Amoudi Bay Santorini: The Steps, the Fish and the Jump

Amoudi Bay Santorini is the old fishing port of Oia, three hundred steps below the village at the foot of a wall of red volcanic rock. There is no sand and there never was. What there is instead is a quay with half a dozen fish tavernas on it, water deep and clear enough to swim in straight off the rocks, boats leaving for Thirassia, and a rock at the end of the path with a small chapel on top and a platform people jump from. It is the best hour in Oia and the one that costs the least. Our Santorini Tours come down here regularly, usually because a guest asked what was at the bottom of the steps.

The honest framing before you go. Getting down to Amoudi Bay Santorini is easy and pleasant. Getting back up is the thing people underestimate, every single day of the season, and it is entirely avoidable with five minutes of planning.

The Short Answer

It is a working port, not a beach. You swim off rocks and a concrete quay, and there is no sand anywhere in Amoudi Bay Santorini.

Around three hundred steps from Oia, shared with donkeys, and unshaded for most of the way.

Ten minutes down, twenty five back up, and considerably longer in August heat.

The fish tavernas are the point, and they are better and cheaper than most of what is on the rim above them.

Agios Nikolaos rock, ten minutes along the path past the tavernas, is where the swimming and the jumping happen.

Book a taxi or a transfer for the way back before you walk down. This single decision is the difference between a lovely evening and a miserable one.

The Island Above the Bay

Amoudi Bay Santorini at a Glance

Detail	Reality	Notes	Watch for
What it is	The old fishing port of Oia	A quay under a red cliff	Not a beach and never was
Where	Directly below Oia on the caldera	About 300 steps down	Also reachable by a steep narrow road
The steps	Zigzagging, wide, and shared with donkeys	Ten minutes down, twenty five up	No shade for most of the climb
The road	Hairpins from the Oia bypass	Very limited parking at the bottom	Chaotic at sunset in August
Swimming	Off the rocks, no sand at all	Clear and deep immediately	Water shoes strongly advised
Agios Nikolaos	The rock at the end of the path	A tiny chapel and a jumping platform	Ten minutes over uneven rock
Eating	A row of fish tavernas on the quay	The best fish on this side of the island	Book ahead for sunset in season
Boats	Departures to Thirassia and the caldera	Small local craft and larger tours	The other half of the bay’s purpose
Sunset	Golden light on the red cliff	Different from the Oia sunset, not lesser	The tavernas fill from seven
Getting back	The climb, a donkey, or a taxi	Book the taxi before you go down	The commonest mistake made here

Read the last row before anything else. Almost every complaint we hear about Amoudi Bay Santorini traces back to somebody walking down without a plan for coming back up.

What the Bay Actually Is

Amoudi or Ammoudi? Both spellings are correct and you will see each of them on signs, menus and maps. Ammoudi is the closer transliteration of the Greek; Amoudi is what most English sources use. They are the same quay.

Oia was a shipping village long before it was a photograph. Its captains kept their boats at the bottom of the cliff, and the little port they used is Amoudi. The name comes from the Greek for sand, which is a small joke at the visitor’s expense, because there is none.

The cliff. The rock behind the quay is a deep rust red, a different formation entirely from the grey and black cliffs further south, and at six in the evening it turns the colour of a brick kiln. This is the reason photographers come down.

The quay. A concrete strip perhaps two hundred metres long, with tavernas on the landward side and moorings on the other.

The boats. Local fishing craft, taxi boats to Thirassia, and larger vessels running caldera and sunset cruises. Half of the traffic in Amoudi Bay Santorini is still working traffic.

The path north. Past the last taverna the quay becomes a rough path over the rocks, running about ten minutes to the islet of Agios Nikolaos.

The other bay. Armeni, on the far side of the Oia headland, is the second old port and is reached by a different set of steps. It is smaller, quieter and has almost nothing on it.

What it is not. It is not a resort, not a beach, and not somewhere to spend a whole day with children and towels. Our beaches guide is where to look for that.

