Better in Santorini – Greece, Spring 2025

Ancient Akrotiri, Hike from Fira to Oia, and the Prehistoric Museum of Ancient Thera

On the morning of my third full day on Santorini I again took the 8:30 bus to Ancient Akrotiri, and this time it was open! Ancient Akrotiri was a large and prosperous Minoan settlement at the southern end of the island that was frozen in time by the large eruption of the Santorini volcano in 1630 BCE. The city was buried under 60 metres of ash and pumice, but unlike Pompei, the residents had time to flee before the eruption, perhaps warned by earlier quakes or initial smaller eruptions. The site is protected from the elements by a large building, and work is ongoing. Only about three percent of the site has been excavated, revealing streets, squares, shops, and homes up to three stories high. Visitors tour the site on walkways above the ruins, and the excellent interpretive panels help to make sense of the gray expanse of ruins and ash.

Everything seems rather fragile and precarious, with sand bags and posts helping to support structures, and archaeologists have stabilized windows, door frames, and walls with concrete.

I liked this building where large vases have been left where they were found. Most of the recovered artefacts, however, have been removed for safety and study, and some of the most important finds, including beautiful wall frescoes, are on view at the Prehistoric Museum of Ancient Thera in Fira, and at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Here, plaster casts of wooden bed frames have been placed where the beds were found.

It was all very interesting, and there was an excellent video that showed what one of the larger and finer homes, the West House, would have looked like, and how it would have been organized and utilized. There were storerooms, workshops, a room full of weaving looms, domestic areas, and even a commode that emptied down clay pipes to the city’s sewer system. The highest floor was light and airy with large windows and it featured beautiful wall paintings including one long narrow painting of an epic sea voyage, with finely drawn ships, cities, people and nature. Here is a small portion of that painting which was reproduced on one of the information panels. (I saw the original wall painting the following day at the museum, but could not photograph it well.) All of the wall paintings found at Akrotiri provide valuable information about life on this Agean island in the Early Bronze Age.

Happy with my visit, I returned to Fira, and spent the rest of the morning and the early part of the afternoon inside, sorting photos and catching up on my blog. Then, at around two I set off to begin the Fira to Oia hike, telling myself that it was okay if I changed my mind and did not complete it. I went to the cliffside path, turned north, and set off. It was a beautiful afternoon, warmer than the previous days, and with a lovely breeze. I turned after the first few minutes for this view back to Fira and out to sea,

and then for a zoomed-in view to my destination, Oia, on the far distant point, ten kilometres away.

There was a cruise ship in the harbour and the walkway was busy. People were strolling along, admiring the views, or sitting at clifftop terrace restaurants and bars. I was still feeling nervous about the possibility of an earthquake, though not as badly as on my first day. But, I could not imagine choosing to sit out on one of those terraces to have a drink or a meal. I wouldn’t be able to relax!

People seemed oblivious to the potential for danger, and my safety wasn’t much more assured on the path, but at least I was aware and constantly looking for a possible escape route! Even worse than dining on a terrace would be to stay the night in a cliffside hotel or villa, as many do, and they pay hundreds and even thousands of Euros per night to do so. What if an earthquake should happen in the middle of the night?

I also thought about the residents of this island, and about the owners and employees of the cliffside bars, restaurants, hotels and villas. What must it be like to live or work here, on the edge, day in and day out? I don’t think that I could tolerate the constant risk…

But, my thoughts weren’t all doom and gloom as I finally settled into the rhythm of the walk. I admired the beauty of the cliffs as I rose up towards Imerovigli – the horizontal stripes reveal the geological history of the series of volcanic eruptions which formed the Santorini volcano and island.

I enjoyed walking through Imerovigli,

with beautiful views back as far as Fira.

I neared and then passed by Skaros Rock. A spur trail heads down onto the promontory, and then up to what remains of the Venetian fortress and walled town that was built atop it.

As I left the outskirts of Imerovigli, I could see the rises and falls of the way ahead, until the final descent into Oia.

