How to have Santorini all to yourself and enjoy beautiful, unspoiled views without thousands of tourists

The small Greek island of Santorini attracts thousands of tourists every day, making it incredibly difficult to capture the perfect photo of the iconic architecture and breathtaking views of this holiday resort.

Videos showing hordes of holidaymakers queuing in the streets of the island’s main towns have gone viral, with local tour guides warning that the island’s reputation for “overcrowding” is putting people off staying there.

There are also photos circulating of popular parts of the island, including the capital Fira and the cliff-top village of Oia, looking completely deserted during high season.

British tourists who recently visited Santorini have shared their top tips for beating the crowds, enjoying unspoilt views and having the Cycladic island’s famous whitewashed streets to themselves.

A holidaymaker who stayed there in early July told MailOnline that she and her partner had done research before heading to Greece to avoid the crowds.

The island’s iconic blue domes are a beloved tourist attraction, but it’s often difficult to photograph them without large crowds of people visible.

Empty streets on the island, captured by a tourist who got up early to avoid the crowds

Shops and restaurants stand empty on a street in Santorini, which has become known for its huge crowds

They were keen to visit all the famous sights, including the famous and much photographed blue domes of St. Gerasimos in the capital Fira.

‘After talking to many people where we were [going to be] “During my stay and on various forums they all said the same thing: go early to avoid the cruise ships,” she said.

Since up to seven cruise ships arrive each day from around 8am, it’s best to head straight for the sights once you’re on land.

The traveler said she and her partner visited the domes at 8am and were pleased to see that there was “hardly anyone” there – as can be seen in photos they took of the site.

But, she said, by 10 a.m. there were already “a lot of people.” Even then, she said, there was “a lot of mess” and a huge line.

The other great attraction that the island has to offer is the breathtaking view of sunsets over the Aegean Sea. This also attracts many tourists to the best locations to take the most beautiful pictures.

The couple said their tactic for avoiding the crowds and still getting a good view was to go out on a boat.

The suggestion is understandable after photos of tourists queuing along the cliff paths – often with all hands on deck to get photos without anyone else in them – started appearing en masse on the internet.

That is why many holidaymakers choose to go to the quieter, but equally picturesque, parts of the island, as they want to make sure their holiday is memorable for the views rather than the crowds.

Katie Haslam from Rochdale said she and her husband decided to spend their honeymoon in Santorini but not in Fira because they had heard it was ‘very, very busy’.

Instead, they stayed in a clifftop village a few miles away, which she told CNN Travel was “amazing, beautiful and peaceful.”

Empty streets at the end of June in a photo taken by a tourist in the early morning

She said they avoided the crowds in the city and “would sit on our balcony every night at 8pm with a bottle of wine. It was absolutely magical.”

Of the record 32.7 million people who visited Greece last year, about 3.4 million, or one in ten, visited the island of just 15,500.

In the narrow streets of Oia, residents have placed signs urging visitors to respect their homes.

“RESPECT… It’s your holiday… but it’s our home,” read a purple sign from the Save Oia group.

‘It’s a beautiful place but with so many people I can understand why they want to limit the number of visitors,’ one holidaymaker told MailOnline.

She added that some tourists are “simply disrespectful to local people’s property” and that many ignore “private” signs “just to get the right photo.”

A video shared by a tourist in late July shows the streets of Oia virtually deserted

These images of Oia were apparently taken before an influx of visitors arrived

Locals and officials warn that the island is being flooded, with around 17,000 tourists expected per day during peak season.

“We have to set limits if we don’t want to be destroyed by overtourism,” said Nikos Zorzos, mayor of Santorini.

“There should not be any extra beds… neither in the big hotels nor in the Airbnb rentals.”

Others, including a long-time guide, say the problem is not “overtourism” but the lack of infrastructure to handle the sudden influx of people arriving from cruise ships.

“The truth is that the island is empty. It is like never before, it is the worst season ever,” said Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator who has lived in Santorini for 18 years.

He claims that potential tourists are discouraged by videos of huge lines of cruise ship passengers and visitors shuffling through the streets in the blazing sun, and are choosing not to stay on the island for too long.

He said: ‘The problem is that social media shows something very different from reality..

Shocking videos show Santorini’s busy streets with hordes of tourists on the small island

Although July and August are the peak season on the island, town centres in many areas are reportedly deserted after 9pm.

Many of the people who visit the island’s main attractions are cruise ship passengers. Santorini is an important stopover on Greek cruise itineraries.

Once the rush is over, Chimenti says, “hotels are now about 30 percent occupied compared to a normal season.”

In late July, a tourist shared a video showing the streets of Oia nearly deserted. The footage appears to have been taken before the large influx of tourists arrived.

Although the photos on this page are empty, tourists queue for 20 minutes or more at the famous clifftop viewpoint in the picturesque village, hoping to capture the perfect Instagram shot.

Separate footage shared by a tour guide shows hundreds of passengers with suitcases lining up to board a ship departing from the volcanic island.

Hundreds of tourists sit on the steep hills of Santorini to watch and photograph the famous sunset on July 25, 2024

Hundreds of tourists gather in the village of Oia on Santorini to watch the sunset on July 20.

Until well into the 20th century, Santorini was a sleepy, idyllic island where most residents earned more from agriculture than from tourism.

From the 1960s onwards, the number of visitors increased as the island became known for its beautiful views and iconic architecture, but the development of the island could not keep pace.

“There is no such thing as overtourism. What I see is a lack of structures,” Chimenti said.

But a councillor recently drew fire after he urged residents in a now-deleted Facebook post to stay home and avoid the influx of tourists he said authorities were expecting.

“Another difficult day awaits us for our city and island with the arrival of 17,000 cruise ship visitors. We ask for your attention: limit your movements as much as possible,” he said.

Residents criticized the councilor’s request. One of them responded on social media: ‘[He] officially asks locals to lock themselves down at home so tourists can walk around freely. Great.’

Every year large crowds of people come to the island, making life hard for the locals of Santorini

Shocking images from the picturesque island show crowds of tourists queuing on narrow walkways past white buildings with the famous sea-blue domes for the most beautiful holiday photos

Tourists leave after watching the sunset in Santorini from Oia Castle, Santorini, Greece

Chimenti suggested that cruise lines organize excursions to other parts of the island and coordinate them so that people wouldn’t all go to the same areas at the same time.

Cruisecritic, a TripAdvisor company, says that up to seven cruise ships can dock at the island at a time. At full capacity, they could carry more than 14,000 passengers.

According to the Hellenic Ports Association, 800 cruise ships carried approximately 1.3 million passengers in 2023.