Imerovigli Santorini: The Balcony of the Caldera

Imerovigli Santorini is the highest village on the caldera rim and the one that people who know this island choose when they can afford to. It sits about three hundred metres above the water between Fira and Oia, on the point where the rim bends and you can see the entire flooded crater at once: both volcanic islets, the far cliff, Thirassia, and the open Aegean behind them. There is no square, no bus station and almost no shops. There is a lane, a great many white hotels built into the cliff, one of the best short walks in Greece and a sunset with nobody standing in front of it. We collect guests from here every day of the season, and our Santorini Tours start at the top of the steps rather than at the bottom of them.

The honest framing. Imerovigli Santorini is expensive, quiet and physically demanding, and it is the single most beautiful place to sleep on this island. If those four things sound like a fair trade, read on. If any one of them is a problem, this page will tell you that too.

The Short Answer

The best caldera view on Santorini, higher and wider than Fira and less obstructed than Oia. That is the entire case for Imerovigli Santorini and it is a strong one.

Fifteen to twenty minutes on foot to Fira along the rim path, which is one of the loveliest walks anywhere and completely flat by local standards.

Skaros Rock is right below the village: a ruined Venetian fortress on a headland, twenty minutes down and thirty back up, and free.

The sunset is as good as Oia’s and there is no crowd, no jostling and no need to arrive two hours early.

Steps everywhere. Most hotels are reached only on foot down a stepped path, and porters carry the luggage. Take this seriously.

Very little to eat compared with Fira: a handful of restaurants, most of them attached to hotels and priced accordingly.

The Island Around the Village

Imerovigli Santorini at a Glance

Detail	Reality	Notes	Watch for
Where	On the caldera rim between Fira and Oia	Roughly 300 metres above the sea	The highest point on the rim
The name	Greek for day watch	Sentries watched for pirates from Skaros	The village grew up behind the lookout
The view	The whole caldera, both volcanic islets and Thirassia	Better than Fira and arguably better than Oia	The reason every room costs what it costs
Skaros Rock	A ruined Venetian castle on a headland	A twenty minute walk down and out	Free, and the best short walk on the island
Size	A few hundred metres of lane	No square, no bus station, one small centre	You can cross it in ten minutes
Traffic	A single road behind the hotels	Everything else is stepped footpath	Suitcases are a genuine problem
Sunset	Full, unobstructed, over the caldera	No crowd whatsoever	The quiet alternative to Oia
Prices	The highest on Santorini alongside Oia	Cave suites with private pools	There is almost nothing cheap here
Nightlife	Effectively none	Two or three restaurants and hotel bars	Fira is fifteen minutes on foot
Who it suits	Honeymooners, couples, photographers	Quiet, spectacular, expensive	Bad for families, budgets and heavy luggage

Read the last row twice before you book. Everything Imerovigli Santorini offers and everything it refuses to offer is contained in that single line, and the guests who are disappointed here are always the ones who skipped it.

Where Imerovigli Actually Sits

The caldera rim runs north from Fira in a long curve to Oia, and Imerovigli is the high point of that curve. Stand on the edge here and the geography of the whole disaster is laid out beneath you: Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni in the middle of the flooded crater, the sheer inner cliff dropping three hundred metres to the water, and Thirassia across the strait, which is the piece of the old island that broke away.

The village name means day watch. Skaros, the great rock immediately below Imerovigli Santorini, carried the medieval capital of the island and its Venetian castle, and sentries posted there watched the horizon for pirates through the daylight hours. When Skaros became unsafe after the earthquakes, the population moved up onto the rim and the modern village is what they built.

Firostefani lies between Imerovigli and Fira, ten minutes’ walk south, and is often confused with it. Firostefani is lower, slightly cheaper and closer to the shops.

Fira is fifteen to twenty minutes south on the rim path, and it is where you go for a bank, a pharmacy, a supermarket, the bus station and a proper choice of restaurants.

Oia is forty minutes north on foot along the famous rim hike, or twenty minutes by road.

