I am glad we visited this island without further delay. The island is also nicknamed as 'island for couples', since it makes a perfect gateway for couples. Aquamarine water, gorgeous sunset, romatic alleyways, rich culture & settings to create unfrogettable memory makes it the perfect gateaway for couples.
Flights:
For the flight from Athens International Airport(AIA) to Santorini International Airport(IATA), we decided on Ryan Airlines this time. Not a big fan of the airlines, but for an hour flight I didn't have much complain. It took us around an hour to get to the island but landing was cool as we managed to get snippets of the beautiful island from sky.
(approaching Santorini island)
Weather - best time to go
Santorini, being a famous place; expect it to be really busy on peak season. Probably not the best time to travel during peak season. I have even heard, Oia(one of the village in the island) gets so crowded that there is no space to walk freely.If you are planning to visit the island in peak season, be warned to wait the long queues for restaurants and navigating around the narrow paths of Oia will be challenging.
Since, we were there to escape the cold weather of England in Novemeber. That might have made us lucky, as it seemed to have been the perfect time to visit the island. The weather was cooling down for the upcoming winter (i.e. best temperature). We also managed to get a luxury accomodation in a good deal due to the off-peak season. I just loved the white cave house that accomodated our stay in Oia.
Getting Around
To get around I would recommend hiring a car which is one the best thing to do in Santorini or the other option is to get a scooter, quad bike which is cool too. Being a novice driver we couldn't hire a car as some of roads had high cliffs and we did not want to take the risk
You will find good bus services and reasonably priced taxi to get around too.
Finance
Place being popular has its drawbacks. Tourist hot-spot places are always bit more expensive. If you are looking for a budget travel, I think that will be fine as well. But we could not help ourselves going spending spree on this island.
Accomodation
There are mainly three regions in Santorini, you should aim to stay. Fira is central to the island with lots of shopping areas & posh restaurants, whereas Perissa has black sandy beaches and provides cheapest accomodation on the island.
But when we saw pictures of Oia, couldn't settle for anywhere but Oia.
Fanari Villas : Got ourself a cute white cave house at the side of windmills. It even had jacuzzi on the rooftop. Beyond that the house was the perfect spot to get the view of the vast sea and the volcanic island across the Santorini.
(Inside look of the cave house, do try to find the wine cellar)
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(getting to see this every morning from our villa)
Oia
Oia pronounced as ee-ah is the most beautiful village in Santorini. When we arrived at Santorini / Oia, it was already night time. We did not have much chance to see the white houses and the Oia village properly but I could only imagine how beautiful it must be.I was eagerly looking forward for the daylight.
The houses of the Oia village are so cramped together, you might have trouble finding your accomodation. We just hired a guide on arrival and they were able to take us to our accomodation and give a short introduction of the main areas in Oia.
Following morning we had brunch in this small beautiful cafe with marvelous view,
'Vitrin Cafe Creperie'. The cafe had delicious creepes & peach smoothie.
(brunch with a view, pricelss moments)
With such amazing landscape, we definitely went ahead with photo sessions.
( Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is)
By now you should have noticed my blue shirt and white pants. I was trying to match the (blue & white) theme of Oia. Hopefully, I pulled this off.
Strolling around Oia village was perfect for the first day. The village is quite huge but we managed to explore almost all alleyways of it. At the end of the day, we knew every corner of Oia. If you are reading this blog before visiting Oia, take Oia's church as the central point of the village and this will make your navigation much easier. Every picture taken on this village feels like they are out from postcard. It truly is a wonderful village and is just as beautiful as you have imagined, doesn't disappoint you.
Here are few pictures that will make you think about visiting Santorini:
(admiring the warmth of sunlight, few hours before sunset)
(summery vibe with that hat of hers, perfectly coming out in the picture)
(few good pictures taken with friends)
Meteor Cafe
Please do yourself a favour and go to this cafe. The cafe theme is cute & charming. It serves good omelette and the foods over here are fresh & delicious. If you don't have enough time, you can come here for coffee or latte.
(old paintings, ancient pots, colour & contrast of the cafe provides cheerful vibe)
Ending the day with sunset
Oia is also famus for the sunset view, the sunset seen from the Oia castle is spectacular. This place tends to get really busy near the sunset hours. You might wanna go a bit early and secure the perfect spot to watch and take pictures of the sun set. The experience of watching the sunset was overwhleming and couldn't believe what I was seeing.
(sunset views over Oia)
(beautiful timelapse of sun disappearing over horizon)
Behind the scenes
(efforts put behind good picture)
Perissa
We didn't have much time to explore south-west of the island, where Perissa lies. This place is a seaside village and has black sandy beaches, which is unique. The main reason to come here is for the extraordinary beach. The black sandy beach are organized with tropical beach umbrellas, sunbeds & beach bars. We just managed to spend over lunch time here and get little familiar with the village.
(delicious T-bone steak for lunch with view of the black-sandy-beach)
(time for some deep thoguhts @ black sandy beach)
Fira
Fira is cetrally located on the island, the main district to shop and get souvenirs. Lots of posh restaurants over the cliff offer good view with variety of menu.
(cliff side of Thira/Fira facing sea)
Santo Wines
Do you like wines ? or want to enhance your knowledge about wines? , then this place is definitely for you. Some of the best wines from Santorini comes from here. Santo wines provides activities such as wine tasting and since it is a high-point of the island, you will be able to enjoy the scenery of the island whilst sipping wine.
We had the pleasure of tasting three variety of wines. I can't remember all of their names but I favoured one of it.
Vinsanto : wine for Gods
Vinsanto was the wine I totally fell for. It was high in quality and felt smooth. I would personally say that this is the best wine I have ever tasted. It is native to Santorini and normally used as a desert wine due to it's sweet taste.
(three differnt wine tasting at Santo Wines. Vinsato being the red one)
(Santorini; Oia is located at top, Fira at middle and
Perissa at bottom-right)
Nea Kameni (volcano island)
The small island at the centre of the map above is Nea Kameni. The volcano island was formed by repeated eruption and ashes from eruption. You will need to take a ferry from the bay of Fira to get to this island, the fare is inexpensive.
(Fira bay : boat ride to Nea Kameni)
Upon reaching the docks of the volcano island , there is immediate notice of difference on the surroundings of this island. The island is mosty covered in red soil and black rocks which is aftermath of the eruption. Advise to wear good hiking gear, reaching top will take about 25-30 minutes based on your pace. On the way to the top, you will come across steams and smell of sulfur. Every second of hiking is worth, you will see breathtaking views once you reach the top of the island.
( hot-spring around the area, feel free to swim)
Saying Goodyes!
Leaving this beautiful island behind didn't feel good, it might be partly because holiday was about to end. I don't know if I will be able to visit this island again but every part of it was worth it. I wanna give shoutout to my friends for accompanying me on this trip and taking good pictures.
To the readers: this island is a must thing to do. Put it in your travel bucket list, you won't be disappointed. There is a video blog for the whole trip, do check it out. (here)
Copyright Infringement
All the images used in this blog has been personally taken by me & my friends or have been used from Pexels under CCO license where no attribution is required.