From Fira to Oia

Every major trip I’ve taken has that one memorable day that stands head and shoulders above the rest. For Greece, it was my second day on Santorini, when I walked from Fira to Oia.

Some call the Fira-to-Oia walk one of the most spectacular short hikes anywhere. I spent my childhood summers in the Rockies, so I wouldn’t go that far, but it truly is beautiful. That’s because the entire route follows Santorini’s clifftop, offering stunning views of the caldera from start to finish.

I was advised to take the bus to my starting point and walk back, rather than trying to board an overcrowded bus at the end of the day. So, since I was staying in Oia, I jumped on the bus to Fira where I spent the morning taking photos. After enjoying a leisurely lunch overlooking the caldera, I started out. It was around 2 pm — not advisable in the heat of summer, but no problem in October. With a distance of 10.5 kilometres, the walk can take anywhere from two to five hours, depending on your pace and how often you stop.

The first bit, from Fira to Firostefani to Imerovigli, is the steepest part, but it’s not long. It’s difficult to tell where one village ends and the next one starts as the path is lined with hotels, shops, and restaurants.

Then comes a longer, quieter stretch. On my left was the caldera, and on my right, hotel after hotel and villa after villa. Each ocean-facing suite had a private pool or hot tub and a million-dollar view.

Eventually, you come to a monastery and begin a long, slow descent on a rustic, more natural path. Here, it’s best to have good walking shoes. (I was wearing runners.) My phone had run out of battery by this point, so I was guesstimating how far I had to go and carefully rationing the water I had bought in Firostefani.

Thankfully, at the bottom of this hill I came across a shack selling cold beverages. Then came a short bit along the roadway, and a long, slow climb to another church overlooking the caldera.

From here, I continued on a trail that I thought would be on the caldera side of the clifftop, but it took me pretty much straight down to the main road into Oia where I had a good 20-minute walk along a not-so-pretty sidewalk — an unfortunate outcome of not having a working phone at that point. But the road led me straight to my hotel, where I collapsed in my room around 6:30 pm, so it was all good.

Since the trail to Fira ended directly across the road from my hotel, the next morning I walked up the trail part way to see what I had missed.

I don’t expect I’ll ever get back to Santorini, but a bit of advice if you go and decide to do the Fira-to-Oia walk: ensure you have a proper map or working phone so you don’t end up on a roadway like I did, and carry more water than you think you’ll need.

Even in October.