Getting That Postcard Shot Of Santorini – A Photo Guide

Santorini might be one of the most busiest of the Islands on Greece, its also beautiful and millions flock to this volcanic island and especially its famous for its Sunsets, it has become so popular and busy that there is also a plan to limit tourist numbers.

As the plane approached the landing, we could see the white washed house perched atop high cliffs rising from the Aegean sea and the half moon shaped caldera with is turquoise blue waters kissing its shores on the colourful beaches.

So why is this small sunny island so popular,Its romantic, its dreamy, its beautiful, you just fall in love, read on to find out why its so scenic and also some of the offbeat and best spots to photograph on the island.

Interactive Map: Beautiful spots for Photography in Santorini

Beautiful Oia

This has to be one of the most photographed locations on the Island, around sunset thousands crowd this places to see the most beautiful phenomenon, the sun sinking down into the Aegean sea, its very hard to find a spot around the castle as many come here quite early to get a nice spot, but there are plenty of other nook and corners around the castle to get a glimpse of the sunset, if you wait patiently a few minutes after the sunset, the majority of the crowds disappear leaving you with a few photographers capturing the lovely town of Oia bathed in orangish evening light.

A tripod is a must as this scene needs a long exposure and small aperture to get the star shape lights and i chose a F22 at 101 seconds at 24mm to get the colours of the evening glow.

If you want to burn some calories, try the Fira to Oia walk, takes 3 to 4 hours along the edge of the caldera with nice views over the island,  the paths lined with luxury hotels, blue domed churches and colourful doors, there are quite a lot of vantage spots for some nice clicks and you get to Panagia church for some more beautiful views before a well deserved break into Oia.

Amoudi Bay

This is a colourful bay and port where the sunset tours start and also has a few seafood restaurants, walk down the donkey path for some nice views over the bay and from the bottom of the bay you get nice views of the village above, explore the bay and you can find some secret beaches too for a swim.

Skaros Rock + Agios Georgios Church

An uninhabited settlement from the early 18 century caused by volcanic eruptions and now is popular with tourists, a hike takes you to the top for amazing views and is also a popular sunset spot, if you want to avoid the huge crowds at Oia, this is a very good alternative, its close to the village of Imerovigli, the church of Agios stands at the start of the hike path, very nice place for photography from the church terraces and a peaceful place to enjoy the views.

Imerovigli

This village is the highest on the Island and has a mix of luxury and decent priced hotels and accommodations and Anastasi Church is very famous with a lot of wedding photographers, the views from here are fantastic with the views of the volcano and the town of Fira to the left, the blue domes and the bells of the church make for fantastic photo opportunities, we stayed in this village and explored it and found a lot of hidden places to create great photos, if you have time, spend half a day atleast down the narrow streets adorned with beautiful doors and white and grey steps that looks as if it’s leading you to the deep blue sky.

Akrotiri

History says that this ancient town was destroyed during the Theran eruption and is now being excavated and is a nice visit to see how the ancient greeks lived.

Wine Tours

The mineral content of the Volcanic sand and its unique climate produces some fine and unique varieties of grapes and the best being Assyrtiko, most of it is white wine, but Santorini also produces a few red and rose wines, the best way to enjoy it is by going on a wine tour, you get to taste at least a dozen wine varieties from the visits to the various wineries around the island, better to be on a tour as you wont be able to drive after a few tasting sessions.

We did the Santorini wine Adventure and visited different wineries and the guides were very knowledgeable too.

Santorini being an Island is quite windy and to protect the grape vines, they are trained in a circular basket like formation which protects the grapes from drying out by collecting the morning dew and keeping the insides of the plant cool and hydrated, the vines are also made short due to keep them safe in the winds from breaking and splitting.

Best Way to Go Around

The best way to take in the sights of anyplace is on foot, the next best is on two wheels, gently pedaling around and enjoying the views, we toured the south island on electric bike tours by the amazing guys at Santorini MTB Adventures, this was the best part of our trip on the island and you get to offbeat places with no tourists around with very good opportunities for photography.

Emporio Old Town

Traditional old town and once bustling hub of Santorini during the early ages now is occupied by the older generation of Santorini, not visited by many tourists, it’s a perfect spot for a day out and to get some good photographs, the bike tour is the best way to visit this town.

Narrow stone lined streets in white adorned with beautiful blue doors covered in bougainvillea flowers are a view to be enjoyed.

Heart of Santorini

A unique heart shaped formation caused by the eroded sand and rocks where you can get a view of the caldera and the volcano.

Vegetarian Food

Santorini has a lot of restaurants and most of them had at least a few vegetarian options on the menu, tomato balls and Fava was our favourite.

Where To Stay

Being one of the famous beach and warm weather destination, there is a wide variety of options to stay, if you are on a honeymoon, then you can choose from the luxurious villas with infinity pools and if you are on a budget, stay inland in Fira for cheap.

We chose a nice cave house with Caldera Houses Santorini with the views of the volcano, perched on the highest point, the view were amazing, new to Airbnb, click to get a discount.

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