Horror Santorini video pinpoints exactly why specific time of day is hell for tourists

The whitewashed houses and blue-domed churches sloping down to a deep blue sea are one of the most iconic views of Greece. The island of Santorini is reported to pull in 3.4 million visitors a year, far outnumbering its around 20,000 permanent residents.

Everyday, especially during the peak summer months of June to September, thousands of tourists visit the island, the majority arriving on cruise ships and day-trip ferries.

The majority of the boats stick around until at least 8 pm, allowing its passengers to experience the renowned sunset views from the many cliffside viewing points.

However, coupled with those who decided to stay overnight on the island, this leads to persisted overcrowding at this key time of day, as illustrated in a new Tiktok video by user @ohthatstravel.

“Sunset reality in OIA Santorini,” the user wrote. “Allow plenty of time.”

In the video, a thick crowd can be seen lining the walls of Oia along several different levels, many with phones at the ready to catch those famous Instagram photos. Other tourists, either trying to find their own spot to watch the sunset show or simply trying to navigate through the town to reach their accommodations or restaurants, can be seen squeezing their way through the crowds.

The quantity of visitors seen in this video continues to rise, mounting increasing pressure on the island’s infrastructure. This summer, it was reported that 17,000 tourists descended on the island in one day during July, with residents being asked to limit their movements in an unprecedented announcement by a councillor of the island.

It was also recently revealed that locals had been asked by a Santorini politician, Panos Kavalaris, to stay indoors to allow more room for visitors.

“Not only do we have to put up with them, now we have to hide in our houses to make way for them," a resident of Oia told iNews.

In a subsequently deleted Facebook post, the councillor wrote: “Emergency Announcement. Another difficult day for our city and our island with the arrival of 17,000 visitors from cruise ships! We ask for your attention and as much as we can we reduce our movements!”

Some days, locals awake to the sound of footsteps and conversations as trespassing tourists walk all over their centuries-old roofs in an attempt to get the perfect picture. This has led to structural damage, causing costly repairs that are left to the owners to cover. Locals have taken to installing signs that say “don’t climb”, “private property”, and “keep out”.

Several moves have been made to limit overcrowding and over-tourism on the island. In August, Mayor Nikos Zorzos, adamant that the reported tourist flow “saturation” can be successfully dealt with, said that they willremobilise a pre-existing digital system that spreads out cruise ship arrivals to avoid congestion and is open to the idea of a special tourist access fee.

Government officials also proposed increasing the existing disembarkation fee from 30p to over £8 per passenger as a solution. Mayor Zorzos said that he would “welcome” the measure “with joy” but only if the extra funds were allocated to the local administration.

However, while videos of Santorini during the day and at sunset post a bleak picture of holidays on the island, other videos taken once the sun has set paints a very different picture.

According to one local, by night the island goes from being as busy as Times Square in New York City to a ghost town.

Gianluca Chimenti, a local tour operator and a Santorini resident for 18 years, told CNN travel that while social media is flooded with images of severe overcrowding in the island’s hotspots, “The truth is that the island is empty. Right now is like never before, it’s the worst season ever.”.

Town centres are dead by 9pm and the restaurants and hotels are nowhere near capacity. So, if you are looking for a key time to visit Santorini to avoid the crowds, it appears you must head there from October and only venture out after dark.