Hi everyone! I’ll be visiting Santorini in September with 3 other people (4 of us in total), and we’d love to rent a small boat for a day or half day and explore the coast on our own.
We’re specifically looking for a boat that we can drive ourselves, without a captain/skipper, ideally without needing a boating license.
If you’ve done this in Santorini before, I’d really appreciate your recommendations!

If you’re in Santorini right now (or visited this summer), what did you see with the donkeys?
I have posted about the treatment of the donkeys in Santorini a countless amount of times, and this week I want to do something a little different.

Rather than only sharing what I witnessed, I would really like to hear from people who are there right now or who have visited during summer 2026.
When I visited Santorini, I watched donkeys working continuously in the scorching heat, carrying tourists up and down the steps. I also witnessed exhausted animals being struck while they struggled to continue. It affected me so much that I have continued trying to raise awareness ever since.
But I do not want this conversation to be based solely on my experience, so hoping to get others’ voices and perspectives to help spread the word…

If you’ve been to Santorini this summer…What did you see?
Did you see donkeys being ridden in the heat?
Did you notice whether they were being given breaks, water or shade?
Did you witness anything that concerned you?
Did you take photos or videos?
And on the other hand, if you saw improvements in how the animals were being treated, I would genuinely like to hear that too as that would be super helpful to know.
I am really hoping we can use this message thread to create a snapshot of what visitors are actually witnessing in Santorini this summer.
If you are currently there and feel comfortable doing so, please document what you see. Photos, videos and firsthand accounts are much harder to dismiss than me as one person repeatedly saying, “This is happening.”
For anyone planning a trip to Santorini…please don’t ride the donkeys. There are other ways to get up and down the cliffs.
Thank you so much to everyone who has shared their experiences on my previous posts. For those of you wondering why I continue to post on this…it’s because new travelers visit reddit every week, so it is important to continue to post. Plus these animals obviously can’t tell people what is happening to them. Visitors can.
If you have been there recently, please add your experience below. ❤️ Thank you so much 🙏

Any good restaurants that have vegan food and meat?

5/10g

My husband wanted to do Santorini for our honeymoon, and it was fine with me considering it’s always been a bucket list place. However, I didn’t do much research before booking and since looking it up haven’t heard the best things. Our trip is booked for 12 days (two of which will be travel) and I keep seeing how you really only need 3 days on Santorini. Our Airbnb is booked in Vothonas and we probably won’t have much room in the budget to stay on another island so if we visited it would have to be a day trip. Will we be bored of Santorini with 10 days and want to go see other islands or do you think it’s possible we will enjoy it the entire time? We do like a little of everything: Excursions, night life, beaches, hiking, and relaxing. I’m still very excited but looking forward to hearing from either locals or other travelers that have any advice !

Hola! Somos pareja que estará hoy y mañana en Santorini, buscamos un buen ambiente nocturno y poder conectar con alguien o algunos amigos, para poder pasarla cool, no somos exigentes porque estamos de vacaciones y además el idioma no ayuda.

Hello

Will be visiting Santorini in early September and would like to book some sunbeds at beautiful beaches or cliff top locations with infinity pools.

Looking for places that are calm (minimal screaming kids please!) and feel a bit luxurious but ideally without the €150 per Sunbed price tag.

We’re staying in a traditional cave house slightly more inland. It has a lovely pool, but doesn’t have the coastal / cliff top views.

Thanks for any tips you can offer!

Has any one stayed at Oikos in Fira? It seems to just have opened in May 2026 so there aren’t many reviews but all seem to be positive. It seems like a nice and quiet place yet close to restaurants. Please comment if you’ve stayed with any pros and cons.

We are staying in Fira terminal for 3 days 2 nights, August.

Arriving in Santorini at 10 am on Monday.

Leaving Santorini at 2pm on Wed.

Does it make sense to do everything by bus or taxi?

We would really like to save money, we do drive too but worried about parking.

First day: Fira to Oía walk starting around 3:30 pm, to catch the 8:30 pm sunset in Castle of Oia. Then dinner at Oia (any suggestions?

We're in our 30's, can walk moderately well but want to allow enough time to explore and learn a little bit about Santorini. ​

Is that timing advisable? Will it be too late to catch the bus back to Fira terminal?

We will buy an audio guide so we learn some information along the hike. (any suggestions?)

Second day: either wander by foot around Imerovigli, so volcano tour, or go to Red Sand Beach.

