Santorini the picture perfect Greek Island with its deep blue sea's, white washed buildings, blue domed churches and of course those views.
Santorini is found in the southern Aegean Sea and is part of the Cyclades group of Islands. Its unique geography was created after a huge volcanic explosion in 17th century BC which created its incredible caldera.
Today its home to 15 500 locals but this swells considerably in the summer with thousands of tourists visiting the island many of them from cruise ships as it is a favourite stop on many Greek Islands and Easter Mediterranean itineraries.
How to get there:
The island has a airport, which is situated in the south of the island and is 6 km from the Islands main town of Fira. The airport is small and can handle no more than 6 charter flights at a time. That said it is a popular destination for many of Europe's holiday companies and in the summer season there are flights to the island from a wide range of European and UK airports.
There is also various ferry services to the islands from many of the other Cyclades Islands as well as Piraeus on the mainland and from the island of Crete.
However many thousands of visitors arrive on Santorini from the daily cruise ship visits. There is no cruise ship harbour on the island so ships visiting use tender craft to allow there passengers onto the island. Now the ships anchor in the bay/caldera. There is a harbour that the ferries use and is also available for the the tenders but this is a mile or so away from the main town of Fira. So most deposit there passengers on the small pier at the bottom of the cliff that Fira sits atop. From there you can walk up the Mule path ( not recommended) or get a lift up on the mules, ( again I have to honest here I would suggest you don't do this simply for the animals welfare) No the best way up and down is on the cable car that takes you up the cliff and into the town.
Cruise ships including Celebrity Reflection in Santorini
Cable Car on Santorini
View on the tender pier at Thira next to the cabel car.
What to see and do
When we visited the island from the Celebrity Reflection cruise ship we did a island tour excursion that included visits to a Winery, Oia, Pyrgos and finally Fira where you then had free time before making your own way back to the ship via the cable car and tender. We had actually left the ship by tender and headed to the small harbour outside of the town so our guide could pick us up by mini bus. There were 10 of us and we had booked this independently via the online site Cruiseing Excursions
( www.cruiseingexcursions.com )
Small harbour a mile outside Fira
Oia
This is the village where many claim the best views are photographed from, it is a picture postcard Greek villiage with its whitewashed buildings with blue roofs built right into and on the cliff edge, giveing you some fantastic views out over the sea and surrounding landscape. This is a busy villiage as most visitors head here, there is a small car park just outside the village that quickly fills up as there obviously no traffic in the village. You walk around Oia on small cobbled streets and alleyways which all adds to the atmosphere. Whilst there we had a coffee in a small boutique hotel and it had a unbelievable swimming pool built into the rock I have included a picture below but it and the hotel were stunning. There is in fact a number of beautiful exclusive boutique hotels within the village which is a favourite spot by many celebrities. Oia becomes just as popular a spot at night as many head there to watch the Santorini sunset, which is again spectacular.
Oia
Just stunning
Logistics Manager in Oia
Another great view in picturesque Oia
Oia Church
Well it was to good not to get that must have picture...
Swimming pool in Oia
Sunset in Oia
Pyrgos
This is another stunning village, however this time its inland and sits on a hill-top. But again it is full of winding allys and whitewashed buildings but it also has a Venetian built castle and is home to a few exclusive restaurants.
Pyrgos
Alleyway in Pytgos
Santorini is a wine producing island and there are a number of wineries you can visit.
We visited Santo's which sits directly above the small Fira harbour with views back towards the town and the bay.
Here we got to sample a number of the wines produced on the island as well as a informative talk about how the vines grow in the fertile volcanic soil to give them there flavour. It was in fact a nice way to spend some time in beautiful setting. We never tried it but the winery also has a restaurant attached with a impressive menu.
Wine tasting at Santo's Winery
Views from the Winery
Winery restaurant and view back towards Fira
Fira
This is the islands main villiage/town and sits high overlooking the caldera, it now runs along the edge of cliff and meets the once seperate villiages of Firostefani & Imerovigli. This is by far the busiest place on the island with a growing number of hotels, apartments, bars and restaurants. However its still has those views. We spent a some time here just letting the world pass by on this stunning island.
Some other options to enjoy
Depending on how much time you have on the island there are other options of things to see and do, for example you could hike/walk between Fira and Oia ( approx 10 km ) remember this is a small island the hike takes around 3 hours.
You can also hike up to the top of the islands still officially active volcano or there is also a number of small boat companies who will arrange for you to sail around the island or visit the two uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni & Thirasia that sit next to Santorini. You do also have the option of visiting a beach but with a difference as due to the volcanic activity the beaches can be black or grey in colour, there is also a unique and strange red beach. All are open to the public.
Accommodation
Santorini is now home to some very exclusive boutique hotels offering stunning views over the caldera, but they come with a exclusive price. In fact even the more mid range hotels and apartments with that view charge a premium. However if your happy to have a room without the view there are also a range of better priced options particularly away from Fira or Oia. If your on a budget there is a well rated Hostel on the outskirts of Fira and even a camp site.
So that was our short visit to this stunning Greek Island which is well worth visiting.
Hope you enjoyed my thoughts and please share on social media if you did.
So where to next , let's see ?
Keep following see you soon and stay safe.
