How to travel to Santorini on a budget. A guide to the cheapest way to travel, stay and enjoy your time on this exclusive island. Do not read this if you are a tourist seeking a luxury holiday, however, if you are a budget traveller and want to know how to get the most of Santorini on a shoestring then read on!
Santorini on a budget! How?
Santorini is a beautiful Island but is renowned for being an incredibly expensive destination full of high end resorts and upmarket restaurants.
We are frugal travellers by default but if we want to visit an exclusive place we won’t let that put us off. We will just find ways to cut costs and get the best out of it.
Is it possible to travel there on a budget? To be honest, it is difficult but there are ways you can visit without breaking the bank.
This post will show you how!
When to go
Santorini can get crazy busy during the peak summer season from June to September. The prices will rise dramatically during that time too so we recommend travelling outside of that season. We travelled in early April when prices were lower, less tourists were around and the weather was still quite pleasant. Spring is a beautiful time on Santorini with wildflowers blooming and the weather comfortable for trekking around this beautiful island.
Getting to Santorini
We flew to Athens on a dirt cheap budget flight from Sydney with Scoot but there are many ways to get to Greece by budget airlines. Some fly direct to Santorini’s Thira airport.
The cheapest way to get from the mainland to Santorini is by the slow ferry. Blue Star ferries sail every day leaving Piraeus port at 7.30 am, arriving at around 3pm.
Cost – €40 Euro one way. There are specials if you book in advance and you can get this trip for €20 Euro. If you do not want to book in advance and be flexible, it’s fine. You can turn up on the morning of your journey and buy your ticket at the port ticket office.
For a comprehensive guide on how to travel to Santorini visit Santorini Dave’s site
Things to see and do on Santorini
The good news is most of the interesting things to see and do in Santorini do not cost anything. The immense beauty of the island itself is the main attraction. If you don’t mind walking a lot then Santorini is the place for you.
The most rewarding time spent here is wandering Santorini’s winding streets of the main towns Fira and Oia, admiring the beauty of the buildings and the majesty of the setting on the edge of the dramatic volcanic crater.
Fira to Oia hike – All you need to know in our blog post
These are some of the very enjoyable free or very cheap ways we filled our 8 days there.
- Hiking from Fira to Oia – This 4-6 hour hike is the highlight of Santorini. All along the way are jaw dropping vistas of the Santorini caldera. See our blog post on how to do this hike here
- Exploring the towns of Fira and Oia – You can easily fill a day in each place looking for the best views and wandering the alleyways to discover the hidden churches. Don’t forget to descend the steps to the old port of Fira and to Ammoudi bay in Oia
- Hiking from Kamari to Perissa via Ancient Thira – This is another fantastic hike over the Mesa Vouno mountain that separates the two black sand beach resorts of Kamari and Perissa. On top are the ruins of ancient Thira which was inhabited from the 9th Century BC. Entrance fee – €4 Euro. The views from the top are amazing. You can take a public bus from Fira to Kamari and from Perissa back.
- Visit Red beach and White beach – To get away from the crowds consider taking a bus down to Akrotiri. From there you can visit the ancient ruins or walk the short distance to Red beach. If you are a keen hiker we recommend continuing over the headland track to the cliff above White beach. It is a spectacular walk and you can return through peaceful country settlements to Akrotiri for a bus back to Fira.
- Wine museum and the Donkey brewery – For those who prefer a drink to a hike we recommend visiting the wine museum and the Donkey brewery in the centre of the island. We walked there and hitched a ride back but it is possible on the Fira to Kamari bus which passes them both. The Wine museum is in the Koutsoyannopoulos winery and has really interesting displays down in the cellars of the winery. Entrance costs €10 which includes tasting of 4 delicious local wines. A 20 minute walk up the road takes you to the Donkey brewery where tastings are free and you can buy beers if you wish.
