlier than expected for the season, so they transferred our reservation to Katikies Gea House just outside of Oia... A big draw to Katikies Gardens was the outdoors jetted tub and now we have been moved to a room with an indoor tub. Another draw was being right in the middle of Fira vs having to take a car into town.

What are your thoughts? I know it's a champagne problem but this trip is really important to me. Trying to decide whether I just cancel and look elsewhere or stick with it. Any experiences?

I know flying dress shoots get mixed reactions here, but if you’ve already decided to do one in Santorini, I wanted to share my experience with Santorini
Habibi.

He has a terrible attitude. He tells you not to be late, then shows up late himself. He stacks his bookings, so if the shoot before yours runs over…tough.
He also made several inappropriate comments toward me, including comments about my name & what he expected me to look like….I had already paid my deposit, so I tried to make the best of it but we had some words.

The biggest issue for me was the lack of privacy. There was no changing room, pop-up tent, or private area. I had to change on the side of the street while he held the dress over me and physically helped/touch me while I was changing. What’s frustrating is that I looked over & saw another flying dress photographer nearby who did have a pop-up tent for their client.

He also had noticeable body odor 😭 which made the experience even more unpleasant.With that being said, he does take great shots and he knows how to get you to pose, but if you’re spending your money on a flying dress shoot, please choose another photographer. I wish I had known all of this before putting down my deposit.

Update: this post did what I intended for it to do and that was to share my experience with those interested in doing a flying dress shoot. For those that are not, we can argue until we’re blue in the face on the originality, cost and why anyone would do it… you don’t have to get the appeal….Everything is subjective. The cost ranges from $80 to $3k and not a dime came out of your pocket. With that being said I’m no longer responding but will continue blocking rude comments. 

💃🏾 oh look there’s even a flying dress emoji.

Hey everyone! I created "Greek Cliffside Village" in LEGO, and it is now on LEGO Ideas for support to become an official set! Would you like to help?

https://ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/7ff0eadd-2011-4d3a-9ff5-ff25261b9632

Spouse traveled to Santorini and Mykonos about 7 years ago and ate some sweet tomato spread that they fell in love with. Never had anything like it.

Tried to bring a jar back to USA but it got confiscated at customs.

1. Anyone know which are some common examples of a sweet tomato spread from the region?
2. Anyone know any that I can purchase and have shipped over to USA?

I think they ate it spread on toast. Not sure if that’s helpful or not.

Thank you!

Looking for reasonably priced restaurants with big portions and quality food.
Also, what food should I get in Santorini and what should i get in other places?

I’m travelling to Santorini this week and I’m getting very confused by the forecasts!
The Met Office, Meteo.gr and AccuWeather are all giving me slightly different forecasts, particularly for rain, and I’m not sure how seriously to take it. One minute it looks like rain for several days, and another forecast looks much better.
For anyone who is currently in Santorini / lives there / has been recently, what is the weather actually like?
I’m mainly trying to work out:
Is it the kind of rain where it showers for a bit but is still warm enough to sit outside/swim, or are we talking proper rainy days?
If it does rain, does it usually pass fairly quickly?
Will it still feel like summer/beach weather, or should I be packing more layers and trousers?
Is the sea still warm enough for swimming?
And if we do get a rainy day, what would you recommend doing in Santorini? (We’ll have a car, so happy to drive around.)
I know forecasts can change

I will be visiting Santorini from September 22–29. My boyfriend and I are staying in Akrotiri, and we were planning on renting a car since Akrotiri is a bit further away from the most famous spots. Since we would also like to visit other parts of the island, a car seems like the best option.

This is our first time visiting, so I would like to know if it’s hard to find parking near Oia and Fira. Walking from the parking to the town for a bit is not a problem. We would also come somewhere in the morning and spend the entire day in the town.

I’ve never driven a scooter before, so that wouldn’t be an option either.

If anyone has any advice or recommendations for parking, please let me know!

What time does the sun usually set in Santorini in the second half of September?

A photo isn’t worth the ride. If you are visiting Santorini, please skip the donkey ride.
I have posted about this week after week because of what I personally saw when I visited Santorini, I cannot unsee. I know new tourists visit this site all the time, so for those who haven’t seen my previous posts, please read on. And for those who are sick of hearing about it, you can choose to stop reading.

