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Santorini, Greece… insert every single dreamy emoji face known to man. As I chatted about in my other Greece travel post from when the girlies and I went two years ago, I’ve traveled a good bit (as has John) and Santorini ranks BY FAR THE DREAMIEST! Amalfi ranks second for sure but barely. I tend to ever so slightly rank Santorini higher than Amalfi on my “must see” list for two reasons… Santorini has massive, wide range dreamy views whereas Amalfi is dreamy from a driving/walking/boating overall perspective. And going right alongside that, Amalfi is sooooo much walking/driving/riding/climbing stairs that it takes away a bit from the overall relaxation of a vacation… particularly a honeymoon. Yes, Santorini is also lots of walking and stair climbing but not near as much!!! Plus, as I will chat about in a bit, you can literally just sit on our balcony and get the full effect of Santorini. Now let’s chat travel! Tips, tricks and our faves…
First things first… FLIGHTS! No matter how you plan it, you will most likely be making a connection in mainland Greece to visit any of the Greek islands. So although our destination of choice was Santorini, Greece, we had to first fly into Athens, Greece. From there, you can either make an immediate connection or choose to stay a few days! This time around, we chose to make a direct connection to Santorini on our incoming travels and then spend two days in Athens at the end of our trip. Y’all know I am always super honest with reviews so I will say that Athens was not my very favorite (it’s kind of “dirty’, super busy and it was crazy hot) BUT it’s absolutely worth a stop for a day or two between flights to see the Acropolis and such.
Flight Tip… over the course of my travels over the years, I have discovered that it’s way more cost efficient typically to book your main flight (through Delta or whatever main carrier) into a main city (in this case Athens, Greece) and then book a “puddle jumper” flight completely separate through a smaller local carrier. You can always book both flights through a carrier like Delta but I have always found that you end up paying a lot more and it’s easier to stay a few days in Athens, Greece or wherever when you book them separate as well. For my 2019 trip to Santorini, I booked Delta into Athens and then used CheapOair.com to book flights on Olympic Air from Athens into Santorini. For our honeymoon trip, I booked our main flights once again through Delta and then used Bravofly.com to book flights on Sky Express airlines into Santorini. HOWEVER, as an update to my last post, I would like to add that I would now HIGHLY SUGGEST booking directly through the carrier!!! As in book through Sky Express or Olympic Air rather than a third party site like BravoFly. I say this now after our honeymoon because we had to change/cancel/adjust flights and having to work through a third party made it near impossible. We essentially had to contact the carrier directly anyways and then deal with BravoFly for the price adjustments. It was NOT FUN!
General Questions about Traveling to Santorini, Greece…
- Covid Restrictions… although things are likely constantly changing with Covid restrictions from country to country, our overall experience was very easy! At the time we traveled to Greece, they allowed either a vaccine certificate or a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival. They also required you to fill out a “Greece Locator Form” LINKED HERE online several days prior to travel which simply asks for your home address and where you will be staying in Greece during your travels. From there, they will email you a QR code that you absolutely must have when entering the country. As far as masks and other covid restrictions, aside from the airport and flights, there were very little to none! There were maybe two small stores that required masks and otherwise, there were no restrictions whatsoever!
- The Weather… According to the locals, it is sunny and in the 80s all summer long and then it rains during the winter time. We heard time and time again that the locals work very long days and then completely take off for several months during the winter so definitely check that before you travel there during winter months. There was not a cloud in the sky the entire time we were there and it was gorgeous! It can definitely get hot but there was a slight breeze most days and there is lots of shade when you are walking around between shops and such. Athens however is a completely different story! It was literally 109° the day we flew out!
- The Locals & The Language… In our experience, we found the locals to be the absolute most friendly and helpful people ever! Everyone seemed over the top talkative, friendly and eager to have our business. We chatted it up with so many people in shops and restaurants and truly enjoyed doing so. As far as any language barriers, there is little to none at all! I would say 99% of the people that we encountered spoke almost perfect English! If you are intimidated to travel aboard, this is definitely a great place to visit.
- Expense… As with most travel, the expense of the trip can kind of be what you make it to a certain extent beyond flights and accommodations. The flights are definitely pricey and depending on where you stay, your accommodations can be pricey as well. From there, it is really up to you! In both Oia and Fira, there are lots of little restaurants in town that offer €10 pizzas or €6 sushi. Two of our dinners were only like €20 each. But then there were definitely lunches and dinners that cost us well over €100. Taxi rides are about €20-€50 each way depending on if you are visiting another city or going to the beach or airport. Tipping is much less than the United States so that helps as well! Servers and taxi drivers are very appreciative to receive 10% gratuity.
- Where to Splurge… Whether you are taking a family vacation or a romantic getaway, after having now done both in Santorini (with my girlies and then with John), IF YOU ARE GOING TO SPLURGE, I would say to splurge on your accommodations. We cashed in a good bit of credit card points to stay at an over the top amazing villa our first go around and I think it truly made our stay! This time for our honeymoon, I wanted to do the same so we splurged on a smaller but equally incredible villa. Both villas had a mini pool/hot tub with ocean views and I think it was worth every single pricey penny! There were so many days that we would just stay in half of the day or all day, order in and enjoy the views and the privacy. In my opinion, traveling to Santorini is all about the views and this is the best way to take full advantage of that!
