Santorini Island Guide
Perissa beach is the long black-sand strip on Santorini's southeast coast, sitting under the Mesa Vouno headland that separates it from Kamari. It is the laid-back, value end of the island, with its own beach town, the ruins of Ancient Thera on the hill above and Perivolos beach running on south. Start with the quick answer, then work through the guide and Santorini tours that leave from here. It is part of our Santorini, Greece travel guide.
Quick answer Perissa at a glance
Perissa beach is a roughly several-kilometre stretch of black volcanic sand on the southeast coast of Santorini, backed by the resort strip of Perissa and continuing south into Perivolos. It faces open sea rather than the caldera, so it gets the swell, the space and lower prices than the rim towns. The KTEL bus from Fira takes the 20.4 km route and costs $3.02 (€2.70).
Key takeaways
- Swim on black sand, then climb or walk up to the ruins of Ancient Thera on the headland above the beach.
- The cheapest way in is the KTEL bus from Fira at $3.02 (€2.70) each way.
- Ride the dark shore on the black-beach horse riding trip, or rent a quad and join the ATV off-road convoy from Perissa.
- Compare Perissa with Kamari before you pick your base, since the two beach towns share one headland.
Perissa versus its neighbours
Perissa sits at the quiet, value end of the island. This is what it does better and worse than the beach town over the hill and the rim villages on the caldera, so you can decide in one read where to base yourself.
| Question | Perissa | Kamari | Fira and the caldera rim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Long black-sand swimming, space, prices | Beach town plus easier site access | Caldera views, sunsets, transport hub |
| View | Open Aegean, Mesa Vouno headland | Open Aegean, same headland | Flooded volcano caldera and sunset |
| Swim | Long strand, deepens quickly | Shorter town beach | No beach, swim by boat |
| Bus from Fira | $3.02 (€2.70), 20.4 km | $2.46 (€2.20) | You are there |
| Evenings | Beach bars, low key | Beach promenade | Busy, expensive, crowded |
Perissa and Kamari face opposite sides of the same headland, Mesa Vouno. If the beach is the point of the trip, Perissa gives more sand per euro. If the sunset is the point, stay on the rim and day-trip here.
Tours that start or finish at Perissa
These are the tours built around this end of the island, from horse riding on the black sand to a guided ATV convoy that begins in Perissa itself.
from $97.25
Santorini Horse Riding to Black Sandy Beach
Ninety minutes on horseback to the black-sand beach below the white cliffs, with instruction and helmets; groups of up to 6.
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from $148.73
Santorini ATV Experience | Off-Road, Secret Places & FREE Pickup
A guided ATV convoy on off-road tracks from Perissa through Emporio and the south, morning or sunset, fuel and insurance included.
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from $143.01
Santorini Kayak in Volcanic Cliffs Hidden Sea Caves and Picnic
Three hours paddling the south coast past the Red and White beaches with snorkelling and a picnic, guided by certified instructors.
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from $67.50
Santorini Day Tour: Akrotiri, Villages, Wine and Sunset in Oia
The full-day bus tour: Akrotiri with a licensed archaeologist, the black beach, Emporio, Pyrgos and the Oia sunset. The $22.57 added at checkout is the Akrotiri entrance fee (€20).
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from $58.02
Top Sights Day Trip, Wine Tasting, & Oia Sunset
A nine-hour coach day: the top sights, a winery stop and the Oia sunset, with pick-up and a private option.
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from $59.53
Traditional Sightseeing Bus Tour with Oia Sunset
The classic sightseeing bus day with the Oia sunset, ten hours with pick-up.
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from $62.92
Santorini Highlights Small-Group Tour with Wine Tasting option
A highlights tour in a small group: Oia, the Profitis Ilias viewpoint and the villages. The listing adds $22.57 at checkout and excludes the €20 wine tasting and the Akrotiri entrance.
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from $66.93
Santorini Half-Day Small Group Tour: Villages, Oia, Caldera Views
A half-day small group of up to 18: Profitis Ilias for the island view, Megalochori, the Firostefani blue dome and Imerovigli, with hotel pick-up.
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from $65.38
Santorini's Iconic Villages: Oia, Imerovigli & Firostefani
A three-hour minibus loop through Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia with free time in Oia, built around cruise-ship hours. The €10 cable car is not included.
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from $22.88
Private Arrival Transfer From Santorini Airport To All Destinations
A private airport pick-up straight to your hotel, priced per person, with flight monitoring.
