Watching the sun set in Santorini is often mentioned on many people’s wish lists. You can picture yourself, glass in hand, sitting back, relaxing as the sun fades for another day.
It was nearly time for the golden hour. We wandered slowly towards the sun, lost in the charm of the streets and the magnificent views over the caldera.
That is until we came to a sudden stop!
We had joined the throng of dozens of people all heading in the same direction.
There was no passing to be done…the narrow street was wall to wall people.
All we could do was shuffle along with the rest of the crowd until we came to a stop.
We were in Santorini at the beginning of September. Yes it’s a busy time to go, yes there are often many cruise ships in adding to the already crowded streets, and yes, I knew it would be crowded but just not like this!
If only we had started earlier and not spent the time window shopping! We headed to the Sunset Rooftop Bar only to be told it was well and truly booked out!
Eventually I found a spot in the second row along the wall and waited for the magic moment.
It was worth doing…once!
There are a lot of other view points in Santorini that would be perfect to watch the sunset and if I’m ever there again, I will be exploring these options!
But after all this..it is definitely not to be missed!
Where you been watched the sun set in Santorini?Â
Other articles you may enjoy
Sunset in Zadar
Spetses: My Introduction to the Greek Islands
We’re back in Europe
Beach Days in Broome
Holy crap! I don’t know if I could enjoy the sunset with that many people!
It wasn’t that enjoyable Katie…next time I’ll be looking for somewhere far from the madding crowd!
Likewise – I squeezed among the hordes of tourists to catch a glimpse of the supposed “best sunset in the world”. I definitely felt it was overhyped, but like you said – it was worth to see, ONCE 🙂
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who felt like that Yidian! Thanks for the support!!
That’s a lot of sunset-watchers! Isn’t it a little upsetting when you find that a place of your liking has been discovered by pretty much half the world’s tourists? For this reason I try to travel to amazing places close to the off season so I can find that lonely spot on a beach and bask in the illusion that I have escaped.
I agree with you but sometimes you just have to go when your itinerary allows it. We also went to a few smaller islands and loved those because of the lack of people. The end of season is also a great time to travel!
I’ve not been to Santorini, but I’ve watched sunsets from Corfu, and they were so glorious I can only imagine how wonderful the ones at Santorini are. 🙂
Corfu is a place I’d love to go to Krista. I’d like to think the sunsets are pretty spectacular from most of the islands in Greece!
Beautifully captured, the sunset in Santorini has somehow it’s magic. I have been in Santorini, back in the days as a “backpacking islandhopper”, the island was hardly recognized from tourisms and it was really peaceful and so relaxing. It is truly a beautiful island.
I wonder how you would find it now Cornelia….It’s still stunning but you have to find your own little piece of heaven there!Do you plan to go back or stay with your beautiful memories of how it was?
I’d agree your lovely sunset in Santorini was worth seeing once! I cannot imagine that throng of people! Wow! One of the best sunsets I’ve seen so far was on the Turkish island of Bozcaada and not that touristy at all…for now! 🙂
We ran out of time to visit Bozcaada when we were in Turkey Joy…now you’re making me want to go back to see the sunset!
Fantastic sunset, but all those people. Was there a cruise ship in port, or is it the norm?
There was a cruise ship in Rhonda…there’s always at least one in the bay so it’s usually pretty crowded but there are other spots to watch the sunset from and I’ll be at one of those next time!
Oh My! That is so funny, or not 🙂 Still your shots showed it how it was and that is great. A spectacular setting. We’ve not seen a Santorini Sunset – until now.
It wasn’t funny at the time!! Next time I’d find another place to watch the sunset from!
We spent our honeymoon in Greece, including five nights on Santorini. We stayed at a secluded cave hotel on the ridge halfway between Fira and Oia. We ventured to Oia once, during the day, but spent the rest of the time relaxing next to our hotel’s pool. The sunsets were just as spectacular from there, and we didn’t have to fight the crowds!
What a gorgeous places for a honeymoon! I think there are quite a few stunning places to watch the sunset from on Santorini…a good reason for me to go back and find them!
We did the sunset in Santorini twice last year and I was also surprised and how packed it was (may reflect my naivety though) but that kind gave it a sense of celebration and being part of something as everyone was in high spirits
That’s probably how I should have looked at it but I was taken back by the overwhelming number of people. It was so crowded, I felt the sense of celebration had disappeared!