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No amount of photos can prepare you for the jaw dropping scenery you'll find on Santorini. The moment we arrived on the ferry we were greeted with towering red volcanic rock shooting from the sea. We made our way to the town of Oia, where we spent four amazing nights at the Esperas Hotel.
The staff were absolutely amazing. The real MVP's are the porters who carry your luggage. We were greeted in a parking lot where they insisted on carry our multiple heavy sets of luggage through the steep alleyways and stairwells to get to the hotel. We tried on multiple occasions for them to allow us to help but were strongly denied each time. To note, if you do have any mobility issues, Oia may not be the best place to stay. There are many steep steps you will need to climb to get to most of the resorts here and would not be wheelchair accessible.
We fell in love with this small, picturesque town and did not leave for the entirety of our stay.
There are many photo locations that are extremely popular, like the one below. We had to wait in a decent line to snap these beauties while a line full of onlookers impatiently waited their turn. The line grew exponentially later in the day.
We made our way down to Ammoudi Bay. With the 300 or so steps, I had to seriously resist the temptation of riding a donkey back up. Ammoudi Bay has some great restaurants. There is a trail that you can take walking past Dimitris Restaurant that will take you to a nice "hidden" gem where you can swim and cliff jump.
Food and Drink Recommendations:
Ellinikon- One of the best restaurants we experienced in Santorini. The "Greek Donuts"!!!
PitoGyros- The best gyro we had in Greece. The line did not steer us wrong.
Dimitris- Located in Ammoudi Bay, amazing view, right on the water. The mussels saganaki were a major theme on this trip and were amazing!!
Melitini- Greek tappas restaurant. So good!! Fried Feta, enough said.
Meteor Cafe- Favorite coffee.
Seriously debated bringing this pup home. He was so sweet. The last day we were there a local rescue came and got him. One of the things I loved about Oia is that they leave out food for their strays everywhere. There are so many stray cats throughout Greece and it was nice to see that the locals make an effort to care for them.
Santorini is known for their sunsets. We were lucky enough to have a pretty epic view from our hotel room where we watched as tourists and locals gathered along the nearby churches, streets, and viewed the countless catamarans racing to catch the sunset from the water.
Feeling a bit of fomo, we decided to take the sunset catamaran cruise on our last night to catch a glimpse from a different angle. Highly recommend doing this! We stopped at multiple stops to swim, snorkel, visited the red beach, ate an amazing lunch, drank, danced, and viewed one of the most beautiful sunsets. It was a perfect ending to our trip.
Travel Tips:
Best time to visit- I would recommend traveling to Santorini in May, September or beginning of October. These months will give you less crowds and great weather. We traveled in the beginning of October and although crowded, I could not imagine what it would be like in June, July, and August when the crowds are at their peak. Keep in mind that restaurants and hotels start to close starting mid-October for the off season.
Getting Around- Rental Car, ATV, or scooter. Since we stayed in Oia the entire trip, this was the only island we did not rent a vehicle and walked everywhere. There is also a walking path that can take you from Oia to the town of Fira if you feel inclined to make the hike.
Arrival to Santorini- Flight or ferry. I personally loved taking the ferries between the islands because you can arrive 20 minutes ahead of time and they're more economical. Keep in mind that if weather is bad or winds high, the ferries can get canceled. We were lucky that all of the ferries departed on time and took between 2-3 hours.
Other Places We considered staying:
