Pharmacy Oia 药店 — Attraction in Municipality of Thira

If you’re getting a rapid antigen test here, please read this review!

We stopped here to get some medicine for my wife’s mosquito bites which she picked up in Santorini. The pharmacist was very nice and helpful, recommending a Benadryl alternative and some skin cream, both of which were effective and reasonably priced. We also picked up a couple of rapid antigen tests a few days before heading back to the US, as they are significantly cheaper (20 Euro) than the PCR test (60 Euro) and are perfectly acceptable for entry into the states. If you’re wondering, the 80 Euro we saved went towards the Red Snapper at Katina’s Fish Tavern that evening, highly recommended.

Heads up though if you’re planning to use this test result to board a flight heading to the US - the certification letter that the pharmacy provided to confirm our negative result is not very official looking and the people working at the airline check-in counter in Athens (which is responsible for checking negative test results for flights heading to the US) was hesitant to accept it. The check-in agent showed it to her manager, who ended up calling the pharmacy in Santorini and speaking in Greek for what felt like a very long time. Maybe they were just berating the pharmacy for having such an unprofessional certification form. It almost felt like they wanted to see how much they could make us sweat. We’ll never know. When I had finally accepted my fate of starring in the next season of Locked Up Abroad, the agent handed the results back to us with our boarding passes and passports and told us we could go ahead. It felt like if we had caught the check-in agent on a bad day or were flying a different airline, they would have just denied us boarding and we would have had to rush to get a test at the Athens airport instead.

Bottom line, the test results worked to get us on our flight back to the US, but was a little too close for comfort. Your...

Two simple words describe this pharmacy: RIP OFF Most of the people living in Oia know it is a rip off. Sooner or latter you don't have choice and you need to go there, since the next pharmacy is about 8km away and most of the citizens in Oia work many hours. So it makes it a rip off heaven for the owner, taking advantage mostly of the tourists and working people.

Tonight I went there for an antibiotic, prescribed from the doctor and also asked for Korres brand soap picture provided bellow. Please note that the soap usually cost around 4 euros (250ml) and usual 5-6 euros if it is in the pack of two (250+250ml). They charged me 12 euros for single 250ml soap. Since I took antibiotic, the price I paid didn't seem weird (the antibiotic cost 2 euros I latter realized) . When I saw (2 separate receipt) and that they charged a single soap 12 euros I called them to check if there was a mistake in the receipt. The owner of the pharmacy answered him self, and hearing what the problem was, his answer was: "Yes the price is 12 euros WHY NOT??" Sad.

The only case I recommend you visit them is if you are so rich and have money that you don't know what to do with, and you don't mind them charging you two or three times the value, go for it. Also if you don't have other way to go to the next village and pay fair prices.

I will like to put a note, that the ladies working in the pharmacy are super polite and kind, all of them, and since there is no zero star review, this star showing, is...

I visited this pharmacy while staying in Oia to ask for ibuprofen after experiencing swelling on my forehead, possibly from sun exposure. I politely asked for help in English, showed the affected area, and explained what I needed. The pharmacist glanced at me, said something under her breath to her colleague, and handed over the medication without even looking at me again. Her expression and body language made it very clear I wasn’t welcome.

I felt completely dismissed and too uncomfortable to even ask a follow-up question — including something important about my asthma and potential interactions with the medicine. I left feeling shaken and upset.

When someone comes into a pharmacy feeling unwell and vulnerable, a basic level of courtesy and professionalism should be a given. Unfortunately, I received neither. I hope this review encourages the staff to treat future customers — especially those asking for help in a second language — with the kindness and respect...