- Where to Stay… Oia or Fira? The two main “white cliff cities” in Santorini are Oia and Fira. I honestly cannot even remember why but two years ago I chose Fira for our couple of nights spent in Santorini during our six week European adventure. We taxi’d over to Oia for lunch or something but I barely remember it. So this time around, having loved Fira so much, I chose that city as the first seven night leg of our stay. Originally, we were actually going to island jump but at the last minute decided to just stay in Santorini because we were having such a great time so we then decided to spend those extra nights in Oia. It is so so hard to say which one is my favorite or which one I would recommend. If you are able to stay a good little while, I would suggest doing three or four nights in each city. They are very similar but also very different! One deciding factor would be if you want to walk or climb stairs less. In that case I would recommend Oia. In summary I would describe Fira as the bigger, busier city with massive views and lots more to do! I would describe Oia as smaller, chicer, a little more high end and in my opinion a little prettier as far as each individual building and the side streets. Overall though, Fira has bigger, prettier views. Like I said, it’s so hard to say but if you can do both, it’s absolutely worth it!
OUR WEEK IN FIRA…
My Skirt / Top / John’s Shirt / Sandals
Once we landed in Athens, Greece that first day after our ten hour flight from Atlanta, we had a two hour layover and then boarded a much smaller plane to Santorini, Greece! That flight was a beautiful and short, 45 minute flight through the Greek islands. Quick tip… most all hotels and villas will arrange a “transfer” (taxi) for you from the airport if you simply ask. This driver will likely also assist you with your luggage to your accommodations which is HUGELY helpful in this very stair -filled city. For our stay in Fira, we booked the Honeymoon Suite at Porta Fira Suites and it was INCREDIBLE!!!
Click HERE to Book Our Villa…
This was the view walking into the Porta Fira Suites door (they have multiple villas) into their outdoor bar area…
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And then here was our villa view…
We spent a TON of time out here relaxing, playing cards and ordering in drinks from the villa bar. They would bring us drinks down to our hot tub!
And here’s the view of Fira just outside our villa entrance…
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And then from the other side…
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If you are looking to stay in Fira and need help deciding exactly where to stay in the city, I would recommend anywhere just inside Fira around the Atlantis Hotel and South. The Atlantis Hotel is where you will likely be dropped off and it’s where the city kind of “begins”. Once you go North of about the Kaliya building, the city becomes much much busier, louder and more bustling. And YES, I would 100% hands down recommend staying INSIDE the city in either Oia or Fira!!! Here is John standing just inside the city right outside of the Atlantis Hotel. From here, the stairs lead down into the city…
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Although most all of the shops and restaurants are north of about the Kaliya restaurant, there are a couple of incredible quaint “little” restaurants about as far south as you can get in Fira. One of our very favorite restaurants in the whole city was on this side called Barolo. We actually ate there TWICE!
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This is John on our walk up to that side of Fira. This side is so quaint and beautiful!
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Another fave on that side of Fira is another gorgeous restaurant called 1500 BC Santorini. The girlies and I actually ate there last time too! Quick FYI about seafood served in Greece (and most of Europe)… be prepared for fish and shrimp to be served fresh out of the sea! LITERALLY…
There are sooooo many amazing restaurants in Fira. Our top faves aside from those two were Rastoni, Naoussa and Don Angelo.
My Skirt / Lace Cami / Sandals / John’s Shirt / Sandals
And if you’re up for quite a walk (a gorgeous one) you must check out Mama Thira! It was one of my very favorite restaurants and experiences in Fira!
Black Sand Beaches…
In my opinion, visiting one of the black sand beaches is an absolute must when you visit Santorini! The beaches are located about 25 minutes outside of Fira and are a €35 taxi ride each way. I would definitely recommend reserving chairs ahead of time! The way that the black beach areas are set up is that there is a restaurant on one side of the street and then on the beach side that restaurant has specific chairs with attendants that serve you drinks and food. It is a fabulous setup! We spent our black sand beach day at Forty One in Perivolos and it was €150 and that included two chairs and an umbrella for the day as well as a fruit tray, three sushi rolls and a bottle of champagne. They also provided towels too! Another recommendation would be Seaside which is also in Perivolos. We tried there first but they were completely booked for the day.
The black sand beaches are absolutely incredible! The water is extremely clear and fairly warm. The black sand is extremely hot though so make sure you bring sandals! You can either wear them all the way down to the water or walk on their little boardwalks as far as it goes and then run as fast as you can. LOL! It was one of our very favorite days in Santorini!
