SANTORINI

Your Guide In Visiting Santorini, Greece

How to get to Santorini?
Where to stay in Santorini?
What to do and see in Santorini?
Where to eat in Santorini?

The jewel of the Aegean Sea. Santorini lies within the Cyclades group of the Greek islands. The volcanic island erupted more than 3600 years ago causing a huge volcanic caldera we see today. The eruption which was one of the biggest in human history also caused a huge tsunami that was thought to have ended a civilization at the island of Crete at that time. The result of this natural disaster is the caldera which gives the beautiful view of the Aegean sea with towns like Oia, Imerovigli and Fira perching on top of the caldera cliffs.

HOW TO GET TO SANTORINI

A majority of people will get to Santorini via many of the high speeds ferries from Athens port of Piraeus. However, I chose to fly from Athens airport to Santorini. There are a couple of reasons why this was the preferable method for me.

1.) I arrived at Athens Airport and on the same day will transit to Santorini. This means I do not need to haul my bags across town and take the subway to the port of Piraeus. Aegean airlines offers multiple flights a day from Athens to Santorini during peak seasons. This means you should be able to pick a flight that fits with your transit time available from your previous flight into Athens. Ellinair also offer flights from Athens to Santorini.

2.) Time. A flight to and from Santorini takes only 45mins compared to the fastest ferries which can take close to 5 hours!

3.) Bumpy seas. I heard that the sea can get bumpy and it is a much more comfortable ride on the airplane.

4.) Price. Yes, a flight might be more expensive than the ferry but I think the time saved is well worth the extra price.

5.) Fantastic view into and out of Santorini by air.

WHERE TO STAY IN SANTORINI

This is quite an important and difficult decision to make when visiting Santorini. There are a number of questions you should ask yourself before you make this decision:

1.) Budget – The price range is huge. Depending if you are just looking for a room to sleep in or a room with your own private pool, Santorini have everything that you want to look for.

2.) Location – Most people will stay in the three major towns of Oia, Imerovigli or Fira. Each of these towns gives you something different and all have hotels with different budgets and needs. Oia is where you see the famous sunset and those famed Santorini photos that you see everywhere. Imerovigli is in my opinion the best town to stay in as it is much less busier than the two and gives you the same Santorini view and maybe the best. Fira is the main town in the city where the tenders from the cruise ship enter the island; therefore, it can get extremely busy during cruise ship season. I heard there can be more than 4 cruise ships anchored in the caldera in peak season.

3.) Time you want to spend in your hotel – If you are not planning to stay in your hotel that much during the day, there is really not much point in getting a hotel with a caldera view. You could easier get the same view walking around the towns or at many of the restaurants. It can save you a lot of money.

4.) Transport – If you rent a car, it really doesn’t matter where you stay but if you are not, you will need a taxi to travel between the towns. The walk from Imerovigli to Fira is about 20 minutes and you cannot walk from Oia to any of the 2 towns because it is at the north western edge of the caldera. A drive from Fira to Oia will take 30 minutes. There is not much in Imerovigli as it is the quietest of all three towns but if you stay in a beautiful hotel there, there is no need to travel out to other towns in my opinion.

I’ve stayed at the Honeymoon Petra which is at the town of Imerovigli. The hotel have, I believe, the deepest pool on the island and one of the largest. I can hang around the pool all day with fantastic views of the caldera. Only a couple of rooms have their own small private outdoor tubs/pool. I cannot call them pools because they are more like an outdoor bathtubs. I will let the photos do the talking.

I’ve stayed at the newer Petra Wing Studio Rooms which is carved into the cave with nothing blocking the view in front of me. My front door leads to 2 sunbeds and then the cliff down to the sea. Although, some of the rooms are on different levels on the property so you may or may not have rooms directly below you. The front deck is not private where you can see your neighbors. There is a nice lounge area with a sofa, a walk-in closet and an adequate sized bathroom with no bathtubs.

Depending on your budget, these hotels were also on my list of hotels to stay in Santorini: Andronis Concept Wellness Resort, Cavo Tagoo Hotel Santorini and Katikies Hotel.

WHAT TO DO IN SANTORINI

There is actually quite a lot to do on the island other than the caldera. Although, I will not mind spending my whole holidays in Santorini just relaxing at the pool and taking in the view. I believe many have seen the sights before and come back to Santorini just to relax and enjoy the hotels.

Spending more than a few nights on the island is definitely recommended and even a night or two will be too rushed to enjoy the lovely hotels and sights on the island.

1.) Skaros Rock

The Skaros Rock is a huge rock outcrop that extend out onto the caldera from Imerovigli. There used to be a castle there but destroyed by an earthquake in the 19th century. It is also the ancient capital of Santorini. It is a short hike from Imerovigli. I’ve spent around 2 hours there which included time to enjoy the view of the caldera and the Aegean Sea. It is a bit of a climb to get on top of the rock from the base of the trail. My suggestion if you want to climb up to the top is to wear running or hiking shoes and not your flip flops. Honeymoon Petra gives you a perfect view of Skaros Rock.

2.) Churches

Everyone wants to get a photo of the blue domes and the bells of Santorini churches. It fact there are actually quite a number of them scattered around the island.

Agios Georgios Church – This church is missing the blue dome but have a big deck that gives a commanding view of the whole caldera. If you are hiking to Skaros rock, you will pass by this church at Imerovigli.

Anastasi Church – This church is also at Imerovigli and is so beautiful that it is exactly what you have imagined Santorini to be.

Agios Theodori Church is at Fira and is another postcard church on the island.

There are also a number of churches on Oia but I would not suggest you go there during the afternoon or at sunset because it is so crowded that it just takes all the charm away from such a place. Unless you are staying in Oia or can go there very early in the morning, I would avoid Oia for taking photos of the churches.

