Santorini 🇬🇷

Santorini is somewhere that’s been on my wish list for a long time. I’m very excited to see it even if it’s only for a short time. I’m heading off with Nina for a fun long weekend and then I’ll work from Monday to Wednesday before returning home. We are up at the crack of dawn for a 6:15am flight. It’s hard to believe that the airport is so busy but we get through without any issues. The flight is direct (which makes it a much easier destination than it has been in the past when you needed to fly through Athens) and after a four hour, ten minute flight time, we have made it to this beautiful island.

We are met at the airport by Panos who will take us to our Airbnb which is in Akrotiri by Red Beach. Traffic isn’t the best on the island and it takes just over half an hour to get there but sure we’re in no hurry. Panos gives us a bit of info about the island and we ask about transport… he tells us taxis are expensive but you can’t rely on the bus… sure we’ll see how we go!

The villa is fab….I think we’re going to be very happy here. We get the run of the place (most importantly how to work the jacuzzi) and then head out to explore our local neighbourhood.

Santorini is one of the Cycladic islands, along with its neighbours Crete, Naxos and Mykonos (to name a few). It’s capital is Fira (aka Thira) which is where the airport is and it’s most popular and developed town is Oia in the north (that’s the famous one where most of the iconic photos of Santorini are taken). We are staying in Akrotiri which is a quiet village, of great interest as it’s home to archeological ruins that are more that 4,000 years old. It is situated on the south west edge of Santorini, about 15 kilometers away from Fira and it offers exquisite views of the island.

It’s a stunning and unique looking beach. To get to the actual beach we’ll need to walk a path along the edge… it’s really windy so not today!

It’s quite a bit past lunchtime so we head to a local taverna – Peirasmos Grill and try our first pita. The bread itself and all the ingredients are so fresh it is amazing and at a price of €4!! We’re expecting Santorini to be expensive (and we will come across some of that) but this first meal of two pittas (a decent size), a large water and a carafe of wine comes to a total of €14. Happy out!

There’s a mini market across the street so we purchase the bare essentials – some bread and eggs for breakfast, milk for the tea, a packet of biscuits and a bottle of wine! Back at the villa we decide to check out the jacuzzi with a little tipple and plan our weekend to explore the island.

Next morning we are up early and ready to walk the island. We walk into the village and eventually the bus to Fira comes (it’s a bit late maybe because of some roadworks) but we’ve given ourselves lots of time and are delighted to be heading into the capital to start our walk to Oia.

At one point on the bus I joke about meeting anyone called Costas and low and behold a very “Costas” looking man appears on the bus. There’s a loud announcement: “ticket control”… lucky we held onto our tiny paper ticket.

Nina has done some research on the 12km hike that starts from the Atlantis hotel and essentially hugs the coastline until we reach the northern end of the island at Oia. The views are impressive from the very outset…

We continue walking and enjoy the beautiful white buildings and the views out to the Aegean Sea. [they must go through a massive amount of white paint in this town – everything is so clean and freshly painted] This walk is going to take a long time as we keep stopping to take it all in.

The online guide to the hike that we’re following (well I say we but Nina is the official guide and navigator!) mentions a worthy add-on out to Skarros rock. It’s a slight detour which is supposed to add about an hour to our hike. Looking out at this rock, we agree it’s a must do.

The views from out here are amazing.

Moving along, we get a few kilometres under our belt with a slightly different terrain.

We make it to Oia and are delighted to be here off season. I can only imagine how busy it gets in the height of summer. There’s a nice atmosphere but it’s not packed.

We are ready for food and decide to eat at a restaurant that was recommended by Irish Instagramer Eadoin Fitzmaurice. She gives great recommendations for Dublin so we thought we’d give it a go. It’s called Melitini, a tapas style restaurant serving Greek meze.

Once we’re fed and have had a bit of downtime we’re off again to walk to the tip of the island and see those famous views.

