Three of us are going to be there ages 20, 60, 70. We are prepared to walk, bus or rent a car. Would like to keep price at approximately 200 per night with breakfast available. Not sure if the driving in Santorini is too dangerous. We will be flying to Athens after our stay in Santorini. Thank You for any suggestions
Have you tried Booking.com? I see a lot on your dates. I don't have a specific rec as I am going this summer too. But I found a place on Booking after deciding where on the island I wanted to be (or be nearest), what was in my price range, ratings, and pictures
Hopefully you'll get more responses ;p
Thank You! I need to research which part and how we will get around and then I can narrow down more.
From my research, the bus system is regular and good enough to get you around the island. This is what we plan to use. We are staying in a town called Karterados, which is, I read, about a 20 minute walk from Thera/Fira. The island is shaped like a backward C, with one side a steep drop (the inside of the C) and the other descending toward more flat (the outside of the C, also the outside of the caldera), which is where the beaches are. Some like beach access and stay down there, but some want the dramatic views and/or classic white buildings of the area around Thera to Oia. These of course costs a lot more.
Good luck
if you want the view ( which is what we did) then generally be prepared to walk lots of stairs. we stayed in firostefani, which was perfect. a modest walk back along the caldera into fira, but without the crowded feel of fira.
while there are many accomodation options, paying more and getting the spectacular view was worth it. we were only staying less than a week so swimming at beaches etc was offset by the view and walking around the shops in fira and the nearby areas.
the bus to oia left right near our accomodation in firostefani. well worth the trip.
we were there in may 2017 and fira was very busy with cars/bikes etc and the local bus to oia was crowded. so be prepared for lots of tourists. personally I would not drive, a driver might be a better option. (too many tourists 'flying' around on quads on very narrow roads)
overall we had a great time in santorini. yes its touristy and crowded but the views are spectacular and we enjoyed the meals as well.
hope this helps
We rented cars and also used buses. We used the car to go to beaches on opposite side of the Caldera and to visit Akrotiri. Driving is on twisting roads. Watch out for tne ATVs. It is a very small island.
We took buses between Oia and Fira and back to Oia. The main attraction on Santorini is the Caldera and it’s views plus Ancient Akrotiri. The beaches are much better on other Greek islands and the mainland.
Three nights is perfect as it gives you two days. We stayed four nights the first time we went and it was too long.
Thank you all for your help. I decided on Firostefani to stay with views and walk down to
Fira. Away from the crowds, near the bus and free parking if we need it.
Elaine, I am a little late on this thread, but was glad you chose Firostephani as your selection. We absolutely loved that area. We used the bus system which was a short walk after climbing the 197 steps from our hotel! Also close to wonderful restaurants. As mentioned less than a 15 min. walk to Fira. We took the bus to Oia in the early am to avoid the crowds. The highlight was a guided day tour of the island.
We stayed athttps://www.nikos-villas.com three years ago. It is slightly outside of Oia, maybe a 7 minute walk, right on the walking path. It wasn't the most luxurious, but it had fantastic views, and it was outside the bustle and crowds of Oia. We had a small patio with a million dollar view. The breakfasts were quite substantial and the pool area was very pretty, and popular. I know we paid less than 200 a night, just not sure how much (I probably should have kept those notes). We came from Naxos on the ferry and took the bus up to the hotel. There are many buses and taxis at the ferry port and we just looked for the bus with Oia in the window. We paid cash for the bus and told them which hotel to drop us at. I'm so glad we didn't drive...those roads are scary! On the last day, we had a guide to tour us around the island in a small van, which was great because we got to the see the areas we never would have on our own. He dropped us at the airport in time for our flight back to Athens.