Short answer
Sunset in Santorini comes between about 17:00 in early December and 20:40 in late June, Santorini time. Today’s exact time is just below, worked out for the island’s clock; the warm golden light starts about 35 to 40 minutes before it.
- Earliest sunset
- About 17:00, early December
- Latest sunset
- About 20:40, late June
- Golden hour
- 35–40 min before sunset
- Light after sunset
- About 25–30 minutes
Sunset in Santorini today
Santorini time
- Sunrise
- 07:31
- Golden hour
- 17:57
- Light until
- 18:59
- Daylight
- 11 h 02 min
Sunset in Santorini, month by month
The sun sets after 20:00 from early May to mid-August, and latest of all, at about 20:40, in late June. After the clocks go back on the last Sunday of October it sets before 17:30, and it stays close to 17:00 until the new year.
| Month | Sunset on the 1st | Sunset on the 15th | Sunrise on the 15th | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 17:13 | 17:26 | 07:29 | 9 h 57 min |
| February | 17:44 | 17:58 | 07:06 | 10 h 53 min |
| March | 18:12 | 18:25 | 06:29 | 11 h 56 min |
| April | 19:40 | 19:52 | 06:44 | 13 h 07 min |
| May | 20:05 | 20:17 | 06:11 | 14 h 06 min |
| June | 20:30 | 20:37 | 05:59 | 14 h 38 min |
| July | 20:40 | 20:36 | 06:11 | 14 h 24 min |
| August | 20:24 | 20:08 | 06:35 | 13 h 33 min |
| September | 19:46 | 19:25 | 07:00 | 12 h 25 min |
| October | 19:01 | 18:42 | 07:25 | 11 h 17 min |
| November | 17:21 | 17:09 | 06:55 | 10 h 15 min |
| December | 17:03 | 17:04 | 07:22 | 9 h 42 min |
The next two weeks
- Today18:3322 Oct
- Fri18:3223 Oct
- Sat18:3024 Oct
- Sun17:2925 Oct
- Mon17:2826 Oct
- Tue17:2727 Oct
- Wed17:2628 Oct
- Thu17:2529 Oct
- Fri17:2330 Oct
- Sat17:2231 Oct
- Sun17:211 Nov
- Mon17:202 Nov
- Tue17:193 Nov
- Wed17:184 Nov
Where to watch the sunset in Santorini
- Oia. The famous one, at the northern tip, looking down the length of the caldera. The lanes around the castle fill up long before sunset, so come early or watch from a terrace.
- Imerovigli and Firostefani. The same caldera and the same light, high on the cliff between Fira and Oia, with far fewer people.
- The lighthouse at Akrotiri. On the southern tip, facing the open sea: the sun goes down into the water, not behind an island.
- From the sea. The water to yourself and a glass in hand. On our sunset catamaran cruise we watch it from the deck, with the open sea to the west.
The golden hour and the light after sunset
The best light starts before the sunset itself. Once the sun drops below about 6° the light turns warm and soft; in Santorini that is 35 to 40 minutes before sunset, all year. After the sun has gone, the sky keeps its colour for another 25 to 30 minutes, until civil twilight ends and the lights of Oia and Fira come on along the caldera.
If you are choosing between the morning and the evening on the water, our guide to the sunset or daytime cruise compares the two.
Watching the sunset from the sea
Our sunset cruise leaves Vlychada Marina at 15:00, with swim stops, the volcano’s hot springs and a BBQ on board, and turns for home as the sun goes down. For a group of your own, a private yacht can time the whole evening around the sunset, and all our boat tours in Santorini leave from the same marina, with hotel pickup. The Vista Yachting crew has watched it from the water every evening of the season for more than ten years.
