Has the Greek island of Santorini become a tourist hellscape? I went to find out
I was stirred, not shaken, by the boutique Sandblu resort on Santorini, you’ll be pleased to hear. Santorini was hit by a succession of small earthquakes at the start of this year, which prompted more than 13,000 of its 15,500 inhabitants to evacuate the Greek island by ferry and air, and left its three million annual visitors wondering where to take their summer holiday.
The reasons for the quakes remains a mystery but, while hotel bookings are down 30 percent, the residents have returned, as have the cruise ships – more than 50 of them last month. Fear of tremors has abated, and no major damage or injuries were caused. It’s been 69 years since the island’s last violent earthquake, which registered 7.7 on the Richter scale. Tourism officials are describing the recent much smaller tremors as a PR disaster, not a natural disaster.
Santorini is well-known for its sunsets, its white-washed hilltop towns and blue- domed churches, its unique wines and vibrant nightlife. It’s also attracted negative headlines due to overtourism. Overtourism is becoming a problem in a number of hotspots around the world, either because the throngs of visitors are crammed into these places like sardines, or because it’s unsustainable and bad for the natural environment and communities to have the hordes pilling in on their package holidays.
Santorini: avoiding the selfie sticks becomes an issue
Partly it’s caused by cheap and easy travel, but also social media. It can affect big cities as well as little islands. Last summer, a string of anti-tourism protests against overcrowding met vacationers visiting Barcelona and the Balearics during peak season. According to new research by Which?, the destinations worst affected by overtourism include Paris, Mallorca, Lanzarote and, in first place, Zakynthos, which boasts almost 150 tourists to every resident (incidentally, the ratio of tourists to residents was found to go the opposite way in Lille, in northern France, and Teleorman, Romania, in particular).
Thanks to February’s earthquakes, which has led to cancellations this summer, Santorini is no longer on Which?’s naughty list, where it’s previously been near the top (the other Cyclade islands, which include Mykonos and Paros, clock in with a total of 104 tourists to every native). And so now is a very good time to snap up a blissful deal on a five-star hotel in Santorini and enjoy this jewel of the Aegean in the height of summer while it is uncharacteristically quiet. You won’t have to sharpen your elbows and ruck with a bunch of Instagrammers to get your perfect holiday snaps, because they’re all in the Ionian this year.
That’s the other thing that’s done Santorini a disservice. Gen-Z-ers were going , literally, to “do it for the ‘gram.” No filters are needed when the sky and sea are that shade. However, it does rather deflate the sense of freedom and authenticity of the place when one is constantly at risk of being knocked out by a selfie stick. I mean, that rabble are still here, but there’s 30 percent less of them. Like the old joke about a thousand lawyers being chained together at the bottom of the ocean, it’s a good start.
Read more: Why Instagram can never ruin Santorini – the Greek island that has always welcomed hedonists
Just please don’t tell that crowd about the Sandblu resort, which was my base for a recent stay on the island. It’s chic, quiet and classy. Let’s keep it that way. Even the most anxious of seismologists and enochlophobes will find relaxation here. That would be the case even at full capacity, for peaceful Sandblu sits like a cascading platter of whitewashed cottages and private pools in the quiet south eastern region of the island, high above the B&Bs that line the black Kamari Beach. It is cloaked by undisturbed mountains and the ancient ruins of Thera. The packed pathways of Fira to the north west, which is where the cruisers disgorge and loiter, is a world away – yet, five miles as the crow flies, it’s close enough to catch cocktails on a terrace at sundown and savour the Cyclades’ famous tangerine sky.
Sandblu opened its doors in July 2024 and garnered immediate buzz thanks to its healthy seafood, minimalist design and chichi vibe. Fifteen spacious new suites this year brings the total guest bedrooms, suites and villas to 66, all with sprawling ocean views. Inside, the whitewashed interiors are punctuated with accents of pastel blues and greys. When I wasn’t in the pool, I was horse riding on a deserted beach, sailing on a chartered catamaran around the caldera, swimming in volcanic caves and the sparkling azure sea, and mastering Greek cuisine (well, chopping feta and veg) under the patient eye of the talented head chef, Theo.
I tend to focus my holidays on the rampant consumption of gastronomy and whatever the sommelier suggests I lubricate it with, but Sandblu boasts a serious wellness menu also. The Aurora spa has a sauna and indoor pool and a broad spectrum of customisable treatments, ranging from de-puffing cryo facials to deep tissue massage. And if you’re the sort of person who enjoys being out of breath voluntarily then you’re likely to approve of the cutting-edge Technogym equipment. Thankfully you’ll be up there and I’ll be down in the newly-opened wine cellar. In addition to the bar and two restaurants, the cavernous Santovini is available to host private dinners and tastings.
Across the F&B board, one should indulge in the local grape Assyrtiko, which gives rise to the island’s minerally white wines and sweet Vinsanto. Much of the kitchen ingredients come from Santorini and the surrounding islands. Not that overtourism will be such an issue this year, but Sandblu ticks all the sustainability boxes, especially via its cutting-edge ‘greywater’ system which recycles water from the sinks and showers for irrigation, and for the attractive green ‘living’ rooftops that provide insulation.
The service is impeccable and the staff are genuinely thrilled to be hosting, and helping to get guests to experience the island like locals, be it through horseback excursions, sailing lessons or visits to the local wineries and markets. If one’s entourage includes little people, there’s a kids club suitable for 4 to 12-year-olds filled with stylish toys and wooden slides by a trendy Danish designer, and where they can learn about Greek mythology.
I didn’t bump into Boris and Carrie Johnson with their ever-expanding brood, but it’s surely a matter of time. I think they’d love it. A burgeoning influencer-par-excellence in her own right, Carrie only has to mention the mythology thing and Boris’ll book it for her. Whatever you may have heard about the overtourism of Santorini, now is the time to go. Just as Venice was best visited during Covid, Santorini has never looked better than it does post-earthquakes.
It is more ’grammable that ever because, for now, you won’t have to wait for the other snappers to get out of your picture. In nine months, normal service will resume, and Santorini will return to its holiday hellhole status, yet I have every faith Sandblu will remain a utopian oasis for the foreseeable.
Visit Santorini yourself
Summer 2025 rates at Sandblu Santorini start at £304 for Standard Rooms and £760 for suites with breakfast.