Recreation

Windsurfing, beach volleyball and hiking are some of the recreational activities that can add to your fun filled Santorini vacation. Apart from these, sailing, basketball and football are also some other sports activities you can enjoy. You can visit the football stadium at Kamari to either watch a local football match or play with a group of friends.

Santorini offers a lot of options in sailing crafts as well as sailing routes. You can charter yachts and high-powered motorboats for domestic and international use.

Some of the sailing destinations are:

Shorter Sailings: Thirassia, Ios, Amorgos and Naxos.

Longer Sailings: Sporades, East Aegean, Dodekanese, Ionian Sea, Saronic-Argolic Gulf, and Mediterranean.

Inshore waters around Santorini: Aspronisi, Palia Kameni and Herakleia.

You can go hiking from Fira to Oia, which would be best enjoyed in the morning, when the weather is cooler; however, at times the fog may impair your views. During the hike, you will come across a volcanic rock from where you can have spectacular views of Oia. Down the road to Oia, you can see the beautiful chapel of Stavros. A hike from Ia to Fira along the Caldera is a lovely trip where you can stop on the way and see the basilicas (churches) all along the path.

Horse riding and Kayaking are also famous Santorini recreational activities. Beginners and experienced riders can go for arranged and supervised horse-riding trips around the island. For further details, ask at a local travel agent about ‘Naturaction', an organization that arranges these kinds of activities. Donkey riding is not actually a sport, but a thing you can try when in Santorini. This can be done, if you want to travel to the old port from the town of Fira.

For some water sports activities, you can visit the 'Water Park' or 'Wave Sports' situated at Perivolos Beach. Here you can enjoy jet skiing and water skiing along with other activities such as wake boarding, kite boarding, banana boats, ringos and wave-runners. The Kamari Beach also offers half day, daily and weekly programs for all sports activities. If recreational activities like diving and snorkeling interest you, then the 'Mediterranean Dive Club' or the 'Santorini Dive Center' at Perissa is a must visit.

VI. Shopping

There are many stores and shopping centers in Santorini Island, Greece, and the variety of merchandise offered, make shopping here a lot of fun. In Santorini, you will find everything from small shops, beautiful galleries, quality leather shops, gold shops and local handicrafts to small souvenir shops selling cheap buys. Also, there are numerous stores selling jewelry, woven items and folk art. You will find some merchandise in every price range, from the extremely expensive to the affordable.

Fira, Santorini's capital, offers tremendous shopping opportunities and it is home to the island's major shopping centers. You will be surprised at the number of jewelry stores around this town. Along with these stores, there are also a large number of boutiques selling expensive products. The main square consists of stores selling International Press or camera films.

Apart from Fira, Oia, on the north coast, which boasts of excellent art deco galleries, gold shops, and handmade wooden objects, is another great place on the island for shopping. This place also offers a fine variety of ceramics. A lot of the paintings sold here are representations of Santorini itself. The Kamari Beach, towards the southeast, with its seaside promenade, boutiques and ethnic craft shops is also a brilliant place to shop. In Santorini, shops are open till late in the night during summers.

One of the items that many tourists, who visit Santorini, purchase is the wine. There are numerous wineries to visit and you can taste some of Santorini's well-known wines before deciding on what you want to buy. Wineries also sell other local products such as tomato juice. Cava Sigalas Argiris, in Firostephani, sells all local wines, and also their own makes. This store also sells locally grown and made food, frequently offered as mezedes (hors d'oeuvres or snacks); tomatahia, small pickled tomatoes; fava, a spread prepared from chickpeas; and kapari, or capers.

There are many places in Santorini where you can enjoy your shopping at moderate prices. One of the most well known of these places is the main street in Ia. Here, visitors can buy a wide range of products, from souvenirs to specialty items that are made locally. One of the stores, preferred by many on this street is Replica, where tourists can buy real museum replicas. This store also deals in local statues and pottery.

Jewelry is another item, which many tourists like to buy when shopping in Santorini. Fine jewelry, in Fira is a little more expensive compared to Athens, but the collection is fantastic. Prices are usually reasonable and there are pieces available, which may not be easy to find elsewhere. One of the favorite jewelry stores, just along the street from Replica, is Nakis, which sells amber jewelry. Porphyra, in the Fabrica Shopping Center close to the cathedral, has some remarkable jewelry pieces. Kostas Antoniou on Odos Ayiou Ioannou north of the cable-car station is possibly Santorini's most famous jewellery store.

Drakkar

Address

Fira,

847 00 Santorini,

Greece

This is one of the stores where you can go shopping for apparels.

Thomas jewelry

Address

Oia

Santorini

Greece

This jewelry store sells excellent 22 k hand made pieces. It also offers unique creations made from precious and semi precious stones, continuing the ancient custom of meticulous craftsmanship.

Kouskouri Marbles

Address

Messaria,

847 00 Santorini,

Greece

It offers great art and craft merchandise.

Iliotropio

Address

Fira,

847 00 Santorini,

Greece

Iliotropio is a shop selling wine, one of the must buy products when visiting Santorini.

Ilios traditional gift shop

Address

Fira

Santorini

Ilios, situated in the center of Fira, is a store selling hand made artifacts. In this store, you will find a wide variety of wooden and metallic artifacts, ceramics, and paper made puppets, watercolors and you can also order all of it online.

Ta Chelidonia

Address

Kamari,

847 00 Santorini,

Greece

Ta Chelidonia is a shop that deals in good merchandise, which can be bought as souvenirs.

Boutari Winery

Address

Emporio,

Santorini

This is a beautiful winery, which makes and sells excellent white Santorini wines.