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What Perissa is and why it exists
Perissa is a purpose-built beach resort on Santorini's southeast coast, and its shape follows the sand and the volcano rather than any old harbour.
A black beach made by the volcano
Santorini is the rim of a gigantic flooded volcano, and the Minoan eruption of circa 1600 BC threw much of the island into the sea. The southeast coast caught the debris. Perissa beach is black because its sand is volcanic, ground-up basalt and ash rather than shell and coral, and the same dark grains run down the coast through Perivolos toward Vlychada.
That geology explains the feel of the place. The sand heats fast under the summer sun, so bring sandals for the midday walk to the water. The seabed shelves away quickly, and the beach faces the open Aegean, not the sheltered caldera, so there is nearly always a small surf and sometimes a wind strong enough to lift the dry sand. On a calm morning the water is clear and the swimming is among the best on the island.
The黑 of the sand is the reason searchers call this black beach Santorini, and it is a fair label: this is the longest continuous dark strand on the island.
Practical line: the beach is free and public all along its length, with gaps for access between the rows of sunbeds.
A resort built for the sand, not a village grown old
Perissa is not a historic village. The old settlement pattern of Santorini put towns on the inland ridges, visible from the sea and safe from pirates, which is why places like Emporio and Pyrgos sit on high ground. The coast itself was left to harbours and farmland until tourism arrived.
Perissa grew in the second half of the twentieth century as a beach resort, laid out along the coastal road with hotels, studios, tavernas and beach bars filling in the blocks behind the sand. The church with the blue dome and the main square give it a centre of sorts, but the real structure is the beach itself, with everything arranged around swimming, eating and staying.
That makes it easy to use. You walk out of most accommodation and are on the sand in minutes, and unlike the caldera villages there are no crowds funnelled through a single lane. The trade-off is that there is little to see in the town itself, so treat Perissa as a base, and spend your sightseeing energy on the headland above and the villages inland.
Practical line: everything you need daily, from ATMs to mini markets, sits on or just off the main coastal road.
The walk through Perissa, stop by stop
Perissa is small enough to cover on foot in an afternoon. This route runs from the rock at the north end to the edge of Perivolos in the south.
From the rock at the foot of Mesa Vouno
Start at the northern end, where the dark mass of Mesa Vouno drops almost straight into the sea. This headland is what makes Perissa Perissa: it held the Dorian city of Ancient Thera from the 9th century BC, excavated by Hiller von Gaertringen between 1895 and 1904, and its cliffs shelter the beach from the north wind.
The footpath from the Perissa side climbs from the end of the beach up the flank of the rock to the archaeological site, entry $11.19 (€10), reduced $5.59 (€5). The site opens summer 08:30-15:30 and closes on Wednesdays, so plan the climb on any other day. The path is a real hike on a hot afternoon, so take water and start early.
Even if you skip the ruins, the first bend of the path gives the classic view back over the whole black strand, the town and the open sea, and it costs nothing. Photographers get the best of it in the morning light.
Practical line: the trailhead sits at the far north end of the beach road, past the last taverna.
Along the beach road to the church square
Walk south from the rock along the beach itself. Umbrellas and sunbeds line the sand in summer, run by the tavernas and beach bars behind them, and there is open sand between each operator's pitch, so you can always put a towel down for free. The sea deepens within a few strokes, which swimmers like and small children need watching for.
About the middle of the strip you reach the church square, with its blue-domed church, the closest thing Perissa has to a centre. Buses stop along the main road here, and the lanes leading inland are where the cheaper studios and supermarkets sit. This is also where the beach is widest, so it is the natural swimming spot if you are only stopping for the day.
Keep walking and the tone shifts gradually. The bars get sleeker, the sunbed rows get denser, and at some unnamed point you realise you have crossed into Perivolos.
Practical line: the blue dome of the church square is the easiest meeting point and the local landmark for taxi directions.
Into Perivolos, the quieter southern half
Perivolos beach is the continuation of the same strand, and the boundary between the two is a matter of local convention rather than any line on the ground. It is part of this page because locals and visitors use the names interchangeably, and the same bus route serves both.
Perivolos runs quieter and slightly more upmarket, with beach clubs and restaurants rather than snack bars, and more space between umbrellas. If Perissa in August feels busy, walk south for ten minutes and the crowd thins noticeably. The sand is the same black grain and the swimming is the same.
At the southern end the beach narrows toward the cliffs and erosion works of the Vlychada coast, a different landscape again. You can walk the whole strand end to end in well under an hour at a relaxed pace (our estimate), which makes an evening stroll along the waterline the simplest pleasure here.
