After an 8-hour ferry ride, we were more than ready to get off the boat and settle in to our second destination (and favorite) of the trip: Santorini. As our ferry pulled close to Santorini (Thira port), we made our way down to the luggage hold to retrieve our luggage and line up with the herds of people below deck, anxiously anticipating the deboarding. If there is one thing from my research that I can attest held absolutely true, it is that the deboarding of the ferry can be quite the mad chaos! As soon as the announcement came on that we were nearing Santorini, hundreds of people rushed below deck to get their luggage and ‘lineup’. I’m not really sure what the rush is, as we are all getting off at the same place…but it is definitely packed like a herd of cattle down there! When the ‘gates are finally lifted’, it is again a mad rush off the boat.
I will note that transportation from the dock to the center of town/your accommodation here can get a little tricky if you’re not prepared, simply due to the overwhelming rush of the crowds. My sister and I had actually arranged transportation through our hotel, so a car was supposed to pick us up at the dock and drive us back (most accommodations will do this, and I think it only cost us about 5-10 Euros). However, due to the madness of people running all over, and tons of buses and poorly-marked cars, we couldn’t find the correct car and ended up just jumping on the city bus to take us to Fira center (we were staying in Fira). This actually ended up working out just fine, as our hotel was only about two blocks from the bus station. So if you will be arriving by ferry during prime time, I’d recommend checking how far your accommodations are from the bus stop. If you are travelling during off-season, or you are staying in a more remote area (or on the cliffside/side of the caldera), you may need the private shuttle provided by your hotel.
Before our trip, I researched the best place to stay, and we settled on Fira (the capital of Santorini). Fira and Oia are usually the most popular places to stay, with Oia being the most picturesque (blue domes and infinity pools), but also the most expensive – a popular destination for honeymooners. Fira is a bit cheaper and has more nightlife. It is also closest to the main port (Thira) and the airport. Kamari Beach and Perissa are other options, usually even cheaper than Fira, where you will find beaches and more ‘family-friendly’ vacationers.
Our hotel - Antonia Apartments - was beautiful, but the room was pretty small. It had all your basics essentially, including a mini fridge, TV, recently renovated bathroom, little balcony, and pool. I think it was pretty standard with the rest of the offerings in Fira. (I booked through Booking.com, and the places I browsed in Fira were all relatively similar). The biggest perks of our hotel were the location – right in the city center, so easily walkable to everything – and the kindness and resourcefulness of the owners. The hotel owner offered us various different excursions, as well as giving us tons of valuable tips and tourist information. He also offered us free wine and coffee upon our arrival! I even believe there was free breakfast…but we were never awake early enough for that.
The first night, we just wandered throughout the city, grabbing another delicious dinner and wandering down the steps from Fira to the Old Port. It’s a 567-step trek, which doesn’t sound too bad….until you factor in the donkeys!! Not only do those darn donkeys hold up pedestrians, but their poop is everywhere on the steps! I think the trip down is still worthwhile because the views of the caldera side are just stunning – but take careful watch of where you step! To come back up, you can either walk, ride the donkeys for a few euros (although many argue this is an inhumane practice), or take the cable cars. We opted for the cable cars simply because we had had enough of the donkey poop! The cable cars only cost about 3 Euros, so it’s not bad at all – but just note that it’s not really a ‘touristic experience’. While the idea seems super attracting, the ride is really only a few minutes and the wires and the cars themselves prevent you from really getting the greatest views or photos.
Our next day was Katie’s last full day, so we planned this to be our ‘big’ day. There are multiple different excursions and tours offered throughout Santorini, but one of the most popular is the trip to the nearby volcano. There is a half-day or full-day option:
Half-day: boat ride to volcano, hike up and around volcano, boat ride back; ~20 Euros*
Full-day: boat to volcano, hike up/around volcano, boat ride to hot springs, boat ride to the island Thirassia for lunch, boat ride to Oia for sunset (option to take the boat back to Fira rather than stay for sunset); ~49 Euros*
*Prices are estimates and vary depending on the season and where you purchase tickets. We purchased through our hotel, as when we took the steps and wandered down to the Old Port (where the tours leave from) on our first night, we saw that our hotel offered us the same tour for about 5 Euros less.
Quick history: Santorini actually used to be a circular island, called Strongili (“The Round One”). Around 1650 B.C., a huge volcano erupted and sunk the center of the island, creating those beautiful caldera sides (the stunning views). Additional eruptions created Santorini’s black ash beaches, and later separated the island of Thirasia from Santorini mainland. One of two islets also created in the explosions, Nea Kameni contains a still-active volcano (which is where the boat tours go to). You can actually still see smoke coming up when exploring the volcano.
We chose the full-day option, and if you have limited time in Santorini, I would say this would be your best bet. We departed fairly early for the volcano, hiked on up and wandered around the volcano center for a bit, then hiked back to the boat and sailed to the nearby hot springs. Not many people on the tour seized the opportunity to go swim, but of course Katie dove right in! (I chose to be her photographer from the ship haha). After a swim, the boat then took us to another small nearby island – Thirassia – where we ate lunch. It is a very tiny island, mostly built off of this touristic stop of the volcano tours. There are a handful of food options along the shore, and maybe a shop or two, but that’s about it. We ate lunch, which was just alright…nothing to write home about, especially when compared to the rest of the amazing Greek cuisine we had in Santorini. We had about an hour or so after lunch, so we wandered up the steep steps to see the town. It was quite a workout! We were pretty surprised at how empty the town was when we reached the top – I think we saw maybe one townsperson up there.
After Thirassia, our boat sailed to Oia, where you had the option to leave the boat and walk up (yet another) long hike of stairs to Oia and stay for sunset (finding your own way back to Fira), or you could stay on the ship and head back to Fira. We opted for the hike up to stay for the sunset.
Oia is the ‘postcard image’ of Greece. All of those blue-domed, white crosses, and sunset pictures are likely taken in Oia. We wandered around for a while – exploring the coolest bookstores, browsing in the designer shops, purchasing some gifts in the tourist shops…and of course having a few photoshoot sessions! It is just too beautiful that you can resist the urge to always have your camera going! Around dinner time, we chose a restaurant right on the water – and were extremely lucky to land a spot with a caldera view! This was where I first had the dish that would become my Greek favorite: grilled squid. (Octopus and squid are NOT the same!). OH. MY. GOD. I think my heart fell to my stomach. Literally the best dish I have ever eaten. As I have told many people upon my return – I would easily return back to Greece just for the food.
We wrapped up dinner and headed out to snag a spot for the sunset viewing. Let me tell you – these people take the sunset seriously. People start claiming their viewing spots hours in advance! Since there were just the two of us, and we can be aggressive when needed (ahem, speaking for one of us in particular here…), we were still able to push our way to a good spot despite only heading there about a half hour before sunset. After the [beautiful] sunset, we headed to the bus station to take the bus back to Fira. The crowd can be pretty large at sunset, and many people will be heading for the bus afterwards, so if you’re not entirely sure where to go, just follow the mass exodus of people. Just be warned that the buses can get quite packed, so you may be stuck standing.
Katie departed the next day, taking the ferry back to Athens to spend her final night before flying back to Ireland. I had about three more days on my own in Santorini (and was flying out of Santorini, so no need to ferry back to Athens for my flight). So how did I spend the final three days by myself?
You’ll have to wait and see! Stay tuned for Greece Part 3 (final summary…for this trip!).
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