Santorini vs Naxos

Quick Verdict

Santorini is a landscape you should see once; Naxos is an island you can happily spend a week on. If there is room for only one, take the island over the view.

How they compare

Dimension	Santorini	Naxos
The view	The caldera at Fira and Oia is the most spectacular sight in Greece, and everybody is looking at it with you.	Mount Zas, the inland valleys and long sandy beaches: less dramatic, far more varied.
Crowds	Extreme in July and August; Oia at sunset is a scrum and the cruise ships land thousands a day.	Busy in Naxos Town and at Agios Prokopios, quiet everywhere else.
Beaches	Volcanic, mostly pebble or dark sand; Perissa, Vlychada and the Red Beach are the best of them.	Sandy, long and shallow — Agios Prokopios, Plaka and Mikri Vigla make it the better beach island of the two.
Food and wine	Good, expensive and largely aimed at visitors; the Assyrtiko is superb.	One of the best food islands in Greece, with its own cheeses, potatoes and slow-cooked meat dishes.
Cost	The most expensive island in the country, and the caldera is priced accordingly.	Mid-range: rooms and tavernas stay reasonable even in August.
Getting around	Small and easily covered, with buses to the beaches and a cable car up from the port.	Large enough to want a car, with buses covering the main beaches and villages.

Choose Santorini if

— you have never seen the caldera and can go in May or October
— you want a view from the room and a honeymoon setting
— you are happy to pay for the landscape

Choose Naxos if

— you want a week rather than three days
— you want sandy beaches and a working town
— you want mountain villages and walking
— you are travelling as a family or with friends who dislike queueing

Our Verdict

Naxos wins on substance and Santorini on spectacle. Do both if you can: they are two hours apart by ferry and the contrast is the point. For a full week, Naxos; for three nights and a memory, Santorini, outside July and August.

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