You have probably heard or have read about the Fira to Oia hiking trail in Santorini. Well, this guide concerns the first part of this trail that runs from Fira to Imerovigli, which is very different from the second part that runs from Imerovigli to Oia. The latter is more of a traditional hiking trail, whereas the former is more of a coastal urban walk. This difference is why we decided to cover them in separate guides. The Fira to Imegovigli walk generally follows either a cobblestone path or a concrete path, where you will walk past dozens of hotels, beautiful churches, restaurants, and shops, many of which are built into the cliffs. That being said, it is still a stunningly beautiful walk, providing you with some of Santorini’s most spectacular views along the Caldera. Below we present our Santorini Guide on the Fira to Imerovigli walk, to help you get the most out of your time in Santorini.
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You might also be interested in these pages:
Best Things to See and Do in Santorini
Santorini Itinerary Ideas (1 to 5 days)
Santorini Travel Guide: Things to Know Before You Go
Where to Stay on Santorini
How to Get Around Santorini
Orientation – Where is the Fira to Imerovigli Trail?
The walking trail between Fira and Imerovigli is about 2.5 km in length, and it takes most people about 45 minutes (one-way). For the most part, the trail is a winding cobblestone walkway with lots of small ups and downs (and the occasional staircase), but that on average goes uphill towards Imerovigli. The walk back to Fira is slightly quicker as you will be going downhill (for instance, Google Maps estimates that it will take 37 minutes instead of 45 to walk in the other direction). The walk will take through three of Santorini’s villages: Fira, Firostefani, and Imerovigli.
It’s difficult to get Google Maps to show you the actual path as it suggests shortcuts through the town that aren’t along the calera, which means that you lose the coastal views. However, if you click on the above image of the map, it’s linked to the Google Maps itinerary that we tweaked so that it follows the coastal trail.
Alternatively, if you have the All Trails app you can follow the path there. The suggested trail includes a detour to Skaros Rock once you’ve
Not an AllTrails member yet? We highly recommend signing up for either their free or paid membership plans. The free plan allows you to find new trails and plan routes but can only be used while hiking if you have access to mobile data. The paid membership plan (AllTrails+) allows you to download trail maps for offline use and provides live progress updates and off-route notifications.
If you are still uncertain – you should know that the All Trails mobile application was voted the 2023 iPhone App of the Year by Apple.
Because of the nature of the path between Fira and Imerovigli, there is no need to wear hiking footwear. However, although we’ve seen many people do it, it’s not ideal for flip-flops or high-heels either given the uneven and occasionally slippery surface of the cobblestone surface. For the most part, the path is pedestrian-only, though you may come across the occasional local on a scooter.
If you don’t want to walk back the trail a second time, you can always take the bus back from Imerovigli or from the Fira bus station.
If you are based elsewhere on the island, then you have a few options for walking the trail:
By car: If coming by car we suggest starting in Imerovigli as parking is much easier there and there is generally less traffic than in Fira. There are several parking spots around town and this large lot is free and always has room.
If you haven’t booked your rental vehicle yet, we highly recommend using Discover Cars to get the best rates on your rental in Santorini.
By bus: Fira is the best-connected town in Santorini, so it just makes sense to take the bus there – all Santorini bus timetables can be found here. Most bus rides take between 10 and 25 minutes to get to Fira, depending on where you start from.
It’s also important to know that tickets are only sold on the bus and they take cash only. All tickets are one-way only and typically cost about €3 or less for an adult (2024) depending on the destination and starting point.
By private transfer: Taxis aren’t a great option on Santorini – there are roughly only 40 taxis that operate on the island, meaning it can be very difficult to find one at times. Your best option is to pre-book and private transfer, either via Welcome Pickups or from one of the following services:
What You Will See along the Walk from Fira to Imerovigli
If you plan on walking in only one direction (from Fira to Imerovigli), be sure to occasionally look behind you, as the views of Fira from Firostefani and Imerovigli are quite stunning. In fact, we prefer the walk in the opposite direction (from Imerovigli to Fira), as the scenery and vistas are more progressively revealed making for more visual surprises along the way. But it’s ideal if you walk the trail both ways so that you get the best of both worlds. Also, the views of Fira with Mount Mesa Vouno towering in the background are hard to beat.
Breathtaking Caldera Vistas
Flying Dress Photoshoots
You will no doubt also come across several tourists doing the famous “flying dress photoshoots“. If that’s something you could be interested in, there are several great photographers for hire on the island.
Cyclacic Churches and Blue Domes
Although Santorini’s blue-domed churches are mostly associated with Oia, located at the northern tip of the island, they can actually be found all over the island, and there are a few that you will cross along the caldera trail between Imerovigli and Fira. In fact, all of the churches highlighted below can be found along the Fira to Imerovigli trail.
Church of Panagia Malteza (Imerovigli)
Agios Georgios Chapel – not a blue dome, but still a lovely chapel with a fantastic view over the caldera.
Church of the Resurrection of the Lord (Imerovigli)
Three Bells of Fira (Firostefani) – the viewpoint for this church is just off the walking trail, off the street located on the other side of the church.
Church of St. Mark the Evangelist (Fira)
Church of Agios Gerasimos (Fira)
Catholic Church of Saint Stylianos (Fira) – church in the foreground of the second picture
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (Fira) – technically not a blue dome (tall tower in the background), but the architecture is nonetheless beautiful and it’s the largest church on Santorini).
Several Boutique, Artisan and Gift Shops
During your walk to Fira from Imerovigli, you’ll encounter lots of shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants, and they tend to increase in number the closer you are to Fira, Santorini’s capital and largest town.
