What does an Athens and Santorini trip include, and what does it cost?
Four nights across Athens and Santorini with return flights from London and 4★ accommodation. ATOL protection under licence 10713 applies and a £99 per person deposit holds it. Regional UK airports are available at a supplement confirmed at enquiry. January is the cheapest month and July the dearest. The night split between the two, the hotels, the internal transport and the meal arrangement are all confirmed in writing before you pay. Greece is in the Schengen area and needs no visa. What you pay depends on your travel dates, how many nights you want and which UK airport you fly from.
Does Santorini work outside the season?
This is the question that should decide your dates, and the two halves of this trip answer it differently.
Athens is a year-round city. The Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum and the Plaka all operate through the winter, and Athens in January is a far more comfortable place to walk around than Athens in July. It does not close.
Santorini runs on a season. Out of it a significant number of hotels, restaurants and bars on the island close, ferry and flight frequency drops, and the cable car and boat trips run reduced timetables or not at all. The caldera view is still there and it is still extraordinary. Much of the infrastructure around it is not open.
May is the month this trip is built for. Santorini is fully open, the island is not yet overwhelmed, and Athens is warm without being punishing. September is the close second, with a warmer sea.
If your dates fall in the cheap winter months, tell us and we will confirm what is actually open on Santorini before you book. Depending on what we find, an Athens-led trip with a different island, or Athens alone, may serve you far better than this itinerary at that time of year.
What is included, and what we set with you
We would rather be straight about this than write around it.
What is certain: four nights, Athens and Santorini, 4★ accommodation, return flights from London, ATOL 10713 protection and a £99 per person deposit. The highlights recorded against the deal name the Acropolis, the Plaka district and the sunset views at Oia.
What we set with you: how the four nights divide between city and island, which hotels you stay in, how you travel between Athens and Santorini, and what is covered at mealtimes.
All of it is confirmed in writing before you pay anything beyond the deposit. The internal connection is the one worth asking about first, because on a four-night trip it materially changes what you get.
What you will actually do
The Acropolis is the reason Athens exists as a destination. Go early or late — the site is exposed, there is almost no shade, and the midday queue in summer is punishing. The Acropolis Museum at the foot of the hill holds what has been taken off the site.
The Plaka, named in the package’s highlights, is the old quarter beneath the Acropolis — narrow lanes, tavernas and shops, touristy in parts and still the pleasantest place in the city to spend an evening.
Oia’s sunset, also named in the highlights, is the Santorini image everyone knows. It is also extremely crowded in season, with people arriving hours ahead for a position. Fira, the main town, and the walk along the caldera rim between the two are quieter and arguably better.
Santorini is a volcano. The caldera is a flooded crater, which is why the island is shaped as it is and why the cliffs drop the way they do. Boat trips to the volcanic islets and hot springs run in season.
The beaches are black, red and volcanic rather than white. Perissa and Kamari are the main ones. Anyone expecting Greek-island white sand should know this before booking.
Athens has changed a great deal in the last decade and the old advice has not caught up. The centre around Monastiraki and Koukaki is walkable, well fed and considerably more pleasant than its reputation, and the Acropolis Museum is among the best modern museums in Europe.
On Santorini, where you stay decides the holiday. A caldera-side room in Oia or Imerovigli gives you the view everyone comes for and a steep walk to everything. A beach-side base at Perissa or Kamari is flatter, cheaper and easier with luggage, but the caldera is then a bus ride rather than a step outside.
What changes your price?
- The month. January at its cheapest against July at its dearest — and the two buy very different trips.
- Departure airport. Priced from London, with regional UK airports at a supplement confirmed at enquiry.
- How the nights split between Athens and Santorini, which we set with you.
- Where you stay on Santorini. A caldera-view room in Oia or Fira costs considerably more than one inland or near the beaches.
- Extra nights. Four across two destinations is tight, particularly with an internal connection inside it.
Who this holiday suits
- Travellers who want classical history and island scenery in one short trip.
- First-time visitors to Greece.
- Couples — Santorini is built around the view and trades on it.
- Anyone travelling in May or September, when both halves work at once.
- Photographers, since the caldera and Oia are among the most photographed places in Europe.
Who might prefer something else
- If your only free dates are in winter, Santorini will be largely shut. Ask us about Athens alone, or a different island, before booking this.
- Want white-sand beaches? Santorini’s are black and volcanic. Another Greek island would suit you better.
- For a quiet sunset, Oia in season is the opposite of that.
- If four nights across two destinations sounds rushed, it is — there is an internal connection inside it.
- Want a city break with everything confirmed up front? Our Lisbon and Porto combo starts, though its package detail is equally something we confirm at enquiry.
- Comparing options? You can see all our multi-centre holidays side by side.
- Worth comparing against our 6 Nights Milan, Lake Como & Venice Holiday (2+2+2), which covers similar ground.
Ways to upgrade
All quoted at enquiry against your dates.
- A caldera-view room in Oia or Fira, which is the upgrade that most changes the trip
- Extra nights on either half
- A more central Athens hotel, within walking distance of the Acropolis
- Confirmed internal flights rather than ferries between Athens and Santorini
- Skip-the-line or guided entry at the Acropolis
- A caldera boat trip, or a wine tasting on the island
What is not included?
- Site and museum entry, including the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum.
- Excursions, including caldera boat trips and wine tours.
- Airport and port transfers.
- Travel insurance.
How do you get there and get around?
Flights are from London, around three and a half hours to Athens, with regional UK airports at a supplement confirmed at enquiry. Greece is two hours ahead of the UK.
Athens and Santorini are connected by both a short internal flight and a ferry taking several hours. Which of these sits inside your package is one of the things we confirm at enquiry, and on a four-night trip the difference matters — a ferry can consume most of a day that a flight would not.
Athens has a metro that reaches the airport and the centre and is straightforward to use. On Santorini, the island is small but hilly and the bus network is limited outside the season; most visitors use taxis, transfers or a hire car.
Entry requirements for UK travellers
Checked against GOV.UK foreign travel advice on 17 September 2026.
Greece is in the Schengen area, so British passport holders need no visa for stays of up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Your passport must have been issued within the last 10 years of your arrival date and be valid at least three months after you leave. A passport renewed early before October 2018 may carry months that no longer count.
The EU’s biometric Entry/Exit System is rolling out, replacing passport stamps with fingerprints and a photograph on your first crossing. It is free, lasts three years and speeds up later trips. ETIAS is not currently required.
Practicalities worth knowing
Greece charges an accommodation tax, payable at the hotel rather than in the package price, and the rate varies with the property’s rating and the season.
The Acropolis has no shade. In summer it is genuinely punishing in the middle of the day, and the site sometimes closes during extreme heat. Go at opening or late afternoon.
Santorini’s towns are built on a cliff. Oia and Fira involve a great many steps and steep lanes, and luggage is often carried by hand or by porter. It is difficult with limited mobility, and worth raising with us before booking.
Cruise ships set the rhythm. When several are in, Fira and Oia are extremely busy for a few hours in the middle of the day and much quieter either side.
Water is scarce on Santorini. The island has no natural fresh water supply and tap water is generally not for drinking. Bottled water is the norm.
Booking and protection
Your booking is covered by our ATOL licence 10713 and we hold IATA accreditation 91285611. It is held with a deposit of £99 per person, with the balance due before travel.
Prices are per person, based on two people sharing. May is the month to aim for. When you enquire, ask us to confirm the night split, the hotels and the Athens–Santorini connection in writing — on a four-night trip across two places, those three decide what the holiday actually feels like.
Christmas
ATOL Protected
Salzburg & Innsbruck
Room Only
