Richard1148

My wife wants to split our stay in Santorini between the Caldera side and the beach side (She's a beach person). We are thinking about staying in Perivolos. What is it like there, such as availability of restaurants, are prices more or less than in Fira or Oia, shops, and other things to do?

Trish

I've stayed in the beach area of Perissia which is very close Perivolos twice and loved it both times. Most people who travel to Santorini want to stay in Oia or Fira with the caldera views so rooms in Perissia tend to be quite cheap in comparison. I've stayed at Stelios Place for 25 or 30 euro with pool and about 15 steps to the beach. I've also stayed at Porto Perissia which was about 40 euro and equally close to the beach and at the Vegerra http://www.veggerahotel-santorini.com/index.html which was quite a bit more money and it's directly across from the beach. There is lots of choices of places to eat in the area but not such great shopping though. It's also a great place to make a hike up to ancient Thira.

Retsina

Perivolos is not a place as such, it is a scattered area of hotels/rooms places/tavernas about 2 miles south of Perissa which is a resort type place. Perissa is cheaper than Thera or Oia, after all it was the main backpacker place on Santorini a number of years ago. The beach is extensive but is grotty black grit with slimey rocks in the water.

Maria_H

We've also stayed at Perissa, Perivolos, is just further along the same beach and probably even quieter. They are mainly populated with package holiday accommodation, which is how we visited from the UK. We were quite happy there and did find it cheaper (and less exclusive) than Fira, we just hired a car for 3 days out of the week and toured the island from there.

Obviously some people are put off by the black volcanic sand but it didn't bother us. We didn't particularly go for a beach holiday but spent some time on the beach. Kamari, the other side of Ancient Thira, is a bit more lively, if you like that sort of thing.

Kate

I like Perissa a lot, and found it very laid back with lots of casual beach side restaurants. It has much more going on than Perivolos, which is a 5 minute scooter ride up the sea front.. Much cheaper than Fira or Oia. I HATED Kamari when I took a boat trip there - the worst kind of crowded package holiday resort.

The sand is coarse black and volcanic - which makes it too hot to walk on (wear flip flops!). You'll also need some kind of footwear in the sea, as it's a bit stoney. The black sand also makes the sea look a little dark.

In terms of things to do - well, it's mostly a beach resort, so 'not a lot'. You can take the frequent and very cheap boat shuttle service round the rock to Kamari. You can hike up from the resort to old Thira on the rock. You can take a day's boat trip to the volcano and swim in the sulphur waters. It's not far from Akritiri. I hired a scooter for a few days, which meant we could explore some of the remoter beaches and Akritiri without taking a tour.

There were various water sports you could do, but not being a fan, I can't remember which ones.

JamesA

Perhaps your best option would be to 'split' between Santorini and one of the other islands with better beach.

Richard1148

Thanks to all who replied. I guess I will give in to my wife and split the stay between the two sides. Actually we are also going to Mykonos, which was supposed to be her beach island, but she wants even more.