Short answer
For a full beach day with sunbeds, go to Perissa, Perivolos or Kamari: long black-sand beaches on the east and south coast with bars and calm water. For the colours Santorini is known for, go by boat: White Beach has no road at all, and the path down to Red Beach has been closed since the 2025 earthquakes. With small children, Monolithos has sand and shallow water.
- Sand
- Black, red, white and grey, all volcanic
- Best for sunbeds
- Perissa, Perivolos, Kamari
- Boat only
- White Beach, the hot springs
- Swimming season
- June to October
Nobody comes to Santorini for long golden beaches. The sand here is volcanic: black on the east coast, red and white below the cliffs of the south coast, and grey pumice around Vlychada. What the beaches lack in softness they make up for in colour, and several of the best ones have no road at all. We pass the south-coast beaches on every Santorini yacht cruise from Vlychada Marina, so this is the coast as we see it from land and from the sea.
Santorini beaches at a glance
| Beach | Sand | How to get there | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perissa and Perivolos | Black sand | Car or bus | A full day with sunbeds and bars |
| Kamari | Black sand and pebbles | Car or bus | Families, tavernas on the promenade |
| Monolithos | Grey sand, shallow water | Car or bus | Small children |
| Vlychada | Dark sand, pumice cliffs | Car | A quiet swim, unusual rock shapes |
| Red Beach | Red and black pebbles | Boat (path closed) | Swimming from a boat, photos |
| White Beach | White and grey pebbles | Boat only | Clear water and snorkelling |
| Mesa Pigadia | Pebbles | Boat, or a dirt road | Snorkelling, a quiet bay |
| Koloumbo | Dark sand | Car and a short walk | Quiet, unorganised, north-east coast |
| Hot springs | No beach | Boat only | Warm, orange water in the caldera |
The black-sand beaches: Perissa, Perivolos and Kamari
The east and south-east coast is where most of Santorini’s beach life happens. These are long, organised beaches with sunbeds, umbrellas, beach bars and tavernas, and the water is usually calm and clear because the beach shelves quickly into deep water.
- Perissa and Perivolos run together into one long beach of several kilometres along the south-east coast. Perissa, at the northern end, is livelier; Perivolos, further south, has the bigger beach bars. Both are busy in July and August but never feel full.
- Kamari is on the other side of the Mesa Vouno mountain, with a long promenade of tavernas, cafés and shops right behind the beach. The ruins of Ancient Thera are on the mountain above it. It is close to the airport and an easy choice for families.
The black sand gets very hot by midday in summer. Wear sandals or water shoes to cross it, and take a sunbed if you plan to stay.
Red Beach
Red Beach, near Akrotiri on the south coast, is the most photographed beach on the island: a small cove of red and black pebbles under cliffs of red volcanic rock. After the earthquakes of February 2025 the beach and the path down to it were closed because of falling rocks, and even before then the path was steep and loose.
The safe way to see it is from the water. Boats anchor in the bay away from the cliffs, and you swim off the back of the boat in deep, clear water. Red Beach is the first swim stop on our Gold catamaran cruise. Our guide to Red Beach has more on the closure, the colours and the best time of day.
White Beach and the south coast by boat
West of Red Beach the coast becomes a line of cliffs and small coves with no road. White Beach is a narrow strip of light pebbles below pale cliffs, and the water in front of it is some of the clearest around the island, good for snorkelling. Further along, Mesa Pigadia is a quiet bay with a pebble beach and fish around the rocks.
None of these places is built for lying on a sunbed. What makes them special is swimming in the bay with the cliffs above you, and that is easiest from a boat. Our catamaran cruises sail this stretch every day of the season: Gold swims at Red Beach and Mesa Pigadia, Platinum swims at Mesa Pigadia, and both pass White Beach and the Venetian lighthouse on the way to the caldera.
Vlychada: our home port
Vlychada, on the south coast between Perivolos and Akrotiri, is where our boats leave from. The beach next to the marina is dark sand backed by tall cliffs of pumice and ash, carved by the wind into shapes that look almost like sculpture. It is much quieter than Perissa. If you come early for a sunset cruise, it is a good place to wait.
Monolithos, for small children
Monolithos, on the east coast near the airport, is the best beach on the island for small children: the sand is finer than at Kamari, the water stays shallow for a long way, and there are tavernas right behind the beach. Planes landing nearby are the only noise.
Quieter beaches in the north
In the north-east, Koloumbo and Baxedes are long, unorganised beaches of dark sand and pebbles with few people and no facilities. Below Oia, Ammoudi and Armeni are small harbours rather than beaches: people swim off the rocks there, but the water is deep and there is nowhere to sit. Bring water and shade if you go.
The hot springs
The warmest swim on the island is not at a beach at all. In a small bay of Palea Kameni, in the middle of the caldera, warm water rises from the volcano and colours the sea orange. There is no road or beach on the islet; you swim in from a boat. Read more in our guide to the Santorini hot springs.
Beach day or boat day?
They are different days, and many guests do both.
- Choose a beach day for sunbeds, a long lunch at a beach bar and an easy afternoon. Perissa, Perivolos and Kamari are the places.
- Choose a boat day to see the south coast, swim at Red Beach and the hot springs and see the caldera from below. Our boat tours in Santorini include hotel pickup, lunch and drinks.
- For your own stops and timing, a private boat tour can anchor wherever the sea allows, for as long as you like.
What to bring
- Water shoes or sandals for the black sand at midday and the pebble beaches.
- Cash for sunbeds, umbrellas and tips on the organised beaches; see tipping in Santorini.
- Shade and water for the unorganised beaches in the north.
- High-SPF sunscreen and a hat. There is little natural shade anywhere on the coast.
On a boat, towels, snorkel gear and drinks are already on board; see what to wear on a catamaran in Santorini for the rest.
Are Santorini’s beaches worth it?
Yes, as long as you know what they are. If you want soft golden sand, Santorini will disappoint you; Mykonos or Naxos have better beaches for that. What Santorini has instead is colour and scenery no other island has: black sand under a mountain, red cliffs, white rock, and warm orange water in the middle of a volcano.
Our honest advice: spend one lazy day at Perivolos or Kamari, and see the south coast and the caldera from a boat. The beaches you remember from Santorini are almost always the ones you swam at from the deck.
