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Falling in Love in Greece: Part 2
Part 2: Santorini
I had to split Greece into a 2-part post. If you missed Part 1 on Athens check it out here. We loved Greece, and even though we only spent 5 full days in the country we got a lot of sight seeing in. After 3 days in Athens we went to spend a night near the airport so we could hop a quick and easy 45 minute flight to Santorini.
Nerd Word: The flight from Athens to Santorini cost us $37 per person round trip! We flew Ryanair which is a European budget airline. The problem was how expensive suitcases were to bring. It was so expensive in fact, we paid for an extra night at an AirBnB by the Athens airport to house our suitcases alone which was less expensive.
I will never regret going to Santorini in the off season. No beach is worth the crowds that being in Santorini during the summer would bring. We were there in mid-late March, which is so deep in the off season even roads were shut down for maintenance. We saw the typical donkey’s that are out for people to ride up and down the steep slope from the top of the island to the water, as well as others that were hauling construction goods for the people working on roads.
Thanks to being on the Island in the off season, we not only avoided massive crowds, we were able to stay in a 5-star cliff side villa for only $70 the night. It was gorgeous and the experience of a private balcony overlooking the caldera is unbeatable. I would highly recommend staying in Fira (Thera/Thira), the center of the island.
We had no plans for what we wanted to do when we got to the island, and we didn’t know what we would see. When we arrived at the hotel, the owner checked us in and gave us some recommendations where to go. We had already been walking quite a bit (we walked to our hotel from the airport) so we were tired, but excited. If you are planning to visit Santorini I recommend not packing in the day too tightly with activity. It can get too easy to get so distracted with activity you miss the beauty and serenity of the island.
We found a great cafe for breakfast called the Ambrosia cafe. We adopted yet another cat at the cafe so we had breakfast there two days in a row. The greek yogurt and real honey everywhere is fantastic and so satisfying! Make sure to order a parfait with your breakfasts.
On our second day the owner offered us a personal tour of the island for 150 euros. What a steal! He took us all over and gave us the history of the island, the buildings, the volcanic eruptions, and how they grow grapes for vines. Learning about the vine “baskets” on the island is what sparked our love of learning the history of growing and vineyards in each country we visit, there is so much more to wine thank drinking it!
Light house on the South end of the island Beautiful view of the whole island One of the Black Sand Beaches of the world At the harbor where the ships come in on a quiet sunny day
We only spent a total of 36 hours on the island. We had a wonderful time while we were there and would definitely go back. If you get the chance, visit in the off-season to really see what the island was like before becoming overrun with tourists. As a side note we booked all of our travels for Greece through Expedia. We love their system and customer support, and the accommodations they work with are always top notch.