Santorini with Kids: 11 Things to do in Santorini Greece

Oh, Santorini. It’s the stuff dreams are made of, right? We stopped in Greece for about a week on our way to the Middle East and we just fell in love with the country. The food, the warmth (both in disposition and sunshine), the history, the beauty. It was all wonderful! Keeping reading for all our tips on visiting Santorini with kids!

While Athens can be a bit gritty in places, Santorini epitomizes Greek dreaminess. With its classic white and blue buildings, and gorgeous waters, it’s pretty picturesque. Greece with kids is pretty magical and Santorini with kids is a great place to experience that magic.

How many days to spend in Santorini with kids?

For all its beauty, we did find Santorini to be fairly touristy, so it’s not necessarily someplace I’d want to spend an entire week. But 2-3 days as a side trip from all the history and culture and learning of Athens? Totally perfect amount of time to spend. A long weekend in Santorini with kids is ideal! We were able to do all these activities in less than 3 days, so you could definitely do 2 days in Santorini with kids and have a fabulous time.

What to Pack for a European Vacation: Minimal Packing Essentials for Families

Especially with a big family, it’s important for us to pack minimally so we don’t feel totally overwhelmed when we travel. Here are some of our favorite minimal packing essentials for families!

• Merino Wool Base Layers, Socks, & Sweaters: Here are my favorite base layers to use as pajamas or to layer under clothing in cold weather. I also really love this stretchy merino silk v-neck under clothes or as a top, especially in warmer weather. All our favorite merino wool base layers and wool socks are linked HERE!
• Diaper Belt Bag: I absolutely love this little bag because it holds so much but is really compact and easy to wear with a variety of outfits. You can use the code PASSPORTFAM10 for 10% off.
• Packing Cubes: I love packing cubes for keeping things organized, contained, and compact. These are my favorite expandable packing cubes, and I also love these.
• Lightweight Women’s Pants: I absolutely adore these pants for travel because they’re SO comfortable, fold super small, and dry in a flash. More about why I love them HERE.
• Lightweight Packable Coat: I love this lightweight packable parka because it is really warm and good for layering, and folds into a bag a little bigger than a water bottle when not in use. My kids have also used these coats for years and they’re excellent because they fold up easily but are warm and layer well. They have a big line of them for the whole family.
• Shoes: I often only take one pair of shoes – either my favorite white sneakers or my beloved black Chelsea boots. More about both shoes HERE. For my kids, we really love Keen shoes because they’re durable and waterproof. For summer, we love these sneakers or these close-toed hiking sandals. For winter, we love these boots.
• 40L Backpack: I love this kids backpacking backpack because it’s roomy, easily fits in most carry on requirements on airplanes, and fits really comfortably. (My 6 year old uses the smaller 18L version, and my 3 year old uses the even smaller 12L version.)
• Pop Up Tent Baby Bed: We’ve had this super lightweight baby travel bed for over a decade. We love it so much because it’s so lightweight and fits easily in a suitcase without having to take a bulky and heavy pack n play.
• Lightweight Folding Baby Carrier; I absolutely love this baby carrier because it’s supportive but still lightweight and weighs about a pound.

For more packing ideas here’s what I packed for:

• Spring in Egypt
• Summer in Asia
• Fall in the Balkans
• Winter in Switzerland/France/Germany

Things to do in Santorini with kids

Take a caldera boat tour

There are a million different options to explore the volcanic crater in which Santorini is perched. This was the perfect way to kick off our holiday and it was fascinating climbing the volcano (your kids will need to be willing to either hike or be in a pack for this, as it’s not stroller-friendly), swimming in the hot springs, and seeing a bit of the beautiful town of Oia.

Check out this caldera cruise!

Stay off-the-beaten-path

So much of Santorini is focused on honeymooning couples. When trying to figure out where to stay in Santorini with family, we found most places to be quite expensive. We stayed in a family-owned pension house in Karterados, right in the middle of the island. It was a short walk to the town of Thira, and easily accessible by taxi to the rest of the island, but felt much more local and set apart from the crowds. This was so nice with kids, as we had a spacious room (and a pool on the property), access to grocery stores (and had a fridge in our room), and felt like we could integrate with some of the locals a bit. It wasn’t super fancy, but it was clean and nice and we really enjoyed our stay.

Take the cable car

A cable car connects the port with the town of Thira, and the stop was about a 15 minute walk from our hotel (once we, ahem, figured out where we were going…). The views are just spectacular and our kids (and we!) loved it. A cable car ride is a great way to break up all the beach time on your family holiday in Greece.

Swim in Amoudi Bay in Santorini with kids

This is a pretty, protected little area near Oia, but away from much of the hustle and bustle. The waters are crystalline and calm and warm, and there are tons of smooth, pretty rocks to see/play with/toss. When in Santorini with a toddler, this is a perfect place for water play. That is to say, if your kids are anything like mine, they’ll love it.

Go to the beach

Of course. Many Santorini beaches aren’t enormously kid-friendly, though. A lot of them are rocky and hot and steep. We went to Monolithos, though, which we really enjoyed. Monolithos was our best choice for a family friendly beach in Santorini. While I’ve read mixed reviews on cleanliness depending on time of year, it was very clean when we were there, and had beach chairs and umbrellas and showers.

The water was shallow and warm and very clean, and the black sand was actually quite soft in this area, with a wide beach area. There were quite a few Greek kids there. In fact, we may have been the only native English speakers there that day, which we took as a good sign.

Watch the sunset

You can’t go to Santorini and not catch the sunset. It can be a bit tricky seeing the sunset when traveling with kids. Fortunately, it’s beautiful and easy to see from wherever you are. It’s nice that you don’t necessarily need to battle the crowds at Oia. Our family watched the Santorini sunset from our restaurant at the edge of the cliff in Thira and it was magical. Here’s an option for a sunset catamaran cruise.

Walk the 600+ steps to Thira

If you’ve already taken the cable car one direction, it’s actually surprisingly fun walking the other way. We walked up, but you could more easily go down, as well. It’s nice to be able to pause and observe the (gorgeous) surroundings, and kids somehow tend to think stairs are way more fun than adults do. Just avoid taking the donkeys, who tend to be grossly mistreated.

Go for a hike, or a stroll

Santorini offers lots of opportunities for beautiful views, or just wandering through tiny and charming towns. Kids will love hopping from cobblestone to cobblestone. Spending time outside in nature is one of our favorite things to do when traveling with kids. 

Explore the ruins of ancient Thira

It’s always fun to wander around and play imaginary games of ancient people. And being in Greece with kids on family holiday allows for plenty of time to do this!

Learn about volcanoes

Everything about Santorini lends itself to teaching a bit about volcanic activity. Traveling with a toddler who was 23 months at the time was definitely young for that. But our traveling preschooler, who was not quite 4 at the time, was fascinated by how it all worked and truly remembered tidbits years later.

Eat a relaxed meal (yes, really) in Santorini with kids

Our kids were big fans of Greek food, and I think most children would be. When dining in Greece with kids, they loved the fresh and crunchy cucumbers and tomatoes, as well as the cheese and pastries. Plus lots of FULL fat Greek yogurt. Lots to like and it felt fresh and peaceful and there was little cajoling to eat. Always a victory when traveling with kids.

Santorini is definitely worth a visit on your Greek family adventure – and the kids will make it a unique and special experience. We’ve found locals tend to be friendlier to us when we have kids in tow, and we get to know parts of a city and culture that we wouldn’t otherwise. Santorini is no different and we highly recommend traveling to Santorini with your kids!

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