Foreign tourists appear to be losing interest in Santorini after visitors complain of “animalistic mayhem” on the Greek island. The number of passenger ship bookings from Piraeus on the mainland to Santorini have dipped 7% this year, eKathimerini reports. Suffering from its reputation as being overcrowded with tourists and several earthquakes this year, the hotspot in the Cyclades appears to be waning in popularity.
Claire Smith, originally from Australia, visited Santorini this summer and stayed in its capital, Fira. She encourted problems trying to travel around the island by bus to see the gorgeous towns of Oia and Kamari. She told 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 jam-packed 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 had a similar experience of overcrowded streets and reality not meeting expectation. She visited in July after seeing stunning photos of the island on social media, but was met with an “overflow of tourists”.
She said: “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.”
Santorini has reportedly seen a decline in visitor numbers this year, notably following a series of earthquakes earlier this year.
In March, it was reported that tourism was down 20% for the summer 2025 season, with April and May being the worst-affected months.
Antonis Pagonis, president of the Santorini Hoteliers’ Association, said there had been more than a 20% drop in hotel bookings compared to the same period in 2024.