Recently updated on January 23rd, 2020 at 01:10 pm
Santorini is enduringly popular with travellers across the globe, having risen to fame for the unique beauty of its rugged landscape and distinct traditions. But more than being just one island, Santorini is in fact an archipelago with a number of smaller isles just across the water from the main island of Thíra, where whitewashed villages cling to the coastline. Island hopping in the Cyclades enables visitors to step onto these individual pockets of land and discover the beauty of each island.
As its own archipelago, Santorini encompasses the islands of Thíra, Thirassiá, Asproníssi, Palea Kaméni and Nea Kaméni, which all lie in the southern part of the Cyclades, and are the result of volcanic activity which took place here many thousands of years ago. Astonishingly, the archipelago is an active volcano to this day, of which the caldera is mostly submerged beneath the sea.
Each of these tiny islands displays Santorini’s unique volcanic landscape, and while Thíra is the principle island people come to, some of the smaller isles off Thíra’s coast are worth exploring, too. Many people visit Thirassiá for its scuba diving, but it’s Nea Kaméni and Palea Kaméni that attract the most attention.
Located in the centre of the caldera, these uninhabited islands are visited for both their landscape and natural hot springs. Palea Kaméni (which translates to ‘old’) formed in 196 BC, but Nea Kaméni (which means ‘new’) is said to have been seen for the first time in 1711. Back in the 19th century, Nea Kaméni consisted of two islands with an abundance of fig trees growing in their volcanic soil, but these have since been joined together by Santorini’s volcanic activity.
Nea Kaméni exhibits its volcanic origin with a stark landscape of rock and lava, and just one fig tree named Erinia, which the island’s port has also been named after. Nea’s main attraction is the 130-metre-high volcanic crater, which many of the island’s visitors climb – or take the cable car up – to circumnavigate the crater rim and take in the spectacular views. From here, people then continue around the coast to swim in the orange-hued hot springs that are famous for their therapeutic qualities.
As well as displaying a unique volcanic landscape, the archipelago also exhibits Santorini’s traditions. Fishing has long been an important part of life across the Greek islands, and Santorini is no exception. Not only do visitors have the chance to try the fresh, local seafood, they can also see evidence of this lifestyle in the traditional fishing boats on the waters off each island’s coast. These boats are called kaiki, and this is the form of transport used to get across to the smaller islands within the Santorini archipelago.
By setting out across the water in a kaiki to Nea Kameni, Trafalgar guests have the chance to experience both the volcanic landscape of this archipelago’s most popular uninhabited island, as well as the fishing tradition that is such an important part of life in Santorini.
Go island hopping in the Cyclades and visit Nea Kameni on the Greek Island Hopper trip with Trafalgar.
Image credits: Cover photo © iStock / ManuWe. Santorini Caldera © iStock / Michal Krakowiak. Nea Kameni © iStock / Ivan Mateev. Santorini Sunset © iStock / ManuWe. A View from Thira © iStock / Michal Krakowiak.