For the tourists planning a visit who are reading this, I need to pass along what I experienced and what many many others have witnessed as well…

When I was there, I saw the donkeys making trip after trip up and down the steep route carrying tourists while being forced to do so regardless of their condition…endlessly. No shade, no water access, no food, tied up (if not being ridden on) in the scorching heat. No breaks, no choices. Just clear desperation written all over these poor animals.

What really stayed with me was realizing that this wasn’t just one ride that I happened to witness. This is what these animals do over and over again as tourists continue to get on their backs. Standing there and watching it made me look at the whole experience differently, and the only way I could get through that hurt and sadness I felt for for them was to promise myself that I would do whatever I could to help stop this by spreading the word/etc. So that is why I continue to flag this issue, so tourists can become more aware of what is actually happening.

Yes, it has been done for years. Yes, it’s part of the island’s tourism history. But “tradition” doesn’t automatically mean something needs to continue…especially when animals are the ones carrying the burden.

And as tourists, we have a choice.
Take the cable car. Walk if you are able. Arrange other transportation. You can experience Santorini, support local businesses and enjoy everything the island has to offer without getting on the back of an animal.
What I saw there stayed with me, which is why I’ll continue using my little corner of the internet to say this:
If you love animals, admire the donkeys…don’t ride them.
Please do what you can to stop this and help put the donkeys out of their misery. 🙏🩷

On Tuesday I came back from my second trip to Santorini, and I'd like to clarify a couple points I often see repeated here. I mean, everyone can have opinions and preferences, of course, but these two things don't really make sense to me, so hopefully this post will help others planning their trip. So let's get into it!

1) Quads and buggies are better than cars

The main driver of our trip got mad about this lol, he's officially become a quad hater. People who prefer quads and buggies say they are smaller and therefore easier to drive in narrow alleys and park, but hear me out: we had a small car and there was literally not a single time when we weren't able to go where we wanted to, but would have with a quad. Actually, while in Akrotiri we were walking to the castle and saw a quad having to go back because the alley was too narrow. Quads are also not that much more practical when it comes to parking, they're just slightly smaller than a small car. Again, not a single time when we thought "Oh, we could have parked a quad there" (also because being four people we would have needed two parking spaces).

On the other hand, quads are less comfortable, hotter (no air conditioning) and much more dangerous in case of accidents. If you're travelling alone, or with just another person, a scooter would probably make sense, but if you're three or four, definitely get a car!

Also about driving, roads are on average good. Parking areas are more often than not gravel, true, but roads are good. The only, well, challenging roads we personally found were the one going down from Pyrgos to Perissa (no gravel, but shitty nonetheless) and the one to reach ancient Thera from Kamari.

2) Three days are more than enough

Seriously guys, have we been to the same island? I'm not even going to elaborate here, just look at my itinerary and tell me if we got bored lol.

Day 1: we got to Santorini by plane in the early afternoon, got our rental car and drove to Perissa. Checked into the apartment and then went to the beach for a quick swim to kick off the holiday.

Day 2: relax on the beach

Day 3: Museum of Prehistoric Thera in the morning, then after lunch walk to Firostefani to visit the Atlantic Books bookstore

Day 4: relax on the beach

Day 5: Archaeological Museum of Fira, then walk to the Three Bells. After that, Oia: long break at a (excessively expensive) café to escape the heat (and the crowds), then sunset from the castle (we also wandered around while getting there of course)

Day 6: relax on the beach

Day 7: caldera tour by boat (the one with the three islands, so cool, totally recommended)

Day 8: chill morning, then after lunch Vothonas, Panagia Episkopi church (unfortunately closed), Profitis Ilias and Pyrgos for a snack, sunset and dinner

Day 9: Akrotiri archaeological site and town with its castle, then lighthouse, after that a couple of hours on the red beach (late afternoon so almost empty, nice sunset, recommended)

Day 10: ancient Thera (by car for health reasons, but our first plan was hiking), then lunch and a little walk in Kamari, then back to Perissa to relax on the beach

Day 11: relax on the beach (my friends woke up super early to go back to Panagia Episkopi, but we decided to sleep in lol). Last dinner in Pyrgos.