Practical line: for the quietest swim, aim for the Perivolos end and go early, before the beach clubs set out their rows.
Where to swim and what to look at
The water is the main event in Perissa, but the hill above it and the water beyond it both earn time.
Swimming the black strand
The best swimming in Perissa is early morning, before the meltemi wind builds and before the beach fills. The July and August meltemi is the reason boat trips around the island get cancelled, and on the open southeast coast you feel it first, with chop and dry sand blowing off the beach on the strongest days.
The water itself is clean and clear, warming through the season to a sea temperature around 25 °C in August. The dark sand makes the shallows look almost black until a few metres out, then the water turns clear blue-green. Watch the depth: the seabed drops off fast, and on windy days there is a real shore break.
Snorkelling is limited close in because the seabed is sand, but the rocks at the foot of Mesa Vouno at the north end hold more life. For organised water time, the kayak trip along the volcanic cliffs and sea caves paddles the south coast with certified guides, snorkelling and a picnic, four hours door to door.
Practical line: swim at the north end for rocks and snorkelling, mid-beach for space, Perivolos end for quiet.
The view from above: Ancient Thera on the headland
The single biggest sight near Perissa is not on the beach at all. Mesa Vouno, the 300-odd metre headland closing the north end of the bay, carried the Dorian city of Ancient Thera from the 9th century BC. You can reach its ruins by the winding road from the Kamari side or by footpath from either town, and the site holds the remains of temples, a theatre, stoas and bath buildings spread along the ridge.
Entry is $11.19 (€10), reduced $5.59 (€5). Summer hours are 08:30-15:30 and the site closes on Wednesdays. The Ephorate puts the average visit at about 1.5 hours, which does not count the climb from Perissa, so set out in the morning with water and hats.
The payoff is double: the ruins themselves and the view down onto both black beaches, the clearest way to see the shape of the island's southeast corner. Pair the climb with a long swim afterwards and you have the classic Perissa day.
Practical line: closed Wednesdays in summer, and in winter access is limited, so check before you plan the hike.
Beyond the headland and along the coast
Perissa works well as a launch point for the southern half of the island. Over the hill to the northwest sits Akrotiri, the Bronze Age town buried by the eruption, with entry at $22.40 (€20), reduced $11.19 (€10), closed Tuesdays in winter. The Red Beach next to it is closed by land because of rockfall danger, and the honest way to see it now is from a boat or the viewpoint above.
Inland, Emporio is the largest of the old fortified villages, a maze of lanes and a hilltop castle quarter a short drive from Perissa. The guided ATV convoy runs from Perissa through Emporio and the south on off-road tracks, morning or sunset, three and a half hours with fuel and insurance included.
South along the coast, Vlychada has the strange eroded cliffs and the marina that the catamarans sail from. All of these sit within a short drive, which is the practical argument for basing here rather than on the caldera rim if you have a vehicle.
Practical line: one day for the beach and Ancient Thera, a second day for Akrotiri, Emporio and the south.
Eating in Perissa
Perissa eats well and cheaply by island standards, in three kinds of place along one road.
Tavernas on the beach road
The backbone of eating here is the family taverna, set back one row from the sand or opening straight onto it. Menus lean on the Santorini classics: fava, the yellow split-pea puree the island is known for, tomato fritters built on the small intensely flavoured local tomatoes, white eggplant, and grilled fish priced by the kilo.
The local wine list is worth taking seriously. Santorini's Assyrtiko, grown in the low basket-shaped kouloura vines against the wind, is one of Greece's great whites, and tavernas here pour it at sensible prices compared with the rim villages. Sweet Vinsanto, made from sun-dried grapes, closes a meal properly.
Prices run below the caldera towns for the same plates, which is one of the honest reasons to stay on this coast. For a broader read on the island's dishes and where they come from, see our guide to Santorini food, and for sit-down pointers across the island, Santorini restaurants.
Practical line: tavernas fill from about 20:00 in summer, so either book or eat at 19:00 and walk the beach after.
Beach bars, breakfast spots and the club end
During the day the beach itself feeds you. Beach bars serve coffee and breakfast from mid-morning, then move to cocktails and DJs as the afternoon goes on. The tone shifts as you walk south: Perissa's own strip stays informal, family-run and reasonably priced, while Perivolos wears the polished beach-club look, with daybeds, bottle service and a dress code of sorts.
