A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Santorini vs. Santa Cruz de Tenerife for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Santorini or Santa Cruz de Tenerife?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

If you're trying to decide where to visit between Santorini or Santa Cruz de Tenerife, this travel comparison, which includes costs, can help. The overall cost of travel is usually a consideration when deciding where to go next, and the cost comparison down below can help you decide based on the average prices from other travelers along with your own travel budget.

Where Should I go: Santorini or Santa Cruz de Tenerife?

Santorini

Santorini is a volcanic island that is part of the Cyclades group of the Greek Islands. It has some spectacular views, beautiful sunsets, and excellent beaches. As one of the most popular of the Greek Islands to visit, Santorini sees many tourists every year. However, it's for a good reason, as the famous white-washed buildings that spill down the hill, some with blue domes that match the gorgeous color of the water, are set against the beautiful mountainous backdrop of one of the most scenic areas of the Mediterranean. Home to several of these small and scenic towns such as Oia, Kamari, Perissa, and Fira, visitors can explore the large island, enjoy delicious food, swim at the beaches, hike the hills, and sail the blue waters.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Not everyone traveling to Spain is looking to collapse on a beach somewhere. If you're in search of a bustling, vibrant and colorful Spanish capital city without the crowds of Barcelona, you might want to book a few days in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Located on the eastern tip of the island of Tenerife on the Canary Island chain, Santa Cruz's bright buildings, charming shops and rich, green scenery are there to greet visitors from all over the world - including you.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best Luxury Tours to Greece, The Best Budget Tours to Greece, The Best One-Week (7-Day) Tours from Madrid, and The Best One-Week (7-Day) Tours from Barcelona.


Which place is cheaper, Santa Cruz de Tenerife or Santorini?

These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations.

The average daily cost (per person) in Santorini is €175, while the average daily cost in Santa Cruz de Tenerife is €126. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Santorini and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in more detail.



Accommodation
  • Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one person
    Santorini 93
    Santa Cruz de Tenerife 48
  • Accommodation Typical double-occupancy room
    Santorini 186
    Santa Cruz de Tenerife 96
Compare Hotels in Santorini and Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Looking for a hotel in Santorini or Santa Cruz de Tenerife? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.

Hotels in Santorini


Hotels in Santa Cruz de Tenerife


Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.


Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Santorini Hotel Prices and Santa Cruz de Tenerife Hotel Prices.

Local Transportation
  • Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    Santorini 28
    Santa Cruz de Tenerife 64

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Santorini

Also for Santorini, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:

  • Skip Cable Car! Santorini Shore Excursion with Boat Transfer: $129
  • 24h Luxury Santorini Transfer.Arrival/Departure one way: $76
  • Arrival Private Transfer Santorini Airport JTR or Port to Santorini by Minibus: $46
  • Arrival Private Transfer Santorini Airport JTR or Port to Santorini by Sprinter: $32
  • Blue Dome And Oia Sunset Small Group Transfer: $37
  • Blue Dome and Oia Sunset Small Group Transfer: $38
  • Departure Private Transfer Santorini to Santorini Airport JTR by Sedan Car: $23
  • Departure Private Transfer Santorini to Santorini Airport JTR or Port by Van: $32
  • Departure Private Transfer Santorni to Santorini Airport JTR or Port by Sprinter: $46
  • Departure Shared Transfer in Santorini Island: $22
  • Departure Transfer To Santorini Port: $33
  • Economy Roundtrip Transfer Santorini Airport ( Max 4 stop ): $15

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Some specific examples of transportation prices in Santa Cruz de Tenerife:

  • Santa Cruz Tenerife Cruise Port: Transfer to Tenerife hotels: $252
  • Tenerife South Airport Departure Transfer (Costa Adeje Hotels to Airport): $98
  • Whale and Dolphin Watching Catamaran with Transfer and Buffet : $64
  • Tenerife South Airport Departure Transfer (Playa de las américas to Airport): $59
  • Mount Teide Tour with Transfer and Optional Cable Car Ticket: $43

Is it cheaper to fly into Santorini or Santa Cruz de Tenerife?

Prices for flights to both Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Santorini change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.





