Santorin or Oia accomodations for mid October

Oia is a town on Santorini and if you want a caldera view you'll have to pay high prices.

Linda, just last month I stayed three nights at Villa Fotini in Firostefani on Santorini, on the recommendation of wise Janet of this forum. I stayed in a studio, with an ample bedroom, equipped kitchenette, nice outside patio (no real view), and adequate bathroom. I paid 70 euros a night in late June. A very nice breakfast was available for 7 euros. Maria the manager was a great help with helpful directions and arranging tours, taxis, etc. Villa Fotini is quite basic but very nice. They also provided a free ride from the airport, meeting my flight. Firostefani is a good central location, a short ride or modest walk into the urban center of Fira, and a long hike or 20-minute or so bus ride to Oia. Certainly there are many, many other hotels and lodging that are fancier, with pools and with caldera views, but I'm sure they can be multiple times more expensive, probably even off-season. By the way, while on Santorini I enjoyed a day tour one day that took me to the incredible, almost 4,000 year old Akrotiri ruins, covered by the volcano of about 1,700 BC, and various other stops away from the tourist towns, plus free time in Oia for sunset. I enjoyed the tour's short visit to the small town of Megalochora so much that I returned the next day by bus to again visit and photograph the town, shopping a little, and having a wonderful lunch, one of my best meals in Greece.

By mid-October room rates will have dropped significantly. Use the filter system at www.booking.com to search for what you want in the village of your choice for the amount you want to pay. You will find some rooms available that might have a view of the caldera. Check Olympic Villas in Oia.

Firostephani also has a number of hotels where you can have a private balcony with a caldera view for under your $100 budget per night. Why not go on "booking.com Firostephani" and when it comes up, put in your exact dates ... which wll narrow the field. Then, when the list comes up, just click on the first name... not because y ou want it, but because it then brings up the google map -- which shows exact location of all Firostephani hotels that work with booking.com. THAT way, you are not led astray by vague wordings like "sea view" (which really means the rooms face EAST toward other side of island). Some of these are Remvi Vila, Sunset Hotel, Hote Agnadema, and Hotel Mylos. But do not dither! Word is getting out about FIrostephani, and a quick look at Booking.com shows that some of this list is already booked for week of Oct. 15.

PS: I am crazy about Villa Fotini ... it does not have caldera-view rooms, but is only about 20 yards from the rim path,to gaze your fill. Don't miss going to the Oldest Taverna in Santorini, also about 20 yards away, with a porch/patio that has a dandy view of the sunset. All Villa Fotini rooms have balconies, crisp white linens, continental breakfast, and -- a lovely thoughtful touch -- a water cooler in the lobby to refill your daypack bottle. It's run by a wonderful family, managed by lovely daughter Maria (a licensed schoolteacher, fluent in ENglish). Even in October, one might want a quick dip -- and Fotini guests have the use of another hotels pool just across the main road. On the inland side of Fotini's building it's just a few steps to the bus stop for Oia (take the 8:30 am bus to enjoy Oia before streets get jammed with throngs from package tours & cruise ships). Rates in October are about 70$ double. But hurry -- I've been singing its praises on so many forums, it's now hard to book!

I just wanted to tell you that when I first started planning our recent trip to Santorini I started with looking at hotels in Oia. I almost fell off my chair in shock at the prices. From someone on this forum, I picked up the name of Firostefani. It's much cheaper and very nice. Easy walk into Fira. You can get a bus to other towns.

I have to say I LOVE THIS FORUM! You are all so helpful. Thank you for the great suggestions!

We are staying at Hotel Keti in Fira in September. It has an unobstructed caldera view, centrally located, and is reasonably priced (We are paying 200 euro per night, likely cheaper in October). It was recommended by www.frommers.com and gets excellent TripAdviser reviews. Here is the web site:
https://www.hotelketi.gr/