What an amazing day we’ve had. We continue to walk (we’re at 27,000 steps) and find the bus station….. there is a bus ready to leave for Firra so we jump on. We’re tired and ready to get the runners off. When we get to Firra there’s 15 minutes before the next bus leaves for home so we find a supermarket and grab some wine and goodies… the supermarket is clearly laid out for tourists as the front of the shop has all the booze, crisps and chocolate!! There’s a big queue so we end up with only a minute to spare and leggit back to the bus which is closing its doors as we arrive… I bang the door and shout Akrotiri (in my best Greek accent!) and he lets us on… phew!!! We are expecting to get dropped in the village but low and behold the bus actually goes all the way to Red Beach – we are delighted. It stops practically outside our villa. When we discussed the hike originally we thought we might have to take a taxi all the way back from Oia and were told by Panos it would cost approx €50! Well done us!

Within minutes of arriving home, the shoes are off, the wine is poured and we are in the jacuzzi. This is the life 😁

Next morning we have a leisurely start to the day and enjoy the sunshine reading our books over breakfast on the terrace. It’s Sunday so we’re a bit nervous as the bus timetable is a bit sketchy. We can’t believe how lucky we are when we walk outside and there’s a bus to Fira on our doorstep. We are heading back into town to take a boat trip.

We’re a bit early for the boat and it’s lunchtime so we have a snack and a beer while we wait for our trip. I get to try the “fava” which is a creamy mashed fava bean dip with red onion, served with doorstep fresh bread… it’s delicious!

We set off on the boat and stop at the hot springs. Nina gets into the cold water from the boat and swims to the hot muddy area… I stay on board and watch her and take a few photos!

Next we dock at the volcano alongside a few other boats. It’s a popular 3-hour trip (costs €25 for anyone who might be going)

We set off with a guide from the boat and climb to the top. It’s steep but not too high and fairly handy. There are a lot of loose stones as you’d imagine.

The views from here are amazing. We have a 360 view back to where we “live” (Red beach), straight across at Fira, the whole stretch of where we walked yesterday over to Oia – you can basically see the whole of Santorini island.

Heading back to the port we see the path back up to town….. no cable car for us we will walk the five hundred and ninety odd steps.

This pathway is famous for taking a donkey ride but seriously those poor donkeys, it’s so cruel. We take on the steps by foot and pass the donkeys and their poo (there’s a lot of it!). The sun is shining and the wind seems to have miraculously abated so we are roasting (and the poo is stinking!) but of course we make it and are delighted with ourselves

This evening we are heading to a restaurant that’s been recommended in Fira by a friend of Nina’s. It’s called Ouzeri. It’s really cute and we have a view out to the sea. The food is amazing.

For our mains we order mousaka which is served in these individual bowls and it’s definitely the best I’ve ever had… mine has mince, Nina’s is vegetarian- both are crispy on the top and creamy in the middle….just so good. I think the waiter is afraid we are going to tuck straight in and burn our mouths as he comes over and spoons some onto our plates (in fairness he thought ride!!). Nina has her first baklava which she’s now a fan of and of course we enjoy it all with the local white wine.

Early Monday morning before work we do a quick tour of the archeological site of Akrotiri – it is literally across the road from our villa. We do a bit of ear-wigging as there are a few bus loads of tourists with guides and it’s enough to get the gist of what we’re looking at.

Akrotiri was a Bronze Age settlement which was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in the 16th century BC. The city was buried in ash which preserved a lot of objects and frescoes (much like Pompei in Italy) but no human bones were ever found. The site was first excavated in 1967 and is believed to have been a very affluent town with evidence of trade and wealth.

Then it’s work for me and a day of leisure for Nina… in fairness this is not a bad view to look out at but I am inside on calls most of the day [ohh I can hear the “poor you” sighs!!]

