Santorini, How Much Does It Really Cost? A Travel Expense Guide For A 3-Day Stay in Santorini.

Is it really expensive to go to Santorini? Yes, as a matter of fact it is! It’s one of the most expensive places you can ever go to in Greece. The only way to cut back the cost of your trip to Santorini is to go there during the off-peak season but you risk of having most of the establishments closed as the business is slow during this period. I personally wouldn’t mind that and would love to visit this island during winter time, to have it to myself and be able to admire its beauty sans the crowd of tourists.

Going to Santorini: Flight or ferry?

The biggest setback as always would be the flights and hotels in Santorini and as you may all know, the prices for both depends highly on seasonality. For flights, I highly recommend for you to always book it in advance as you will have the chance to get the cheapest rate available. Santorini is well-connected to major airports around Greece and even outside of the country. Flight costs are between EUR30 to EUR175 depending on how early you book and when you travel.

You can also reach it via ferry from Piraeus in Athens which will take between 5-8 hours depending on which ferry you’re going to take. If you’re prone to seasickness, I suggest the longer ride as the short ferry rides are almost always bumpy. Ferry tickets cost around EUR60 per way per person on a high season.

Where to stay?

I’ve done a separate post about the villages that you can stay in Santorini where I’ve mentioned all the pros and cons of each areas (you can see it here). Both times that we went to Santorini, we stayed in Finikia which is still a part of Oia but not on the cliff itself. It will require you to walk for about 20 to 30 minutes to reach Oia which is fine for me as it’s far away from the crowd and yet, it’s still within walking distance.

During my latest visit in Santorini, we were a total of 5 adults so all of the costs I will mention below are the total cost for 5 people unless otherwise stated. You can somehow get a rough idea of how much each services will be per person.

Flights, Hotel and Car Rental Cost

EUR85 per person for the flight.
Flight from Thessaloniki to Santorini via Astra Airlines.

EUR170 for the hotel.
Price of the room for 2 adults for 2 nights in Kiklamino Studios and Apartments in Finikia.

EUR192 for the hotel.
Price of the room for 3 adults for 2 nights in Kiklamino Studios and Apartments in Finikia.

EUR115 for the car rental.
Price of an Economy car rental through Santorini Holiday Cars for 3 days.

Day 1 Expenses

EUR5 for the private parking area in Oia.
You can park your car there for a whole day and even if you left the parking area and came back on the same day, the receipt is still valid.

EUR54 Lunch at Nocturna, a restaurant in Oia.
We had spaghetti, pizza, omelette, fava, 1 coffee, 2 cans of coke, 1 beer and 1 water.

EUR118 Dinner at Krinaki, a taverna in Finikia.
We had assorted meat dishes like keftedakia and lamb.

Day 2 Expenses

EUR40 at Iriana Cafe, a cafe in Fira.
EUR5 for a frappe, EUR13 for cocktails and EUR6 for beer.

EUR9 at Pitogyros, a gyros place in Oia.
EUR3 per 1 gyros.

EUR95 at Taverna Katina, a seafood taverna in Amoudi Bay.
We had 2 orders of calamari, 1 plate of octopus, fava, 2 plates of mussels, salad, fried zucchini, shrimps, fries, 2 bottles of raki, 3 bottles beer, 2 bottles of water and 1 can of coke. Yes, the cheapest place we’ve ever eaten at in Santorini.

EUR22 Vinsanto wine
It’s a highly recommended wine that you can only get in Santorini, we had it as our celebratory drink for our last night in Santorini. 🙂

Day 3 Expenses

EUR15 at Mes Amis, a coffeeshop in Oia.
EUR3 for each coffee.

EUR20 for the petrol.
For our car rental.

EUR144 per person for the flight.
Flight from Santorini to Athens via Aegean Airlines.

Total cost for 5 people for a 3-day stay in Santorini was EUR2,500 for us which isn’t that bad if you think about it. If you live in the Middle East like us, you’d think that it’s actually normal or cheaper even if you compare the cost in the Middle East. So yes, I think it also depends on where you’re coming from. I didn’t include any souvenir shopping since I didn’t really buy anything. 🙂

Santorini is a beautiful place and I think everyone should see it at least once. It’s absolutely and totally worth it.

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