The airport is fifteen minutes east; Athinios port twenty minutes south. Neither is far, and both are impossible to reach with luggage without help.

Behind the village, on the inland side, is the modern road and the ordinary Santorini that visitors rarely photograph: a supermarket, a bakery, parked cars and a bus stop. Everything on the caldera side of that road is stepped, white, and reached only on foot.

Skaros Rock, the Best Walk on the Island

If you do one thing in Imerovigli Santorini, do this. Skaros is the enormous headland that juts into the caldera directly below the village, and until the eighteenth century it carried the island’s capital and a Venetian castle. Earthquakes took most of it into the sea. What remains is a stone path, a scattering of ruins and a small white chapel on the far side facing the volcano.

How long. Twenty minutes down from the village, thirty back up, plus as long as you want at the far end. Allow ninety minutes to enjoy it.

How hard. The descent is a stepped path and the return is a genuine climb. It is not technical, but it is steep and there is no shade whatsoever.

Where it starts. At the north end of the village, signposted, past the Church of Panagia Theoskepasti.

The saddle. The path drops to a col and then rises onto the rock itself. Most visitors stop here, which is a mistake.

Theoskepasti chapel. Keep going round the far side to the small chapel on the northern face. This is the view that makes the walk famous and the reason to carry on past the saddle.

The castle. Almost nothing survives except foundations and a few walls, and the interest is entirely in where it stood rather than what is left.

When to go. Early morning or the last two hours of daylight. The rock faces west and it is brutal at noon.

What to take. Water, proper shoes, and a hat. Sandals are a mistake on the loose sections.

Is it safe? Yes, on the marked path. The unmarked edges of the rock are not fenced and there is a long drop; keep children close.

Cost. Nothing. It is the best free thing to do on the caldera and one of the few experiences in Imerovigli Santorini that does not appear on a bill. Our hiking guide has the route in full.

The View, and Why It Beats the Others

Height. Imerovigli sits at the highest point of the rim, roughly three hundred metres above the sea, and every metre shows.

Angle. The rim bends here, so the village looks straight down the axis of the caldera rather than across a corner of it.

What you can see. Nea Kameni, Palea Kameni, Thirassia, the whole inner cliff from Oia to Akrotiri, and on clear mornings Ios and Sikinos beyond.

Skaros in the foreground. This is what separates the view from Imerovigli Santorini from the view from Fira: a huge dark rock in the middle distance that gives the picture depth.

Sunset. Full and unobstructed. The sun drops behind Thirassia rather than behind Oia’s headland, and the whole caldera turns orange with it.

Sunrise. Over the airport and the east coast, visible from the inland side of the village and almost nobody sees it.

At night. Fira glitters to the south, Oia to the north, and the anchored cruise ships light up the water below.

Photography. The best hours are the forty minutes after sunset, when the hotels light up and the sky still has colour. Our photogenic spots guide and photography tour piece cover the rest of the island.

The catch. You are paying for this view in the room rate whether you look at it or not, and it is the only reason Imerovigli Santorini costs what it costs.

Staying in Imerovigli Santorini

Almost everyone who reads about this village is deciding where to sleep, so here is the part that matters, written by people who deliver guests to these doors every morning.

What you are buying. A cave suite or a terrace room built into the cliff, with a private or shared plunge pool, facing the caldera. That is the product and it is the only product.

Cave houses. The traditional dwellings here were dug back into the soft volcanic rock rather than built out from it, and almost every hotel on the cliff is a converted cave house or built to imitate one. They stay cool in August without air conditioning, the ceilings are vaulted, and the only window is the one facing the caldera.

The price. The highest on the island alongside Oia. There is very little in Imerovigli Santorini at a modest rate, and what exists is on the inland side of the road with no view at all.

The steps. This is the single thing people fail to check. Many hotels sit sixty, a hundred or two hundred steps below the road and there is no vehicle access whatsoever. Porters carry luggage, but you carry yourself, several times a day, in the heat.

Ask the number. Email the hotel and ask how many steps from the road to reception. A good hotel answers honestly. A vague answer is an answer.

