Santorini in winter: visiting the Red Beach

The Red Beach is one of the most visited locations of Santorini, I would say that it stands in the top 3 spots to check out for most of the people coming to the island: Oia, Fira and the Red Beach. So put that on your things-to-do list, off-season too!

Raise your hands if you like to go to the beach in winter!
Here I am! I am that weirdo who moved to an island and do not like to swim, so winter time is the best that I could ask for: I can go to the beach and not being judged!
I don’t know if you are familiar with this but here in Greece they really have a thing on how many baths you take and you get asked very often: ‘How many baths have you taken till now?’. My answer is always ‘Mmmmh… None!’.

A couple of days ago, with the contributing factor that currently I shouldn’t drive (nothing serious just a matter of dates on my driving licence), I decided to stay close to my house and visit again the Red Beach.
And you know what, it was great! Nobody around, me and the red cliffs!
Here you can see some pictures of this unique beach at the sunrise when I went down some time ago.

These are the most commonly asked questions about it, I tried to give you some useful answers!

1. Where is the Red Beach in Santorini?
   The Red Beach is in the South of the island, in Akrotiri, near the Archeological Site.
2. How to get to the Red Beach?
   You can get to the Red Beach by bus. The stop is in front of the Archeological Site, then, following the sign, you walk for about 500mt and you arrive at the white church (of St. Nicholas) set in the red cliff.
3. Can you drive to the Red Beach?
   Yes, you can drive. When you see the Archeological Site on your left, you turn right and go ahead until the end of the road (500mt). There are some parking slots but it is always very busy, it’s better to park a little bit before the entrance of the beach and have a lovely walk.
4. Is the Red Beach closed?
   It is technically closed, there is the ban to go down. This is because of the danger of falling rocks (it happened last winter when it was very rainy).
5. Is the Red Beach safe?
   As per above, there is a ban to go down because of the danger of falling rocks. I strongly believe you should respect this prohibition for your safety. It is also quite tricky to go down and walk around, the rocks are slippery. Please remember to have a proper outfit, wear sports shoes and for those of you that have very young children, forget about the buggy.
6. Can you swim at the Red Beach?
   If there was not the ban, yes. The water is actually amazing. Having said that, the beach is very narrow and during the season very crowded, there is also a weird tide at some point in the morning, so the beach becomes even smaller.

I hope this was helpful!

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©NicolettaBarbata/OneQuarterGreek