Restaurant Recommendations
Book these the same day you book your room
Reserve · 4–8 Weeks Ahead In High Season
Santorini's best tables go earlier than almost anywhere else I've been in Greece. From mid-June through mid-September, the sunset-facing tables at the top restaurants are gone weeks out, and the ones that are left are at 6:00pm or 10:30pm. If dinner matters to you, this is the single thing worth locking in before you land.
Omnia at Canaves Epitome. The best meal I had in Greece. It's also where I'd send you for sunset — Epitome faces an actual sunset into the Aegean rather than a caldera view.
Lycabettus at Andronis. The famous cliffside room, and the reservation I tell every Andronis guest to make the moment they confirm their suite.
Varoulko at Grace, Imerovigli. Michelin-starred chef Lefteris Lazarou's seafood tasting menu, and he personally visits tables. The food felt distinctly Greek yet modern — the strongest part of the Grace experience.
Selene, Fira. The island's benchmark for a serious modern Greek tasting menu — Santorini fava, white eggplant, tomatoes, Assyrtiko. Worth the night away from Oia.
Ammoudi Bay, below Oia. Grilled fish at the water's edge. Go at lunch instead of sunset — same food, a fraction of the crowd, and you won't be climbing 300 steps in the dark.
One good rule: two big dinners across a three-night stay, and let the rest be long lunches. Santorini rewards slowing down, not chasing every restaurant on a list.
Catamaran & Private Charters
The best half-day on the island
Best For · Honeymoons, Anniversaries, Anyone Skipping The Sunset Crowds
Seeing the caldera from the water is the one excursion I recommend to essentially everyone. It's also the cleanest way to avoid the Oia sunset scrum — you get the same golden hour with a glass of Assyrtiko and roughly two hundred fewer people around you.
Saint Yachting. My pick at the top end. Crewed, genuinely five-star service, and they'll do overnight and multi-day charters if you want to fold in another island.
Oia Sunset Cruise. The one I recommend for a classic private sunset sail out of Ammoudi — well run, and the right call if you want the experience without a full yacht budget.
Private over shared, always. Shared catamarans run 40–50 people. A private charter is usually 4–5 hours with the hot springs, Red Beach and White Beach, a meal aboard, and an open bar — and you set the pace.
Consider a morning departure. Calmer water, far fewer boats at the swim stops, and you keep your sunset free for dinner or your own terrace.
The Meltemi is real. Summer wind can cancel or reroute a sail with little notice. Book the cruise on your first full day so there's room to move it.
Skip the crowded sunset viewpoints and enjoy golden hour from your hotel instead, or via a private sunset cruise. Every time.
Best Beach Clubs
All the way across the island — and worth one day
Best For · A Break From The Caldera, Long Lunches, Younger Couples
Something most first-timers don't realize: there's no swimming from the caldera. The beaches are on the opposite side of the island, 25–40 minutes from Oia, and they're black or red volcanic sand rather than the white sand people picture. They're worth seeing — just don't build your trip around them.
Theros Wave Bar, Vlychada. The most design-driven beach club on the island and the one I'd book first. Roughly 15 minutes from Fira, open May through October, and beds go quickly in peak season.
Perivolos & Perissa. The long black-sand stretch on the southeast coast where most of the island's beach club scene lives. Easy, lively, and a genuine change of pace from Oia.
Kamari and Red Beach. Both are worth seeing once. Neither is worth a full day — Red Beach in particular is more photograph than swim.
Book loungers ahead in July and August. Front-row beds at the better clubs sell out by mid-morning, and a walk-in on a cruise day is a lost afternoon.
One beach day is plenty on Santorini. If beaches are actually the point of the trip, that's an argument for adding Milos or Paros rather than staying put.