Inland rooms. Cheaper, flat, five minutes from the caldera edge and perfectly comfortable. If the budget is tight this is the sensible compromise, and you still walk out to the view every evening.

Firostefani instead. Ten minutes south, meaningfully cheaper, closer to Fira, and with a view that is very nearly as good. This is the value alternative to Imerovigli Santorini and we recommend it often.

Noise. There is none. This is the quietest of the three rim villages by a wide margin, and after ten at night you will hear nothing but the wind.

Pools. Small, cold and spectacular. Nobody swims lengths in Santorini; the pool is for sitting in with the caldera in front of you.

Breakfast. Almost always included and almost always served on your terrace, which is the correct way to spend a morning here.

Families. Difficult. Steps, unfenced terraces, sheer drops and no beach. Our large families guide and family tours explain the alternatives.

Mobility. Very hard. If anybody in the party struggles with stairs, do not book on the caldera side here. Our accessibility guide and seniors guide set out what does work.

How many nights. Three or four. Long enough to walk to Skaros, to Fira and to Oia, and to see two or three sunsets from the terrace. Our where to stay guide compares every village on the island.

Imerovigli, Oia or Fira?

The three rim villages are not interchangeable and choosing badly costs you the holiday you wanted. Here is how we answer this on the phone, several times a week.

The view. Imerovigli is the highest and widest. Oia looks along the rim to the north, which is the postcard. Fira looks across but from lower down and with the town in the way.

Crowds. Oia is overwhelmed from four in the afternoon. Fira is busy all day and busier when a cruise ship is in. Imerovigli Santorini has essentially no day visitors at all.

Sunset. Oia has the famous one and the crowd that goes with it. Imerovigli has the same sun, the same sea and nobody in front of you.

Restaurants. Fira comfortably, then Oia, then Imerovigli, which has only a handful.

Shops and services. Fira. It is the only one of the three that functions as a town.

Nightlife. Fira, and nowhere else on the rim. Our nightlife guide covers it.

Price. Oia and Imerovigli are level and both are high. Fira is noticeably cheaper for the same standard.

Steps. All three are bad. Fira has the most alternatives at street level.

Getting around. Fira has the bus station; everywhere else you walk to Fira or book a transfer.

Our answer. Honeymoon or a quiet romantic week, Imerovigli. First trip, short stay, or a want for restaurants and life, Fira. A single splurge on the photograph everyone knows, Oia. The Fira guide and Oia guide give each of them in full.

Things to Do in Imerovigli Santorini

Walk out to Skaros Rock. The best free hour on the caldera and the thing every guest remembers. Details are above.

Walk the rim path to Fira. Fifteen to twenty minutes south through Firostefani, past the Church of Agios Georgios, entirely on paved path with the caldera on your right the whole way.

Walk the rim path to Oia. The famous one. Around three hours from Imerovigli Santorini, some of it rough, and best begun at seven in the morning. Water and shoes, not sandals.

The Church of Panagia Theoskepasti. The blue-domed church perched on the edge at the north of the village, and the start of the Skaros path.

Anastasi Church in the centre of the village, a working church with the classic dome-against-caldera composition.

Watch the sunset from your own terrace, which is genuinely the correct answer here and the reason people pay the rates.

Sail into the caldera. Catamaran trips leave daily from the ports below and see the village from the water. Our volcano tour and hot springs guide explain the options.

Visit the wineries. Twenty minutes inland at Pyrgos, Megalochori and Exo Gonia. See our private wine tour.

Akrotiri and the Red Beach. Half an hour south, and the best half day on the island for anyone with an interest in what happened here. Our Akrotiri guide and Red Beach guide cover both.

The beaches. There are none within walking distance. Kamari and Perissa are twenty five minutes away by road. Our beaches guide ranks them.

Fira for the evening. Dinner, the museums and the only real choice of restaurants within walking distance of Imerovigli Santorini.

Nothing at all. A pool, a terrace, a book and the caldera. Most guests who pay to stay here spend at least two days doing exactly this, and they are right.