The practical division is simple. For a lazy lunch with sand on your feet, take any Perissa taverna with its umbrellas out front. For a long afternoon with a lounger, music and a swim ladder, pick a Perivolos club and expect to pay for the setting. Neither requires a reservation in the low season, and both do in August.
Evening is quieter than Fira or Oia by design. After dinner the options are a drink at a beach bar or the short hop to busier towns. For the late scene across the island, our Santorini nightlife guide has the map.
Practical line: sunbed prices are set by each operator and are not published centrally, so ask before you sit.
Getting to Perissa and parking
Perissa is the far corner of the island from the caldera sights, and the bus is cheap, if seasonal in frequency.
By bus from Fira and the port
The KTEL bus is the workhorse. The Fira-Perissa-Perivolos line runs 20.4 km and costs $3.02 (€2.70) each way, with a reduced fare of $1.57 (€1.40) for large families and disability, and a night fare of $3.80 (€3.40) on the 00:30-05:00 services. Fira is the hub for the whole island network, so from Oia or the beaches you change there.
From Athinios ferry port, the port bus also costs $3.02 (€2.70) from Fira, so you change in the capital with your bags. Departure times are seasonal and published only as a PDF on the KTEL site, so check the timetable on the day rather than trusting any printed schedule, and pay the conductor on board.
The service thins in the evening and is reduced out of season, which is the main argument for a car or quad if you plan to eat dinners elsewhere. The full network and fares are in our getting around Santorini guide.
Practical line: keep small notes for the conductor, and photograph the timetable at the Fira station on arrival.
By car, quad or taxi, and where to park
Perissa sits about 20 minutes' drive from Fira (our estimate), on the south coast, and the roads out here are the island's easiest: flat, straight and far less congested than the caldera rim. If you have a vehicle, this end of the island is where it earns its keep, since Akrotiri, Emporio, Vlychada and the wineries all cluster within a short radius.
Parking is the pleasant surprise. Unlike Fira or Oia, where spaces are a blood sport, Perissa has open lots and roadside parking along the main road and behind the beach, free of charge, and even in August you can find a spot within a few minutes' walk of the sand (our estimate).
A caution on quads: Greek law requires a licence valid for the engine size, and above 50 cc that means a motorcycle category. Renters who accept a car licence can leave the rider uninsured. A guided option sidesteps all of it, like the ATV experience that starts in Perissa with the vehicle, helmet, fuel and insurance included. More in our Santorini atv rental guide.
Practical line: arrive by 10:00 in July and August to park closest to the north end.
From the airport and the ferries
Santorini's airport sits about 6 km southeast of Fira, north of Kamari, so Perissa is a cross-island trip of roughly 25 minutes by road (our estimate). The cheap route is the airport bus to Fira at $2.46 (€2.20), then the Perissa bus at $3.02 (€2.70), with your luggage in tow. With bags, most people take a transfer or taxi. Shared and private airport transfers run to all destinations, such as the private arrival transfer if your flight lands late.
From Athinios ferry port the road runs south past Megalochori to Perissa, again around 25 minutes (our estimate). The port bus goes to Fira first, so with luggage a pre-booked transfer wins. Check the arithmetic in our guide to Athinios port.
Cruise passengers on a shore day should know the timing: you land at the Old Port below Fira, and the round trip to Perissa plus a swim is tight in a half-day call. Tours built for ships, like the sightseeing day that includes the black beach, handle the transport for you. The port logistics are in our Santorini cruise port guide.
Practical line: prebook transfers in high season, since the taxi queue at the port can be long on big ferry days.
When to come to Perissa
The beach sets the calendar here more than anywhere else on the island.
The season, month by month
Swimming runs comfortably from late May to early October. June brings sea temperatures around 22.7 °C and daytime highs near 24 °C on the sea-moderated average, and July and August peak at about 26 °C with an almost empty rain gauge and sea around 25 to 26 °C. The catch in those two months is the meltemi, the summer wind that funnels down the Aegean, whips the dry sand and cancels boat trips.
September is the local favourite: sea still around 25.1 °C, air easing to about 24 °C, the crowds thinning after the peak. October stays swimmable with the sea at 23.1 °C, though the first real rains arrive. By November the air drops to the high teens and the beach town settles into its sleeping rhythm.
Winter is a different place. Many tavernas and hotels close, the buses run reduced schedules, and the draw becomes walking Mesa Vouno and having the strand to yourself. The month-by-month detail is in our Santorini weather guide, and the wider timing call is in best time to visit Santorini.
Practical line: June and September are the sweet spot of warm sea and manageable crowds.
