Close your eyes and visualize a Greek island–blue sea, fluffy white clouds, chalk-white houses with cobalt blue domes, a cool island breeze, beauty as far as the eye can see. This is no daydream, this is Santorini.
Santorini is one of the hundreds of Greek islands in the Aegean sea. It’s a small island that can be driven end to end in under an hour–but what a drive!
Santorini was first inhabited in the Neolithic Period. In 1500 BC an enormous volcanic eruption caused the center of the island to sink and massively transformed the little island into the beauty that it is today. The tiny island has weathered many storms, including a devastating earthquake in 1956, but has proven resilient and is now one of the most popular destinations in the world.
To get to Santorini, we flew into Athens from the U.S. and then caught an Aegean Air flight to Santorini. There are more direct routes through many European cities, but the timing of this one worked for us and we landed in Santorini on a gorgeous, cool, sunny Saturday morning.
First impressions, the island doesn’t feel small. There are little towns and businesses and it just feels like a bustling metropolis (similar to Manhattan? no. Maui? yes). The little airport is easy to navigate and we had no trouble meeting our driver. We had initially planned to pick up a car and drive to our Airbnb, but in retrospect I’m glad we didn’t. It takes a bit to get your bearings and there’s not a major highway you get on and drive from town to town so it was nice to have someone who knew where they were going to drop us close to our house.
STAY
We stayed in Megalochori. I can’t say enough about how much I loved this little village. We were far enough away from the crowds of Oia, the rockstar of the island, but close enough to the center of the island which meant 20 minutes in any direction led us to something amazing.
We woke every morning to the sounds of church bells and birdsong. Cats stretched lazily and roamed from rooftop to rooftop. This is my kind of island life–cool breezes, a hammock waiting for my afternoon nap, a bottle of grappa on ice, a little bistro just steps from our front door in case we’re craving a greek salad or saganaki (flaming cheese!).
Our son and his fiance’ did quite a bit of hiking. There were beautiful cliffs that led to secluded beaches an easy distance from our Airbnb. My friends and I preferred our little rental car to see the sights. There are also ATVs for rent to hop around the island. There’s shopping, bakeries, groceries, restaurants and gelato in Megalochori.
Travel tip: some of the places didn’t open for the season until just before we left. The 2nd week in April seems to be the perfect travel time unless you want hot weather and plan to spend your time in the pool or at the beach. We never used our pool at our Airbnb but we’re from Texas and our goal was to escape the heat, not swelter in it while on vacation. I’m a menopausal woman and heat is not my friend. If you’re in your 20s or 30s and on your honeymoon, you might feel differently, so factor that in when timing your holiday. I can’t imagine a more idyllic place to spend a honeymoon or get engaged (like our son did!).
EAT
There were several great places to eat in Santorini. In Megalochori, we loved Raki. The kebabs were tender and juicy, the orange pie was to die for.
In Perivolos, there is a great restaurant called Forty One. It’s a great place to have a special occasion dinner (like Kina’s 60th!). It’s on the black sand beach, the food is great and the views are beautiful.
For a more casual vibe, head to Perissa Black Sand Beach. There are lots of restaurants on the water and it’s a great place to people-watch or wander around for souvenirs.
OIA
Oia deserves it’s own category. When you envision Santorini, you’re probably thinking of the hundreds of images you’ve seen of Oia. It is spectacular. If I were younger and didn’t mind the crowds or if I had a bigger travel budget, I might stay in Oia. It is truly a rockstar destination. There’s so much to see and even the drive there is spectacular.
I would have liked to see Oia at night or at sunset. We left that experience for another trip. We were hoping for a laid back vibe for this visit so it made our choice of places to base much easier. Zero regrets. Plan accordingly.
TRAVEL TIPS for SANTORINI
- Santorini is windy. Wear layers and plan on days when it may be too windy to hit the beach.
- Wear comfortable shoes. Santorini is best enjoyed on foot. It’s a great place to get your steps in daily but bear in mind the streets are ancient and uneven and many times you’re walking on an incline. Skip the heels.
- Read the traveler reviews of your hotel or Airbnb. Don’t just read the first one, skip to the ones that were rentals during the time period you’ll be renting. I read a lot of reviews about our rental so I knew what to expect. I loved our place. We’ll most likely rent it again in the future, but if I were expecting to walk to Oia I would have been a little bummed. It’s more than a hike. Again, it was perfect for us and we’ll rent in Megalochori again. Traveler reviews have always been my secret weapon. You’re going to read an occasional disgruntled reviewer but if you find dozens of them be warned.
- Santorini is an ancient island. Along with the ancient charm may come some plumbing challenges. You cannot flush paper of any kind down the toilets. Zero. No paper. The plumbing challenges may also mean that that sexy bath tub that comes along with your rental may not be able to be filled with warm water. Set your priorities. Come on. You’re in paradise.
- If you speak English, you will have no communication issues in Santorini. The Greek people are lovely and so helpful despite the fact that we had zero Greek language skills. Do try to learn to say hello, thank you, goodbye as a courtesy.
- Get some Euros before you go. We had a few issues finding a working ATM in the smaller villages. Credit cards are accepted almost universally but it’s nice to have some cash.
Life is a journey 