Eating and Evenings

The choice is small. A handful of restaurants, most attached to hotels, all with a view and all priced for it.

Book ahead in season. With this few tables and this many rooms, walking up at eight in August does not work.

Expect caldera prices. A dinner for two with wine here costs roughly double what the same meal costs in the inland villages.

There is a bakery and a small supermarket on the road behind the village, which is where the sensible breakfast and the sensible bottle of wine come from.

Walk to Firostefani for more choice at slightly lower prices, ten minutes south along the path.

Walk to Fira for the full range, twenty minutes, and take the same path back with the lights on. This is one of the pleasures of staying in Imerovigli Santorini and it costs nothing.

Inland for a proper Greek dinner. Pyrgos, Megalochori and Exo Gonia cook better and charge less. Fifteen minutes by taxi or transfer, and worth doing twice. Our villages guide and food guide cover them.

Nightlife. There is none, and that is the point. Two hotel bars and the sound of the wind. Anybody wanting more takes the path to Fira.

The best evening here is a bottle on the terrace as the sun goes down, followed by a late dinner. Nobody who has done it argues.

Getting There and Around

From the airport. Fifteen minutes by road. There is no direct bus, taxis are scarce, and you will be arriving with luggage at the top of a stepped path. Book a transfer; our airport guide explains why this is not optional in Imerovigli Santorini.

From Athinios port. Twenty minutes, up the switchback road. Ferry arrivals are the single worst moment of the day to look for a taxi. See our ferry guide.

From the cruise port. Cable car or donkey path to Fira, then twenty minutes on foot or a short transfer. Our cruise port guide has the timings.

To Fira. Fifteen to twenty minutes on the rim path, and that is genuinely the best way to do it.

To Oia. Twenty minutes by road, or three hours on the rim hike.

To the beaches. Twenty five minutes east to Kamari, thirty to Perissa. Our Kamari guide and Perissa guide cover both coasts.

The bus. Passes on the main road behind the village en route between Fira and Oia. Frequent in season, useless with luggage. Our bus guide explains the network.

Taxis. There are around forty on the whole island. Book ahead or you will not travel; the taxi guide sets out the reality.

Parking. Limited and awkward. If you hire a car, confirm with the hotel that a space exists before you book it. See the car hire guide.

Luggage. The defining logistical problem of Imerovigli Santorini. Hotels arrange porters; tell them your arrival time and let them do it.

Season by Season

April and early May. Green, cool and quiet, with hotels reopening through the month and rates at their lowest. The caldera is at its most beautiful and the pools are unusable.

Late May and June. Warm, clear and open, with prices below peak. The best value window for Imerovigli Santorini and our own favourite time to work.

July and August. Peak in every sense. Hot, expensive, and the rim path busy from mid-morning. The meltemi keeps it bearable up here in a way it does not down at sea level.

September. The best month on the caldera. Warm sea, softer light, thinning crowds and the vineyards being harvested inland.

October. Lovely, quieter still, with businesses closing steadily through the month and the first weather arriving late on.

November to March. Most of the village is closed and the wind up here is serious. Fira is the only sensible winter base; our winter guide explains.

The wind. Imerovigli is the highest point on the rim and it is exposed. Terrace dinners get moved indoors on meltemi nights more often than the photographs suggest. Our weather guide and the month by month guide have the detail.

A Day in Imerovigli Santorini

07:00. Sunrise over the east coast from the inland side of the village, with nobody else awake.

08:00. Breakfast on the terrace, which is what the room rate is really for.

09:30. Down to Skaros Rock before the sun gets onto it, and round to the chapel on the far side.

11:30. Back up, into the pool, and stay there.

13:30. Walk to Firostefani for lunch, ten minutes along the rim.

15:30. The hottest part of the day, spent under an awning with the caldera in front of you.

17:30. The path to Fira with the light going gold, twenty minutes each way.

19:30. Back on the terrace for the sunset, which in Imerovigli Santorini requires no planning, no queue and no early arrival.

21:00. Late dinner, booked that morning, at one of the handful of tables in the village.