Day 12: sunrise on the beach, then sadly airport to catch our late morning flight

Bonus track: I'm going to leave four recommendations for great restaurants in the 25-40 euros per person price range (starter and main, water and soft drinks but not wine, usually no dessert). You're welcome!

- Ntomatini in Perissa (amazing stuffed calamari, tables on the beach)

- Kipos Pelican in Fira (amazing location and even more amazing fava)

- Potamos in Pyrgos (beautiful view)

- Rosemary in Pyrgos (beautiful view and a menu with hints of the Middle East, for a nice change)

Hello all!

Soon I will be heading to the beautiful island of Santorini and looking for some recommendations.

I would be staying at Firostefani for 3 nights, but my first night I would arrive after sunset, so I have 2 sunsets to see (my plan: 1 time Catamaran cruise around Ammoudi bay + 1 time from my hotel with caldera view).

I think that the caldera view is worth it not only during the sunset, but I also have seen many beautiful photos during the night (or day of course). So here is my question:

What restaurant or pub would you recommend to see great view of caldera at nighttime, with beautifully illuminated houses streched over the caldera. It would be also nice if you can choose and book the table and it would not be overpriced 10 times as some. Any recommendations?

Hello everyone,
I was checking restaurants prices in order to plan an eventually futur trip in Santorini and then Creta and it seems like Santorini restaurants are a bit more expensive than Creta ones ?
Did I look wrong ? Did I get a wrong impression ?
I've essentially check around Fira and I found restaurant where main course was around 25€
If we have starter at 15 and a dessert at 10 it will be ~50€ in total.

I expected something around 30€.

I'm also surprise that every restaurant I've check didn't have any menu... :(

So what's your feeling/experiences about Santorini restaurants compare to Creta and also compare to Greek in general ?

Thanks folks !

PETA published this video on their instagram showing how abusive these men are towards women that peacefully protest about the use of donkeys as taxis climbing up the steps in Santorini

Absolutely loved this trip and cant wait to come back again. Any questions please feel free to ask hopefully I can help

Hello! Traveling to Santorini soon and I was hoping to find some reasonably priced, good quality clothing shops for my husband. We traveled to Sorrento last year and found a nice family owned linen shop and found a few items, and was hoping to do the same in Santorini. Most of the shops are boutiques for women, so does anyone have recommendations for men's clothing?

I keep seeing the donkey rides described as a “traditional Santorini experience,” and I think that wording makes a lot of tourists assume it is something they should do while they are there.

It is not.

You can appreciate Santorini, its history/culture without getting on the back of an animal to get up the steps. When I visited, I watched donkeys carrying tourists up & down those steep steps in the heat. I saw exhausted animals struggling to continue and witnessed them being struck to keep moving. It is something I still think about...and unfortunately what I witnessed has not stopped. And honestly, whether the rides have been happening for decades or are considered part of Santorini’s history does not change what those animals are experiencing today.

Tourists help determine which traditions continue simply by where we choose to spend our money. Take the cable car or walk. Enjoy everything else Santorini has to offer...but please, leave the donkeys out of your vacation.

Hi! We thought about renting a scooter in Santorini but out driving license permits us just 50cc power, nothing more. Îs IT doable on the cliffs, with 2 poeple on?

Family of 4 backpacking. Checking out of apartment in Vourvolous around 11 but boat isn't until 22:00.

By foot and bus we can make our way to Fira but interested to know if anyone knows of places to fill the time rather than just wandering. Was considering even paying for a hostel for a few hours as somewhere to crash with bathroom if that's an option but couldn't see anything. Anyone know of places that offer something like a few hours access to facilities without actually booking an overnight room, on a budget? Anyone have any other smart ideas?

One other question regarding buses. I saw from the info at the bus station yesterday that there were bus times 24 hours ahead. Apart from going to Fira station is there a way to know tomorrow's times? And finally, is it similar to departing from the port, there are multiple buses going down or just the one?

Thanks to anyone who can help.