Where to Stay in Santorini (2027): The Best Areas, 12 Hotels and the Climate Resilience Fee

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Santorini adds a Greek hotel fee of €2 to €15 per room per night in the season, and where you sleep decides most of the rest: the caldera rim has the views, the beaches are a bus ride away. Santorini also has a crowd limit of its own: the port’s published policy caps cruise visitors at 8,000 on any one day.

This guide covers five areas, from Fira to the villages, 12 hotels, the bus fares from the island’s own operator and the fee. The hotels are researched picks, chosen for location, what each property publishes and consistent guest feedback, and each was checked as operating at the start of November 2026. No hotel pays to appear here.

The short answer

Not sure which area? Rank these areas for your trip: pick what matters and see the reasons.

Santorini’s hotel fee, and the cruise crowds

Hotels in Greece, Santorini included, charge the climate crisis resilience fee, which replaced the old accommodation tax. The rates for hotels are set in article 44 of Law 5177/2025 (Government Gazette, issue A’ 21, 14 February 2025), and the tax authority, AADE, still cites that article in its guidance of January 2026. The law sets one scale for the whole country; the fee is charged per room per night, and the amount depends on the hotel’s stars and on the month:

The hotel collects the fee after the stay and before departure and issues a separate receipt for it. The fee carries no VAT, and it is not charged when the stay itself is free. We found no amendment to these rates after the January 2026 guidance, but Greek rules change, so confirm with the hotel. It is the same scheme we describe in where to stay in Athens.

Worked example (our arithmetic): four nights in July at a three-star hotel cost 4 × €5 = €20, whether one person or three share the room; at a five-star hotel the same four nights cost 4 × €15 = €60. Among our picks, Kamari Beach Hotel describes itself as a three-star, so it falls in the €5 line in season.

The cruise crowds. Some of the day visitors to Fira and Oia arrive by cruise ship, and Greece taxes them separately. Under article 27 of Law 5162/2024, a cruise passenger who disembarks at Santorini or Mykonos pays €20 from 1 June to 30 September, €12 in October and from 1 April to 31 May, and €4 from 1 November to 31 March. That fee is on the cruise ticket, not on your hotel bill. Santorini’s port fund also publishes a cap: its berthing policy for 2025 to 2026 says the number of cruise passengers visiting the island will not exceed 8,000 on the same day. We found no published policy for 2027, so treat the cap as the current rule, not a promise.

Getting in, and around

• From the airport, KTEL Santorini, the island’s bus company, says the airport is ten minutes from Fira. Its price list shows €2.20 for the Fira, Kamari, Monolithos and airport route.
• From the port, Athinios, the port authority says the port is connected to Piraeus daily and throughout the year. The KTEL fare from Athinios to Fira is €2.70. Check the timetable for the sailing you take; ferry operators publish their own sailings.
• Between areas, KTEL’s price list, last updated on 19 May 2026, gives the fares below. Between 00:30 and 05:00 the fare rises by 25%. We found no direct Oia row to the airport or the port in that list, so expect to change in Fira.

KTEL publishes a summer and a winter timetable, so look at the one for your dates before you plan a late evening back from a beach or a village.

Fira: the capital and the bus hub

Fira is the capital, and the practical base: KTEL’s fares to the other areas are all quoted from here, so every route out and back runs through it. It is the busiest of the caldera villages, and the one with the most places to eat.

Where to stay in Fira

How the hotel links work: a hotel’s name goes to its own website. “Check rates” opens it on Booking.com through our partner Stay22, which pays us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.

• Aressana Spa Hotel & Suites, comfortable. In Fira, with the Tefsion Kallos Spa and the Ifestioni restaurant. The hotel lists rooms from the Classic Double of about 15 to 17 sq m to Junior Suites of about 30 sq m with a sharing pool. Choose it for a spa and a pool in the capital. Watch out: the Classic Double is small, about 15 to 17 sq m by the hotel’s own figure. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Hotel Keti, good value. At the left end of the caldera’s amphitheatre-shaped rim in Fira, by the hotel’s description, with nine rooms, each with a balcony and a view of the caldera. Choose it for a small, traditional hotel at the edge of the rim. Watch out: it has only nine rooms, so it fills early; ask the hotel for its opening dates. Check rates on Booking.com →

Firostefani and Imerovigli: caldera views

North of Fira the rim continues to Firostefani and then Imerovigli. These villages are quieter than the capital, and their hotels are built on the cliff itself, with the caldera in front. KTEL lists Imerovigli and Firostefani on its own route from Fira, so a bus is available, though a walk along the rim is the usual way between the three.