Here’s a peek at our day at Forty One…
My Tank & Shorts Set
Cavo Tagoo…
If you are up for forking out some cash, I would highly recommend taking a trasnfer (taxi) to the Cavo Tagoo Resort in Imeroviglion for dinner. It is very pricey but it is INCREDIBLE! The girlies and I went for lunch last time and I just had to bring John. It was one of our top three favorite dinners on the trip but it did cost about €350-400 for dinner. I think they had a €150 minimum per person for dinner. Lunch is less expensive but still pricey! It is an incredible experience with incredible views though!
My Skirt / Top / Sandals / John’s Shirt / Shorts / Sandals
Sunset Catamaran…
Another must in my opinion is a sunset catamaran cruise! This experience was €150 per person and we booked it through our villa. It was about a 30 minute transfer ride to the port which was included in the cost. We did actually end up getting refunded for about half of that per person because it was super windy that day and we did only about half of the stops. Typically it would visit the white beaches, red beaches, volcano and hot springs. Although ours was cut short, it was still worth every penny! It stopped several times and we would jump over the side and swim and they also served dinner. There were only two other couples on the catamaran with us so it still felt very private.
My Skirt / Top / John’s Tee
John’s Tee
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Cable Cars…
One more must while you are staying in Fira is to take the cable cars down to the old port. It is a wee bit scary if you are afraid of heights but it is totally worth it! The port is somewhat sparse as far as shops and restaurants but it’s still worth a visit. We ate at the one little oceanside restaurant that serves the freshest seafood. I think it was €6 per person each way.
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Shopping…
One of our very favorite things to do during the day and evening was to meander through the streets and do a little shopping! In Fira there are miles and miles of winding side streets that take you through the most beautiful shops. Our favorite shops were The Cave Shop, Orion Art Gallery and the W.D. Concept Store.
And no shopping trip with John is complete without an every two hour stop for coffee! Our coffee spot of choice was the 180° sunset bar…
Us Out & About in Fira…
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My Skirt / Top / Sandals / John’s Shirt / Sandals
My Skirt / Top / Sandals / John’s Shirt / Shorts / Sandals
OUR WEEK IN OIA…
Oia, Santorini! I am so so so glad we chose to stay in Santorini our last five days rather than island hop. We simply taxi’d over to Oia which was about a 30 minute drive from Fira. Oia is at the very tip of the island of Santorini and has the most beautiful sunsets! For our stay, we booked the most incredible villa at Ikies Santorini. Ours was called the Winemaker’s Retreat and it was unreal! We thought we couldn’t outdo our villa in Fira but this one was even better!
Click HERE to Book Our Villa…
As I mentioned earlier, one of our very favorite things to do was to simply stay put in our villa and enjoy the privacy and the views. We ordered in from our villa restaurant one night and had a late night dinner on the patio…
Oia is also the perfect city to simply walk around and enjoy the sights! Although it is much smaller, there are still tons and tons of incredibly gorgeous side streets and shops. We spent much of our time making our way through, stopping for coffee or a drink and shopping…
John’s Shirt / Shorts / Shoes
A must visit is the most precious little restaurant that the girlies and I stumbled upon two years ago called Meteor. It probably has the most incredible views of anywhere else we visited in all of Santorini. We went twice during our five days there and got coffee, drinks and dessert…
As far as restaurants, we had quite a few faves in Oia! Karma pictured below is a MUST!!! Everything from the food to the atmosphere was AMAZING! In my opinion, although pricier, Oia has much nicer restaurants overall than Fira. A few more faves were Rokas, Sunsets, Candouni and Oia Gefsis.
Ammoudi Bay…
One absolute MUST during your stay in Oia is to take a transfer down to Ammoudi Bay. It is similar to the old port in Fira but much prettier, and with many more restaurants! We went around 2 PM in the afternoon and were able to snag a table but just barely! Making reservations there is a must! We ate at a restaurant called Sunset and it was incredible!
If you are looking for something extra to do or need to kill a little time, we spent our very last day before our evening flight at a little beach area called Colombo’s. I can’t say that it’s necessarily a must do but it was a fun lunch and beach time for us given that we had already checked out of our villa. It is a little hotel that allows guests and they have a pretty pool/bar area as well as beach area where they serve food and drinks…
John’s Tee / Sandals
ATHENS, GREECE
And last but certainly not least is Athens, Greece! As I said above, I know lots of people rave about Athens but I think I’ve maybe had two not-so-great experiences in a row. Maybe it was because we went mid summer or maybe we just didn’t stay in the right areas but it’s definitely not my favorite European city. John is all about architecture so we absolutely needed to stay a few days and see the sights which was worth it of course! I just wouldn’t spend more than a couple of days there in my personal opinion. The summers are extremely hot and it was literally 109° the day we left! If you go during the summer, I would suggest getting to the Acropolis right when it opens. We were at the gates at 8 AM and it made it a much more enjoyable experience! As far as where to stay, I would suggest the city of Plaka. It is their old town and in my opinion it’s the cutest area! Another fun thing we did was to watch the changing of the guards which takes place at 11 AM every Sunday morning. We happened to be there on a Sunday so it worked out perfect and it was a really fun thing to watch.
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Happy Future Greece Travels!!!
XOXO, Brittany Palazzo
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