Hiking Kamari to Perissa Red Beach
Wine Museum Santorini Wine tasting
Check out the Youtube video of our hike from Fira to Oia
Accommodation
This will be the most expensive cost on Santorini. Staying at the high end resorts in Fira and Oia with a caldera view can run into the thousands of dollars. There are cheaper places to stay on Santorini for those on a budget although certain things should be taken into consideration.
Kamari and Perissa
The two black sand resorts in the east of the island are where you will find the cheapest accommodation. They have limited eating options and if you want to get to Fira and Oia you will have to take a bus which can be inconvenient and add to your costs. It feels a bit isolated here from all the attractive views you will want to focus on during your stay. If you want to go to Oia for sunset for example it would be a hassle to get back involving a change of bus in Fira.
Fira (Away from the caldera)
Fira is the capital and the hub of the island. Buses depart from Fira to the rest of the island so it is the best place to be for transportation links. It has the best, reasonably priced eating options and a few supermarkets where you can stock up on cheap food. Around the caldera will be expensive but the further away you get, the cheaper it becomes.
Villages around Fira
We chose to stay in Karterados which is a small village on the southern edge of Fira. It was quieter and cheaper than Fira, had more of a local feel to it and was only a short 15 minute walk into Fira so still handy for buses and food (We like walking!). We stayed in the Sweet Home apartments which you can find on Booking.com and we payed €198 for 8 nights in April which is off season for a clean, comfortable studio apartment with a basic kitchen. It was the perfect location for us and we would definitely recommend it as a cheap option.
Transport around Santorini
The budget way to get around Santorini is by a mixture of local bus and walking. Some people hire cars or ATVs but parking can be a problem especially in the high season with so many people around.
There was a tragic accident with an ATV when we were there. A young couple drove theirs over the edge of a car park with no barrier on top of the highest mountain on the island and fell 200 metres to their death. We saw a lot of people struggling to operate them and the rental companies do not care whether you are capable or not. Be aware that these can be dangerous machines. They are very noisy as well!
Buses
This is the best way to get around Santorini by far. They are cheap and go almost everywhere on the island. The central bus station is in Fira and routes radiate out from there. You have to be patient sometimes waiting as occasionally one is missed out so be prepared for potentially long waits at the bus stop.
TIP – Buses can fill up quickly right from the start of the route. If you are mid route they may drive straight past you if full. Try to get on at the beginning of the route or as close as possible to guarantee a seat.
Bus fares on Santorini from Fira
- Oia – €1.80
- Kamari – €1.80
- Perissa – €2.40
- Akrotiri – €2
You pay the conductor on the bus and he will give you change. I say he because we didn’t see one female conductor or driver the whole time we were there.
Food
The sky is the limit as far as restaurants are concerned on Santorini with the most expensive ones being on the caldera edge with that all important view that you will pay handsomely for.
Fortunately there are cheaper options so head back inland a street or two and the prices start to drop. Dinner and a drink for two will still set you back around 25 Euros.
If you are on a tight budget and do not want to pay restaurant prices you do have a few other options.
Souvlaki or Gyros
If you really want to fill up for nice and cheap and you don’t want to cook then go for a Souvlaki or gyros which can be found everywhere. It is kebab meat in a thick pita bread with tzatziki, tomato and lettuce (and a few chips). Cheap, tasty and filling, they average around €2.30. Kalamaki is meat on a stick and can be really tasty.
Tip – There are numerous Souvlaki places around the island. The ones we kept returning to are Nick the Grill in Fira and Pito Gyros in Oia.
Bakeries
Another quick, cheap fill can be had at the bakeries on the island. There are a selection of pastries like spanakopita for 1 – 2 Euros or you can buy huge ready made rolls (sandwiches) for €2.80 which are great for taking on treks.
We found the best bakery on the island, just around the corner from where we stayed. It’s a bit of a walk south of Fira, close to the junction of Karterados village. It is called Erotokritos and was always full of locals which is a surefire way to know it is good quality and value. We ate there a lot!
