Ready to eat your way around Santorini? You’re in the right place.
This food tour was the best thing that I did in Santorini! I loved all of the delicious dishes, of course, but I also had such a great time learning more about the island’s history and traditional culture. And as if that weren’t enough, I enjoyed plenty of beautiful caldera views along the way.
I’ve written this honest review to share exactly what the tour was like, what I loved the most about it, and a few things to be aware of before you book. Hopefully, this will help you decide whether or not it’s right for you. Let’s get into it!
- My Itinerary on the Tour
- What I Loved About This Tour
- What I Didn’t Like About This Tour
- Would I Recommend This Tour?
- Other Activities to Do in Santorini
- Where to Stay in Santorini, Greece
- Thanks for reading!
- Free ebook Stay safe in Europe & avoid scams!
- Why We Book Tours with Viator
- Renting a Car in Europe
- AIRALO e-SIM Up To 15% Off With Code "DTRAVEL15"
- What’s an eSIM?
- The Services We Recommend
My Itinerary on the Tour
Meeting point in Firostefani
The tour starts in Firostefani. As I was staying in Fira, it was about a 15-minute walk from my hotel, although you can hop on the local bus if you’d rather not walk.
This is where I met my guide, Lena, who was so lovely and gave us all a warm welcome, plus some water to keep us all hydrated!
I booked the 10 am tour so that it would serve as breakfast and lunch for the day. There’s also usually an afternoon slot available between 4 and 5 pm, so the tour could also be your dinner instead! And just a quick note – this tour is popular and can sell out, so it’s worth booking in advance, especially if you have a timing preference!
Traditional coffee house
Our first stop of the day was a traditional coffee house in Firostefani. It was a really cute spot and the ideal setting to sit down and get acquainted with the rest of my tour group!
Here, Lena taught us about hovoli, the traditional method of preparing Greek coffee in small copper pots over a bed of hot sand. The sand heats the coffee slowly and evenly to create a smooth, rich flavor, and the technique actually dates all the way back to the Ottoman Empire.
We also learned how to drink Greek coffee properly – and trust me, this makes a huge difference! The first time I had Greek coffee, I didn’t like it at all, but this tour made me realize I had actually just been drinking it all wrong.
Best of all, we got some spoon sweets to go with the coffee! These are pieces of fruit boiled in syrup, and they complement the bitter coffee perfectly.
Walking along the caldera
After we had our caffeine fix, Lena led us along the caldera path towards Fira, so we got to enjoy those iconic Santorini views as we strolled! She also shared lots of stories along the way, about the island itself and her decades of experience working as a guide in Santorini.
During the walk, Lena also gave us some melitinia to snack on. These are true Santorini specials, and they’re totally unlike any other pastry I’ve had before! They’re small, scalloped tarts flavored with mastic, an aromatic resin that has been used in Greek cooking for centuries. It was totally unlike any other pastry I’ve had before!
We also stopped to take some classic caldera photos, and we paused outside the cathedral to learn a bit about the island’s religious history. Lena even taught us about a still-unsolved church robbery from the 1980s, which is actually the reason that most of the island’s blue-domed churches aren’t open to the public.
Open-air restaurant with caldera views
One of my favorite stops was an open-air restaurant along the caldera. It was such a beautiful setting, and we got to try several local dishes while enjoying the incredible views.
The standout dishes here were the creamy Santorini fava and pita. We also tried a beer from a local brewery, which was a lovely addition and another chance to sample something made on the island.
Olive oil tasting
The olive oil tasting actually proved to be one of the most interesting parts of the tour! If there’s one thing Greeks are proud of, it’s their olive oil. We sat down for a tasting and learned how to tell the difference between regular olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, as well as how to cook with it properly, including what to know about its smoke point.
Lena also shared some really useful tips for choosing a good bottle to take home. This was especially helpful for anyone shopping outside Europe, where labeling rules can be less strict. One thing I hadn’t realized was that “bottled in Europe” doesn’t necessarily mean the olive oil itself is Greek, so it’s always worth checking where the olives were actually grown and produced.
Souvlaki stop
You can’t have a Greek food tour without souvlaki, of course! After our olive oil tasting, Lena took us to her favorite souvlaki stop in Fira. She told us that she often stops here for a quick snack between tours, and apparently, she regularly spots former tour participants coming back for more after discovering it with her. I can see why!
I liked this spot as it felt more like a street food joint. Santorini is generally more famed for its fancy restaurants than cheap eats, so it was nice to eat somewhere that felt a bit more local and relaxed.
Family-style lunch with wine
Later in the tour, we stopped at an ouzeri for a proper family-style lunch. There was plenty of white wine to go around, as well as the chance to try ouzo and raki!
The table quickly filled up with different dishes to share, including tomato fritters and moussaka. I don’t usually like tomatoes, but I absolutely loved the fritters, which says a lot! The moussaka was also delicious and easily one of the highlights of the meal.
