8 days
Athens to Santorini: Greek Island Hopping
Eight days island-hopping through the Cyclades — Athens, Syros, Mykonos and the sacred ruins of Delos, then on to the volcanic caldera of Santorini.
Greece / Natural wonder
Santorini
A volcanic caldera, dramatic sea-filled crater and mineral-rich soil that gives Santorini its distinctive character — a landscape shaped by fire and centuries of cultivation.
Approaching Santorini by sea, the scale of the place becomes clear before a single foot touches the ground. The island is horseshoe-shaped, its steep cliffs carved from layered volcanic rock, and at its heart lies a flooded crater — a caldera roughly 12 kilometres across and more than 400 metres deep in places. This is the shell of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded human history, and the sea has slowly filled the void it left behind.
The caldera rim
The rim of the caldera forms a near-continuous arc above the water. In places the cliffs drop almost vertically — bands of dark basalt, red volcanic tuff and pale pumice stacked in strata that record thousands of years of eruptions in stone. From the path between Fira and Oia, the views across the caldera are wide and uninterrupted: blue water in every direction, the silhouette of the opposite rim, and the small volcanic islet of Nea Kameni rising dark from the centre of the crater. The light here changes through the day, flattening or sharpening the caldera walls depending on the angle and the season.
Nea Kameni and the volcanic islands
The youngest land in the area is Nea Kameni, an island of bare grey lava formed from a series of eruptions between the 17th and 20th centuries. Walking across its solidified lava flows, it is possible to see the craters and small steaming vents that remain active below the surface. The rocks hold heat from below, and in places the ground is warm underfoot. Pale sulphur deposits colour patches of rock in yellow and green. Swimming near the island, the water is noticeably warmer than it would be at this latitude — a consequence of submarine vents on the caldera floor. Volcanic sand beaches on Santorini's southern and eastern shores tend toward dark reds and blacks rather than the pale sand common elsewhere, a direct product of the island's volcanic geology.
Soil and cultivation
The volcanic origins of the island are not only visible in its dramatic landforms but present in the soil beneath the vineyards and kitchen gardens that occupy its flatter areas. The mineral-rich, free-draining earth is one reason Santorini's Assyrtiko grape variety has developed its particular character, producing wines with a mineral backbone that reflect their origin. The island's settlements — villages of whitewashed cubic houses and churches with dome roofs — sit on the upper edge of the caldera rim, their light-coloured surfaces historically chosen for their ability to reflect heat. Together, the geology of the cliffs, the sea in the crater, the dark beaches and the volcanic soil form a landscape whose character is inseparable from its volcanic past.
On the map
Find it on the map
- Santorini Natural wonder
Tours that visit Santorini
Good to know
Before you book you should know
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Is this trip right for you?
Our groups are capped at eight travellers, which is about a third of what the industry calls a small group. Eight people share one vehicle, one table at dinner and one guide's attention, and the day can change on the road without anybody being left behind. If you are looking for a coach, a fixed script and a microphone, this is not that.
Most days involve real walking, often on ground that was laid two thousand years before walking shoes: marble worn smooth, cobbles, uneven steps and long site paths with little shade. Bring shoes you can spend a morning in.
Some days move between regions and are largely a drive, with stops along the way. Summers are hot — well over 35°C inland — and winters are colder than most people expect, so layers, a hat and sunscreen earn their place in the bag whatever the month.
How demanding a particular trip is, is written on the trip itself: the physical rating in the header, and the day-by-day itinerary above.
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Rooms, and travelling on your own
Trip prices are per person, sharing a twin room. Each traveller picks their own room while booking, so a party can mix the three:
- Twin share — two single beds, shared with someone you are travelling with or with a traveller of the same gender.
- Travelling as a couple — one double room.
- Individual room — a room of your own, for a single supplement on top of the trip price. Availability is limited, and the supplement for a given date is shown next to the option when you book.
Solo travellers are welcome on every departure, and most of our groups have one or two aboard.
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Accommodation
The hotels named in an itinerary are a guideline rather than a guarantee. Where one is full, or has dropped below the standard we booked it for, we substitute a property of a similar standard in the same area — we would rather change the hotel than the trip.
Check-in is usually mid-afternoon. If you arrive early we will ask for the room, but no hotel can promise one before its own check-in time; luggage can normally be left at reception in the meantime. If you want the room from the night before, ask us and we will add the extra night to your booking.
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Passports, visas and insurance
Entry requirements depend on your nationality and change without much notice, so the only reliable source is the official one: the government of the country you are travelling to, and your own foreign ministry's travel advice. Check both before you book a flight.
Many countries ask for a passport valid for at least six months beyond your travel dates, and for blank pages. It is worth looking at yours now rather than at the airport.
We ask every traveller to carry travel insurance covering medical treatment and repatriation, and we would strongly encourage cover for cancellation and for your luggage as well.
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Your departure is guaranteed — the day can change
Once a departure is on the calendar it runs. We do not cancel a trip for want of a minimum number of bookings, so a booked date is one you can plan flights and leave around.
What can move is the shape of a day. Museums and archaeological sites change their hours, roads close, weather turns, a local holiday lands in the middle of the week. Where that happens your guide reorders the day, or swaps a stop for one of the same weight, and tells you why. Changes to a booked itinerary are covered by our Booking Terms & Conditions.
