Santorini Shopping: What to Buy and Where to Buy It

Santorini shopping divides sharply into two things sold side by side: goods made on this island by people who live here, and goods flown in by the container to be sold to a cruise crowd that has four hours ashore. They sit in the same lanes at similar prices, and telling them apart is most of what this page is for. We drive visitors to these villages every day, and our Santorini Tours stop at the workshops and wineries where the real things are made.

The good news is that the genuinely local products here are unusually good and unusually specific. A volcanic island with almost no rain grows things that grow nowhere else, and the wine, the split peas, the capers and the tomatoes are all distinct enough to be worth carrying home. The rest of Santorini shopping is a matter of knowing where the mark-up lives.

The Short Answer

Buy the food and the wine. Fava, capers, dried tomatoes, Assyrtiko and Vinsanto are all genuinely from here, all excellent, and all far cheaper away from the caldera rim.

Buy from the maker where you can. The ceramic workshops, the sandal makers and the small jewellers in the villages are the good end of Santorini shopping.

Shop inland, not on the rim. The same jar of capers costs several times more with a view attached.

Be sceptical of anything mass-produced. Blue-domed magnets, printed icons and evil eye trinkets by the crate are imports, and they are priced as though they are not.

Where This Is All Made

What to Buy: The Santorini Shopping List

What	Where	Why it is local	Why buy it	Catch
Assyrtiko and Vinsanto	A winery in the interior	Grown on volcanic ash in woven baskets, and made nowhere else	Cellar door prices beat every shop	Weight, and airline liquid rules
Fava (yellow split peas)	Village grocers, wineries	A protected local crop, not the same as anything at home	Light, cheap, keeps forever	None. The best souvenir here
Capers and caper leaves	Village grocers	Grown wild on the terraces	Small, light, genuinely local	Jars in hand luggage
Cherry tomatoes, dried or in paste	Village shops	The island tomato, intensely concentrated	Unique to Santorini	Bulky in paste form
Volcanic stone jewellery	Fira and Oia workshops	Made here, often by the person selling it	Wearable and light	Plenty of imported imitations
Ceramics	Village workshops, Fira lanes	Hand thrown, often signed	Beautiful	Fragile, and shipping is expensive
Icons and religious art	Fira, Oia, Pyrgos	Painted rather than printed, if you choose carefully	Meaningful	Printed reproductions sold as originals
Leather sandals	Fira and Oia	Made to measure in a day by some workshops	Practical and durable	Machine made imports at the same price
Olive oil, honey, herbs	Grocers and wineries	Cretan and island produce	Excellent value	Liquids, again
Gold and fine jewellery	Fira and Oia	Greece has a serious jewellery trade	Real craftsmanship at the top end	The largest price spread of anything here

Read down that list and a pattern emerges. The best Santorini shopping is agricultural, it is cheap, and it is sold in the villages rather than on the caldera. The expensive part of the island sells the same things at a multiple, plus a great deal that was never made here at all.

Fira: The Centre of Santorini Shopping

Fira is where most Santorini shopping actually happens, because it is where the cruise passengers land and where the island’s commercial centre has always been.

The main lanes of Santorini shopping. Gold Street and the streets running off the central square are dense with jewellers, clothing boutiques, souvenir shops and galleries, one after another for several hundred metres.

The jewellery. Genuinely serious at the top end. Greece has a long goldsmithing tradition and several Fira shops sell work that would hold its own anywhere. It also has shops selling plated imports at prices that suggest otherwise.

The galleries. A handful of real ones, showing island painters and photographers, mixed in with print shops.

The supermarkets. Just off the tourist lanes, and where you buy the same wine, honey and olive oil the souvenir shops sell at three times the price.

When to go. Early morning, before the ships tender in, or after seven in the evening. Between eleven and four in season the lanes are barely walkable.

Oia: The Expensive End of Santorini Shopping

Oia is the other half of Santorini shopping, and it is a different proposition entirely.

Art galleries. More of them per metre than anywhere else in the Cyclades, and some are genuinely good. Paintings, sculpture, photography, and prices to match the postcode.

Boutiques. Linen, resort wear and jewellery aimed at a wealthier and slower-moving visitor than Fira’s.

Bookshops. Oia has one of the best known independent bookshops in Greece, and it is worth an hour whether or not you buy anything.

Ceramics and craft. A number of small studios where the work is made on site.