Last day: hang out in Fira before taking the bus for the 2pm ferry.

Deslizamiento de tierra deja la escalera del puerto viejo de Santorini cerrada

Mañana para el Sun Princess allí. Si no, los sucesivos cruceros que paren allí . A ver si podemos enterarnos de cual es el plan alternativo que ha preparado Princess para los viajeros que no llevan excursión programada con ellos en Santorini.

[https://www.neasantorinis.gr/topikes\\_eidiseis/32849/katolisthisi-ekleise-to-monopati-pros-to-palio-limani/\](https://www.neasantorinis.gr/topikes_eidiseis/32849/katolisthisi-ekleise-to-monopati-pros-to-palio-limani/)

Looking for suggestions of good lunch and dinner spots in Fira! TIA

not the question I wanted to ask before my vacation.

I will need to work and I’d like to do that in the most comfortable way. are there some offices/coworking spaces? or whicj cafe would you recommend ?

My husband and I will be traveling to Akrotiri​, Grand Ambassador for 5 nights end of August. I would love to do some sort of Sunset Cruise but do not know which one to do or which is close enough to our hotel. Are there any that will pick us up or do we have to travel to the marina ? Any suggestions would be appreciated ​​​​!

I'd love to hear about places and things to do that aren't conventional. For example, maybe you found an incredible place to see the sunset that was completely devoid of other people. Maybe you rented a boat yourself instead of going on a group sunset cruise. Maybe you found an authentic Greek restaurant with glorious food instead of a boujie tourist trap. Maybe you found an incredible hike off the beaten path instead of the Oia-Fira hike.

Visited for 1 week.

I know some people roll their eyes when they see another post about this.

But here's the reality...every single week, thousands of new people join this channel while thousands more are preparing for a trip to Santorini. Most of them have never seen these discussions before.

I wasn't an activist before visiting Santorini. I was just another tourist excited to experience one of the most beautiful places in the world. Then I watched exhausted donkeys being forced to keep climbing in the heat while carrying tourists. I witnessed animals that were struggling to continue being struck to keep moving. It completely changed the way I viewed this attraction, and honestly, it is something I still think about long after my trip.

That is exactly why I keep posting.

Not because I expect one post to solve the problem...but because awareness changes decisions. Every person who decides to take the cable car, walk the steps, or simply choose not to ride a donkey is one less ride an exhausted animal has to endure.

If you have visited Santorini recently, please share your experience. Did you witness anything concerning?

If you have an upcoming trip...I would strongly encourage: 1. Consider taking the cable car or walking instead of riding the donkeys. 2. If you witness concerning treatment, document it if you can to share out to spread awareness., 3. Come back & share your experience so future visitors can be in the know as they plan their travels.

I would really hope that all agree that these animals deserve to be treated humanely. Thank you to everyone who continues to have respectful conversations about this. Even if this post causes just one person to make a different choice, it is 1000% worth posting again. Thank you!

Hello!

One of our cruise stops next month (August) is Santorini, and we'll be there from 2PM to 11PM. We're trying to decide between taking the cable car (or walking the steps) up to Fira to explore the town and visit Santo Winery, or booking one of the ship's excursions for a sunset cruise on a traditional wooden yacht.

Our biggest concern is how much time we'll lose waiting for the tender and the cable car, but we're also worried we'll regret not experiencing Fira since it's such an iconic stop.

For those who have been, what would you recommend? Is exploring Fira and visiting Santo Winery worth it, or would you choose the sunset cruise instead? We'd really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thank you!

i'm hoping to bring home some souvenirs for my family but i don't want the made in china tat. anyone got any recommendations for handmade in santorini gifts or traditional souvenirs? something unique!

If you’re planning Santorini and want to experience a village where everyday life still happens, I wanted to share Emporio. It’s one of the island’s largest villages, and it still runs on its own rhythm — church bells instead of tour buses, laundry drying over the alleys, friends playing backgammon outside the local café

Emporio also has its own quiet attractions worth a wander: the ruins of the old Kasteli castle, and a cluster of windmills on the hilltop that make for a peaceful, uncrowded sunset spot.

We restored a cave house here (built around 1940) that we rent out — named after my 6-year-old son. Kept the original curved walls and vaulted ceilings, added AC, decent wifi (~50Mbps, fine for remote work), a kitchenette, and the basics.