This was one of my favorite parts of the tour. After exploring Firostefani and Fira together, it was nice to sit down and chat with the rest of the group. There were so many delicious dishes to try, and we didn’t feel rushed at all.
Loukoumades and ice cream
Last, but certainly not least, we finished the tour at a local cafe with loukoumades and Greek yogurt ice cream. It was the perfect sweet ending after so many savory dishes, and the cherry yogurt ice cream was unreal. I even ended up coming back to this spot again the next day because I loved it so much – and without Lena’s guidance, I probably would have walked straight past it!
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What I Loved About This Tour
Amazing guides
I really can’t overstate what a fantastic guide Lena was! She was so warm and really took the time to make everyone in the group feel included and welcome. I loved hearing her stories – and with 28 years of experience working as a tour guide in Santorini, she had plenty of them! The tour was a blast from start to finish thanks to her infectious energy and passion for Greek food.
It was more than just a food tour
Although the food was amazing, I also loved this tour because it really helped me get to know Santorini better. I learned lots of local history along the way and got to take in those iconic caldera views. Lena also had a ton of tips for getting the most out of Santorini, from the best beaches to visit to the most affordable souvenir shops!
You try so many different foods
I actually lost count of how many different foods I got to try on this tour, so it’s ideal if you want to try as many local specialties as possible! I feel like I went on a full food journey, starting out with Greek coffee and spoon sweets, then moving through dips, olive oil, a hearty sit-down meal, and then finishing up with dessert. For me, some of the highlights were the creamy taramasalata at lunch, the tomato fritters, and the yogurt cherry ice cream that we ended with – I think I’d travel all the way back to Santorini just to eat it again!
It works as breakfast and lunch
I did the 10 am tour, and there was so much food that it counted for breakfast and lunch, plus snacks! I think it was great value for money because I got to taste so many different foods, as well as a ton of drinks. The wine flowed at lunchtime, and we got quite a few shots of ouzo and raki along the way! I was very full by the end, so be sure to arrive hungry.
Of course, you can also book the evening version of this tour so that it counts for dinner instead! But if you do this, just remember to keep lunch pretty light, as there’s a lot of food involved.
The olive oil tasting was useful
After reading the rave reviews of this tour, I expected lots of delicious food, but I didn’t realize just how much I would learn from the olive oil tasting! It gave me a ton of practical tips that I could actually use after the trip, especially when buying good quality olive oil back home.
In fact, Lena taught us how to identify authentic Greek products, from olive oil to feta, so you can tell whether what you’re paying for is actually worth the money. This is something I actually do now every time I go grocery shopping to make sure that I’m buying the real deal and not getting ripped off!
Amazing reviews
This food tour has a 5-star rating on Viator and hundreds of great reviews, which you can read here! After taking it myself, I completely understand why it has such a stellar reputation. It’s such a fun and engaging way to get to know Santorini while enjoying lots of delicious Greek food, so what’s not to love?
Related Read: Exploring more of Greece? Check out this guide to the best things to do in Greece for top experiences and must-do activities around the country!
What I Didn’t Like About This Tour
It does involve some walking
This isn’t a tour where you sit in one place the whole time. You’ll walk between the different stops, including along the caldera, so it may not be suitable for anyone with serious mobility issues.
That said, the walking wasn’t a problem for me at all. In fact, I think it was part of what made the tour so enjoyable! It helped to break up all of the food, and we got to take in some incredible caldera views along the way.
You may not love every single thing
As with any food tour, there might be a dish that isn’t quite to your taste. To be honest, though, I think that’s all part of the experience, and it’s a great opportunity to try foods you might never have ordered for yourself! Plus, at least if you don’t like a particular dish, there are plenty of other tastings to move on to, so it doesn’t feel like a waste.
For me, it worked both ways. I didn’t expect to love the taramasalata or Santorini tomato fritters, but they ended up being some of my favorite things I ate on the tour. On the other hand, the anchovies at lunch definitely weren’t for me! Overall, though, I loved far more dishes than I didn’t, and it was so much fun to try so many different foods.
Related Read: Want to fit even more into your trip? My Santorini itinerary covers how to make the most of your time on the island, including my favorite sights, activities, and places to eat!
Would I Recommend This Tour?
Absolutely! This tour was my favorite thing that I did in Santorini, and I can’t recommend it enough. The food was absolutely fantastic, and Lena was the best tour guide I’ve ever had! Her warmth and humor made it such a fun and memorable experience.
Between the generous tastings, caldera views, local stories, and drinks, this tour was an amazing way to experience Santorini. I highly recommend booking it in advance, as it usually sells out and you definitely don’t want to miss this!
