Those who tuck their holidays into the final fling of summer, savouring the anticipation as their friends return bronzed and glowing, should turn their gaze towards Santorini. For now is a very good time to go.
Always beautiful, famed for delivering romance, Instagram-worthy sunsets and mineral rich wines, Santorini suffered a drop in visitor numbers earlier in the year. As much, it was reported, as a 24.4 per cent decrease between January and May. Some of this was down to earthquake fears, from small-scale tremors earlier in the year but some was due to its reputation for overtourism, which has deterred many travellers.
The islanders, who make up a population of some 15,500 and typically welcome some three million visitors had already leapt into action though, launching a sustainable tourism campaign to protect their island. From June cruise ship visitors have had to pay a charge of 20 euros, an idea approved last year to reduce excessive crowds.
But it doesn’t stop there, as Markos Chaidemenos, Managing Director of the Canaves Collection, one of Santorini’s longest-standing families, explained to me.
“I was raised on this island and love it as home,” he said, sweeping his hand over the jumble of white washed houses that seem to tumble down the cliff.
“I remember my father, who served as Mayor in the 1990s, implementing a law to ensure that no new bars or restaurants could open in any village unless replacing an existing one. Now it is our turn to protect the authenticity and cultural identity of the island. We love to welcome visitors but need to do so in a way that preserves our heritage.”
Working closely with the local government to encourage off-season travel, Canaves have introduced a range of experiences from cooking classes in local homes to wine tastings which give the visitor insight into local traditions and are available until late in the season. They are also advocating for stricter guidelines to limit construction and preserve the island’s natural beauty.
Another aim is to push for a tourist levy of 20 euro per person to regulate visitor numbers and use it contribute to the maintenance of the island. As for cruise ships, apart from the already implemented entry charge, there is also a mission to cap the number of daily cruise passengers to 8,000.
Within their own family collection of boutique hotels, Alexandros and Markos Chaidemenos have worked hard to make a difference. They have extended the holiday season, promoting months from mid-November to mid-April to alleviate peak season pressures.
They are encouraging guests to travel beyond Oia, offering quieter locations such as Canaves Epitome above the fishing port of Ammoudi and Canaves Elefas Villas in the little village of Imerovigli. They have introduced Advanced Water Systems, reducing water waste through state-of-the-art recycling technologies and ensuring water management across all their properties.
Supporting the local community is another important pillar of Canaves, whether it is championing farm-to-table fare or buying fish from the local fishermen. This extends to using the island’s artisans; the potters, furniture makers and interior designers.
A late summer holiday to Santorini, when the crowds have eased, has never sounded more alluring — and it will benefit the locals too.
You could start you stay with a night in Canaves Ena, where it all began in 1985. That was when Ioannis and Anna Chaidemenos, Markos and Alexandros’s parents, decided to transform the 17th century canaves, (the name for a traditional wine cellar, built into the rock or underground, where wine is both made and stored under vaulted ceilings) previously used to store their own family’s vintages, into a hotel.
Now the sons have done it again, forty years on, renovating the 18 dazzlingly white cave suites to clad them with local marble and pale wood. The location is superb, right on the edge of the caldera with a restaurant you climb up to for even better views. Here you can greedily heap taramasalata and hummus and tzatziki from pretty terracotta pots onto warm pita bread. Plunge pools and jacuzzis sparkling beneath you dotted between the entrances to the rooms.
Then head to the tranquillity of Canaves Epitome, carved out of volcanic rock, where sumptuous rooms come with pools large enough to exercise in although not a patch on the main pools. From here you can see the sun rise and set, bookmarking your days. Is it any wonder that Nobel prize winning poet, Odysseas Elytis, wrote that Santorinians are ‘the race that sings in the sun’s embrace’.
Rooms start from £365. Book it here
