The Greek Sampler part II – On to Wonderful Santorini!
No visit to Greece is complete without visiting wonderful Santorini! Spectacular cliffside views of the sea and caldera await you, as well as some unforgettable sunsets. You’ll finally see for yourself why all those computer screensavers and “Visit Greece” advertisements showcase the stunning views from Santorini! This is part 2 of our 10 day adventure.
Day 4 – Leave Myknonos by Ferry and arrive in Santorini. Enjoy hotel & views, Sunset dinner and cruise
Getting there – Ferry or Flight?
We opted for a ferry as opposed to the flight due to cost and because I had read in another travel blog that taking the ferry was in a way like taking a “mini cruise” because you would see other islands as the ferry made a couple of stops before reaching Santorini. I took this at face value (a mistake, lol) and made some assumptions on my part. I thought we would be on an open deck ferry at the top having cold beer and drinks while island hopping to Santorni 🤣.
Not sure what the hell I was thinking. Maybe I had the Cancun Isla de Mujeres booze cruise in mind. Who knows? So there’s pros and cons to everything and the ferry experience is no different. So I’ll start with some basics. There are 2 kinds of ferries, conventional (slow and cheaper) and fast catamarans (fastest and more expensive). We opted for speed. The 2 most popular options are Minoan Lines and SEAJETS and we went with SEAJETS.
Ferry Experience
I’ll be honest fam, I don’t have very much experience with ferries. I’ve taken one a few times in Galveston, Tx (about a 30 min trek across the water) and that’s about it. This was way different and it tripped us out for a minute. The ride itself is smooth (obviously depends on the sea conditions) and pretty fast (just a hair under 2 hours). And the seats are very comfortable and you get assigned seating so that’s nice. But ..
that boarding and exiting process is wild. I’d go as far as calling it chaotic to be honest. You start off lining up at the port in Mykonos and then the ferry pulls up and the ramp starts to come down. Not exaggerating, as soon as the ramp touches the ground, cars AND people start pouring out this ferry (at the same time down the same ramp with no separators!).
You have to get on just as fast. No security checks, no ticket checking (that comes later), no nothing. Like the wild west. You find a spot for your luggage and hope to find it when the ride is over with. Getting off the ferry is just as unorganized. It’s funny now but at that moment you’re asking yourself is this real life?
Lodging – Aroma Suites 💓
After the ferry adventure, our hotel (Aroma Suites) had a car waiting for us at the port in Santorini. It was a nice 35 minute drive up and around the cliffs to get to our hotel which sat up high and was perched perfectly across from the caldera. The views really were fantastic and we didn’t mind the 20 minute wait to get checked in as we were a little early anyway and the views were just mesmerizing. We were finally here in wonderful Santorini!
The rooms are small but cozy and built into a cave which makes them look extra cool. And they all have their own balcony where we had breakfast daily overlooking the volcano. This property has no restaurant onsite but they partner with an excellent one next door called 1500 B.C. which is quite good. For breakfast, the 1500 BC kitchen is used and it is laid out on your balcony table. Just call the day before or let the hotel manager know in advance what time you want your breakfast set up and they will have it ready.
Sunset dinner cruise
I’d put this down as a must do excursion while visiting wonderful Santorini. We had pre-booked this prior to our visit through Viator and it turned out to be the highlight of the day. After checking in, we had lunch at the 1500 BC restaurant and then it was siesta time. The Sunset dinner cruise people gave us a 4:00 pm pick up time and a location to meet so they could pick us up and we walked to it. From there we headed to the marina to get on our Catamaran boat.
We booked a semi-private sunset dinner cruise with a total of about 14 people on the boat (minus the crew and guide). It was a comfortable amount of people and we all had plenty of space to move around and not be on top of each other. If you have a big party you can get the whole boat to yourself for your group. Or if you have plenty of money, you can rent it just for you and your partner too, lol. We ended up paying around $125.00 per person or somewhere around there.
Besides the sunset dinner, this excursion also takes you to a swimming/snorkeling spot by Red Beach and also some hot springs. Those hot springs are actually in a cave on a volcanic island you pass by and the boat will anchor close by so you can have a swim where that water meets the sea. The water is not hot but it is warmer than the water it empties into. Me, my wife, and my cousin chilled on the boat drinking white wine and didn’t partake in the water stops.
When the sun goes down …
Y’all had that Brooks and Dunn song in your head after reading that didn’t you? After cruising for a while and all the swimming/snorkeling/hot springs stops are out of the way, it’s time to eat. The crew grills up some chicken and they served pasta, salad, and dessert with it. And of course, more wine. Matter of fact, wine is served throughout the whole trip, but they have no beer onboard which was weird.
The boat is maneuvered around the cliffs so you have the best possible view of an amazing sunset. They even put on romantic music to really capture the mood. I know it sounds a little cheesy but when you’re on a super nice catamaran, in Santorini, and watching the sun dip, you don’t care. You already know how I do these type of segments my friends. No need to google synonyms for the word spectacular, let me just show you in pics and video.
Day 5 – Rent a car (or buggy), explore Wonderful Santorini island, visit winery, and shop in town!
The game plan was simple. Get our car rental and explore the island at our pace all while having a great time along the way! And we did just that, except the weather did not cooperate. It’s okay, you have to make the best of it no matter what. Besides, one bad weather day out of ten ain’t bad. I’ll take it every time! So on we went to get our car rental at the airport. We took the public bus to get there and it was relatively easy. Went to the bus stop which was walking distance, asked for bus number that went to airport, and boarded.