23:00. Silence, and the lights of Fira and Oia at either end of the rim.

Practical Tips From People Who Work Here

Ask the hotel how many steps. The most important question you will ask about Imerovigli Santorini, and the one nobody asks.

Pack light, or accept the porter. Two large cases down a hundred steps is not a thing you want to arrange on arrival.

Book dinner in the morning. There are very few tables and a great many rooms.

Do Skaros early or late. There is no shade on that rock and it faces west.

Walk to Fira at least once at night. Free, safe, paved and the best thirty minutes of the stay for many guests.

Do not book a car for the whole week. Parking is difficult and you will use it twice. Transfers cost less overall.

Bring a light layer. Three hundred metres up with the meltemi blowing is cooler than you expect after dark.

Do Oia as a day trip, not a base. You get the photograph without paying twice for the view.

Two full days on the caldera is plenty. Give the rest to Akrotiri, the wineries and a beach.

Tell us your arrival time. The difference between a smooth arrival in Imerovigli Santorini and a bad one is entirely logistics, and logistics is our job.

Imerovigli Santorini: Common Questions

Where is Imerovigli Santorini?

On the caldera rim between Fira and Oia, at the highest point of the cliff, about three hundred metres above the sea.

Is Imerovigli Santorini worth staying in?

Yes, if you want the best caldera view on the island and quiet evenings, and you can manage steps and caldera prices.

What does the name Imerovigli Santorini mean?

Day watch, in Greek. Sentries on Skaros Rock below the village watched the sea for pirates in daylight.

Is Imerovigli Santorini better than Oia?

For the view and for peace, yes. For restaurants, shops and the famous postcard streets, no. Oia is twenty minutes away either way.

How far is Imerovigli Santorini from Fira?

Fifteen to twenty minutes on the paved rim path, or five minutes by road.

How far is Imerovigli Santorini from Oia?

Twenty minutes by road, or about three hours on the rim hike.

How far is Imerovigli from Santorini airport?

Fifteen minutes by road. There is no direct bus, so book a transfer.

Is there a beach at Imerovigli Santorini?

No. There is a three hundred metre cliff. The nearest beaches are Kamari and Perissa, twenty five to thirty minutes east.

Are there a lot of steps in Imerovigli Santorini?

Yes, and it is the main practical drawback. Many hotels are reached only by stepped path from the road, sometimes a hundred steps or more.

Is Imerovigli Santorini good for families?

Not especially. Steps, unfenced terraces, sheer drops and no beach make it difficult with young children.

Is Imerovigli Santorini expensive?

Yes. It is level with Oia as the most expensive place to sleep on the island, and the inland rooms are the only affordable option.

Can you see the sunset from Imerovigli Santorini?

Yes, fully and without a crowd. The sun sets behind Thirassia across the caldera.

What is Skaros Rock?

The headland below the village that carried the island’s medieval capital and a Venetian castle. A free twenty minute walk down and a stiffer climb back.

Is Firostefani the same as Imerovigli Santorini?

No. Firostefani is the next village south, lower down, cheaper and closer to Fira, with a very similar view.

How many nights should I stay?

Three or four. That is enough for Skaros, both rim walks, two sunsets and a day inland.

Myths About Imerovigli Santorini

“It is just a quieter Oia.” It is not a smaller version of anything. Imerovigli Santorini has no shopping street, no gallery quarter and no Byzantine castle ruin full of people at six o’clock. It has a lane, a cliff and a rock.

“You cannot see the sunset properly.” You can see it completely. The sun goes down behind Thirassia and the whole caldera colours with it. What Imerovigli Santorini lacks is the crowd, not the sunset.

“There is nothing to do.” Skaros Rock, two rim walks, the churches, and the entire island within half an hour. What is true is that there is nothing to do in the village itself after dark.

“It is too far from everything.” Fira is a twenty minute walk and the airport fifteen minutes by road. Imerovigli Santorini is more central than Oia by a considerable margin.

“All the hotels have the view.” They do not. Everything on the inland side of the road looks at a car park. Check which side your room is on before you pay.

