Things to do in Oia, Santorini

Oia is known for its famous sunsets with gorgeous views of the Aegean Seas and the caldera, not to mention the beauty of Oia located on a cliff. Oia is beautiful whitewashed buildings, blue domes, windmills, and is just stunning in every way. There are also so many things to do in Oia from the shopping and restaurants on main street, hiking, day trips, wineries, and so much more! Here are our top recommendations for things to do in Oia.

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Stay in an Oia Cave Hotel

Oia is known for luxurious accommodations as well as very unique stays such as cave hotels. The hotels range from 150-300 or more a night. If you have room for a spurge this would be so fun to stay when visiting Oia. Some of my recommendations are Aris Caves, Santorini Paradise Cave Houses, and Gabbiano Traditional Cave Houses.

There are so many accommodations to chose from and tons of unique cave hotels that are all stunning! Check out more here.

Castle of Oia (St. Nikolas)

The Castle of Oia is one of the top attractions in Oia. Built in 1450 it is a beautiful stone castle made from lava rocks and bricks. The Castle sits on the top of a cliff in Oia with an incredible view of the caldera and the sea. It is a popular place to watch and enjoy the famous Oia sunsets. It gets very crowded around sunset, try to get there at least an hour or more before sunset to get a good spot. If you want to avoid crowds I would avoid visiting near sunset.

This is a great spot for a picture with the unbelievable view of the white washed buildings, windmills, and ocean all from a cliff view. This is where we got one of my favorite pics on our honeymoon. Although if possible try to dress cute because the view is just like a postcard. If not don’t stress it will still make for a cute pic, we had just walked 6.5 miles on the Fira to Oia hike and we still loved our photo!

Enjoy some volcanic wine

Oia has some of the best volcanic wine with rich flavor due to the volcanic soil the grapes are grown in. You can hop around to some wineries on your own or book a wine tour to visit the wineries with ease.

Our top pick for Oia wineries in Domaine Sigales– wine tastings with food pairings

Domaine Sigales is a beautiful winery you can walk or drive to. They offer wine tastings with food pairings that look amazing.

Tours are another great way to see the wineries without the stress of arranging transportation or picking which ones to go to. A couple of our recommendations are below.

Oia and Immerovigli Wine Tastings with Local Food– This tour will be taking you to visit Imerovigli and Oia and teaching all about the history about each village. The tour ends at a winery where you will get to try 7 wines and local delicacies to go with them. This tour includes transportation between location as well and is capped at 8 people per group so you are able to enjoy a more intimate small group environment.

Pickup is at Thera, Thera 847 00, Greece

Winery- Oia Sunset Tour– With this wine tour you will get to visit 2 wineries and one Oia bar in Santorini and will sample 8 wines ending in Oia for beautiful sunset views. You will be visiting the Venetsanos Winery and the Santorini Wine Museum for the wine samples and enjoying the sunset at Oia and Sun Spirit Bar.

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Watch the Famous Oia Sunsets

Oia is famous for it’s sunset due to its picturesque white washed buildings, windmills, and blue domes. It’s located on the top of a cliff with insane views of the caldera, water, and buildings. It is just the most stunning views with the glow of the sunset showering over the white buildings seems to make them glow with the warmth of the oranges, pinks, and yellows of the sunset. You can watch the sunset from the castle or any of the restaurants or cafes located on the cliff in Oia.

Shopping in Oia

Oia has a ton of adorable boutiques, art galleries, jewelry stores, and of course souvenir shops too. If you go down Main Street, you can’t miss it you will find a ton of shops to do some shopping where you will find some beautiful souvenirs to take home.

Aquamarine Jewelry and Wave Jewlery are great picks for locally made and beautifully made jewelry that makes for the perfect souvenir. Epilekton is a very unique shop which makes for a fun place to explore a very unique collection of items with a little bit of everything sure to have something for everyone.

As you wander through Oia you will find they have lots of adorable shops that you can hop in and out of and peruse. Oia in particular is known for their beautiful jewelry and art but has tons of things to pick from!

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Amoudi Bay, Oia

Amoudi Bay is so picturesque with the bright teal waters, cute Greek fishing boats, and great food. You will first need to walk down some very steep stairs, 278 of them to make your way to Amoudi Bay. The start of the stairs down will be located by the Oia Castle. Be sure to wear shoes with good traction, I found the stairs to be a bit slippery so be aware of that but it is so doable. Once you get to Amoudi Bay you can enjoy a swim, eat some fresh sea food or just walk around and take some pics. It is much smaller than I had imagined but still very much worth the long walk down. The beauty of the bay alone are worth it!

Hike from Oia to Fira (Fira to Oia Hike)

Hike from Oia to Fira

This is my number one recommendation when in Santorini! Seriously one of my favorite hikes. It is stunning with coastal views the entire way. It is a 6.5 mile hike that can take anywhere between 2 hours to all day. I would plan for around 3-4 hours. You can hike it from Oia or Fira and then take a taxi or bus back to the village you are staying in.

I highly recommend grabbing brunch at Pink Sofia Maria which is located right along the pathway in Fira. This is a perfect stop to start to fuel up or to reward yourself after an epic hike, either way it is a must. Fresh wonderful food and it is just so cute!

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When in Oia take the time to wander through the charming alleyways and make your own adventure. Some of the best memories you will make will be unplanned and that is what is so great about travel!

Traveling more in Greece? Check out our Ultimate 2-3 Week Greece Guide, Ultimate Santorini Guide, Oia or Fira Guide, Naxos Guide, Why Crete is the Best Island, Crete Guide, and Halki Village- The Best Day Trip in Naxos.

Have a wonderful trip in Greece and make all your Mamma Mia dreams a reality!

Happy Travels!

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Here are our favorite places to search and purchase all things travel from flights, rentals, accommodations, tours, and so much more!

Accommodations:

Booking– our favorite way to search for hotels, rentals, and hostels. When you book enough through booking you will earn a discount on all bookings which adds up quickly!

Hostelworld– our go to when searching for hostels

Vrbo– our favorite place to search for apartment and home rentals, it is usually cheaper than airbnb and has less hidden fees

Agoda– My new favorite for searching for accommodations, they have huge discounts making it a great place to search!

Tours and Activities:

Viator– book great tours and activities for your next trip, my favorite place for booking tours or travel activities. I love that they have such an easy app to keep all my tickets after booking.

Tripadvisor– Great place to buy and search for travel activities and tours

Get Your Guide– another great resource for searching for a huge variety of tours and attractions for your next trip

Tripadvisor– Great place to buy and search for travel activities and tours

We go Trip– Self guided tours you can access from your phone and explore on your own! A game changer. You can explore at your own pace but still have an informational learning experience of the places you visit, all at your fingertips.

Thatch– search for your own personalized and premade itineraries, with map locations, information for each activity, and your trip all planned for you that you can access through their app and take with you! Check out our thatch guide for travel guides we have created that match our blog posts! There are tons of other great travel creators to explore their guides.