Getting Down, and Getting Back Up

The steps. Around three hundred of them, in wide zigzag flights from the western end of Oia down into Amoudi Bay Santorini. Counts vary depending on where you start, and nobody who has climbed them cares about the exact figure.

Going down. Ten minutes, easy, with the caldera opening up in front of you the whole way. This is the pleasant half.

Coming up. Twenty five minutes at a steady pace, forty if you have eaten, and genuinely hard in July at four in the afternoon. There is no shade.

The surface. Worn stone and marble, polished by two centuries of feet and hooves, and slippery when wet or dusty. Proper shoes, not sandals.

Donkeys. They still work these steps and they still leave what donkeys leave. Watch where you tread and stand against the wall when a train comes through. We advise guests not to ride; our piece on the donkey weight limit explains why.

The road. There is one, dropping in tight hairpins from the Oia bypass. It is narrow, two vehicles cannot pass comfortably, and the parking at the bottom amounts to a few dozen spaces.

Parking in season. Effectively full from six in the evening. Do not plan on it.

Taxis. They will come down for you, and they will not be waiting. Book before you descend. The taxi guide explains how thin the fleet is.

The sensible version. Walk down, eat, and have a driver collect you from the quay. That is what we arrange for guests every week and it turns Amoudi Bay Santorini from a logistical problem into an evening.

Mobility. The steps are not manageable for anyone unsteady on their feet, and there is no lift. Being driven down and back is the only realistic option. See our accessibility guide and seniors guide.

Swimming and Agios Nikolaos Rock

There is no beach. At Amoudi Bay Santorini you get into the water off the concrete of the quay or off the rocks beyond it, and there is nowhere to lay a towel comfortably.

The water is superb. Deep immediately, cold, and clearer than anywhere on the east coast because there is no sand to stir up.

Water shoes. The rocks are sharp and there are sea urchins. This is the single most useful thing to bring to Amoudi Bay Santorini.

The path to the rock. Walk past the last taverna and keep going along the shore. Rough underfoot, ten minutes, and unmistakable.

Agios Nikolaos. A small rocky islet joined to the shore, with a whitewashed chapel on top and a flat ledge below it that people jump from.

The jump. Around seven metres from the popular ledge, into deep water. It is not organised, not supervised and not signposted.

Do it properly or not at all. Watch other people first, check the depth and the swell, jump feet first, and never dive. People are hurt here every summer.

Children. Deep water, sharp rock and no lifeguard. Fine for confident older swimmers, wrong for small children.

Best time. Late morning, when the sun is on the water and the tavernas are still quiet.

Facilities. None to speak of. No showers, no sunbeds, no changing rooms, and the tavernas are for customers.

The Fish Tavernas

Half a dozen tavernas sit in a row along the quay at Amoudi Bay Santorini with their tables almost in the water, and they are the reason most people come down. This is the best fish on the north of the island and it is not a close contest.

How it works. The catch is shown to you, usually on ice, and priced by the kilo. You choose the fish and it is weighed in front of you.

Ask the price per kilo and the weight of the fish you are pointing at. A large fish is a large bill, and the surprise is avoidable in one sentence.

What to order. Whatever came in that morning, grilled whole. Add a Santorini salad with caper leaves, fava, and a bottle of Assyrtiko from the vineyards twenty minutes inland.

Lobster pasta is the local speciality on this quay and it is priced accordingly.

Prices. Not cheap, and better value than the rim above. You are paying for fish rather than for a view of a village you are already standing in.

Booking. Essential for a sunset table in July and August, and worth doing any evening in season. The tavernas at Amoudi Bay Santorini fill from about seven.

Lunch is the secret. The same kitchens, half the crowd, and the light on the red cliff is arguably better at one in the afternoon than at eight in the evening.

Vegetarians are fine here: the meze, the fava, the tomatokeftedes and the salads are all good. The Greek food guide covers the wider island.

Boats, Thirassia and the Caldera

Thirassia. Small boats cross from Amoudi Bay Santorini to the island opposite, which is the piece of old Santorini that broke away and has stayed roughly where the rest of the island was fifty years ago. Twenty minutes each way. Our Thirassia guide has the detail.

