When I first met Kayleb, one of the first things we talked about was our bucket list travel spots (I should have known I’d love him forever then.) He told me his bucket list spot was Santorini. WHO doesn’t want to go to Santorini and stand along the Caldera gazing at miles of all that blue and white? Well, a few years after that conversation took place, this summer we took the two-week trip to Greece we’ve been dreaming of!

Here you’ll find what activities we did, where we stayed, what we ate, and all things Greek!

To start, we flew into Athens in early June, hoping to see as many islands as possible. We knew we wanted our first stop to be Santorini (I’ll get into other islands in a different post.)

There are two ways to get to Santorini from Athens: ferry or plane. Ferry is the most cost-effective way. However, we chose plane because it was only a 40 minute flight and we found a good price! If you are wanting to fly, book those flights early when they are cheap! You can find flights on airlines such as Ryanair or Aegean Air for around $75 a person. In my opinion, this was worth it as the ferry is about 6 hours.

Stay:

When we were searching through the many different options of hotels and airbnb’s, it was clear to us that Alta Vista Suites was perfect for us. It was much more affordable than the other “Santorini infinity pool hotels” and was in a perfect spot. Alta Vista Suites is located in Imerovigli, a town in between Fira and Oia. We loved the location of our hotel as we were just a short walk to the fun nightlife of Fira, and an easy bus ride to Oia. Alta Vista Suites was made up of only 5 suite rooms, breakfast delivered to your patio every morning, and an infinity pool that had the most incredible view. We felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! We spent 3 nights in Santorini. Though I would have loved more time there, if you’re trying to see as much of Greece as you can and explore other islands as well, 3 nights was perfect.

Santorini Must Do’s

• Rent an ATV or scooter
• Watch the Sunset from a rooftop bar
• Stroll through the streets of Oia
• Go swimming in Amoudi Bay
• Hike Skaros Rock
• Visit the black beach/Red beach

 

We rented an ATV for about $35 USD for 24 hours. I had my headphones in the entire drive blasting Hillsong United and all was right in the world. We took the ATV to the Red beach and the black beach. Both beaches were super easy to get to, as the signs were easy to follow. Want to escape the high prices of the main tourist towns? Drive to Perissa, where the black sand beach is located. It is a backpackers dream of great food and cheap(er) drinks!

Finding a good spot to watch the sunset isn’t a hard task in Santorini. Most rooftop bars or restaurants give you a great view. However, we fell in love with this one restaurant a short walk from our hotel. We had a great view of the sunset and had the best sangria every night! It was the perfect place to play our deck of cards and escape.

Amoudi Bay is the fisherman’s village of Santorini. It is a hike down from Fira, but you can take cable cars or a donkey ride back up! There is a swimming area here and places to jump off the rocks (Think Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.) The restaurants in the bay are amazing, but definitely pricey! If you’re trying to save some money, just eat in Fira! Seafood was great and prices were more affordable than Oia.

Must Eat in Santorini:

• Gyros
• Pork/chicken Souvlaki
• Octopus
• Fish Filet
• Lobster linguine $$ (Save this for a different island, you’ll save A LOT of money!)

Isn’t Santorini really expensive?

We got that question a lot about this island. Though this was the most expensive island we visited, we never thought it was unreasonable! Here are some ways to make it more affordable if you are on a tight budget!

• Instead of staying at a hotel, find an airbnb or guesthouse. Though they are still pricey on the island, it can still be cheaper than getting a hotel. Depends on what you want!
• Find a place that includes breakfast! For lunch, find a cheap gyro stand. Then you won’t feel bad about spending some money on dinner! I also felt that the portion sizes in Santorini were generous, so you could always share if you are traveling with someone.
• Do not take a taxi anywhere, they are $$$. Rent a scooter or ATV instead.
• Avoid eating in Oia. As charming and beautiful as this town is, we found the food to be more expensive compared to the food in Fira.

Sidenote- Many people asked about this dress! It is from Lulus. It’s super comfy and was perfect for our Greece vacation!

Santorini is a DREAM and a must see if you’re in Greece. She deserves all the hype she gets. I admit, I cried at my first glance of the Caldera. But that’s what traveling is all about – moments that make us go speechless.

Stay tuned for more posts about the Greek Islands!