When is the Best Time to Walk from Fira to Imerovigli
Early Morning
There are several advantages to undertaking the walk in the early morning (before 10 am). The two most obvious are the more pleasant temperatures (especially during the summer) and the fewer amount of people you’ll have to share the trail with. Indeed, the trail gets fairly busy between 10 am and 4 pm most days, in large part thanks to the day trippers disembarking from the cruise ships below Fira.
Most of the pictures shown above were taken during the early morning.
Afternoon Golden Hour
If you are not an early riser, another good time to do the walk is during the afternoon golden hour (in the last hour or two before sunset). Although it’s probably hotter than it was in the morning, it isn’t as bad as it was midday and the crowds likely have started to dissipate.
Blue Hour and Sunset
There are many many (too many to list them all) great spots along the Fira-Imerovigli trail from which you can watch the sunset. You don’t have to follow the masses to Oia to watch the sunset, and you certainly don’t have to splurge on a restaurant with a view – just find a spot along the trail you like and enjoy the view.
Combining the Fira to Imerovigili Walk with Other Trails
If coming from Fira, you’ll eventually come to a trail T-intersection once you reach Imerovigli, which is essentially the end of the trail described above. From here you have four options, depending on what you would like to do:
- Turn back and walk the trail in the other direction.
- Take the right fork and walk 5 minutes to the Imerovigli bus stop from which you can take a 5-10 minute bus ride back to Fira.
- Extend the walk by taking the left fork down to Skaros Rock (see next section)
- Continue straight along the hiking trail towards Oia (see the following section after that)
Skaros Rock Trail
To your left lies Santorini’s most famous rock and a great hiking destination – a large flat-topped outcrop ascending atop a rocky promontory known as Skaros Rock
Though the trail to Skaros Rock is not particularly long, it’s still somewhat challenging given the number of steps you will have to go down (and later come back up to get back to Imerovigli). For this part of the trail, it is recommended to have proper footwear. Most people tend to complete the Skaros Rock section of the trail in under an hour (including the return), meaning that you can complete the Fira to Imerovigli walk + the Skaros Rock in under 2 hours (add another 30-40 minutes if you want to walk the Fira-Imerovigli in both directions), but plan for more with all the photography and sight-seeing stops.
For more information on this hike, check out our Santorini Hiking Guide on the Skaros Rock trail.
Imerovigli to Oia Trail
For a more adventurous hike, you can continue onwards from Imerovigli along the trail towards Oia. We consider this to be the best hiking trail on Santorini (and most people would agree) and are confident in saying that it will not disappoint.
This is definitely the most challenging trail presented in this Santorini Guide, and most people take around 2h – 2h30 to complete it (one-way). For the return, most people are inclined to take the bus back to Fira.
Ideally, you won’t want to do this hike midday as there is nowhere to hide from the sun.
For more information on this hike, check out our Santorini Hiking Guide on the Imerovigli to Oia Trail.
Preparing a trip to Santorini?
You might also be interested in these pages:
Best Things to See and Do in Santorini
Santorini Itinerary Ideas (1 to 5 days)
Santorini Travel Guide: Things to Know Before You Go
Where to Stay on Santorini
How to Get Around Santorini
Preparing a trip to Greece?
You might be interested in these Greece pages:
Top Things to See and Do in Greece
Two-Week Greece Itinerary (including Mykonos and Santorini)
Greece Travel Guide: Things to Know Before You Go
How to Travel Around Greece
We also highly recommend these guidebooks:
Rick Steeves Greece
Lonely Planet Greece
Photography Gear
If you like our photography, you might be interested in some of the gear we use to shoot our travel and hiking destinations.
Camera Body – Nikon Z 6ii Fx-series Mirrorless Body
Main Lens – NIKON 24-120mm F/4G ED VR AF-S
Zoom Lens – Sigma 745-306 150-600mm f/5-6.3
Polarizing filters – Urth Circular Polarizing (CPL)
Camera Tripod – K&F Concept 64-inch Camera Tripod
Mini-tripod – Lammcou Flexible Camera Tripod
Camera/hiking backpack – Vanguard Alta Rise 48 Backpack
Universal Travel Adapter – VYLEE Universal International Power Travel Plug
Other Travel Essentials
Travel Insurance
SafetyWing is a travel insurance company that offers comprehensive coverage for travellers. Includes Medical Insurance and Travel Insurance. Primarily geared towards long-term travellers, digital nomads, and expats.
e-Sim cards
Airalo is the world’s first and largest eSIM store with eSIM plans for 200+ countries and regions worldwide. With Airalo eSIMs, travellers can get connected the moment they land at their destination and avoid nasty data roaming charges
eSIMS are a sustainable alternative to single-use SIM cards – they are 100% digital, require less energy to produce and be re-used rather than disposed of.
Car Rentals
Discover Cars is our go-to website for car rentals. We almost always find our preferred rate there.
Transfer from Airport
Welcome Pickups is our favourite private transfer service, which you can pre-book at a fixed price. Currently available in 220 cities all over the world (mostly in Europe, but with several major cities in Asia, the Middle East and the US).
Kiwitaxi is another private transfer service – we haven’t tried it yet, but it’s currently available in a few more countries (102 as of 2024).
Hotels and Accommodations (coming soon)
Photography Prints
If you found this blog useful, you can help support our blog by purchasing low-cost digital prints. Printed physical prints are also available for purchase.
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Well, that wraps it up! We hope you enjoyed our Santorini Guide on the Fira to Imerovigli Caldera Walk and that it will prove useful for planning your trip to Santorini.
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