Where to stay in Firostefani and Imerovigli

• Astra Suites, splurge. In Imerovigli, an all-suites hotel with a cliff-side infinity pool, a pool bar, and Standard Suites with terraces and unobstructed views of the caldera. Choose it for the caldera view from your own terrace. Watch out: it sells suites only, so there is no small, cheap room to fall back on. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Sun Rocks Boutique Hotel, comfortable. Carved into the volcanic cliffs of Firostefani, under what the hotel calls the unsurpassed sunset. Choose it for a boutique stay in the cliff. Watch out: the hotel’s home page says little about room sizes, so ask what each category measures before you book. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Santorini View Studios, good value. A family-managed hotel on the caldera cliffs of Firostefani, with six studios, partly renovated at the end of 2016, in four categories by the amenities they offer. Choose it for a caldera balcony at a smaller scale. Watch out: with six studios it is easy to miss out, and the categories differ, so check which one you are booking. Check rates on Booking.com →

Oia: sunsets and crowds

Oia is the caldera-edge village at the northern end of the island, known for its sunsets. Cruise passengers visit by day, which is why the 8,000 cap and the €20 fee above matter here. It is 11.8 km from Fira by KTEL’s price list, and the fare is €2.20.

Where to stay in Oia

• Canaves Oia Suites, splurge. A hotel of 46 suites and villas at the entrance of Oia, next to the famous marble path, with private infinity or plunge pools. The hotel says it is the only property in Oia with full elevator access to almost all room levels. Choose it for a pool and a caldera view with the village at the door. Watch out: the village is the busiest place on the island by day. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Perivolas, splurge. On the cliffs just outside Oia, a short walk from the village, with cave interiors, an infinity pool that merges with the Aegean, a spa, a gym and on-site parking. Choose it for quiet and a sunset terrace a short walk away. Watch out: it sits on the village’s outskirts, so the return walk after dinner is yours to plan. Check rates on Booking.com →

Kamari and Perissa: beaches

Kamari and Perissa are beach towns on the island’s black volcanic sand, away from the caldera. Kamari is 7.3 km from Fira by KTEL’s price list, at €2.20; the fare to Perissa and Perivolos is €2.70. You trade the caldera view for a beach and a pool, and a bus ride to the sunset.

Where to stay in Kamari and Perissa

• Hotel Matina, good value. A family-run boutique hotel at Kamari Beach, with a swimming pool and a poolside bar, and rooms from single to quadruple and a family room with two bedrooms. Choose it for a small beach hotel with a pool. Watch out: the caldera and its sunsets are a bus ride away. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Kamari Beach Hotel, good value. A three-star resort set right on the black volcanic beach of Kamari, designed in the 1970s and continually updated, with 106 rooms. Choose it for the beach at the door. Watch out: at 106 rooms it is a resort, not a boutique, and the building dates from the 1970s, so ask how recently your room was updated. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Black Sandy Beach, comfortable. Just steps from Perissa Beach, with a pool, part of Meltemi Hotels & Resorts. Choose it for the beach and a pool in Perissa. Watch out: Perissa is the farthest area here from Fira, a €2.70 bus fare on KTEL’s list. Check rates on Booking.com →

Pyrgos and Megalochori: the villages

Pyrgos and Megalochori are old villages inland from the caldera. Both are on KTEL’s list from Fira at €2.20, and Megalochori is 10.7 km away. They suit a stay away from the caldera edge, with a bus to Fira for the beaches and the rim.

Where to stay in Pyrgos and Megalochori

• Vedema, a Luxury Collection Resort, splurge. In the medieval village of Megalochori, a resort that has evolved from a 400-year-old winery into a village retreat among vineyards, with several villa complexes and cottage houses. Choose it for a resort inside a village. Watch out: Megalochori is not on the caldera edge, so the sunset view is a bus ride away. Check rates on Booking.com →
• Zannos Melathron, splurge. A mansion in Pyrgos village, reached by a five-minute walk from the village’s central square through the alleys. Choose it for history and a village base. Watch out: the way in is on foot, through the alleys, so ask about luggage and arrival. Check rates on Booking.com →

How to book Santorini

• Count the fee. Add €2 to €15 per room per night from April to October by the hotel’s stars: a three-star room for four July nights adds €20.
• Check opening dates. We did not find season dates stated on the hotel pages we read, and we cannot confirm which hotels open in winter, so ask the hotel for the dates of your stay, and for the fee that applies to them.
• Match the area to the trip. The caldera views are in Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia; the beaches are on the other side of the island, a bus ride away at KTEL’s published fares.
• Compare totals. Tiers here are our judgement from what each property publishes; we did not compare rates. Hotel booking sites compared goes through where to book.

All 12 at a glance

Before you go

• Before you fly, sort out mobile data (the best eSIM for Europe) and cover (the best travel insurance). For the other hotel charges you may meet, see hotel taxes around the world.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• Hellenic Government Gazette: Law 5177/2025, article 44, climate crisis resilience fee (copy hosted by nomotelia.gr)
• AADE: Climate Crisis Resilience Fee Issuance Statement
• Law 5162/2024, article 27: cruise fee (taxheaven.gr)
• Municipal Port Fund of Thira: Cruise Ship Berthing Policy 2025-2026 (PDF)
• Santorini ports: Athinios
• KTEL Santorini: price list
• KTEL Santorini: routes
• Official websites of each hotel named above, checked in November 2026

Prices, fares and hotel terms change. Every detail here was checked at the start of November 2026; confirm rates, room types, opening dates and cancellation terms with the hotel before booking. These are researched picks, not reviews. This article contains affiliate links: hotel rates on Booking.com and other booking sites through Stay22, and tours, transfers and eSIMs through our partners; if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No hotel pays to be included.

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