Oia sits on the northern tip of
Santorini, it’s around a 15km drive from the capital
Fira and would usually take about 20 to 25 minutes in the car.
Oia is the second most popular resort on the island behind Fira. It’s a beautiful village perched on top of the caldera with amazing views. It’s a romantic little village and very popular with couples and honeymooners, it also hosts many weddings every year.
Oia offers everything you need including some of the best restaurants on the island, supermarkets, tavernas, bars and of course the magnificent sunset over the caldera.
Most visitors will be choosing between here and Fira as their place to stay, some say that the views from Oia are superior to those of the rest of the island due to the way it looks down over the capital and it’s buildings so if you’re looking to stay on the caldera side of the island and want to be in one of the major towns with a great view then definitely consider Oia.
If you'd like to stay in the area then have a look at the Oia page of booking.com
here. Alternatively find a great package holiday through Tui
here.
The night life in Oia is based around getting a restaurant with a caldera view and taking photos of the beautiful volcanic scenery as the sun sets. There’s not much in the way of late night bars and no clubs.
If you enjoy traditional Greek music and dancing then there are a couple of options. There’s also a few cocktail bars and places that stay open late but don’t expect to be partying until the sun comes up, that’s not what Oia is about.
Oia isn’t on the beach but you can swim down at
Amoudi Bay, there’s even a popular spot for cliff jumping if that’s your thing. To get to Amoudi Bay you have to walk down 300 steps, just remember to take water shoes as getting in and out of the sea isn’t easy as it’s very rocky.
Also around Oia are a number of churches in the traditional Cycladic style of white walls and blue domes, a couple of which are situated right on the edge of the cliffs and are a great place to sit and watch the sunset.
Another incredibly popular spot to watch the sunset is at the Byzantine castle that’s right next to the steps that lead down to Amoudi. It’s true that you get a wonderful view from here but it’s so popular that it’s sometimes hard to get a good spot so keep that in mind if you’re thinking of going.
