Ammoudi Bay
The tiny harbour at the foot of the cliff, with fish tavernas, red rock and swimming off the islet of Agios Nikolaos.
Santorini · The caldera rim · Οία
Oia, at the end of the caldera
The village at the northern tip of Santorini, where white cave houses, blue domes and the mansions of old sea captains spill down the cliff. Below it, some 300 steps lead to the little harbour of Ammoudi, and at its end the ruins of a Venetian castle look out over the open sea. It is the most famous sunset on the island, so come for the mornings too, when the lanes are empty and the light is soft.
Greetings from Oia
Oia
We set an alarm and walked out at six, and Oia was ours: just a cat on a wall, a man sweeping his steps and the whole caldera going from grey to pink below us. At noon we went down the steps to Ammoudi, ate grilled fish with our feet nearly in the water, and swam off the rocks. Tonight, instead of fighting for a place at the castle, we watched the sunset from our own terrace with a glass of Vinsanto.
Captains' houses and blue domes at the tip of the caldera
The story of Oia
Oia stands where the rim of the caldera meets the open Aegean, so it looks two ways: south over the flooded crater towards Fira and the volcano, and west to the sea and the little island of Thirassia. In the Venetian era the islanders built a castle at its tip, the Kastro of Agios Nikolaos, one of the five fortified villages of Santorini. Its walls are mostly gone, but the rock where it stood is still the best place to watch the sun go down.
In the 19th century Oia was a town of sea captains. Their ships carried the island's wine and goods around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and with the money they built the mansions you can still see on the top of the ridge, with tall windows and courtyards. Lower down, the sailors and their families lived in cave houses dug into the soft rock of the cliff, cool in summer and warm in winter.
On 9 July 1956 a strong earthquake shook the island, and much of Oia fell or was left too damaged to live in. Many families left. From the 1970s its ruined cave houses were slowly rebuilt, one by one, as homes, studios and the small hotels that line the cliff today.
From the end of the village, a long stairway zig-zags down the cliff to Ammoudi, a tiny harbour under red rock with fish tavernas at the water's edge. Walk on along the shore to the islet of Agios Nikolaos and swim in deep, clear water, then climb back up as the light starts to turn gold.
Hour by hour
A perfect day in Oia
An empty village at sunrise, a fish lunch at the bottom of the cliff, and the sunset from your own terrace. Here is how we would spend a day here.
- 06:30
The village before anyone else
Walk the marble lane along the ridge as the sun comes up behind you and lights the cliffs across the caldera. The blue domes, the windmills and the steps are all yours.
- 09:00
Breakfast on a terrace
Back for a slow breakfast looking over the water to Thirassia, while the first boats leave Ammoudi below.
- 11:30
Down the steps to Ammoudi
Take the long stairway down the cliff to the little harbour of Ammoudi, under red rock, and walk along the shore to swim off the islet of Agios Nikolaos.
- 13:30
Grilled fish by the water
Eat the morning's catch at a table on the quay, with the boats rocking a few steps away.
- 19:30
Sunset from your terrace
Let the crowds gather at the castle and watch the sun set into the open sea from your own terrace, glass in hand.
- 21:00
Dinner in Finikia
When the day trippers have gone, walk or drive the few minutes to the quiet village of Finikia for a family dinner, then back to Oia under the moon.
Where to stay
Where you'll wake up in Oia
Oia
Sleep in a cave house in the lanes of Oia
Chelidonia Traditional Villas · Traditional cave houses · €€€
Oia
Watch the sun sink behind Thirassia from your own terrace
Esperas · Caldera houses & suites · €€€
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Boutique cave hotel
Andronis Boutique Hotel
Oia · The caldera rim
A cave hotel set into the cliffs of Oia, with suites looking straight out over the caldera.
Where to eat
Tables we love in Oia
€€€€
Fish taverna
Dimitris Ammoudi
Ammoudi, below Oia · The caldera rim
A taverna on the water at Ammoudi, opened in 1989 by Dimitris and Joy, with fish bought daily from local fishermen. Try the scorpion fish baked in paper.
€€€€
Fish taverna
Sunset by Paraskevas
Ammoudi, below Oia · The caldera rim
Run by Paraskevas and Margarita for some 30 years, a fish taverna by the boats at Ammoudi, known for its lobster spaghetti.
€€€€
Family taverna
Krinaki
Finikia, by Oia · The caldera rim
A family taverna in an old winery with its canava and a wood oven, in the quiet village of Finikia just outside Oia. One of the few places still serving the island's white aubergine purée.
Within an easy drive
Around Oia
Thirassia
The small island across the water, reached by little boats from Ammoudi in summer, with fish tavernas at Korfos.
Imerovigli & Skaros
The highest village on the caldera rim, about 9 km south along the path or 20 minutes by car, with the rock of Skaros below it.
The caldera rim path
The cliff-top path from Oia to Fira, about 10 km through Imerovigli and Firostefani. Walk it in the cool of the morning.
Good to know
Before you go to Oia
Getting there
Oia is about 20–30 minutes by car or taxi from the airport and from Athinios port, and buses run often from Fira. Inside the village there are no cars; park at the car parks at its edge, which fill by late afternoon in summer.
When to go
April, May, late September and October, when the evenings are warm and the lanes are calm. In July and August, enjoy the village at sunrise and in the late evening, and spend the middle of the day down at Ammoudi or on a boat.
Fall for more of Santorini
Every stay we recommend across Santorini, from village guesthouses to rooms on the sea.
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