I had originally booked a small mini-convertible for us but it was a little too small for my liking. So I went with something a tad bigger. You could also rent dune buggies if you wanted. It rained off and on all day so I’m glad we didn’t get the buggy. But it was Friday and we didn’t let the rain dampen our spirits. We went back to scoop up my cousin and husband and headed out to explore the island in our Cooper hooptie!
Exploring Santorini island
Quick rundown about the island. There are 4 main areas: Thira (or Fira, same thing), Firostefani, Imerovigli, and Oia. We stayed in Thira as this is where you will find lots of restaurants, shopping, and nightlife. This is the heart of the island and where the action is. Plus it’s centrally located so you can pretty much get to any part of the island in a short time. And the prices are better here.
We already had Oia lined up for tomorrow so we wanted to check out some beach areas that were recommended to us by our hotel manager. He had marked up some spots on a Santorini map for us to checkout so we punched in the names in our gps and were on our way. Below is an interactive map of the routes we took. We started in Thira then visited Perissa and the famous black sand beaches and then Santo Winery afterwards.
Perissa Beach
Now this is a beautiful black sand beach! I really hated that there was light rain and gloomy skies when we visited because I’m pretty sure this area is popping when the sun is out and it’s warmer. There is a strip you can walk with lots of great beach bars and restaurants. Some have lounge chairs on the beach for rent in front of them and most will let you use them for free if you eat at the restaurant. We started out at the Tranquilo Beach Bar & Restaurant. Place had a cool layout and vibe and we ducked in there for 1st beers.
Okay it was beers 1 through 3 but who’s counting 😎. None of my pics do this area justice. But you can google Perissa Beach or Tranquilo, Santorini images and see some great pics of what it looks like when it’s not overcast, chilly and rained out. We walked north on the strip making several stops along the way and to walk on the beach. The strip north ends at a big rock. You can also walk south on the strip from Tranquilo.
Santo Winery
Santo Wines was a place I had penciled in very early on when putting together this Greek Sampler itinerary. I had read all the reviews, looked at all the pics and recommendations, etc… Did all my homework except make a reservation. SMH. Well you won’t have that problem because I posted the link for you so you can book online! There was a private event going on and no one without a reservation was allowed to this other section, double whammy. I grabbed a couple of pics just for the blog post but with the pinche grey weather we had, the Santo winery website better showcases what will await you if you visit on a nice day.
Shopping, Eating, and Drinking along the Thira cliffside walkway
We left Santo wines and headed back to Thira to explore the town. I was the only one that wasn’t wearing a long sleeve shirt or light sweater and was getting chilly so I dipped into a men’s boutique store for one. My crew waited outside and when I emerged they busted out laughing because instead of a hoodie, I came out sporting a chocolate colored jacket. Hey I think it looks good! 😆 See for yourself.
We had drinks and appetizers at the Select Beer & Wine House in town and got a great cliffside table. The service was great and views even better. While I do recommend this establishment, there are plenty of restaurants, bars, and shops to explore in town. The walkway along the cliff is always packed with people day or night but it’s not crowded. You should spend some time getting lost in the maze of white alleyways and side streets. Here’s a few pics from our stroll.
Day 6 – Oia, Oia, and more Oia! 🤩
We saved the best for last and Oia was as good as advertised! We finally reached the famous blue domed churches that we’ve seen all our lives on countless travel shows and magazines. Located at the top (and tip) of Santorini in the north, Oia is by far the most popular destination on the island. Get there very early or late to avoid the crowds and those dreaded cruise ship people, lol. Yes I’m going to mention them in every Greece post! If you get there between 9 am and sunset, there will be crowds, no way around this. See before and after example to see what I’m talking about.
The drive to Oia is pretty simple as there is really only 2 ways to get there. The direct path hugging the coastline on the west side (west side!😆) or the scenic route that takes you in from the east coast. We went direct and didn’t experience any traffic until we got to the town. Luckily our car was small and we found a parking spot right at the top and across from the main square area near Church of Panagia Platsani. It took us about 25 minutes when it was all said and done. The bus also makes a stop in Oia so that is another option if you want to save money.
Navigating the Oia streets and alleyways
Have a plan or at the very least, some kind of checklist of what you want to see here. Is it a certain pic you seen on Instagram that you want to replicate? A store or restaurant you want to visit? A filming location from an old movie you seen? Whatever it is you want to see, do your research online ahead of time and put them in your notes on your phone. And even more importantly, find out where they are at and how to get there! This will save you a lot of time and headache.
Besides the obvious blue domes, these are some other must see spots in no particular order:
The Big Windmill
Oia Castle
Amoudi Bay
Eating and Drinking in Oia
I can’t recommend anywhere because we didn’t do either here. We bought waters and that’s it. Oia is the most expensive part of the island by far and we decided to drive back to Fira for a late lunch once we had our fill of pics and videos. When the excitement and adrenaline wore off and the physicality of it all (constant walking uphill and downhill) started to wear on us, it was time to go. Oia was as beautiful as I imagined she would be. If I could do it all over again I would spend the night here at least one night to catch the sunrise and sunset.
Late lunch in Thira and catching the last sunset in Wonderful Santorini
When we got back to town, we were starving and found the Ellinikon Greek Restaurant and had a great meal and equally savory wine. Greek has really good wine by the way. We also passed by the men’s store where I got my chocolate jacket! I’ll post a pic so if you’re in the area you can tell them that I sent you 😂.
We left the restaurant and went to the store to buy beer and wine for the sunset. After arriving at our hotel, we all packed for the flight to Athens the next day. We met on our hotel balcony, put on some music, and drank until the sun went down (and then some 😎). Our last day in Santorini was special and mother nature gave us a special sunset as a sendoff. Athens awaited us in the morning.
The last and final part of the Greek Sampler was coming up. Athens was waiting for us. Thanks for reading!