Food
  • Food Meals for one day
    Santorini 48
    Santa Cruz de Tenerife 40

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Santorini

For Santorini, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:

  • Romantic Sunset Caldera Cruise with Dinner: $70
  • Santorini Caldera: Sunset Cruise with Dinner: $70
  • Volcanic Sunset Cruise with Dinner: $80
  • Catamaran Tour with BBQ Dinner, Drinks, and Music: $91
  • Volcano and Hot Springs Sunset Dinner Cruise: $96
  • Cooking Class in Traditional cave house in Santorini!: $120
  • Sunset Cruise with Swim Stops, Dinner, and Drinks: $120
  • Fira: 4-Hour Walking Food Tour With Tastings: $123
  • Half-Day Sunset Wine Tasting Tour in Santorini with dinner: $123
  • Luxury Sunset Cruise with Dinner & Open Bar: $128
  • Sunset Sea Kayak with Light Dinner: $128
  • Hands on Cooking Class with a Chef: $134

Entertainment
  • Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    Santorini 36
    Santa Cruz de Tenerife 25

Tours and Activities in Santorini

Also, here are some specific examples of entertainment, tickets, and activities for Santorini.

  • Authentic A Self-Guided Audio Tour of Oia: $6.99
  • Megalochori: Lost Atlantis 9D Experience Museum Entry Ticket: $15
  • Skip the Line Lost Atlantis Experience Ticket: $15
  • E-Ticket to Akrotiri with Audio Tour on your Phone: $15
  • Akrotiri Archaeological Site Entry Ticket: $16
  • Refundable Ticket for Akrotiri Archaeological Site : $20
  • Santorini Volcano and Hot Springs Cruise Tour from Fira Old Port: $27
  • Volcanic Islands Cruise with Hot Springs Visit: $28
  • Santorini Caldera Cruise Tour (Volcano, Hot Springs, Thirassia): $33
  • Santorini Volcano Tour: $37
  • Santorini Volcano & Hot Springs Tour : $40
  • Santorini Volcano Half Day Tour: $44

Tours and Activities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Here are a few actual costs in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for available activities, ticket prices, and tours:

  • Full Day Guided Tour of Teide by Cabrio Bus : $75
  • Full Day Tour of Santa Cruz and San Cristóbal de La Laguna: $49
  • Guided Tour to Teide National Park in Tenerife: $44
  • Private Paragliding Flight Experience in Tenerife: $109
  • Private VIP Tour Tenerife Magic Circle: $258
  • Taucho Flight Experience: $118
  • Tenerife: Forestal Park Tenerife Entry Ticket: $28
  • Tenerife: Introductory Dive for Cruise Ship Passengers: $128
  • Volcano Teide National Park Shared Tour from Costa Adeje Los Cristianos Tenerife: $64

Alcohol
  • Alcohol Drinks for one day
    Santorini 26
    Santa Cruz de Tenerife 7.50

Sample the Local Flavors in Santorini

Also in Santorini, these are the prices for nightlife and alcohol related activities from various tour providers:

  • Half Day Simply Santorini Tour with Wine Tasting: $60
  • Top Sights Day Trip, Wine Tasting, & Oia Sunset: $63
  • Fira Town Walking Tour with Wine Tasting: $75
  • Top Sights of Santorini with Wine Tasting and Sunset in Oia: $75
  • Notos Day Tour through History & Wine Tasting: $98
  • Santorini 4 Hour Private Oia Tour & Wine Tasting : $105
  • Wine Tour with Sunset in Oia: $106
  • Santorini Highlights Small-Group Tour with Wine Tasting from Fira: $109
  • 5 towns in 5 hours: Santorini Most Popular Tour with Wine tasting: $117
  • Wine Tour Santorini: $118
  • Wine tasting and Carving lesson in Santorini: $131
  • Santorini 4-Hour Private Tour including Wine Tasting, Shore Excursion: $136


When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Santorini and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, we can see that Santorini is more expensive. And not only is Santa Cruz de Tenerife much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. So, traveling to Santa Cruz de Tenerife would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Santa Cruz de Tenerife and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Santorini would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Santorini than you might in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Santorini Expensive? and Is Santa Cruz de Tenerife Expensive?.


Which is Bigger, Santorini or Santa Cruz de Tenerife?

Santorini has a larger population, and is about 3 times larger than the population of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. When comparing the sizes of Santorini and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.