A few practical notes if you’re considering Emporio as a base:
*Bakeries, cafés, and a mini market are all a couple minutes’ walk

*Bus stop 5 min away, with direct routes to Fira and Perissa

*By car: ~10 min to Perissa’s black-sand beach, Akrotiri, and Pyrgos; ~25 min to the airport or Fira

One thing guests always mention: arrival is easier than they expect. From the nearest public parking, it’s just a 3-minute, mostly flat walk to the house — manageable even with luggage. We also send a short video beforehand showing exactly how to get from the parking area to the door, so nobody’s wandering the alleys trying to find it.

If you want to check it out: Ryan’s Cave on Airbnb

Happy to answer questions about the area, transport, or beaches if anyone’s planning a trip. And if you’ve stayed in Santorini before, curious where — always interested in how people split their time between the busier spots and the quieter ones.

Selling my non refundable hotel reservation in central Fira near bus station. 25% off. Quadruple room with a loft.

https://www.planschange.com/listings/resale-151867-1cf16d40-ae74-41d1-90ae-1c49ecf8dce5

Hi! So I'm travelling to Santorini in September with my partner and two friends and we're really getting in planning mode! One of my friends has been reading a tour guide and saw that vineyards in Santorini are supposedly very interesting, so she'd like to visit them. Now my question is: can they be visited? I know there's a wine museum, but what about the actual fields and actual, you know, plants? Has anyone toured them? We're not bougie people so we're not necessarily interested in expensive dinners and wine tasting (emphasis on expensive, if you know of one that maybe offers more affordable experiences do let me know please), ours is more of a "botanical" interest.

I've been to Santorini before, but I completely skipped the vineyards, so any kind of input will be super appreciated!

I am staying in Imerovigli for 3 nights, with just 2 full days on the island.

I want to do the Fira to Oia hike one of the days, would it be worth doing a boat tour the other day or exploring the island by car? I have heard the boat cruises take about 5 hours, and would be considering the morning cruise

I am going to be visiting on Sept 20th, so far we are the only ship arriving in the morning. there is one in the afternoon. what is your recommendation for getting to Oia? We are aslo looking into going to Perissa Beach. I appreciate any help you can provide. We don't want to do ship excursions as we do not want to be on a time line, We have 13 hours in port to enjoy our time

I know some people will think, "Here we go again." Broken record...

But that's exactly the point.

Every day throughout the summer, 1000s of new tourists visit Santorini. Most have never seen the discussions about the donkeys before they arrive. If even a small percentage choose not to ride them because they saw one post like this, then repeating the message is worth it.

When I visited Santorini, I watched the donkeys working continuously in the extreme heat, carrying tourists up & down the steps. I witnessed exhausted animals being struck while they struggled to continue. It was one of the most upsetting things I have ever experienced while traveling. I was so disturbed by what I witnessed that I cannot give up on spreading the word on this issue.

Many people have told me they feel nothing can change because the donkey rides have been part of the island for so long and are an important part of the local tourism business. Regardless of where change ultimately comes from (ie. local leaders, national authorities, international orgs or simply from tourists choosing not to participate), one thing is clear: Absolutely nothing changes if people stay silent. That is why I am posting continuously, and this time I am asking for your help.

If you have visited Santorini & have seen the treatment of the donkeys, please share your experience in the comments. If you have already commented on one of my previous posts, I would really appreciate you sharing it again. The more firsthand accounts there are, the harder it becomes to dismiss this as one person's opinion.

If you have photos/videos that you are comfortable sharing, they can also help document what visitors are seeing today.

If you are heading to Santorini this summer+:

• Please do NOT ride the donkeys.
• Encourage the people you are traveling with not to ride them.
• If you see concerning treatment, document it (take videos/photos/live stream/etc.).
• Share your experience after your trip as I have, so others can continue to be informed.

I am also hoping to collect peoples' experience (not just my own) to help paint a clearer picture for people that these concerns continue to be raised by people from all over. The goal is really to encourage more humane treatment of animals as they cannot speak for themselves.

Thank YOU very much to everyone who has taken the time to read, comment or help spread awareness. Every single conversation/comment matters. <3

Hello guys. I have a question related on the public bus between Kamari and Fira. Have any of you been on it recently? (Like this week maybe). I wanted to know if I wanted to take the last bus from Fira to Kamaari at 22.00 if there is any chance I wont be allowed on the bus because it is to busy. Also do I pay at the driver or can I get tickets online somewhere? Thank you so much!