The mark-up. Real, and largely a rent question rather than a quality one. Identical goods sell for noticeably less in Fira and for less again inland.

When to go. Early morning is the only civilised time. From four in the afternoon the village fills for sunset and browsing becomes impossible.

Village Santorini Shopping: Where the Good Things Are

This is the part of Santorini shopping that visitors skip and locals do not.

Megalochori. A handful of small shops and workshops in a village most people drive through. Ceramics, textiles and a proper grocer.

Pyrgos. Artisan studios in the lanes below the castle, with less foot traffic and more time to talk to whoever made the thing.

Emporio. The largest inland village, with a genuine local market feel and prices set for people who live here.

Vothonas and Messaria. Grocers, bakeries and the everyday shops. Not picturesque, and where you buy fava and capers at the price islanders pay.

The wineries. Santo, Venetsanos, Gavalas, Argyros and the rest all sell at the cellar door, and every one of them undercuts the shops. Our wine tour is built around them.

Why it matters. A day in the interior turns Santorini shopping from souvenir-hunting into buying things from the people who made them, which is both cheaper and considerably more interesting.

Santorini Shopping: How to Spot the Imports

Not everything sold here is from here, and the tells are consistent.

Volume. The first rule of Santorini shopping: if there are forty identical items on a rack, they were not hand made.

The same stock in five shops. The blue-domed magnets, the evil eye bracelets and the printed icons come from the same wholesalers and appear everywhere.

No maker named. Real ceramics are signed. Real icons have a painter. Real jewellery has a workshop behind it.

Prices that do not vary. Handmade work is priced by piece. Imports are priced by the shelf.

Ask directly. Where was this made, and by whom. The answer, and the speed of it, tells you everything.

Leather that smells of nothing. Real leather sandals smell like leather and mark when you press a thumbnail into them.

Beware “volcanic” as a marketing word. Lava stone jewellery is often imported basalt. The genuine local article is sold by the workshops that cut it.

Santorini Shopping for Wine, and Getting It Home

Wine is the best thing to buy here and the most awkward to carry, so it deserves its own section.

Buy at the winery. The best Santorini shopping decision anyone makes. Cellar door prices are lower than any shop on the island, the range is wider, and you can taste before you commit.

What to look for. Assyrtiko for a dry white unlike anything else in Greece, Nykteri for a fuller barrel-aged version, and Vinsanto for the sweet wine the island has made for centuries.

Hold luggage only. Bottles cannot go in the cabin. Wrap them in clothing in the centre of a case, or buy the padded sleeves the wineries sell.

Weight limits bite. A bottle is roughly a kilo and a half with packaging, and budget airline allowances are unforgiving.

Shipping. Most estates will ship a case, which is the sensible option for anything more than two or three bottles.

Duty free at the airport stocks island wine, at airport prices, and it is the fallback rather than the plan.

The same applies to olive oil and honey. Both are liquids, both are heavy, and both are excellent value here.

Santorini Shopping Hours and the Cruise Effect

The ships set the rhythm of Santorini shopping. On a day with four cruise ships in the caldera, Fira’s shopping lanes are impassable from mid morning until late afternoon. On a day with none, the same lanes are pleasant.

Best hours. Before ten in the morning and after seven in the evening, in both Fira and Oia.

Opening times. Tourist shops run long hours through the season, often until eleven at night. Village grocers and workshops keep ordinary Greek hours, which frequently means a long afternoon closure.

Sundays. Tourist shops open, village shops largely not.

Season. Most of the Santorini shopping trade runs from April to October. In winter a great deal of it is closed, and what remains serves the people who live here.

Prices move with the season too. August is the least negotiable month of the year in every shop on the island.

Practical Santorini Shopping Notes

Card payment is normal in the tourist shops and less certain in village grocers and small workshops. Carry some cash inland.

Haggling is not a tradition here in fixed-price shops, though a discount for buying several pieces is often available in workshops and at wineries.

VAT refunds are available to non-EU visitors on larger purchases from participating shops. Ask for the paperwork at the till, not afterwards.

Fragile things need real packing. Ceramics travel badly. Ask the shop to pack properly, and put them in hand luggage if they will fit.

Carrying purchases around all day is a mistake on an island of steps. Buy at the end of the day, or leave bags at the hotel.

Parking. There is essentially none in Oia and very little in Fira, which is one more reason to do Santorini shopping either very early or with a driver waiting. Our island transfers handle exactly that.