“The steps are exaggerated.” They are not. Some hotels in Imerovigli Santorini sit two hundred steps below the road with no vehicle access at all, and guests arrive genuinely shocked.

“It is only for honeymooners.” It is mostly couples, but photographers, walkers and anyone who has already done Santorini once tend to end up here on the second visit.

“You need a car.” You need one for two days at most. Transfers and the rim path cover almost everything a stay in Imerovigli Santorini involves.

Our Verdict After Twenty Years on This Rim

Imerovigli Santorini is where we send guests who ask us where we would stay ourselves. It is the highest, quietest and most complete view of the caldera, it is fifteen minutes from the airport and twenty from a real town, and at seven in the evening you can stand on the edge of it with nobody within thirty metres of you while four thousand people jostle for the same sun in Oia.

What you pay for that is real. The rates are the highest on the island alongside Oia, dinner is expensive and limited, and the steps are a genuine obstacle for anybody who is not comfortable on their feet. Nobody should book here without knowing all three.

What you get is the version of this island that the photographs promised, without the queue. Skaros below you, the volcano in front of you, Thirassia across the water and the whole thing turning orange every evening from your own terrace. For a honeymoon, an anniversary, a second trip or any week where the point is to look at something rather than do something, Imerovigli Santorini is the correct answer and we say so without hesitation.

The people who regret it are consistent: families with young children, anyone travelling with someone who struggles with stairs, and first-timers on a three night trip who wanted restaurants and streets. Those guests belong in Fira, and we tell them so.

Everybody else: book three or four nights, ask how many steps, do Skaros on the first morning, walk to Fira for dinner at least once, and let Imerovigli Santorini be the part of the holiday you actually remember.

Imerovigli Santorini: Key Points

Imerovigli Santorini is the highest village on the caldera rim, about three hundred metres above the sea.
It sits between Firostefani and Oia, twenty minutes on foot from Fira.
The name means day watch, from the sentries who guarded Skaros Rock below.
Skaros Rock is a free twenty minute walk down and the best short walk on the island.
The caldera view is the widest and highest on Santorini, with Skaros in the foreground.
The sunset is complete and unobstructed, and there is no crowd for it.
Room rates are the highest on the island alongside Oia.
Many hotels are reached only by long stepped paths with no vehicle access.
There are very few restaurants and effectively no nightlife.
There is no beach; the nearest are Kamari and Perissa, twenty five minutes east.
The airport is fifteen minutes away and Athinios port twenty.
Firostefani is the cheaper alternative with a very similar view.
Three or four nights is the right length of stay in Imerovigli Santorini.
It suits couples, photographers and second visits, and it suits families and limited mobility badly.

Booking With Us

We collect from every hotel on this stretch of the rim, every morning of the season. Where a vehicle cannot reach the door we meet you at the top of the steps and we know which steps those are, which is not something a taxi rank can offer. Prices are per vehicle rather than per person, there is no deposit and cancellation is free.

Most guests staying in Imerovigli Santorini book an airport or port transfer at each end plus one full day tour covering Akrotiri, the wineries, a beach and Oia for the sunset. That single day does the whole island properly and leaves the rest of the stay for the terrace, which is what you came for.

Tours

Transfers

Book directly

More from this site

Tell us your dates and we will meet you at the top of the steps.

Planning the Rest of the Island From Here

Day one. Arrive, find the steps, and do nothing else. The first evening in Imerovigli Santorini is best spent on the terrace working out what you are looking at.

Day two. Skaros in the morning, the pool at midday, the rim path to Fira for dinner.

Day three. A full day tour of the south: Akrotiri, a winery, a beach and Oia for the sunset, back to Imerovigli Santorini for a late meal.

Day four. The volcano and the hot springs by boat, seeing the village from three hundred metres below it.

Day five. The rim hike to Oia at first light, and a transfer back so you do not have to walk it twice.

Any spare morning. The inland villages, the museums in Fira, or nothing at all on the terrace, which is the reason Imerovigli Santorini exists as a place to stay.