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Santorini

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Santorini, I was dreaming about this place before our trip. The white and blue domes were so attractive and made me eager for this trip. I planned a matching color dress for our family. End of the trip, I was very satisfied with the place and it is one of my favorite destination.

Places to see in Santorini

  • Fira/Thera
  • Oia
  • Amoudi Bay
  • Perissa/Perivolos Beach (this is the famous black beach)
  • Kamari Beach
  • Red Beach
  • Akrotiri Lighthouse
  • Hike to the top of Santorini Volcano
  • Megalochori is a small town
  • Pyrgos

Day 1: Ferry from Athens to Santorini, Explore Fira

Day 2: Oia, Beaches and Sunset dinner @ Ammoudi Bay

Day 3: Volcanic hike , Fira center and explore

Day 4: Ferry from Santorini to Mykonos

We booked ferry from Athens to Santorini. There was option to book from Blue star or Sea jets. It was supposed to CHAMPION JET 2. When we check in, ferry was changed to Super jet. Smaller one and we had heads up from friends that ride on Super jet will be little bumpy. As expected it was bumpy and few episodes of vomiting happened in our family.

We rented car in Santorini. It was easy and $35 to $40 US dollars per day. Unfortunately we had to go through 2 changes after going to Santorini.

First one, we booked a beautiful apartment with views of Caldera located in Fira, right next to the famous street and sun set location. The apartment maintenance lady calls and tells us that there is some issue with rest room pipes and they need new part which has to come from Athens. It will take 2 to 3 days to get that part. So she arranged a different hotel. Problem is at the last min when she/we look at the hotels, it was either not accepting 8 year child due to safety near caldera or far away from either Thira or Oia. But finally we booked a hotel close to Fira center.

Second one was with rental car pick up. Due to low season not all rental car places are open or close early in the town. It is very hard to get hold of them after that. We ended up cancel our reservation as we don’t want to go to air port to pick up the car. Booked a car from hotel.

Leaving the things aside, the views were amazing and mind blowing. It was a feast to the eyes with white and blue combination.

Fira/Thera

Lunch@ Fira

Make sure to look up on pronunciation for Gyro before you go to…:)

Oia

Day 2 in Santorini, we drove to Oia for the famous blue dome iconic church and most photographed place in the world. We parked our car and walked in the small streets to get to the iconic church. It was easy to find, just follow the crowd. Before leaving I read the directions, but I don’t think any one need to be prepared that much.

We picked a restaurant next to the 3 famous dome church and sat for a small snack and Tea with views.

Rest of the day we planned to spent to visit beaches. With car in hand, it was easy to drive from one end of the island to other. We decided to go to Perissa Beach- black sand beach , Lunch at Kamari beach and finally a stop at Red beach. We drove through the the village called Pyrgos. Driving the small single lane streets was more challenging and fun. Cars were indeed smaller compared to what we drive in US.

Perissa and Kamari Beach

This is the famous black sand beach with Aegean sea located in a small town called Perissa. There are deck chairs and umbrellas to relax and enjoy the black sand beach.

 

Red Beach

Colorful beach with hike down to the beach. Kids loved the hike.

 

Amoudi Bay

We drove to Amoudi bay for Sunset dinner.

 

Day 3 of Santorini, we booked a half a day Volcano hike. So we went to Old port and took cable car down to the port. You can walk down or take a donkey ride down to the port or up as well.

Volcano Hike

This volcano is still active and you can smell the Sulfur when get closer to the crater. There is some smoke coming out of the small holes. There is entrance fees for this volcano and you need exact change in euros to pay. There is hot springs that you can swim behind this volcano. We went there after the volcano hike.

There are very nice views of the Fira and Oia from the boat.

Rest of the day at Fira, hanging in the Fira center for lunch, and ice cream. Walking around the colorful streets and exploring the town.

 

Wonderful place to explore and enjoy the beauty of the white and blue surroundings. It’s more romantic place and all the beaches are formed from Volcano. We had so much fun walking around and enjoying the beauty. Don’t forget to try Gyros, Souvlaki and some desserts like Baklawa.

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