I rose up to the Church of Prophetes Elias, just visible near the top of the highest rise ahead,

and beyond it was the only really tricky part of the hike, with a steep, slippery and narrow trail, very close to the edge, and with areas of new rock fall on the path. I did not stop for a photo!

After that, the trail moved further from the edge, and there were fantastic views back as I rounded the inner curve of the crescent.

The rest of the hike was a pleasure, with several gentle rises up to small chapels, followed by easy descents,

and then I walked into Oia!

I made my way to the remains of the Castle of Agios Nikolaos, one of the five fortresses that were built by the Venetians on Santorini. It is a busy spot, especially at sunset, as iconic photos of Oia can be taken from there,

like this one!

Here is a wider view that encompasses more of the hillside.

Many professional photoshoots happen in Oia,

and many young women pose for their perfect “I am here!” Instagram shots. I had to wait my turn to take a quick photo of this next iconic view,

and also this one.

It was fun, but I soon wanted to be away from the busyness, and so I headed towards the windmills, because it was quieter there, and I like windmills!

I really enjoyed my time in Oia, but did not want to wait for the sunset as the town becomes very crowded then. I enjoyed the bus ride back to Fira, with new views of the island’s east coast that I had not yet seen. While there are fantastic and beautiful sights to be seen all over Santorini, there are also the more modest and workaday views of people’s homes, car sales lots, gas stations, abandoned buildings and work sites, etc. It is not all pretty, which is fine, but more than once I wished that people would not litter (locals and tourists), and that Santorini would encourage volunteer clean up crews to pick up what is already there. Garbage is so ugly, and most of the plastic that ends up in the ocean is blown there by the wind. Pick it up please!

The following day, I would be leaving Satorini a bit after noon, so there was time to visit the Prehistoric Museum of Ancient Thera, which would mean that I was able to visit 4/4 of the sights that I most wanted to see in Santorini after all. It was a very fine museum! Many of the artefacts come from Ancient Akrotiri so it was perfect to visit here after having seen the archaeological site. The artefacts were displayed chronologically, beginning with an obsidian arrowhead from the Late Neolithic, and these marble figurines from 2800-2400 BC.

There were carved stone vessels, from 2700-2400 BC, and early pottery from 2200-2000 BC.

Then, later pottery such as these ewers, from 1800 BC, beautifully decorated with flying swallows.

Also on display were bronze containers, cooking pans, and tools from around 1700 BC.

Akrotiri’s most famous finds were its wall paintings, such as these found in the West House which featured the large nautical frieze of a sea journey. These images of youths with their catches of fish are reproduced all over Santorini on restaurant signs, souvenirs, and post cards.

Here are just a few more of the very beautiful wall paintings that were found at Akrotiri.

Finally, here is a rare gold item found there – a beautiful ibex which was found inside a wooden box which was inside a clay chest. Archeologists have concluded that the people of Akrotiri had time to flee before the devastating eruption that buried their city as few valuables such as this were found, and also no human remains.

I was so thankful, in the end, to have been able to see all that I most wanted to see in Santorini. It is definitely an island to visit, and I am very glad that I went, but for me once was enough. My next two Cycladic islands, Naxos, and Amorgos (where I am now), however, are places to return to again, if I should be so lucky. Next up, Naxos!

Hits and Misses in Santorini – Greece, 2025

Caldera Views, Fira, Firostefani, The Red Beach, Pyrgos, and Ancient Thera

Santorini is the most visited island in Greece, with over three million visitors annually, in large part because of its stunning and romantic white villages that are perched precariously on dramatic cliffs, one thousand feet above the sea. It is a crescent-shaped island that was once part of a large volcano that had a catacylsmic eruption in 1600 BCE. Known as the Minoan Eruption, the blast created a massive flooded caldera, with Santorini and its sister islands in a circular formation around it.

