Santorini

Imagine flying to one of the most romantic islands in the world. Well this is according to all those top 10 island articles you always find.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-most-romantic-islands/4 (number three on this list!!!)

I’d have to agree it is a BEAUTIFUL island. Antonio had never been to Greece. I’m obsessed with it have been to a few islands already with friends: Mykynos (party island) Paros (local island) Zakynthos(nature at it’s best and most natural) and now Santorini (romantic yet touristy).

Santorini is the island you see in all the photos or even the island you see in many movies. It has the white walled buildings with the blue domes scattered throughout the cliffs.You can find cats lounging around on the steps or ceilings. It is in the shape of a U. The island is more beautiful in person. The shape of the island is the result of one of the largest volcanic eruptions of all times over 3500 years ago. The volcano was in the center of the island and the eruption created the caldera.

I was slightly overwhelmed as to which hotel to stay at and which town to stay in. You can spend a fortune if you want. I wanted to have a “luxurious” experience without spending a fortune. We ended up finding a fabulous deal in the town of Imerovigli. After spending a few days on the island, I also realized Imerovigli is one of the best towns to stay in. It has all the views of the cladera and spectactular sunsets, yet it is not as crowded as the other towns. It is also in between Thira , the main town, and Oia, the most well known town.

The airport is quite small. Antonio and I walked to the taxi stand and immediately the taxi driver wanted us to share a taxi with another couple staying in the same general area. I think this is quite common.

Antonio and I were relieved when the taxi driver dropped us off in a cute little town. We had to walk towards a boardwalk up on a cliff. We rolled our luggage passed a moto rental and several restaurants, a few clothing boutiques and passed many white walled villas/hotels with the blue domes.

We were extremely relieved when we saw how cute our place was . The steps were extremely steep to get down to our room, but it all worked out. Our room was beautiful with our own private jaccuzzi that looked out over the caldera. The only downfall which actually was a big bummer was that our room was right next to the main pool. It is not like your typical hotel. The rooms are scattered along the steep cliffs. So the only room next to the pool was ours BUMMER.Every room has its own private balcony with a little table and chairs overlooking the sea. UNBELIEVABLE.

Every morning we had a private breakfast delivered to our table. The breakfast consisted of greek yogurt with honey, fruit, pastries, a boiled egg and generally some sort of meats and cheeses. We also had fresh juice, water and our own private coffee pot. We were spoiled, every morning we would just call when we woke up and they would set out our breakfast.

After settling in , and I am not going to lie, we tried to switch the room and couldn’t;( we knew we needed to find a mode of transportation. You need it on this island. We rented a quad for the entire stay. Imagine throwing on your swimsuit, covering yourself with a little dress, packing your towel,hat, purse, water and then putting it in the back storage compartment of the quad for the day………..ah loved every moment. We had a map and would just explore beaches, town wine tastings, historic sites,lighthouses,etc.

Every night we would try to catch the Oia sunset. We’d hop on the quad and ride on the windy road to the town. Obviously, EVERYONE on the island had the same idea in mind so the road can become busy with quads, motorcycles and cars. This town is on the north end of the island and is definitely my favorite. The edge of town during sunset is too crowded so we found a few other places to watch the sunset.

We also disccovered Red Beach(where the sand really is red), Black Beach ( where the sand is really black) , a lighthouse perched on the edge of a cliff and many more beautiful sites.

It is the most touristy of the greek islands I have visited, but you have to embrace it and ignore it. The island is still natural and beautiful and we had many moments when we were completely alone. For example, driving on the road to the lighthouse , we found a wonderful bar to sit have a glass of wine and enjoy the view. We were completely alone for about 30 minutes until another quad pulled up.