Santorini Is Full: 5 Greek Island Dupes That Are Better Anyway
Santorini has a problem, and it is not one the island is going to solve on its own. On peak summer days Oia can see tens of thousands of cruise passengers funnelled into a village built for a few hundred locals, and the whitewashed alleys that made the island famous are now genuinely uncomfortable to walk through between about ten in the morning and sunset. The good news is that the Cyclades are a chain of dozens of islands, several of which offer a version of what Santorini became famous for — the whitewashed Cycladic villages, the caldera-style sea views, the impossible sunsets — without the crush. Here are five of the best, what Santorini trait each one replicates, a verified hotel or two, and why each island is arguably the better trip.
If you are planning a longer Aegean route, our complete Greek island hopping guide covers the ferry logistics, and the European dupe destinations guide for 2026 goes wider on the idea of swapping out overloaded hotspots.
1.Paros — the all-rounderView on Booking.com ↗
The Santorini trait: whitewashed Cycladic villages and an easy, photogenic island aesthetic.
Paros is the Cycladic island that has quietly become everyone's favourite over the last five years. Parikia, the main port, and Naoussa, the small fishing-harbour village in the north, are both classic whitewashed Cycladic settlements with the blue-domed churches and bougainvillea that Santorini promises but rarely delivers in peace. The difference is that Paros has actual beaches — long, sandy, swimmable ones — and a food scene in Naoussa that now rivals anywhere in the islands. It is also an easy ferry hub, which makes island hopping simpler.
Where to stay: the small boutique hotels of Naoussa and Parikia are covered in more depth in our best hotels in Paros guide.
2.Milos — the dupe that actually beats Santorini on looksView on Booking.com ↗
The Santorini trait: dramatic volcanic coastline, pastel villages, genuinely incredible sunsets.
Milos is the volcanic island that has the landscape Santorini wishes it still had. The white lunar rock formations at Sarakiniko look like nothing else in the Mediterranean, the pastel-painted fishing village of Klima with its boathouses cut into the cliff is possibly the most photogenic village in Greece, and the sunsets off the west coast of the island are genuinely Santorini-level without any of the cruise ship pressure. The island is bigger and wilder than Santorini, so you need a car, and that is part of the point.
Where to stay: our full list is in the Milos hotels guide — it is worth reading carefully as the island divides sharply between the port area of Adamas, the old capital of Plaka and the beach areas to the south.
3.Folegandros — the one for travellers who hate crowdsView on Booking.com ↗
The Santorini trait: the cliff-top whitewashed village perched impossibly over the sea.
Folegandros is tiny, quiet and almost entirely undiscovered by the cruise crowd because the ferry takes longer and there is no airport. Its main village, Chora, sits on a cliff edge two hundred metres above the sea — a whitewashed Cycladic village with three small squares, a handful of tavernas and views that genuinely feel like Santorini without the noise. The walk out to the church of Panagia at sunset is one of the simplest pleasures in the Cyclades.
Where to stay: Anemi Hotel, the only five-star property on the island, located a few minutes outside Chora, with a large pool, a well-regarded seafood restaurant and the kind of quiet that is impossible to find on Santorini now. Upper mid-range to luxury. Anemomilos, a smaller boutique option on the edge of Chora itself, is the alternative if you want to walk into the village every morning.
4.Naxos — the one for families and longer staysView on Booking.com ↗
The Santorini trait: Cycladic villages, Venetian old-town atmosphere, white and blue church-domed vistas.
Naxos is the biggest of the Cyclades and the most varied. The main Chora has a Venetian kastro perched above the harbour, the famous Portara archway at sunset, and a string of long sandy beaches stretching south of the town towards Plaka and Agios Prokopios. Inland, the mountain villages of Apeiranthos, Halki and Filoti give you the kind of "authentic Cyclades" that Santorini can no longer provide. Ferries to Santorini from Naxos take under two hours, which means you can easily do a Santorini day trip from a Naxos base without paying for Santorini prices or fighting Santorini crowds.
Where to stay: full rundown in the Naxos hotels guide — Naxos Town and Agios Prokopios are the two main bases to choose between.
5.Sifnos — the one for food and quiet villagesView on Booking.com ↗
The Santorini trait: traditional whitewashed hilltop villages and peaceful, slow evenings.
Sifnos is a small island with an outsized food reputation — it has produced a disproportionate number of Greece's best chefs and has a network of small villages in the interior that have been untouched by mass tourism. The hilltop village of Kastro, with its medieval Venetian walls and the tiny whitewashed chapel of Eptamartyres perched on a rock in the sea below, is the Sifnos image most travellers come for, but the truth is that the whole island rewards slow exploration.
Where to stay: Verina Astra, perched above the sea in Poulati on the cliffs between Kastro and Artemonas, with infinity-pool suites, a highly regarded restaurant and views of the open Aegean — one of the most consistently recommended hotels in the whole of the Cyclades. Luxury.
A final practical note. None of these islands are "secret" any more — they all have busy weeks in August and prices have climbed accordingly. But all five give you the Santorini feeling without the Santorini problem, and on Folegandros and Sifnos in particular you can still find a taverna where the family who own it cook you dinner and nobody else has arrived by the time the sunset turns the whitewash pink. That is what Santorini used to be, and it is still out there — just on the quieter islands.
Ready to book your trip? Let Goatodeer find the best hotels and flights for you.
Start your trip →