Santorini lives up to all the hype surrounding it. No matter how many times you have seen the pictures of whitewashed villages perched on the rim of a giant caldera, when you see them, you will say “wow”.
If you are taking a ferry from points north (the Mainland Greece, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros) you will get to see the Northern end of the island first, with the famous town of Oia on a cliff welcoming you. You get to the main port not by directly going past Oia but in a round about way. I am sure navigating among the remnants of crater rim is quite challenging.
Santorini was formed some 3700 years ago when a volcano blew up. It was one of the most powerful explosions in history. The crater wall, which was formed by the explosion, broke up over ages and water filler up the caldera. At this point, the circle of the wall is broken in several pieces, the largest one houses most of population distributed among several towns. Fira (or Thira) is the largest town located on the rim in the center and Oia, at the northern end. There are many other towns worth visiting, including one, Akrotiri, which has an amazing Archeological site, that of a town buried by the volcanic ash in 1600 BC. It is like Pompeii but much older. You can still see a part of the volcano, now tame, in the middle of the circle.
Most of the spectacular views of Santorini are those of the whitewashed towns on the crater wall and the caldera. Sunset is a favored time for taking pictures.
There are multiple vantage points for picture taking. There is a pathway along the crater wall all the way from Fira to Oia, which is five miles long. From any point on this pathway, the scenery is breathtaking. Then, one can take a cruise in the caldera and look up to see the unbelievable scenery.
Yes, as expected, Santorini is very touristy. It is a regular port of call for giant cruise ships. When they disgorge thousands of passengers, Santorini gets crowded, especially Fira and Oia. Oia is unbelievable crowded, so much so that one has to stand in line at several vantage points to take a picture. Everyone is taking a picture of his/her partner, with Oia and caldera in the background. Selfie sticks are everywhere.
We found that the view from a town just north of Fira, called Imerovigli, was as nice as that from Oia, and the place was much less crowded. There is a rock situated next to the town. One can get to it by walking down some 3-400 feet and walking up. It also provides a great vantage point, not to mention a robust cardiovascular exercise.
Not far from the Akrotiri Archeological site is what is called Red Beach, so named because of red rocks and sand that make up that part of Santorini.
To get there, you need to walk on loose rocks and that is not advisable for those prone to twisting their ankles. There is also a long Black Beach comprised of volcanic “sand”. It is located near a town called Kamari, reachable by a bus from Fira. We went there on a day four cruise ships came visiting Santorini, chocking up Fira and Oia. The Black Beach had very few people and we had a wonderful lunch in a restaurant facing water. That was nice but overall one would not go to Santorini for beaches.
There are plenty of places to stay and eat/drink in Santorini. The luxury ones faces the caldera. Often, they come with an infinity pool. Restaurants with commanding views are more expensive than those in the interior but still they are quite affordable. The seafood is fresh and fantastic. However, it is possible to get virtually any type of food. There are some very commercialized streets in Fira and Oia, just like the ones in Mykonos. However, there are also places where the regular Santorini residents live. Our modest boutique hotel was situated right next to a school, so there are people besides tourists who live on the island (ha ha ha).