Caldera and volcano cruises pick up from here as well as from the ports further south, and Amoudi Bay Santorini is the most pleasant of the departure points. See our volcano tour and hot springs guide.

Sunset cruises leave in the late afternoon and return in the dark, and the view of Oia lit from the water is the one most people miss.

Fishing boats still work out of here, which is why the fish on the quay is worth eating.

Booking. Small local crossings are arranged on the day at the quay; larger tours are booked in advance and will tell you where to meet.

Sea state. When the meltemi is up, small crossings are cancelled without much notice. Check on the morning.

Sunset From the Bay

You do not see the sun set into the sea from the quay in the way you do from the rim, because the headland is in the way for part of the year.

What you get instead is the light. For the half hour before the sun goes, the red cliff behind Amoudi Bay Santorini turns an extraordinary colour and the whole bay glows with it.

It is quiet. Two thousand people are standing above you in Oia fighting for a wall to sit on. Down here there are perhaps eighty, all of them at dinner.

The tavernas know it, which is why the seven o’clock tables go first.

From the water is better still. A boat sitting off the mouth of the bay at sunset sees Oia, the cliff and the sun at once.

Afterwards. The climb back up in the dark is cooler and the steps are lit, which is a genuinely pleasant end to an evening if you are up to it.

Our recommendation. Dinner at Amoudi Bay Santorini instead of a scrum in Oia, and a driver waiting at nine. It is the single best swap we suggest to guests staying on the north of the island. The Oia guide makes the case for the other version.

Practical Tips From People Who Drive Here

Book the ride back before you walk down. The one rule that matters at Amoudi Bay Santorini, and the one everybody breaks.

Water shoes. Sharp rock, urchins, and a concrete edge that is slippery when wet.

Go down at eleven or at six, never at three. The steps face west and the afternoon is punishing.

Take water for the climb, because there is nothing to buy between the quay and the village.

Book the taverna the same morning if you want a sunset table in season.

Ask the price per kilo before the fish leaves the ice.

Do not drive down in August. The road is narrow, the parking is full and turning around at the bottom in front of an audience is nobody’s idea of a holiday.

Stand aside for the donkeys and keep to the wall side of the steps.

Bring a towel you do not mind sitting on concrete with. There is nothing soft in Amoudi Bay Santorini.

Combine it with Oia properly: the village in the late afternoon, the steps at six, dinner on the quay, and a driver at nine.

Amoudi Bay Santorini: Common Questions

How many steps are there down to Amoudi Bay Santorini?

Around three hundred, in wide zigzag flights from the western edge of Oia. Published counts differ depending on where they start.

How long does it take to walk down to Amoudi Bay Santorini?

About ten minutes down and twenty five back up at a steady pace, longer in the heat or after dinner.

Can you drive to Amoudi Bay Santorini?

Yes, on a narrow hairpin road from the Oia bypass, but parking at the bottom is very limited and effectively full from early evening in season.

Is there a beach at Amoudi Bay Santorini?

No. It is a working port. You swim off the rocks and the quay, and there is no sand at all.

Is the swimming good at Amoudi Bay Santorini?

Very. The water is deep, cold and exceptionally clear, and there is nothing to stir it up.

What is the rock people jump from?

Agios Nikolaos, a small islet about ten minutes along the path past the tavernas, with a chapel on top and a ledge roughly seven metres above deep water.

Is the jump safe?

It is unsupervised and unmarked. Watch others first, check the depth and swell, go feet first and never dive. People are injured here every summer.

Are the Amoudi Bay Santorini tavernas expensive?

Fish is sold by the kilo and a big fish is a big bill. Ask the price per kilo and the weight before you agree, and it is good value.

Do you need to book a table?

For a sunset table in July and August, yes. Otherwise you will usually be seated.

Can you see the sunset from Amoudi Bay Santorini?

You see the light rather than the sun itself for much of the year, and the red cliff behind the quay turns extraordinary colours. It is quieter than the rim by a wide margin.