The northern end of the crescent (to the left) is the site of Oia, Santorini’s most scenic village and the source of its most iconic images of Cycladic architecture, blue-domed churches, and windmills. At the south end of the crescent is the village of Akrotiri, and near the centre, located along the cliff edge, are the main town of Fira and several other villages. I took a Seajets fast ferry from Mykonos to Santorini, and our ferry skirted around the outer two islands (inhabited) at quite a distance so I got just a quick peek in towards central Santorini, where the villages look like snow atop the cliffs.

Public coach buses wait at the port for each ferry arrival so it was an easy matter to stow my bag, hop on, and pay my fare for the thirty minute trip to Fira. My accommodation was only minutes away from the Fira bus station which was very convenient as buses to all parts of the island start and end there. Even though I was so close to the station, and to Fira’s main road and square, my studio with kitchenette was tucked away in a quiet little street. It was a safe, comfortable, and peaceful place to stay for my four nights on Santorini, and I had a lovely little balcony!

I unpacked, shopped for groceries at a nearby market, cooked up a veggie pasta to last a few days, and then, when the sun was beginning to lower, I finally made my way to the caldera’s clifftop edge which was also located just minutes away from my accommodation. I’m almost at the edge,

and this was my first view!

I then looked north towards the next village, Firostefani, and higher up towards the village of Imerovigli, and beyond that, in the far distance, to Oia at the northernmost end of Santorini.

My number one “must do” activity (out of four), while visiting Santorini, was to do the scenic ten kilometre hike along the cliffs from Fira to Oia. I started walking north on the walled path, while I waited for the sunset, and as a little precursor to my planned hike on the following morning. I rose up to about here,

and the views back over Fira were stunning, but there was a problem. I was nervous! There had been so many earthquakes in Santorini only about a month prior to my visit, over 20,000! Most were slight tremors, under 2 on the Richter scale, but they were near-continuous, and many quakes were stronger, with the strongest reaching 5.3. The swarm of quakes was serious enough to have a State of Emergency declared. Schools were closed, and around 16,000 of Santorini’s 20,000 residents evacuated the island until the quakes calmed about six or seven weeks after they began.

Normally, I am not nervous with clifftop hikes, but as I walked I considered that, if a large quake should happen, there was almost nothing that I could do to escape peril, with there being no really safe exit from the path either up or down! I continued climbing, trying to get over my nervousness, and rose higher, with more views back to Fira. The gray zigzag going down the cliff in the photo below is the walkway up from where cruise ship passengers typically are dropped off, and there is also a funicular going up the cliff there, but both have been closed since the earthquakes started and alternate arrangements have been made for the disembarkation of passengers for those cruise ships that are still stopping at Santorini.

The views were spectacular, and soon I could see over towards the eastern side of the island where the land slopes gently down to the sea, in contrast to the high cliffs of the caldera side.

But, I was still feeling anxious. I rose higher, with views ahead to the village of Imerovigli and to the dramatic promontory to its left, Skaros Rock. In the 13th century, a Venetian fortress and settlement of over 200 homes topped Skaros Rock, but volcanic activity and earthquakes over the subsequent centuries caused most of it to fall to the sea below. You can see where my thoughts were!

Sadly, I was not enjoying myself, and I began thinking that I would not do the Fira to Oia hike after all. There was a cold wind blowing, and I was feeling low in both energy and spirits, so I found an exit point and moved away from the cliff edge. Then, quite by accident, I found myself at this iconic viewpoint, overlooking one of Santorini’s most famous blue-domed churches, the Agios Theodori church in Firostefani. That cheered me up a bit,

and also, as I neared Fira once again, the low sun emerged from behind some clouds, and Fira lit up beautifully.

