The Architecture of Cave Houses
Oia's distinctive cave houses — skafta — were carved directly into the volcanic cliff by the people who could not afford the freestanding houses on the ridge above. The same geology that makes the caldera so dramatic proved ideal for habitation: the volcanic rock insulates well against both summer heat and winter cold, and the natural hollow is easily extended. After a devastating earthquake in 1956 that emptied the village, artists and then tourists moved in and restored the cave dwellings, a process that has turned what was working-class housing into some of the most expensive accommodation in Europe.
The Sunrise over the Caldera
Oia's sunset is so famous that it has become a performance — hundreds of people gathering on the castle promontory and applauding when the sun reaches the horizon. The sunrise is the reverse: private, extraordinary, and involving almost no one else. Walk from Oia toward Fira along the caldera path beginning at first light — roughly 6am in summer — and you will have the most dramatic coastal walk in Greece essentially to yourself for the first hour. The caldera water turns from grey to silver to blue as the light grows, and the villages emerge one by one from the dark. End the walk in Fira for breakfast.
Ammoudi Bay
Below Oia, reached by a steep path of 214 steps or by the donkey path, lies Ammoudi Bay — a tiny harbour where the fishing boats tie up and the octopus dries on lines strung between the buildings. The tavernas at the water's edge serve the catch of the day grilled over charcoal — the best fish on the island, at prices that are reasonable by Santorini standards. Swimming off the rocks is exceptional: the water here is deep and remarkably clear. Come in the late afternoon when the light hits the red volcanic cliffs above the harbour and the day-tripper boats have returned to Fira.
Eating and Staying in Oia
Oia has the highest concentration of good restaurants on the island, though the quality-to-price ratio requires attention. The main strip along the ridge is expensive and variable; the restaurants in the stepped lanes below and around the small square at the village centre are better and cheaper. The local white wine — Assyrtiko, grown in the volcanic soil of Santorini — is the only wine to drink here: mineral, high-acid, and suited to the seafood and the heat in a way that imported wine is not. Book accommodation in Oia months ahead for summer; the cave hotels book out by February.
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