Are there donkeys on the Amoudi Bay Santorini steps?

Yes, and we advise guests not to ride them. Keep to the wall side when they pass.

Is it suitable for young children?

The tavernas are fine. The steps, the deep water and the sharp rock are not ideal for small children.

Can you get boats to Thirassia from Amoudi Bay Santorini?

Yes, small crossings run through the season, along with caldera and sunset cruises.

How do you get back up from Amoudi Bay Santorini?

Walk, take a booked taxi or transfer, or ride a donkey. Booking the ride before you go down is the sensible answer.

Myths About Amoudi Bay Santorini

“It is a beach.” It is a port. There is no sand in Amoudi Bay Santorini and there is nowhere comfortable to lie down, which catches out anyone who arrives with a beach bag and a parasol.

“The steps are the only way down.” There is a road, and a driver can put you on the quay without a single step. That is exactly what we do for guests who cannot manage the climb.

“It is a tourist trap because it is under Oia.” The fish is landed here and priced by the kilo, and dinner at Amoudi Bay Santorini generally costs less than the same dinner on the rim above with a worse plate on the table.

“You cannot see the sunset from down there.” You see the light rather than the disc for much of the year, and the red cliff behind the quay does something at that hour that no photograph from the rim captures.

“The jump is organised.” It is not. Nobody supervises the ledge at Agios Nikolaos, nobody checks the depth for you, and nobody is on duty if it goes wrong.

“An hour is enough.” An hour gets you down, along the rocks and back up out of breath. Amoudi Bay Santorini is worth an evening.

“You need to book a boat in advance.” The larger cruises, yes. The small Thirassia crossings are arranged at the quay on the day.

“It is always busy.” At eleven in the morning there will be perhaps a dozen people in the whole of Amoudi Bay Santorini, while two thousand queue for a wall two hundred metres above.

Our Verdict

Amoudi Bay Santorini is the best thing in Oia and it is at the bottom of the steps that most visitors photograph from the top and never descend. Half an hour after you leave the crowd on the rim you are sitting a metre from the water with a whole grilled fish in front of you and a red cliff going gold behind you, and the bill is smaller than the one you would have paid upstairs for a view of the place you were already standing in.

What it asks in return is one piece of planning. The climb back is three hundred steps with no shade, and everybody who has a bad time at Amoudi Bay Santorini had a bad time on those steps at four in the afternoon with no water and no ride booked.

Go at eleven for the swim and the rock, or at six for the light and the fish. Wear shoes you can walk in and get into the sea with. Ask what the fish weighs. And arrange the way back before you take the first step down.

Amoudi Bay Santorini: Key Points

Amoudi Bay Santorini is the old fishing port of Oia, at the foot of a red cliff below the village.
It is reached by around three hundred steps, or a narrow hairpin road with very little parking.
There is no beach and no sand; you swim off the rocks and the quay.
The water is deep, clear and cold, and water shoes are strongly advised.
Agios Nikolaos rock, ten minutes along the shore path, has a chapel and an unsupervised jumping ledge.
The row of fish tavernas on the quay is the main reason most people come down.
Fish is sold by the kilo, so ask the price and the weight before agreeing.
Boats leave for Thirassia and for caldera and sunset cruises.
The light on the red cliff before sunset is the reason photographers come.
The climb back up takes around twenty five minutes with no shade.
Donkeys still work the steps and we advise against riding them.
Booking a taxi or transfer before walking down is the single best decision you can make here.

Booking With Us

We collect from the quay. That is the practical service we provide at Amoudi Bay Santorini and it is the one guests thank us for most, because the alternative at nine in the evening is a climb or a long wait for a taxi that may not come. Prices are per vehicle rather than per person, there is no deposit and cancellation is free.

The evening that works: Oia in the late afternoon, the steps down at six, dinner on the quay, and a driver waiting at the bottom when you have finished. We build it into full day tours and we arrange it on its own.

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Tell us your dinner time and we will be on the quay when you finish.