Early Morning Santorini Viewpoint Draws Long Queues as Overtourism Intensifies
A viral video from Santorini has reignited debate over overtourism and social media tourism after showing a long line of visitors gathered at dawn in the village of Oia to photograph the same popular lookout. The clip, filmed at 7:00 a.m., shows dozens of tourists winding through the island’s narrow white alleys toward a terrace overlooking the Aegean Sea and the area’s blue-domed churches. At the front of the line, a woman in white poses alone with the view, while the crowd waiting behind her is mostly out of frame.
The footage was posted by travel creator Mambo Italiano, who sharply criticized the behavior of visitors. She wrote that social-media trends have turned the world’s most beautiful places into endless queues, comparing them to a bathroom line at a concert, where everyone waits hours just to take the same photo for people who cannot be there or do not care. She added, “Nothing reflects the shallow rot of our era better than this.”
The post triggered widespread reactions online. Many users said travel has shifted from experiencing a place to collecting likes and online approval. One commenter said people no longer visit places to see and enjoy them, but to photograph themselves there and post it online for attention. Others criticized the commercialization of historic and public sites, with one user saying, “Everything has become Instagram shoots for influencers. Beautiful places are being ruined by narcissists with main-character syndrome.” Another said the trend had made him “pretty much give up on traveling.”
Some commenters suggested simply skipping the line and moving on, while the article also highlights the broader strain on Santorini itself. According to Greek Trip Planner, based on INSETE statistics and local records, about 3.4 million people visit the island each year by plane, cruise ship, and ferry. With a small permanent population, that equals roughly 220 tourists per resident annually, and in the peak summer season the density reaches about 107.8 tourists per 100 residents at any given moment. A previous European Commission study said that level exceeds standard overtourism thresholds. Some visitors now say the early-morning queue is the only workable way to visit, while others report that sunset is even worse, describing it as “pure chaos.”
