Can you spend a week in Santorini?

[toniiv]

I will be going to Greece next year and someone I am traveling with is obsessed with photos of Santorini and wants to go.

From what I can gather, most people say just to spend a few days and then move on, but this person is pushing for a longer stay.

Is there enough to do on Santorini so that spending a week or more makes sense? She wants to enjoy the sunsets, the food (I heard the food is better in other parts of Greece), and beaches (I also heard that there aren't as many beaches).

Don't get me wrong, I think it looks lovely, I just feel deep down that a week might be too long.

 

[Deborah]

It is possible to stretch the days out to a week in Santorini, but you should rent a car or check the bus schedule so that you can visit the vineyards and all of the villages in the interior. The archeological digs and museum are definitely worth more than a glance. There are boat trips out in the Caldera to Therasia. The cliffside walk from Fira to Oia is lovely, especially in the early morning before the tourists are awake and the cruise ships have arrived. Ammoudi (below Oia) is lovely for a swim off the rocks and a fish lunch or dinner. The beaches generally are pebble. You could stay at a place like the Arassana Hotel near the Cathedral, that has a swimming pool - or - a luxury villa with horizon pool right on the cliffs.

I guess that the answer really depends on the time of year you are going and your tolerance for high temperatures and crowds. Staying overnight does allow you some relief from the masses that exit the cruise ships and staying multiple overnights will give you a better chance of being recognized in your favorite tavernas and getting to interact more with the locals. The answer also depends on your budget; Santorini is a more expensive island both there, and getting there if you fly.

Santorini is definitely a must-see in Greece, but after a few days if your main interest is good beaches and food, I would be tempted to move onto another quieter Cycladic island, or my favorite ….. Chania, Crete….. where there’s so much to do, you’d never want to stay less than a week.

 

[k_tsoukalas]

It is possible to stretch the days out to a week in Santorini, but you should rent a car or check the bus schedule so that you can visit the vineyards and all of the villages in the interior. The archeological digs and museum are definitely worth more than a glance. There are boat trips out in the Caldera to Therasia. The cliffside walk from Fira to Oia is lovely, especially in the early morning before the tourists are awake and the cruise ships have arrived. Ammoudi (below Oia) is lovely for a swim off the rocks and a fish lunch or dinner. The beaches generally are pebble. You could stay at a place like the Arassana Hotel near the Cathedral, that has a swimming pool - or - a luxury villa with horizon pool right on the cliffs.

I guess that the answer really depends on the time of year you are going and your tolerance for high temperatures and crowds. Staying overnight does allow you some relief from the masses that exit the cruise ships and staying multiple overnights will give you a better chance of being recognized in your favorite tavernas and getting to interact more with the locals. The answer also depends on your budget; Santorini is a more expensive island both there, and getting there if you fly.

Santorini is definitely a must-see in Greece, but after a few days if your main interest is good beaches and food, I would be tempted to move onto another quieter Cycladic island, or my favorite ….. Chania, Crete….. where there’s so much to do, you’d never want to stay less than a week.

You paint a lovely picture as to how Santorini can be realizing for a longer visit. I can vouch for the amazing-ness of the beaches on Crete. I would personally enjoy Santorini for what it is, but then encourage everyone to be open to moving on to Crete for beach days. There's a beach that's pretty good on Santorini (Red Beach) but the beaches on Crete are just as good, if not better. The "sand" on Red Beach, as I recall, is very coarse and doesn't feel very good to walk on, and the beaches on Crete that I've visited are sand.