On Monday evening we are off to catch the bus again…. We are practically locals. Two minutes after walking outside of the villa and a bus arrives… we can’t believe how lucky we are and how well the bus runs. €3.60 at the ready 😁

Tonight we are having a wander around the shops in Fira before we have some cocktails to watch the sunset. We arrive at VLounge where Nina has managed to get us a reservation and we are escorted behind a VIP rail to our seats…. LOVING IT!!!!

The views are amazing whichever way you look, left, right and down!

After a lovely surprise of some complimentary cocktails courtesy of Nina’s friend, we head for dinner. We go to a restaurant called Parea which is a really cute taverna with a great selection of Greek dishes and really friendly staff.

We have to get a taxi home tonight as the last bus left at 8pm so we take advantage and enjoy the nighttime views.

Next day, after an early morning jacuzzi (we were too late last night to jump in) and a breakfast of banana on toast, Nina, looking a million dollars heads off into town and leaves me here to do a days work… sob sob. I’m mostly on calls so I can’t even sit outside in the air! Ah well, it’s worth it just being here.

But it’s only a few hours until I finish work and this evening we walk to our local village of Akrotiri. It’s only about ten minutes away but along a windy road with no footpath. We climb up to the Venetian castle

There’s a cafe at the top (Punta Castelli) where a family live. We chat to Nicolita who tells us she has five kids and is slowly renovating the castle. The views are fab so we sit and have a beer and order the tomato balls (which in case you haven’t noticed are never actually served as balls!!)

Nicolita tells us where the lighthouse is (we hadn’t figured that out) and also points out the high mountain which is Mount Elias and has a monastery at the top. There’s no bus that goes up there but she offered to take us on a Sunday if we come back.

We head back down to the little village and choose a small but very busy restaurant called Zafora. It’s a bit windy (again!) and was a bit chilly in the outdoor cafe at the castle so we’re happy to sit toward the back, near the kitchen, where it’s nice and cosy.

There’s one waiter taking the orders and serving up the food and he’s run off his feet with no help. He does a great job though and the atmosphere is lovely. There are two American ladies sitting beside us (they’re twin sisters) and turns out one of their sons married a girl from Skerries! They’re dying to chat when they hear we are from Swords!After things quiet down the chef who appears to be the mama comes out from the kitchen for a little rest and chats to us (as best she can)… she’s delighted we enjoyed the food so much and that we were impressed with the waiter… she’s been run off her feet and is shattered!

Straight to the jacuzzi once back at the villa and one more glass to round off the night. About 20 minutes in, while we’re enjoying the bubbles there’s a power cut. Nina jumps up like a bat out of hell, not quite sure why, but she has a ninja response to the blackout and jumps to action (I’m still not sure what the action is but I’m not moving til the lights come back on). She goes inside and establishes that all power is gone but there is an emergency light that’s giving us some light in the villa. I can see from the jacuzzi (I haven’t moved!) that the whole area is in darkness bar some candles or solar lights from a neighbouring establishment. I convince her to get back in until it comes back (or we get cold cause there’s no power to keep the water hot) so she gets her phone and puts on her torch and we happily wait it out. All power returns within about half an hour and we go one more round of bubbles before calling it a night. Back on dry land (ie in the villa getting ready for bed), Nina notices a lump on her leg, we think maybe she’s been bitten but soon realise she must have banged herself when doing her ninja move out of the jacuzzi.. poor thing has a sore leg and a massive bruise!

It’s our last day in Santorini and it’s a busy one work wise for me plus the weather isn’t great so no last minute photos just a final meal in our local taverna (this is the closest to the villa), called Glaros. We have a meal for two which consists of tomato “balls” (again they are flat pancake shaped), fava (the delicious creamy bean dip), stuffed peppers and mousaka, all washed down with a final carafe of the local white wine. We have had an amazing time at this villa and seeing the sites of Santorini. It’s somewhere I would absolutely recommend (but don’t go peak season) and I really hope to come back some day.