The black sand
Glossy ground basalt โ a colour few beaches have.
Norbert Nagel โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท Norbert Nagel โ CC BY-SA 3.0 ยท Bryan McDonald โ CC BY-SA 2.0 ยท PCN02WPS โ CC BY-SA 4.0
Because it is **ground volcanic basalt** rather than limestone sand: a direct product of the island's eruptions, broken down by the waves over thousands of years into glossy black grains. โ The significance is practical: black **absorbs the sun's heat** instead of reflecting it, so by a summer midday the sand becomes hot enough to **burn your feet at once** โ don't walk barefoot between eleven and four, and carry flip-flops even from your lounger to the water. The grains are also **coarser** than ordinary sand, so a thick towel or a mat is better.
**Two adjoining beaches separated by the rock of Mesa Vouno**, both black sand and both organised โ the difference is one of degree. **Kamari** is more organised, relatively quieter and nearer the airport, its sand coarser (shingle in places), and it leans towards families. **Perissa** is longer, wider and cheaper, with livelier nightlife, and draws a younger crowd. They are minutes apart by car around the mountain โ or a hard walk over it via **Ancient Thera**, a fine route for anyone up to it. โ Both are far cheaper than staying on the caldera.
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A long beach of **black volcanic sand** on the south-eastern coast, running for kilometres beneath the great rock of **Mesa Vouno**, which separates it from neighbouring Kamari. Its colour is no trick: the sand here is **ground basalt** from the eruption, glossy black and coarse-grained. โ Which carries an important practical consequence: black sand **absorbs heat** and by midday becomes **too hot to walk on barefoot** โ shoes or flip-flops are essential, and this catches out more Santorini visitors than anything else. The beach is **fully organised**: loungers, parasols, bars, restaurants and watersports along its length, and the water deepens relatively quickly, so anyone with children should take note. It is **the other face** of Santorini: where the caldera villages live on the view and expensive hotels, Perissa is a **markedly cheaper** beach area โ accommodation, restaurants and nightlife at reasonable prices, drawing young people and families. Directly above it stands **Ancient Thera** on the summit of Mesa Vouno.
Glossy ground basalt โ a colour few beaches have.
A great rock rising directly above the beach.
Reasonable accommodation and food away from the caldera.
Perissa, 84703 Santorini