3.) Akrotiri Lighthouse

It is unfortunate that I do not have time to visit the lighthouse at the south western tip of the island. You will need to have a car to get there. The secret is that it has the best sunset on the island and much better than the crowded Oia.

4.) Oia sunset

As I’ve mentioned a few times already, I am not that fond of Oia because of its crowd but I understand it can be charming in the morning when nobody is there. The sunset is beautiful as you can see the sun sets into the Aegean sea. I would recommend one of the rooftop restaurants as many people watch the sunet from the Oia castle which is extremely crowded. You can see the Oia castle at the bottom left of my video below and the crowds of people standing there.

5.) Winery

Santorini is famous for its wines and is a producer of wines since the ancient times. The island is famous for the white grape varieties of Assyrtiko, Athiri and Aidani. There are a number of winery on the island and these two are one of the best: Santo Wines Winery and Venetsanos Winery.

6.) Caldera Cruise

Once you are on the island, you will find that there are many different cruise companies which basically do the same thing. There are cruises that take you to the volcanic hot spring and around the caldera for a swim. Many would opt for the sunset cruise where you can enjoy the sunset on a boat or usually catamarans which these companies run. Many of these catamarans are big and can get crowded. Again, I do not like crowds so I have decided to take a chance on a smaller company called Pelagos Cruises. They only operate one 33 feet boat but very adequate for the two of us. The great thing about Pelagos is that they cater for your needs as their company is only this one boat. They are very professional and their passion is shown throughout the cruise. They have semi-private and private cruises where you can tailor-make your itinerary.

Our cruise started at the Vlichada harbour at the southern tip of the island. We cruised along the southern coast of the island and passed all the famous beaches along the way. We made the turn around the lighthouse and up to the caldera and the Nea Kameni island in the middle of the caldera. The Nea Kameni island have natural hot springs which contains a large amount of sulfur. The whole part of the inlet leading up to the hot springs smell like rotten eggs. I would not really recommend it if you are not into such a thing. Afterwards, we track back to the southern coast to enjoy lunch cooked by the crew and enjoy a few swims on the secluded bays from our boat. It was a great way to enjoy the afternoon on the island.

7.) Akrotiri

The archaeological site of Akrotiri is similar Pompeii where it was destroyed by the volcanic eruption and cover by ash. It is one of the “must see” sights on the island but it might not be for everyone.

8.) Ancient Thira

Ancient Thira is an ancient city and capital on a ridge of the steep, 360 m high Messa Vouno mountain in Santorini. You can either drive up the mountain or hike up from the nearby town of Kamari. The view at the top of the mountain is one of the best on the island.

9.) Beaches

Beaches in Santorini is nothing like beaches on other Greek islands such as Mykonos because it is a volcanic island. You will be disappointed if you are looking for fine white sand beaches on Santorini. However, this doesn’t mean Santorini doesn’t have beautiful beaches of its own. The beaches on Santorini are on the south and eastern side of the island.

Perivolos Beach

Perivolos is on the southeastern edge of the island at the town of Perissa. It is very popular if you want to get out of the tourist towns of the caldera side of the island.

Vlichada Beach

Vlichada beach is beside the Vlichada harbor which we board our cruise. There are a number a great family taverns at the town and the Vlichada beach have steep cliffs as a backdrop. The other end of the beach is the Theros Wave Bar.

Red Beach

The name came from the red rocky cliff above the beach.

If you are driving to the beach, you will have to park at the other end of the beach to the right of the photo above. You will have to walk/hike across the small peninsula which separates the beach to the left of the photo.

Kambia Beach

It a small beach but with crystal clear waters.

You can swim to one of these hidden coves from Kambia beach.

White Beach

The name came from the white cliffs above the rocky beach. My understanding is that the beach can only be reached by boat or you can rappel down from the cliff above if you are a rock climber.

Black Beach

The name came from its black sand and there is a great restaurant there called Akro. A great place to spend the day on the island!

Kamari Beach is next to the airport where you can see aircraft landing.

Yalos Beach is at the north side of the airport away from all the tourist. There is a restaurant by the beach and local taverns like Aegialos.

Vourvoulos Beach is another local beach on the north side of the airport.

Saint Nicholas is not really a beach but a small rocky island across from the base of Oia. It is a great place to swim

WHERE TO EAT IN SANTORINI

Yes, you will pay a premium when you eat at the three tourist towns of Oia, Imerovigli and Fira on the islands. Below are some of the restaurants that I have shortlisted or have visited during my stay in Santorini.

The Cave of Nikolas – The Cave of Nikolas is actually near the Red Beach.

Selene – Selen is perched on top of the hilltop village of Pyrgos.

Metaxi Mas – Metaxi Mas is perched on top of the hilltop village of Exo Gonia close to Pyrgos.

La Maison Restaurant – At Imerovigli with Caldera view.

Anogi – At Imerovigli for traditional Greek food.

Avocado Restaurant – At Imerovigli for Mediterranean Cuisine

Pelekanos Restaurant – Make a reservation for the rooftop terrace for dinner with the sunset view.

Ammoudi Bay – A number of seafront tavern restaurants such as Sunset Ammoudi Taverna, Katina’s, and Ammoudi Fish Tavern. Ammoudi bay is at the foot of Oia.

Mylos – Restaurant at Fira with caldera view.

Argo  – Restaurant at Fira with caldera view. 

Idol – Restaurant at Fira with caldera view.

Final Thoughts

Santorini is truly a destination that everyone must go to once in their lifetime. Will I come back? Definitely, but my priority now is to visit other beautiful Greek Islands like Crete, Rhodes, Corfu, Naxos, Milos and Zakynthos. I believe none of the Greek Islands will disappoint you.