Greece is experiencing British holidaymakers cancelling their trips and cutting short their stays on the ‘overcrowded’ island of Santorini.
Passenger ship bookings from Piraeus on the mainland to Santorini have plummeted by 7 per cent this year.
Claire Smith, originally from Australia, shared her experience with Luxury Travel Daily: “Trying to get on a bus was animalistic mayhem … Oia was the most crowded and jam-packed in reality. That made it hard to enjoy.
“It was beautiful, but the main streets in the town were so overcrowded that it took ages to walk through, and it was also super hot with no shade anywhere. That was probably the worst part.”
Gabriella Barras from Dubai cautioned about an “overflow of tourists” during her visit to the island, reports Birmingham Live, reports Yorkshire Live.
She stated: “While it was indeed picturesque and the views were phenomenal, I didn’t think that there was much old school tradition and culture. It’s so commercialised to the point where I didn’t necessarily find it relaxing at all.
“The overflow of tourists at every given spot we went to was overwhelming and definitely not the gorgeous, relaxing retreat I was expecting. There were hundreds of people trying to see the sunset at once.
“I wouldn’t go again. I’ve been to much better islands and don’t feel the need to see Santorini again. I’d recommend people to go see it as a bucket list trip, but two to three days is more than enough, and I’d highly recommend other less commercialised islands.”
As early as March, Santorini’s tourism for the summer season of 2025 was reported to have taken a 20 per cent hit, with April and May being the most affected months.
Antonis Pagonis, the president of the Santorini Hoteliers’ Association, confirmed a decline of over 20 per cent in hotel bookings compared to the same period in 2024.