Santorini is known for it’s picturesque white buildings, blue Aegean Sea, and the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Most people don’t realize the shopping in Santorini is at the top of the list too.
Whether you’re searching for a souvenir, or a new outfit for pictures. You will find something in one of the beautiful Santorini villages. You just need to know where to look.
Here are your 4 best places for shopping in Santorini.
1. Shopping in Perissa & Perivolos Beach
Perissa Beach is known for it’s beach bars and black sand. We didn’t realize all the shopping offered along the beach strip as well.
Here you will find more souvenir shops than anything. Perissa is a great place to pick up your souvenirs for half the price of Oia’s shops. We assume the prices are higher in Oia because
- It is more of a tourist area
- It requires more work to pack the merchandise to the shops
If you keep walking the strip away from the mountain, you will eventually enter the village of Perivolos. Along your walk you will find shops for boutique dresses, jewelry, shirts, and greek snacks.
Adrienne picked up a white dress for our engagement shoot and Nick picked up a greek hand-made leather belt.
2. Shopping in Oia
Oia is the more touristy village you will visit in Santorini. With the crowd, comes higher prices, but also features more shops.
There were so many shops that we didn’t get to them all before the ferries brought boatloads of people. We did get to stop in two of our favorite stores on the whole island before we left.
Aquamarine Jewelry
Aquamarine sells handcrafted jewelry that you can’t find anywhere else on the island. The pearls will shock you. Adrienne was able to find her mom a cool bracelet here to take back to America.
Nick sat outside admiring the view, but he knew his favorite store was next.
Atlantis Books
Atlantis Books is one of the world’s best bookstore. Nick didn’t name it that, other people did!
This bookstore is locally owned by a group of people who live on the island. The store was created over 20 years ago when they ran out of books. They began storing books in their building, which turned into the world’s coolest bookstore.
You will find the oldest books in the world at this store. They are more than a memory after that!
The downside about Oia is the crowd and prices. We tried to beat the crowd by getting to Oia around 9:00am. Most of the stores were just opening and getting set up for their day. This allowed more intimate shopping until around 10:00am.
3. Shopping in Fira
Fira was like Perissa, they were known for their jewelry and souvenirs. Except the prices in here were the same as Oia.
If you were interested in adding some Greek pieces to your home, Fira would be the place to stop. They have stores like Le Boheme and Koukla Art Gallery.
We didn’t stay in Fira long. It was a short trip to the Capitol because that’s where we hopped on our boat to the volcano tour.
Fira wasn’t very appealing to us. It’s still a must see if you’re on the island!
4. Grocery Stores in Santorini
One thing we didn’t know before traveling to Santorini was that you can’t drink their tap water. Their tap water is filled with minerals that could make you sick.
Since the water is not potable, you will need to buy drinking water at the grocery. The good news is that grocery shopping is very easy in Santorini. There are lots of stores around the island, especially in the Perissa/Perivolos area where we stayed.
We were worried how the layout would be, coming from an American grocery. The only issue we had was attempting to read Greek. Everything else was easy.
Note: Grocery stores do not sell things that pharmacies would. Some examples are allergy medicine and shampoo. We ran into issues here.
The pharmacies do not stay open late. So prepare accordingly.
Shopping in Santorini FAQs
Does Santorini have good shopping?
Santorini has great shopping. This is one of their primary attractions. You will find anything from jewelry to souvenirs depending on what village you visit.
Where is the main shopping in Santorini?
Oia is the main tourist attraction area, so there is a huge variety of places here. If you shop in Oia or Fira, plan to pay more than you would in Perissa or Perivolos for the same quality item.
What is shopping like in Santorini?
The island of Santorini has tons of shopping! You can find the most stores in Oia, Fira, and Perissa Beach.
Is shopping better in Oia or Fira?
Oia is a range of jewelry and souvenir stores. If you shop in Oia, you have to visit the Atlantis Bookstore. Fira has a wider variety if you are interested in adding Greek pieces to your home.