Is Santorini LGBTQ-friendly?

Base yourselves in Imerovigli rather than Oia. Imerovigli sits roughly 300 metres above the caldera, and its sunset faces Skaros Rock, not a wall of people. From May to October, the castle ruins in Oia hold hundreds of raised phones at sunset, plus at least one bridal party in matching flower crowns. Oia at 07:00, though, is a different place: Nikolaou Nomikou, the marble main lane, feels cool underfoot, a bakery near the bus stop smells of sesame koulouri, and the only sound is wind coming off the caldera. The clifftop path from Fira through Firostefani to Imerovigli runs about 3 kilometres, and it's the walk to do together around 17:30 in late October. On clear nights this month the temperature drops to about 17°C, so pack a light layer. Skaros Rock takes about an hour there and back from the Imerovigli church steps, and the loose pumice crunches and slides under your shoes on the last stretch.

Nightlife is where Santorini falls short for queer couples. Erythrou Stavrou, Fira's late-night strip, plays bass-heavy music until about 04:00 in July and August, and most of the crowd is hen parties in sashes, so skip it after 23:00. A wine tasting makes a better evening. Santo Wines in Pyrgos pours Assyrtiko, a flinty, slightly salty white from vines that growers coil into low baskets against the volcanic wind, on a terrace facing the caldera. Pyrgos is about 7 kilometres inland from Fira. It empties out after 21:00, and the upper lanes below the old Venetian kastelli are quiet enough that you hear your own footsteps. If one of you wants a dance floor full of queer regulars, the honest answer is the Mykonos trip mentioned above, not anything in Fira.

For a day split between your interests, send the history buff to Akrotiri at opening, usually around 08:00, before the coach tours arrive. The Bronze Age town sits under a modern roof, its streets still lined with two-storey houses that ash buried in the 17th century BC, and it stays cool and shaded inside even in October. The frescoes and pottery taken from the site are in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira, so doing both on the same morning makes sense. Meanwhile, the foodie can catch the KTEL bus to Megalochori for a long lunch of Santorini fava, which carries EU protected status, with the island's cherry tomatoes and white aubergine. Plan to meet at Ammoudi Bay below Oia around 18:30, where the fish tavernas sit right at the water, octopus hangs drying on lines outside, and the smell of charcoal and lemon drifts up the steps. Expect to pay €60 to €90 for two with a carafe of house white.

The room you book matters more than paying extra for the view. Many cave suites in Oia and Imerovigli are old dwellings dug into the pumice, and some run under 20 square metres with a single window on the caldera side, so ask for the floor area before you pay a sunset-view premium. Cruise ships anchor off Fira most days from April to early November, and by 15:00 the cable car queue at the Old Port can take more than an hour, so keep Fira for mornings and late evenings. A shared sunset catamaran from Vlychada or Ammoudi tends to cost €130 to €180 per person in late season, about $146 to $202 at the current rate of $1 to €0.8909, and it usually includes a swim at the hot springs off Palea Kameni and dinner on deck. A private charter for two starts near €900.