The day: tides of sunbeds, buses and wind
Within any summer day, Perissa has a rhythm. Mornings from about 08:00 to 10:30 belong to swimmers and walkers starting the Ancient Thera climb, and the sea is at its flattest. Midday is the sunbed wall to wall time, when the beach bars hit full volume and the sand is too hot for bare feet.
Late afternoon softens. The light turns warm on the black sand, the wind often drops, and the bars set tables out along the water. Sunset here happens behind the island, not over the sea, so the crowd that mobs the caldera rim is absent, and you get the light show reflected on the cliffs from a distance instead.
If a full day trip is more your shape than a beach day, the coach days that loop the island and finish in Oia, such as the top sights day with wine tasting and the Oia sunset, pass through this coast and pick up from the area.
Practical line: arrive before 10:00 or after 16:00, and keep the middle of the day for lunch and shade.
Perissa tours and what they cost
This table compares the tours that run from or around Perissa and the black beach, from a 90-minute horse ride to full island coach days, so you can match the format to your budget and hours.
Decide first whether you want the beach itself as the activity, or the beach as one stop on a full-island day.
| Option | Price | Length | Includes | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santorini Horse Riding to Black Sandy BeachRiders who want the black sand as the point | $97.25 | 90 minutes | Horse riding instructions, helmets and half chaps, expert guide, bottled water, digital photos with your own equipment | Check Availability |
| Santorini ATV ExperienceDrivers who want off-road dust without rental risk | $148.73 | 3.5 hours | New 450/550cc ATV, helmet, fuel, third-party insurance, safety briefing, pickup and drop-off outside port and airport | Check Availability |
| Santorini Kayak in Volcanic Cliffs Hidden Sea Caves and PicnicActive swimmers who want the coast from the water | $143.01 | 4 hours | Certified guide, kayaking and safety equipment, light picnic, optional hotel pickup and drop-off | Check Availability |
| Santorini Day Tour: Akrotiri, Villages, Wine and Sunset in OiaFirst-timers who want the whole island in one day | $67.50 plus $22.57 added at checkout | 10 hours | Driver-guide, licensed archaeologist at Akrotiri, air-conditioned vehicle, pickup and drop-off. Akrotiri entrance fee extra | Check Availability |
| Top Sights Day Trip, Wine Tasting, & Oia SunsetBudget travellers who want the classic loop | $58.02 | 9 hours | Coach day with winery stop and Oia sunset, pickup available. Inclusions per the listing | Check Availability |
| Traditional Sightseeing Bus Tour with Oia SunsetTraditional sightseers with a full day | $59.53 | 10 hours | Classic sightseeing bus day with pickup available. Inclusions per the listing | Check Availability |
All tours on the island of Santorini end with the Oia sunset, which is the reason the full-day options finish late. Figures current in Q4 2026.
Perissa on the map
The southeast corner of Santorini: Perissa and Perivolos on the open sea, Ancient Thera on the headland between here and Kamari, and the southern sights a short drive inland.
- 1 PerissaThe black-sand resort town and the northern end of the beach.
- 2 Ancient TheraDorian city ruins on the Mesa Vouno headland above Perissa and Kamari.
- 3 KamariThe beach resort on the far side of the headland.
- 4 EmporioThe largest old fortified village, inland from Perissa.
- 5 AkrotiriThe Bronze Age town buried by the eruption, on the southwest coast.
- 6 VlychadaEroded cliffs and the marina the catamarans sail from, south of Perivolos.
Numbers match the pins on the map.
Near Perissa
Three places that pair naturally with a Perissa base, all within a short drive or a climb.
Ancient Thera
The Dorian city ruins sit on the headland directly above Perissa, reached by a footpath from the end of the beach or the winding road from Kamari. Entry is $11.19 (€10) and the site closes on Wednesdays in summer, so plan around it. Full details in our Ancient Thera guide.
Footpath climb from the north end of the beach (our estimate) Read the guideEmporio
The biggest of the traditional inland villages, with a maze of lanes and a castle quarter on the hill, a world away from the beach strip. It anchors the southern half of the island, which our Santorini villages guide covers in full.
Short drive inland (our estimate) Read the guideVlychada
The coast changes character at Vlychada, where wind-carved cliffs tower over a grey strand and the small marina shelters the sailing fleet. The catamaran cruises leave from here, as our Vlychada beach guide explains.
Short drive south (our estimate) Read the guideWhere to stay in Perissa
Perissa and Perivolos divide into three practical zones for booking, each with a different character and price feel.
