Santorini Wine Tour: Small-Group, Private or Do It Yourself?

A Santorini wine tour takes you to three or so wineries in half a day, with a guide, tastings and transport, so nobody has to drive between glasses. You pick a small-group or a private tour, a morning or a sunset slot, and the operator usually picks you up from your hotel. We book wine tours for our guests at Aroma Suites in Fira, so this guide is what we tell people at reception: what the tours cost, which kind suits whom, and when you're better off doing it yourself. For the island's food and wine in general, start with our Santorini cuisine and wine guide.

Prices below come from operator and winery websites we checked in October 2026. They change by season, so confirm before you book.

Photo: Norbert Nagel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Santorini wine tour options at a glance

Option	Group	Length	Price from	Source
Small-group morning tour, 12 tastings and tapas	Shared	4 hours	€140 per person	Santorini Wine Adventure tour data
Small-group sunset tour, 12 tastings and tapas	Shared	4 hours	€150 per person	Santorini Wine Adventure tour data
Private morning wine tour	Your group only	4.5 hours	€500 per group	Santorini Wine Adventure tour data
Private sunset wine tour	Your group only	4.5 hours	€600 per group	Santorini Wine Adventure tour data
Private Akrotiri and wineries tour	Your group only	6 hours	€800 per group	Santorini Wine Adventure tour data
Do it yourself	Whoever you bring	Your call	Tasting fees only	Winery websites

We quote Santorini Wine Adventure here because it publishes its prices openly. It's based in Messaria and, according to its own figures, has welcomed more than 60,000 guests since 2012. Other operators run similar formats.

Small-group or private: which Santorini wine tour?

Go small-group if you're two people and you'd enjoy the company. Go private if you're four or more, or if you want to choose the wineries.

Here's the arithmetic for a couple. The small-group morning tour starts at €140 per person and the private morning tour at €500 per group, per Santorini Wine Adventure's price list. By our calculation, two places on the shared tour come to €280, a lot less than going private. For four friends the sums flip: four shared places work out to €560, more than the private tour (our calculation from the published prices).

What you get for the extra on a private tour is control. You set the pace, you can add a stop, and the guide talks to you rather than to a minibus of strangers. What you get on a small-group tour is a lower bill for two and, quite often, a fun table of people who also like wine.

Morning or sunset wine tour?

Morning tours are cooler, quieter and better for learning. Sunset tours are prettier and busier.

On a morning tour you visit wineries before the crowds and the heat, and you have the rest of the afternoon free, maybe for the beach. On a sunset tour, the last stop is usually a winery terrace facing the caldera as the sun goes down. It's beautiful, and everyone else on the island wants that terrace too.

Our tip: if you already have a sunset dinner or a catamaran booked, take the morning tour. Don't stack every sunset activity on the same three days.

Which wineries do Santorini wine tours visit?

Most tours stop at three wineries, mixing one big name with a family estate. The stops you're most likely to see:

• Santo Wines in Pyrgos, the large cooperative winery with a terrace over the caldera.
• Venetsanos Winery near Megalochori, built into the caldera edge. Its own tastings include a 90-minute tasting with a light lunch and a 75-minute museum winery tour, according to Venetsanos' booking page data.
• Domaine Sigalas near Oia, set among vineyards in the flat north of the island.
• Smaller cellars around Pyrgos, Megalochori and Exo Gonia, such as Hatzidakis, Boutari and Art Space, which has its tasting room in an old canava, a winery cut into the pumice.

For a winery-by-winery comparison, with what each does best, see our guide to the best wineries in Santorini.

Photo: AkatsukiKuro, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

What you'll taste on a wine tour

Three wines come up on almost every tour, and a good guide will explain why they taste the way they do.

Assyrtiko is the island's white grape: dry, sharp and salty from the volcanic soil. Nykteri is Assyrtiko aged longer, often in oak, and fuller. Vinsanto is the sweet one, made from grapes dried in the sun. Our Assyrtiko wine guide goes deeper on the grape.

Look out for the vines themselves. Santorini's growers twist them into low baskets called kouloures, which keep the grapes out of the wind. You'll see them in every vineyard you drive past, and they look nothing like vineyards anywhere else.

Is a Santorini wine tour worth it?

Yes, if you like wine and you'd otherwise have to drive. The tasting itself isn't the main value. Transport, a guide who explains what you're drinking, and someone else handling the bookings are what you pay for.

It's less worth it if you only want one tasting with a view. Then take a taxi or the bus to one winery, order a flight of wines on the terrace and keep your afternoon. Our Santorini wine tasting guide lays out a do-it-yourself route, including which wineries to pair in one day.

One honest warning: don't drive yourself between tastings. The roads are narrow, the tastings add up, and a tour or a taxi costs less than the alternative.

How to book a wine tour from Fira

If you're staying with us at Aroma Suites, ask at reception or call us before you arrive and we'll arrange the wine tour for your dates. It's one of the experiences we book for guests, along with the catamaran cruise. You can see the full list on our experiences page.

A few tips, wherever you stay:

• Book a few days ahead in summer. The good small-group tours fill up, and the sunset slots go first.
• Eat breakfast. Tours include snacks or tapas, but a dozen tastings on an empty stomach isn't a plan.
• Plan the tour early in your stay. If you find a wine you love, you'll have days left to buy a bottle or go back.
• Tell the operator about allergies or if you don't drink alcohol. Most will adapt.

Where to stay for a Santorini wine tour

Fira is the easiest base. Tour pickups are simple from the town centre, the caldera views are on your doorstep, and the bus network starts there. Our where to stay in Santorini guide compares the villages.

At Aroma Suites, on Agiou Mina on the caldera side of Fira, rooms range from doubles to a cave suite with an indoor heated jacuzzi. Book direct for 3 nights or more and our offers page adds a bottle of wine. We're open from March to October, which covers the whole wine tour season. Travelling with family or a group? The same owner runs Uma Ray Suites in Fira and Casa di Terra Villa, a private villa in Messaria, wine country.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a wine tour in Santorini cost?

Small-group tours start at about €140 per person for four hours, and private tours start at €500 per group, according to Santorini Wine Adventure's published prices. A do-it-yourself visit costs only the tasting fees plus your transport.

What is the best wine tour on Santorini?

The one that fits your group. For a couple who like meeting people, a small-group morning tour. For four or more, or anyone who wants to pick the wineries, a private tour. Read recent reviews before you book, and check how many wineries and tastings are included.

How long is a Santorini wine tour?

Usually half a day. The tours we quote above run from 4 to 6 hours, and the longest ones add a visit to the Akrotiri excavations.

Do Santorini wine tours pick you up from your hotel?

Most do, from hotels in the main villages. Check when you book, because some tours use a meeting point instead, especially in the busy lanes of Oia and Fira.

Plan your stay

Planning your stay around the vineyards? Check availability and book direct at Aroma Suites for the best rate we offer.