I am spending 3 nights in Athens and 3 nights in Santorini.
Should I spend 3 nights in Santorini or choose another Island or historic area to visit?
Posted by
NH (USA)
1267 posts
Three nights in Athens is good to get a feel for what the city is all about besides the usual tourist sites.
Santorini has it's defenders and critics so you'll have to decide if it's the type of island that interests you.
If you want more history then Nafplio in the Peloponnese would be a great option. Close to Athens and easy to get to and a wonderful base to explore the area.
Check out the best site for Nafplio to see what it and the Argolis has to offer:
Posted by
California
222 posts
We visited Oia/Santorini in June a few years ago and were underwhelmed. One imagines Santorini to be a seaside village with scores of whitewashed buildings with blue domes. In reality, there seemed to be probably 3-4 with blue domes, and when we visited Oia there were many Chinese couples in line to take engagement photos with the blue domes in the background, starting at 7 am! Things got super crowded later in the day everywhere. If any of our friends ask us about Greece and Santorini, we tell them to avoid Santorini.
I realize that there are people on this forum who may have had a different experience on Santorini than we did, but thought I would also share this article: https://travellemming.com/skip-santorini-overpriced-overcrowded-overrated/
Posted by
OP
9 posts
Thanks for the information!
Posted by
Santorini
21 posts
I agree to some extent that Santorini is crowded, but it's also a victim of clickbait and people trying to capitalize on its fame! I saw the post you shared, and while it does show a lot of people waiting in line, the reality is that the streets are very narrow—so even 100 people can cause congestion.
I agree that large buses carrying 50–100 people shouldn’t be allowed, but it's not as bad as some make it seem. Some visitors feel let down because their expectations were unrealistic. If you expect Santorini to be a small island with just 100 houses and a beach, you might be disappointed. Next time, I recommend checking Google Maps before visiting to get a better idea of the place! The island has several villages, some of which are not even expensive at all. Keep that in mind!"