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Imerovigli or Oia?

Hello,
We are visiting Santorini arriving September 20 by ferry from Paros, and departing September 23 on Olympic Airlines at 17oo hrs.
We are trying to decide whether to stay in Oia or Imerovigli. We want to have a caldera view, but we are leaning towards Imerovigli as there should be less crowds and we might save a little money as well. We have been looking at studio/apartments and are okay with spending between 300-500 dollars US. We also plan on renting motorbikes or an atv to do some touring of the beaches on the southeastern side of the island as well.

Any recommendations are gratefully accepted.

Sincerely,
Rich

Posted by
3115 posts

Imerovigli will definitely be less crowded than Oia but it doesn't have Oia's timeless charm and there are only a small handful of shops and restaurants there. There are some affordable properties in Oia as well. It really just depends on what your requirements are regarding facilities/amenities/services. In the self-catering category check Majestic View Studio, Olympic Villas (cavehouse), Aspa Villas (cavehouse), Old Oia Houses and Casa Sofia. A step up from those are Strogili Houses, Rimida Villas, Golden Sunset Villas and Kastro Oia Houses.

Closest reliable agency for vehicles to Imerovigli is Tony's in Firostefani. In Oia go to Vazeos. Be sure to go to your local AAA office to pick up an International Driving Permit, no test or membership required.

Posted by
8 posts

We loved Oia. Crowds weren't too much of an issue even in August. And I believe that you could find something in your budget.

Posted by
3961 posts

We stayed in Firostephani mid September 2017. This was based on less crowds, centrally located, Caldera view, walking distance to restaurants and to Fira. We were there 4 nights and took the bus to Oia one morning to avoid the cruise ship crowd. In addition, we did a guided tour of the island that exceeded our expectations.

Posted by
106 posts

Oia is a wonderful little town with less crowds than Fira and great views... It remains pretty quiet even during high-season. If you are looking for extreme nightlife though, you won't find it there. In Oia you could have a nice picturersque stroll and plenty of place for your dining. The nightlife is in Fira!! Imerovigli has better views than Oia (imo) but you'll want to take the car and get to Fira or Oia for a nightout... Activity in Imerovigli is limited so Oia or Fira might be a better choice.

Posted by
3312 posts

As jschandler says, Firostephani is the "goldilocks" choice ... It also has just as many lovely hotels perched right on the Famous Caldera View ... but not the disadvantages of the others named. It's bypassed by all tour busses, which don't even know of its existence. It's just on the north fringe of FIRA, out of the hubbub, but walkable in 15 minutes to all the Fira attractions & nightlife, but you don't need a car or taxi to get home. It has a super-handy bus stop to get to Oia for photo-taking. NOTE: for Oia-strolling, on weekdays go early in the AM to avoid the huge cruise-ship and package-tour crowds that arrive by 10 am weekdays, or else go between 4-7 pm AFTER cruisers leave, and before arrival of sunset throngs. As others have said, Imervogli has lovely views, but for variety in restaurants or other sights/activities, you must go elsewhere & this involves taxis or car rentals usually. Another plus is that your $$ buys waaay more in lodgings in Firostephani than in Oia. Give it a look.

Posted by
3961 posts

@Janet, we learned from the best! Very well said. If we were to do it again, wouldn't change a thing. Perfect.

Posted by
57 posts

Rich, what did you decide? I’m going September 2019. Just staring the planning and I’ve never had such a hard time deciding where to stay - after seeing this post I’m going to look into Firostefani.

ML

Posted by
57 posts

Rich, what did you decide? I’m going September 2019. Just staring the planning and I’ve never had such a hard time deciding where to stay - after seeing this post I’m going to look into Firostefani.

ML

Posted by
3312 posts

ML, here's a strategy to narrow things quickly, if you're looking for a convenient Firostephani hotel with a caldera view: Just google Booking.com Firostephani and put in some dates (dummy dates" -- see below) ... and then you will get a list of hotels. Above list on RH is a box "map View" click on that... the map will show blue balloons along the caldera, the ones with red centers are fully booked, the other have rooms -- when you move your mouse across each, it shows the €€€€ rate and the review level (try to get something 7.8 or better). Working with the map will keep you from "falling" for a pretty pcture of a hotel that's waaay back from the caldera view, or way East of the main N-S- road. Anything very much East ( to the right ) of that Road is quite downhill.

Rich, starting so late, is going to have a hard time getting what he wants at the price he wants. but ML, you have ages. Some people in your place try a "dummy booking" search using September 2018 dates... but they won't see many hotels, because they'll be so fully booked. What you COULD do is put in "dummy dates" of Oct 10-13. 2018. Then you'd see a good selection. If you see some you like, you could e-mail the places direct. However, you won't get a response until about Sept. 1 or later Why??? because All August is their Very Busiest Season, they don't have huge staffs ... and are too busy handling the August guests to deal with a backlog of e-mails. Make your wish-list, contact them in September, and you'll have some good choices. Decide if you want to splurge on a pool hotel, or if you're going to be too busy or too short a stay to use a pool... and then you'll save a lot.

Posted by
57 posts

Thank you.
We usually use Hotels.com but I will try to contact the hotel directly in September. I have an eye on The Millhouse and Belvedere in Firostefani. Also looking at a couple in Fira.