Why We Book Tours with Viator
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Other Activities to Do in Santorini
This food tour was easily my favorite experience in Santorini, but there’s plenty more to do while you’re here! I packed a lot into my time on the island, from sailing along the volcanic coastline to exploring historic villages. Here are a few more of my favorite Santorini activities to add to your trip.
Just a heads-up: these activities are super popular and often fill up early, so I recommend booking in advance! I went in May and booked these activities about 3 months before my trip, but if you’re traveling in June or July, I’d honestly do it even further in advance.
- Customize your perfect day – For ultimate flexibility, I booked this private, tailor-made tour of Santorini and chose the stops myself! I got my perfect Oia photos, a visit to a mountaintop monastery, and time to explore the perfectly preserved village of Pyrgos.
- Sail into the sunset – One of the best things I did was join this catamaran cruise. I snorkeled at Red Beach, swam in the hot springs, and ended the day with a spectacular sunset out on the water. It was magical!
- Taste your way through Santorini’s vineyards – I had the BEST time on this small-group wine tasting tour! I loved trying the island’s unique grape varieties at three very different wineries, including a clifftop winery where I caught a truly spectacular sunset!
- Paddle along the coast – For a more active experience, this south coast sea kayaking tour will have you paddling past sea caves, swimming at Red Beach, and enjoying a coastal picnic. I like this tour because it’s a fun way to see Santorini away from the crowds.
- Learn to cook Greek favorites – Foodies will love this hands-on Greek cooking class! You’ll learn to make classics like moussaka, tzatziki, and tomato fritters with a professional chef before sitting down to enjoy your creations with local wine.
Related Read: Want even more ideas for your trip? My guide to the best things to do in Santorini covers all of my favorite activities and experiences!
Where to Stay in Santorini, Greece
After eating your way around Santorini on this incredible food tour, you’ll need somewhere comfortable to call home! I recommend staying in Fira, especially since it puts you close to the tour and makes exploring the rest of the island easy. To help you find the right spot, I’ve rounded up my favorite Santorini hotels for every budget below.
Luxury – $$$
If you want a luxury stay in Fira, Orama Hotel & Spa is the perfect choice. It actually feels more like a resort than a hotel, and it’s perched right along the caldera, so you couldn’t ask for a better location! There’s a seasonal outdoor pool, a pool bar, a fitness center, and spa treatments available, so it’s a great option if you want a little bit of pampering during your trip.
Rooms here start at around €300 per night during peak season, including free cancellation and a top-rated breakfast. Book your stay here!
Mid-range – $$
Loizos Stylish Residences is a great mid-range option in Fira, just a short walk from the town center. It offers a range of modern rooms and apartments, some with kitchenettes, balconies, and even private hot tubs! There’s also an outdoor pool to enjoy, which you’ll definitely be grateful for because Santorini gets pretty warm during the summer months.
All in all, this is a comfortable, convenient, and relatively affordable base for exploring Santorini. Prices usually start between €140 and €200 per night. You can book this stay on Booking.com!
Budget – $
If you’re looking for a budget-friendly stay in Fira, Anessis is a great choice. I stayed here and found it clean, comfortable, and really convenient, especially for this itinerary. Anessis is right near the bus station and only about a 5-minute walk from the hustle and bustle of Fira, so it was super easy to get around the island. At the same time, it was quiet at night, which I really appreciated.
The property is small, friendly, and locally owned, which I loved. The staff was really helpful, and there’s also a pool, which is always a bonus. It’s not on the caldera, but I still had an ocean view from my room! Rooms start from around €100 per night, but they book up quickly, so lock in ASAP! You can reserve your room here on Booking.com!
For more options, see all of the hotels in Santorini here!
Related Read: To learn more about the best areas and hotels to stay in, look at our detailed Where to Stay in Santorini guide!
Renting a Car in Europe
Exploring Europe by car is a fantastic way to uncover hidden gems—think charming villages, scenic countryside, and off-the-beaten-path spots that trains and buses might miss. Driving here is generally straightforward, but it’s good to be prepared for some regional quirks.
We always use Discover Cars to book our rentals and can’t recommend them enough. It’s super easy to compare prices, check company ratings, find automatic cars (which can be tricky in Europe!), and add affordable full coverage insurance. If you want a full breakdown, check out our Discover Cars review here.
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Thanks for reading!
I came to Santorini expecting incredible views, but some of my favorite memories ended up involving a plate and a glass of wine! This food tour was such a fun introduction to the island, and between the local specialties, fascinating stories, and Lena’s infectious enthusiasm, I walked away feeling like I’d experienced a much more authentic side of Santorini. My stomach was pretty happy about it, too!
Hungry for more Greece inspiration? My other Greece blogs have you covered! I’ve traveled extensively around the country and have lots of itineraries, tour reviews, and practical guides to help you plan your own adventure. Check out a few of my favorite Greece blogs below, and happy eating… I mean, travels!
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