A volcano erupted 3,600 years ago and drowned half the island — leaving the crescent: the caldera cliff where white blue-domed villages cling, Greece's most famous image. The rim (legendary Oia sunset, hanging capital Fira, calmer Imerovigli with Skaros rock), the colors (fiery Red Beach, volcanic black Perissa), the depth (buried Akrotiri — the Aegean Pompeii — inland Pyrgos, and the caldera boat to the volcano). Sleep at least two caldera-side nights whatever the cost — the island transforms after cruise day-trippers leave; sunset and dawn belong to sleepers alone. Shoulder months give half the price and a quarter the crowd.
