Whenever anyone asks me what the most beautiful place I have visited on my travels is, my mind always wanders to Greece. Having always seen these beautiful, surreal landscapes of Greece from other travellers or just random ads or pictures online, I did not actually believe the place was real. Was everyone just taking pictures in front of a green screen? I had to go myself to check it out, and boy am i ever glad i did.

Conclusion: Santorini is heaven. Everywhere you look is magical – the cliffs and rolling hills of white buildings, the bright blue waters and the sun reflecting beautifully off every surface. Just try and take a bad picture here, I dare you! Not to mention, the wine, the food – fresh seafood, delicious Greek salad, gyros, baklava! I mean, you can’t go wrong here. It’s a definite must-see, bucket list visit.

top travel tips 

• Book hotels early. The good/reasonably priced ones book up fast and trust me, you want a hotel with a great  view of the caldera.
• Go during the summer. We went in September and it was actually freezing and windy at night and we only had about 6 hours of good sun.
• Stay in a good central location. Firostefani is a good option to stay in because it’s cheaper, centrally located and you can walk into town (Fira) easily.
• Pack good, comfortable shoes. Plan on doing a LOT of walking. There’s really no sense in taking taxis in Santorini, because a). they take forever, b). they’re very expensive and c). there are only like 20 working taxis on the whole Island. True story.
• Try to book a hotel close to the boardwalk. Make sure you inquire about the number of steps to get to your hotel from the main boardwalk. We booked a hotel at the bottom of the cliff, not realizing we needed to walk up about 100 steps everyday – great for cardio, bad for morale.
• Do you want to party or do you want to relax? Make sure you know. The nightlife is different depending on where you stay in Santorini. Oia is much calmer and relaxed at night, while Fira has more nightlife/action. Generally speaking Santorini is the calmer Island, so if you really want to party you’ll probably find another Island.
• Visit the beaches. Both Kamari and Perissa are good for atmosphere and nightlife but Perissa is better for swimming. We only made it to Perissa, which was really easy to get to by bus and cost next to nothing. At any beach, you can just buy a beer from any one of the restaurants and they let you use their loungers all day. Watch out for the really hot, black sand at Perissa – ouch!
• Try the local wine, Vinsanto. It’s a very unique tasting, super sweet wine exclusive only to Greece.
• Do NOT, i repeat do NOT wear slippery shoes/sandals in Amoudi Bay. When walking down the donkey poop covered steps to Amoudi Bay, I slipped, my life flashed before my eyes, but ultimately I survived to tell this tale.
• Leave some downtime. Make sure to schedule a day or two for just exploring the different walkways and pathways in the town. You can get some amazing shots just winging it.

Must see and do 

• Oia sunset – worth all the hype! See it from Oia town or book a sunset cruise.
• Wine tours – confession: we never actually went (ran out of time), but i heard amazing things.
• Amoudi Bay – it was really beautiful, had great spots for swimming and great fresh seafood restaurants. I recommend riding the donkeys down to the Bay, instead of going by foot – please see note above about dangerous donkey poop.
• Volcano tour/cruise – walk up the volcano and swim in the ‘hot springs’ – they’re really not that hot but it’s a good photo-op in yellow goo.
• Visit the beaches – Perissa, Kamari and the Red Beach are all great options.

Places to eat 

• Dimitris Taverna – located right on Amoudi Bay (literally the seafood can jump from the Bay onto your plate!), this little tavern has the BEST fresh seafood in town. Bonus: it’s run by a Canadian!
• Cafe Galini – great authentic Greek food
• Lucky’s Souvlaki – good, fast cheap eats – GREAT gyros!
• Ochre wine bistro – had the best fish i have ever eaten in my life. It was amazing! and the view was breathtaking, offering unobstructed views of the famous Oia sunset.
• Lotza’s – located in Oia has the best baklava and ice cream in town

Finally, I got a lot of good information and tips from both Tripadvisor and Santorini Dave, so I would highly recommend checking those resources out.

Greece is a magical land filled with beautiful sunshine, endless views and delicious food. I would go back in a heartbeat.

Happy travels!

xo

Irene