Supermarkets
To save even more money, buy from the supermarkets and self cater. Even though we had a kitchen we were too lazy to cook for ourselves. We found there are many delicious local specialty foods in the delicatessen section so we ate a lot of antipasto meals. Olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and salads were cheap and tasty. The fruit is excellent and also reasonably priced when in season. The strawberries were amazing and only €1 a punnet when we were there in April.
The cheapest supermarket is Lidl which is on the main road south of Fira on the way to the port. There are a few others including a Carrefour in Fira which is marked as green market on maps.me
Drinks
Again the location rule applies. If you sit at a caldera view restaurant you can pay €7 for a beer and a minimum of €30 for a bottle of wine. It’s a lovely treat and if you afford it, do it! If the budget doesn’t stretch that far then grab a drink from the supermarket and find a bench with an equally dramatic view for a fraction of the price!
Cheap Alcohol
In the supermarket a 500 ml can of beer will be around €1 each and a bottle of cheap local wine or retsina can be found for as little as €1.47 a bottle
Budget wine in the supermarket Retsina
Water
It is safe to drink the tap water but it doesn’t taste very nice at all as it is heavily mineralised. We do not like to buy bottled water because of the awful environmental impact but on Santorini we had no choice. Fortunately the price is very low as it is set by the goverment to be affordable to all therefore in any shop you can find a 500 ml bottle of water for €0.50. In supermarkets we found a 6 pack of 1.5 Litre bottles for €1.80.
Toilets
It costs €0.50 to use a public toilet whilst out and about in Santorini. There are not too many of them about and some are kept way cleaner than others.
Tip – If you are in Fira and need the toilet, rather than pay €0.50 each for the public toilet, go to the Mcdonalds in town and buy a €0.50 bottle of water. Then you can both use their clean toilets using the code they give you, have a drink and sit and use their Wifi for a while!
The cost of a budget break in Santorini
So what did we spend in our time in Santorini? We spent 10 days in Greece in total and spent a total of €335 each which is €33.50 per day per person.
That included Our accommodation in Athens and on Santorini, the ferry to Santorini and all food, drinks and expenses whilst there. It does not include the cost of getting to and from Greece.
This is quite a reasonable amount to spend for a comfortable stay on this idyllic island. We tried to keep the budget low but still saw everything we wanted to see and ate out in restaurants to try the local dishes a few times. It was a wonderful stay and proves you can take a holiday on exclusive Santorini on a budget if you want.
Any other tips?
We hope this post was useful in your trip planning for a budget stay on Santorini. Please leave any comments below and pass on any more budget travel tips you might have for a Santorini trip. We’d love to hear from you!
How to travel the world as a Frugal Traveller
Happy travels
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6 thoughts on “Santorini – a budget travel guide”
Very helpful and informative, thank you. I’m now motivated to visit and trek around Santorini — in the cold season!!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jane. We’re sure you will not be disappointed as the island has a lot to offer those who are not afraid to step off the tourist trail. Happy travels!!
THANK you for this information. We are going in October for our Honeymoon, and although we may splurge a LITTLE MORE THAN WED LIKE on accommodations, we plan on doing everything else our way without tours and guides. This, and your Fira to Oia hike page, will be very helpful!!!
Hi Amelie. You are most welcome. It gives us great pleasure to know we have helped someone with our posts. Santorini is absolutely beautiful and the perfect place for a honeymoon. We wish you all the best for a fantastic wedding and trip to Santorini. You’ll love it. October will be a good time to be there with less tourists and cooler weather. One thing we just thought of… We met people there staying in one of the flash cliff side apartments with private pools. They complained about the fact that the pools are not heated so in April were far too cold to swim in. If you have a place booked with a pool, check to see if it’s heated as it would be way too cold to swim in by October. If you have any further questions, please ask away!
I love this!
My sister and I visited Santorini a few years back, we actually camped in our little tent and bought supermarket beers, sat on the walls and enjoyed the same sunset as restaurant patrons were paying top dollar for a glass of beer in a chair.
That sounds absolutely wonderful, Cindy! I can just picture it now. Amazing experiences needn’t cost the earth… we have so much fun whilst travelling on a budget :)) – Mandy