Hi, I can't decide if I should stay in Oia or Imerovigli or Firostephani. People seem to like Oia and think Fira is too commercial, but I'm only there for two nights and Oia is the farthest from all the major attractions (like the ruins at Akrotiri).

What would you do? How're the buses on the island? Would it be convenient to be based in Oia? (I'm not renting a car, but I suppose I can rent a bike, but the attractions seem too far apart for biking anyway.)

Thanks.

In my opinion, Oia is much nicer than Fira and is a site in itself. If you can ride a bike from Fira to Akrotiri, you can ride from Oia.

I wouldn't worry about transportation overmuch. The buses on the island are cheap and convenient and mostly on schedule. And there's taxis. Akrotiri for me was disappointing. Most of the site was closed off (May 2002) and the self tour was over in 10 minutes. Luckily the Red Beach was near by.

I would stay in Imerovigli. It's centrally located and walking distance to Fira (where the bus station is). The buses are great and inexpensive. Akrotiri was disappointing for us also. There is really not much to see.

OH, my God!! Driving the road from Fira to Oia was more hair-raising than the Amalfi drive. I can't imagine riding a bike there with cars and bussess barely managing the turns and the drop-off cliffs.

I highly suspect that most people who prefer Oia, saying it is so much quieter than Fira have never actually stayed in Fira! Sure if you bedded down in the middle of a street of Fira it would be noisy. But most of the hotels are facing outwards on the cliff and are totally secluded from the noise. We stayed at Loucas which is practically in the center of Fira, but facing out and cascading down the cliffs. We slept with windows open and never heard a sound!!

We rented a car for just one day of exploring the island, but if in Fira, you can easily take a bus to the major spots. Too hilly for me on a bike!!