Airport shopping is thin. Santorini’s terminal is small; do not save the buying for the departure lounge.

Santorini Shopping: Common Questions

What should I buy in Santorini?

Wine, fava, capers, dried cherry tomatoes, honey and olive oil are the genuinely local products. Ceramics, volcanic stone jewellery and hand-made sandals are the best crafts.

Where is the best shopping in Santorini?

Fira for the widest choice, Oia for galleries and boutiques, and the inland villages and wineries for the best prices and the real makers.

Is shopping in Santorini expensive?

On the caldera rim, yes. The same goods cost noticeably less in Fira’s side streets and much less in the villages and at winery cellar doors.

What food can I take home from Santorini?

Fava, capers, dried tomatoes and tomato paste, honey, olive oil and herbs. All are light, keep well and are genuinely from the island.

Can I bring wine home in my luggage?

Yes, in hold luggage only. Wrap the bottles in clothing or use padded sleeves, and watch your weight allowance. Wineries will ship larger orders.

Is the jewellery in Santorini real?

Some of it is excellent and some is imported plate. Ask who made it, look for a workshop behind the shop, and be wary of identical stock in several windows.

Are there markets in Santorini?

Not in the covered market sense. The village grocers in Emporio, Messaria and Vothonas are the nearest thing, and they are where islanders shop.

What time do shops open?

Tourist shops keep long hours through the season, often until late evening. Village shops keep ordinary Greek hours with an afternoon closure.

Can I claim VAT back?

Non-EU visitors can on larger purchases from participating shops. Ask for the paperwork at the time of purchase.

What should I avoid buying?

Mass-produced magnets, printed icons sold as paintings, evil eye trinkets by the crate, and anything described only as volcanic without a named maker.

Santorini Shopping: Key Points

The best Santorini shopping is agricultural: wine, fava, capers and tomatoes.
Cellar door prices at the wineries beat every shop on the island.
Fira has the widest choice and the heaviest crowds.
Oia has the galleries, the boutiques and the highest prices.
Inland villages have the real workshops and the local prices.
Supermarkets sell the same wine and oil the souvenir shops mark up.
Identical stock in several windows means an import.
Real ceramics are signed and real icons have a painter.
Wine travels in hold luggage only, and a bottle weighs about a kilo and a half.
Cruise ship days make Fira’s shopping lanes impassable at midday.
Early morning and after seven in the evening are the best hours.
Village shops close in the afternoon and largely shut in winter.
Card payment is normal in town and uncertain inland.
Non-EU visitors can claim VAT back on larger purchases.
Do not carry purchases around an island made of steps all day.

Santorini Shopping by Type of Visitor

Cruise passengers. Four hours ashore and the lanes at their busiest. Buy food and wine rather than fragile things, use the supermarkets just off the main street, and treat Santorini shopping as twenty minutes rather than an afternoon. Our shore excursion covers the island properly and still leaves time for it.

Couples on a short stay. One morning in Fira early, one afternoon at a winery, and that is the whole of Santorini shopping done well.

Families. The villages are far easier than the caldera lanes with children, and the grocers are where the interesting food is anyway.

Collectors and gallery visitors. Oia, in the morning, with time to talk to the owners.

Anyone on a budget. Supermarkets and village grocers for everything edible, and skip the rim entirely. Our budget guide goes further.

Honeymooners. The jewellery workshops in Fira and the small studios in Pyrgos are the memorable end of it.

A Half Day of Santorini Shopping

08:30. Fira before the ships tender. The main lanes are empty and the light is good.

10:00. A supermarket just off the square for wine, oil, honey and herbs at ordinary prices.

11:00. Inland to Megalochori or Pyrgos for the workshops and a proper grocer.

12:30. Lunch in a village square.

14:00. A winery for tasting and for the wine you will actually carry home.

16:00. Back to the room to leave the bags before the evening.

Half a day structured that way covers every category of Santorini shopping worth doing, and it avoids both the cruise crush in Fira and the sunset crush in Oia.

The Short Version

Buy the wine at the winery, the food at a village grocer, and the crafts from whoever made them. Shop early or late, stay off the rim for anything you can buy elsewhere, and leave room in the case.

Done that way Santorini shopping is one of the better parts of a trip here, because almost everything worth carrying home is grown or made within a few kilometres of where you are standing.

Booking With Us

Our tours stop at the wineries and the village workshops rather than at the shops that pay commission, because we do not take any. Per vehicle, no deposit, free cancellation.

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