Santorini Is Not Just for Lovers; There’s Great Nightlife, Too

The Romantic Island in the Greek Isles Has Several Good Bars, Particularly the Tropical Bar at Sunset

It is known, primarily, as a place for couples, a quiet place for romance and reflection, of serene surroundings and early evenings.

The wild revelers of the Greek Islands are elsewhere, going crazy on Corfu, Ios and Mykonos. (Ahh, Mykonos!)

Yet don’t let that stereotype scare you singles from going there, for Santorini is a fun party island in its own right.

In fact, were someone to offer me one spot, and one spot only, to go in Greece, I would choose Thira (the Greek name for Santorini).

I love Santorini. By day it’s beautiful. And by night it’s fun!

One of my favorite places for drinks in the world is the Tropical Bar (hey Santa Barbara, how are you? I miss you!!!). I go there to watch sunset over the caldera – and laugh at the fools in the cruise ships who are departing just as the gorgeous evening is beginning – and often stay all night, moving off the small deck only to stretch the legs.

There have also been many, many, many good times in Two Brother’s Bar. This is where my friend Bob and I tore it up during our first visit. We became friends with two bartenders, Nick and George, who kept us well-lubed deep into the evenings.

One of those evenings, when we were lit up like a California wildfire, Nick and George put us on the backs of their mopeds and sped off to some other bar. It’s pretty much a blur but a couple of recovered brain cells tells me there was a gorgeous girl dancing on a table but it wasn’t a strip bar. All I know for sure is that it was pretty wild and we were smiling and laughing the whole time.

Occasionally, we would slip out to a place called the Blue Note, which was the bar of note on the island at the time. But we much preferred Two Brothers. We spent far more time drinking on the bar than we did drinking standing by the bar.

I was never much for the island’s top disco, the Coo Club, though I certainly had one night to remember there, for it is where I met Nora, a drop-dead gorgeous, energetic blonde from Lillehammer, Norway.

On my last visit, Two Brothers had cooled a bit, so I peeled off quite a bit to a lively casual bar called Murphy’s. I also really enjoyed a place across from Town Square called Trip.

Unfortunately, it had closed during my last trip, but I happily wound up spending most of my time back at the Tropical Bar. With the cool breeze coming in off sea and the moonlit caldera as the view in a lively setting, it was hard to imagine any more prefect place in the world.

What Santorini most definitely does not have, that which Mykonos possesses in abundance, is an afternoon social scene. A wild and happening beach party.

Here, the “meet up by day, meet out at night” singles mentality of the Mediterrian exists, but a bit differently. At Santorini, this happens at sunset at a bar (the Tropical Bar or one in Oia), not while sunning by the Far Out Cafe in Ios or slamming ’em down at Paradise Beach in Mykonos.

Instead, for the daytime Santorini offers places like Ammoudi, a small fishing village below Oia that, upon seeing it for the first time a friend remarked, “it looks like we’re walking into a painting.”  There are moped rides along cliffs (be careful, though!), with jaw-dropping places to stop at that take the entire day. And take away one’s breath.

The two main beaches, Kamari and Perissa, are okay for day visits. Kamari is a black-sand beach where people jump off a cliff into the water (I did it). It’s lined with tavernas but they are all pretty quiet, even in the heart of summer. Perissa is smaller and is where college backpackers tend to stay but it, too, is nothing like Ios or Mykonos.

But no worries. There’s plenty of partying to be done that night in the town of Fira.

Don’t pass up Santorini if you’re in any of the Greek Isles. And when you get there, tell “Santa Barbara,” the manager of Tropical Bar who is from Santa Barbara, CA, that PubClub.com says “hi.”

Be back soon!