As I walked back to my accommodation, I decided that I would not do the hike the following morning, as I had planned, and that I would go to see Ancient Akrotiri (Number two on my “Must Do” list of four) instead. The following morning, I was feeling surprisingly okay about my decision to not do the hike, and I was eager to visit the the archaeological site of Ancient Akrotiri at the south end of the island. Ancient Akrotiri is also known as the “The Pompei of Greece” because it was where a large and thriving Minoan village was buried under sixty metres of volcanic ash and debris when the Santorini volcano erupted in 1600 BCE. It was one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history. I took the 8:30 bus and sat on the right hand side to enjoy thrilling views of the caldera as we travelled south. But, when we arrived (myself and two others on the bus), the archaeological site was closed! I had checked the website the night before, and there had been no notice of a closure. Darn and blast! The next bus back to Fira would not arrive for ninety minutes, so I decided to walk to the famous Red Beach, which was not far away. First, I reached the White Beach, with views of the red cliffs ahead,

and then made my way towards the Red Beach which sits below deeply coloured, iron-rich cliffs. The cliffs, as you can see, are prone to large and frequent rockslides, and several signs warn visitors not to visit the beach.

Many do not heed the warnings, but I did. I sat for a while and just enjoyed looking at the sea and I also watched a small flock of swallows swoop and dive all around me. They are so fast!

Then, the couple who had been on the bus arrived, and we spent the next hour talking until it was time to return to Fira. Once there, I decided that I would visit the Prehistoric Museum of Ancient Thera – the museum was #4 on my “Must Do” list for Santorini. I went directly there, only to find that it was closed! There was no sign on the door as to why, and no notice of a closure on its webpage. Now I was 0/3 on my “Must Do in Santorini” list!

I returned to my studio feeling quite disgruntled! I decided to do some laundry, and I ate and puttered and moped, until I grew tired of all that and decided to go for a bus ride up to Pyrgos, which is Santorini’s highest village. It is built atop a hill, and is crowned with the ruins of a walled Venetian fortress, the Kasteli, and many churches. Built to protect against pirate attacks, the hill is a labyrinth of narrow lanes, gateways, staircases, and connected buildings, some of which have been turned into polished villas, and some of which are distinctly aged. The first views, as I began to climb up, were promising!

This is the Agia Theodosia, seen from many different angles as I roamed up, down, and around the hill. The original Agia Theodosia was built in 1639, and renovated in 1857, but it collapsed in the major earthquake of 1956. This new church dates from 1965.

And, this is the beautiful Church of Saint Nicholas which was founded in 1660 and repaired in 1980.

At the very top of the hill, and built upon and amidst very old ruins, was one of those iced-cake churches. It is the church of Theodorakis, or the Dormition of the Virgin Mary. Built in the 10th century, and renovated in 1663, it is one of the oldest churches on Santorini.

I spent a lot of time on the hill, going up and down every passage that I found, and sometimes doubling back. I went around and around, finding interesting sights in every corner, and many echoes of the hill’s Venetian past.

Most of the doorways were no taller than me!

There were also great views out over the island from the top of the hill. This one looks north towards Fira and the very distant Oia.

Here is a zoomed in view.

And, this was this view to the south, towards the highest point on the island at 565 metres above sea level. Upon this rugged mountain is the Monastery of Profitis Ilias Santorini, established in 1711, and there is also a telecommunications tower a little higher up.

I loved my time up on Pyrgos’ Kastelli hill, and my mood was much improved! The following day I decided to go to the beachside town of Kamari to hike up to Ancient Thera (which was #3 on my “Must Do in Santorini” list), even though I had heard that the archaeological site there was also probably closed. I enjoyed the bus ride there, and the approach to the trailhead, though the climb ahead looked a bit daunting! Ancient Thera is located atop a high and steep-sided, flat-topped promontory called Mesa Vouno, and is surrounded on three sides by the sea. Here is a view of the road that snakes its way up to the archaeological site!

I decided to choose the trail, rather than walk the road, and I soon rose up and above the hillside villas below.

The path was a steep zigzagging mix of rough trail, and ancient stepped pathway. Stopping to photograph the flowers gave me an excuse to catch my breath!

About a third of the way up, I reached the Spring of Zoodochus Pigi which was the main water source for the settlement of Ancient Thera. The spring is located in a 26 metre deep cave, and the site is marked with a small chapel.