North Perissa, under the rock
- Walking distance
- 2 to 5 minutes to the sand (our estimate)
- Suits
- Swimmers and hikers who want Ancient Thera on the doorstep
Closest to the quiet north end of the beach and the Mesa Vouno trailhead, with small studios and apartments rather than big resorts.
See stays in North Perissa, under the rockCentral Perissa, around the church square
- Walking distance
- 1 to 3 minutes to the sand (our estimate)
- Suits
- First-time visitors without a car who want everything walkable
The widest choice of tavernas, mini markets and the bus stops, at the widest part of the beach. This is the practical base if you are not driving.
See stays in Central Perissa, around the church squarePerivolos, the southern strip
- Walking distance
- 1 to 5 minutes to the sand (our estimate)
- Suits
- Couples after a beach-club holiday and a calmer evening
Sleeker hotels and beach clubs on the quieter half of the strand, a short walk or drive from the Perissa centre.
See stays in Perivolos, the southern stripWe take a commission if you book through these links, at no extra cost to you.
Perissa questions
Does Santorini have a black sand beach?
Yes, and Perissa is the flagship example. The island's southeast coast is built from volcanic ash and basalt ground into dark sand, so the strand at Perissa and its southern continuation at Perivolos are black from grain to grain. The sand heats quickly in the sun, so pack sandals for the walk to the water, and expect clear water and a fast-shelving seabed beyond it.
Which beach is better, Perissa or Kamari?
They sit on opposite sides of the same headland with the same black sand, so the differences are practical. Perissa has the longer strand, more space and generally lower prices, while Kamari is closer to the airport and the Fira bus costs less there at $2.46 (€2.20) versus $3.02 (€2.70). Our pick for a beach holiday is Perissa. For the full comparison see Kamari Santorini.
Are there any Greek islands to avoid?
Not really, but there are bad matches. If you want quiet and authentic village life, packed resort strips in peak August will disappoint, and if you want beaches, the caldera towns have none. Perissa suits beach travellers, while Oia and Fira suit view and sunset travellers. Match the island and the village to the trip rather than avoiding any island outright. See where to stay in Santorini for the fit.
Should you wear white in Santorini?
White photographs beautifully against the blue and the volcanic black, and many visitors build outfits around it. On Perissa beach specifically, dark sand clings less than you would think, but black clothing in the July and August sun is a mistake, so light colours genuinely help. Bring a wind layer, since the summer meltemi can blow hard on the open southeast coast.
How do I get to Perissa beach from Fira?
Take the KTEL bus from Fira bus station on the Perissa-Perivolos line, 20.4 km for $3.02 (€2.70) each way, paying the conductor on board. Departure times are seasonal and published as a PDF, so check on the day. By car or quad it is about 20 minutes on flat roads (our estimate), and parking behind the beach is free and easier than anywhere on the caldera rim. More in getting around Santorini.
Can you walk from Perissa to Ancient Thera?
Yes. A footpath climbs from the north end of Perissa beach up the flank of Mesa Vouno to the archaeological site, and another starts from the Kamari side. Entry is $11.19 (€10), reduced $5.59 (€5), the site keeps summer hours of 08:30-15:30 and closes on Wednesdays. The Ephorate allows about 1.5 hours for the site itself, so set out early with water and add the climb time on top.
Is Perissa good for families with kids?
It works well, with caveats. The beach shelves quickly and the open coast can have a real surf on windy days, so choose the calm mornings and keep young swimmers close. The strip is flat and stroller-friendly, supermarkets and family tavernas line the road, and quiet alternatives like horse riding on the sand are bookable. For the wider picture see our guide to Santorini with kids.
Is Perissa beach free?
The beach is public and free along its whole length. Umbrella and sunbed rows are run by the bars and tavernas behind them and are charged per set by each operator, with no island-wide published price, so ask before you sit. Gaps between operators leave open sand for towels everywhere, and the northern and southern ends are the quietest places to spread out for nothing.
Perissa On Video
Three videos that show the place before you go.
Perissa, Santorini, Greece-a two minute tour
Perissa, Santorini, Greece-a two minute tour, from primeguides.
Video: primeguidesPerissa & Perivolos Beaches - SantoriniDave.com
Perissa & Perivolos Beaches - SantoriniDave.com, from Santorini Dave.
Video: Santorini DaveSantorini's BEST BEACHES [Complete Guide]
Santorini's BEST BEACHES [Complete Guide], from Greece Explained.
Video: Greece ExplainedVideos load from YouTube only when you press play.
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