Santorini is a fairly large island, so the best way to see it in one day is by renting a car. A vehicle will allow you to go beyond the main towns of Oia and Fira. Start your morning at the Akrotiri. The archeological site gives you a fascinating look at life when the Minoan civilization was at its peak right before a volcanic eruption destroyed it. Next, take a break at one of the prettiest beaches in Santorini — the Red Beach. Its burnt burgundy cliffs give a striking contrast as they dip sharply into the blue-green sea. Lunch is waiting for you on the other side of the island in Amoudi Bay. This small, rocky cove sits below the cliff-side town of Oia. Enjoy Greek seafood dishes and appetizers at one of the three fish tavernas situated near the dock. Sit back as the bright blue waters calmly lap around you. After lunch, drive up to Oia and browse through the town’s art galleries and jewelry stores. Shop for souvenirs and enjoy the view. Continue your afternoon walk in Firostefani, and stop for a coffee break at one of the many cafés built into the steep cliffs. By late afternoon, stroll into the next town over called Fira. Take the scenic three-minute cable car ride down to the old port below. If you have more time, hire a donkey that knows how to trek the nearly 600 steps. Just be sure to return to Fira in time for the sunset — you’ll want to take advantage of the terrace seating at Koukoumavlos, one of the top restaurants on the island. Fira is the best place for nightlife on the island, so you don’t have to venture far to have a drink somewhere scenic and relaxing. Sit under the stars at Franco’s Bar, where only opera and classical music is played. It will add a special ambience to your night in Santorini.
THE ISLAND
Right after settling in we went for a walk, and it was even more beautiful than we had imagined and seen in the pictures! Santorini really is one of the places where reality is even better than postcards. Blue-white houses, calm skies and our memory cards on the cameras filled up quickly. We saw a few churches, talked to a couple of tourists and finally met our friend’s local acquaintance, who took care of us. We went to eat amazingly tasty waffles in a terrace café, met the rest of his friends and were told what we would be doing next. Our Greek friend Alexander (Alex) lives in Santorini for five years, working in the tourism industry. We had the chance to listen to a guide who works with such people as Leonardo Di Caprio (who pay 1500 euros and more per hotel night). Upon his recommendation we went to the Thira Prehistoric Museum, which has exhibits on the history of the island before the volcano erupted. 17th BC Santorini had not only developed crafts, but also good trade connections with other lands. After the volcano erupted, the city was covered in ashes and preserved, and the remnants were found not that long ago. These findings are similar to Pompeii in Italy, where due to ashes everything was preserved in good condition. It seemed strange that you are not allowed to take pictures of each other in the museum, but you can take pictures of the exhibits. The guards in the museum were extremely vigilant and would scold everyone who would come closer than one meter to any exhibit. After visiting the museum we walked on the narrow streets and took a cable car ride to the old port. With sunset came back to the city, this time riding donkeys. The rapid ascend to the top was a lot of fun and definitely worth to money! Cable car ride was 4 euros and donkey ride only 5. Coming back we really appreciated the view – thousands of lights turning on in the different sides of the island, owners of cafes and restaurants calling everyone in to appreciate the seafood, souvenir shop owners asking where are we from. Everyone speaks English here, most probably because during the season every day ten large cruise ships stop here, full of American tourists. My parents, who visited this place on a one day excursion from Crete, said that during the season there are so many people that you can barely walk the narrow streets, so visiting off-season is recommended. Hotels will be cheaper; there will be less people, as only a couple ships per week stop. The island went completely silent at nine o’clock in the evening, as it’s off season, and we went to bed, to be able to see more the next day. As eight in the morning we were ready to explore again, taking pictures and buying stamps to send the postcards we bought the previous night. We were also waiting for a call from our personal guide Alex, to find out what is the plan. Worth mentioning is the fact that there is a large number of really beautiful postcards in Santorini, all high quality and cheap – 30 eurocents per piece.
THE BEACH
We had agreed with Alex to go to see Oia at sunset, but it was not clear what we would be doing during the day. He told us not to go see the volcano and the hot springs, as those are boring and expensive. So we sat in his tiny car (as the rest of the islanders, he drives a Fiat), and went to see the old capital of the Santorini. We saw ruins from the earthquake of 1956, old forts and castles, churches and houses. There were many more cats than stray dogs in Santorini, which was the opposite in Thessaloniki, which has an enormous stray dog population. Later, grabbing our swimsuits and towels, we are headed to the black beach. There are three types of beaches in Santorini, black, white and red. White is the usual kinds we know, the ordinary sand. Black looks like dust or dirt, because of the volcanic rocks. And the red one is due to iron and volcanic rocks mixing.