I continued up higher, and stopped for views down over Kamari,

and across to that crazy road and the promontory of Mesa Vouno beyond.

Rising higher, views suddenly opened up to Profitis Ilias, with its monastery and the communications tower that I had seen the previous evening from Pyrgos, though from the other side.

There were now also views down to the town of Perissa which is located on the other side of Mesa Vouno. One can also hike up to Ancient Thera from there.

After about another fifteen minutes of climbing, I reached the admissions gate of Ancient Thera and, surprise, surprise, surprise, it was open! I was so happy! I entered the site, passed the ruins of a Temple to Aphrodite, and then rose up to this 9th or 10th century church of Agios Stefanos, which was built on the site of a 6th century Early Christian basilica.

Off to the left, the path continued to climb, (There were three young French tourists who had arrived at the site just as I did. One of their party is just topping the rise of the trail.)

and from there it rose to ever greater views down to Kamari, with its long black sand beach, and also to views of Santorini’s airport runway.

I was very happy with my climb so far, and then this happened!

A staircase of wildflowers! There had been wildflowers scattered here and there all along the trail as I rose, including my first sightings in Greece of bright yellow gorse, and fragrant thyme (blooming purple), but this was so unexpected! And there were many very pretty pink poppies in and amongst their red cousins. The flowery staircase became a flowery trail as I rose,

and then I finally reached the flat top of the mesa, with its wide, principal street that ran for 800 metres to the far end of the promontory. Most of the remains here date from a 9th century BCE settlement of colonists from Sparta whose king was named Theras. With ports down at both Kamari and Perissa, they traded with Athens, Corinth, Ionia, and Rhodes. The site was taken over by the Romans in the first century AD, and then by later civilizations until it was abandoned in 726 when the Santorini volcano had an eruption that covered the city with a light layer of pumice.

These are the remains of a stoa in what was once the Agora,

and this is thought to have been a private house, named the House of Tyche, after fragments of a statue of the goddess Tyche (Fortune) were found here.

Near the Agora was this theatre which could seat 1,500. What a setting!

I continued along the mesa towards the far end where many of the temples had been located. The area was flooded with yellow, and yellow and white, crown daisies! I had seen many photos of Ancient Thera when doing my research for this trip, and the ruins were always very hard to discern because the building stones are of the same limestone as the mountain itself. Everything just blended into an ill-defined mass of grey, and I wondered if the site was worth visiting, but today, at this time of year, the mass of daisies helped to delineate and define the architectural spaces. And, at the very least, is was absolutely beautiful!

The air hummed with the sound of bees, there was a fresh and enlivening breeze, and I sat and watched blue-backed swallows swoop and swerve all around at speed. It all made the experience of being here incredibly rich and exciting, and I felt very grateful indeed.

I returned, slowly, back to the flowery staircase, and enjoyed it all over again,

and then I made my way out of the archaeological site. I thought that I might return via the road, but decided to hike down. There is the lower part of the trail, in the centre of the photo, zigzagging down the steep rocky slope.

And here’s a closer view, after I had descended past the chapel. Going down was much quicker that going up!

I had time to visit Kamari’s black sand beach near the base of Mesa Vuono,

and then I returned to Fira, very very happy with my time up at Ancient Thera. As I passed by the Prehistoric Museum of Ancient Thera I saw that it was open, and I went to ask whether they would be open the following day. The answer was “yes”, (they had been closed the day before because of a strike that affected many federal workers as well as all air and rail travel!), and I asked when Ancient Akrotiri would be opening, and they said, “Tomorrow.” Hooray! That evening, near sundown, I made my way again to the caldera’s edge to look south,

and north,

and directly out to sea.

After some Santorini hits and misses, or, more accurately, some misses then hits, I was beginning to think that I might do the Fira to Oia hike after all.

Note: The first photo of this post, of Santorini from the air, is not one of mine and I don’t know who to credit!