I thought I would hate the crowds of Santorini, but the reality I found was much calmer

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Santorini was never at the top of my bucket list. As a travel reporter, I spend a lot of time researching and writing about how tourist destinations in southern Europe are dealing with overtourism. In the summer season, when tourists flock to Mediterranean hotspots, small towns with narrow streets can easily fill to the point of sprawl, overwhelming infrastructure that wasn't built for the crowds and damaging the quality of life for long-suffering locals.

On Mallorca, protests have become a frequent occurrence, with residents claiming that uncontrolled tourism has taken them out of the housing market and had a harmful impact on the environment on their island. So is Barcelona, ​​where frustrated locals staged demonstrations last summer, including spraying tourists with water pistols.

So I've been putting off visiting a destination like Santorini; It's a favorite spot for cruise ship passengers who flood the town's streets on day trips, among other tourists who make their way to the most Instagram-worthy spots.

As much as I longed to see the city's iconic blue-domed, whitewashed buildings and experience the sunset from the town of Oia, I feared the idyllic Cycladic landscape would resemble game time at Wembley Stadium rather than a quaint Greek city.

However, when I found myself in Santorini this summer and braved the soaring temperatures and ventured out to Oia to see the domes, the reality I discovered was somewhat different. As I braced myself for the hordes of tourists lining the streets, and prepared to push sweaty bodies to catch a glimpse of the famous royal blue churches, when I arrived at one of the famous viewpoints to look at the domes, I was able to walk straight up and take a photo. No queues, no crowds, no tourists waving selfie sticks. It's just me and a handful of other visitors looking up at the bright white cube houses, while the Aegean Sea sparkles in the early afternoon sun.

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A sign in Santorini asks visitors to respect Oia (Amelia Neith)

Read more: What it's like to visit Santorini in the aftermath of the earthquakes

I was amazed at the lack of crowds, but tourist numbers actually seem to be declining. Speaking to hotel staff on Santorini, I was told that capacity was only 60 percent, which is unusually quiet for mid-July, the island's peak summer tourism month. They attributed this to the rising costs of living across Europe, but also to the impact of the earthquakes that struck Santorini earlier this year. In February, a series of earthquakes rocked the island, sending about 11,000 residents and holidaymakers fleeing to the mainland, leaving shops and restaurants closed.

The seismic activity appears to have acted as a deterrent to tourists. Santorini saw an 11.6 percent drop in air arrivals in July this year compared to July 2024, falling from 509,577 to 450,584 – about 50,000 fewer passengers year-on-year, according to Santorini air traffic statistics.

Overall, the island has seen a 16.2 percent drop in visitors arriving by plane compared to last year, statistics as of October show. The decline in visitors from the UK is significant, with 2024 seeing more than 79,500 visitors from the UK, but in July this year the island welcomed around 61,300 arrivals by air.

Although I wouldn't want to see the island's economy hurt by dwindling numbers, my experience wandering the winding streets of Oia and looking out at the caldera was much more enjoyable than if I was jostling with hundreds of other people. The trip gave me a glimpse of what these popular tourist sites could feel like if crowds and visitors were better organised.

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The streets were much less crowded than expected in Oia (Amelia Neath)

As I walked through Oia's network of cobblestone streets, I popped in and out of shops selling handcrafted jewellery, clothing and souvenirs from Santorini, before making a trip to a takeaway café for what seemed like my twentieth cappuccino freddo of the trip. The Mamma Mia soundtrack blasted into my AirPods and coffee in hand, and I hopped through deserted alleyways painted burnt amber and covered in bright pink bougainvillea. Somehow I've managed to find the social media version of Santorini promised by Eurosummer influencers. For me, Instagram has become a reality.

Last year, Santorini residents, business owners and local politicians expressed increasing concern about tourism levels, with some calling for a cap on the number of cruise ship visitors.

“If all the tourists stopped coming, wouldn’t these destinations lose a huge source of income for their economy?” is the cry I hear most often when discussing overtourism.

However, for many, the argument has never been to eliminate every visitor, but to better handle the influx of tourism.

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Crowds of people sit on the half-ruined castle and on rooftops, waiting for Oia's famous sunset (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Tourist taxes have become a hot topic in many European towns and cities, with many destinations taxing visitors to reinvest in infrastructure. Santorini itself imposed a new tax on cruise passengers on July 1, costing €20 (£17.18) per passenger in peak months, in a bid to curb overtourism and protect struggling infrastructure.

Similar initiatives have been introduced in cities such as Venice, which began charging tourists taking day trips €5 (£4.30) after warning the Italian destination of irreparable damage caused by overwhelming crowds. In Spain, hotspots have imposed tourist taxes, including Barcelona. The city also put a cap on the number of cruise ships that dock and pledged to eliminate short-term rentals like Airbnbs by the end of the decade to help control housing costs for locals.

While I hope the earthquake activity does not have a long-term impact on tourism in Santorini, the lower numbers allowed me to appreciate Oia in all its beauty. I always knew the island was amazing, but I'm not sure I would get the same takeaway if I was in the middle of a hole of tourists.

If tourist numbers start to rise again, I can't say I would be keen to throw myself into this battle, but I hope that a balance can be struck between serving tourists to allow a better experience for them, while maintaining a suitable quality of life for residents.

Read more: Why holidays in Greece may never be the same again

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