Santorini Travel Guide

Santorini Travel Guide

In this Santorini Travel Guide, you will experience my tested and tried travel tips! My gal pal and I took a ferry from Athens to Santorini. We only stayed a night in Athens and didn’t experience much, except for a long walk trying to find the ferry port in the morning. We bought tickets to the ferry when we arrived at the port and it was pretty easy finding where to buy them. Any shop that had a blue star on the outside near the store name, sold tickets. We took the Blue Star Ferry from Piraeus port in Athens. It was around 75 dollars (68 euros) and took 5 hrs 25 min. I would suggest booking the ferry ahead of time, as the ferry can sell out in high-demand travel seasons. You can also look into purchasing tickets from HostalBay’s discounted website and you may find some great deals ahead of time. 

You are going to Love Santorini: Accommodation

In Santorini, we decided to stay in an Airbnb that was located in Fira or Thira. It was the cutest one-bedroom apartment and right when we stepped out of the door we were in the heart of Fira. It was easy to find as well and the owner was a pleasure to get in contact with. We also enjoyed the outdoor seating area that allowed us to decompress and read in peace. 
Santorini Travel Guide

Where To Stay

I will say the next time I do end up in Santorini, I would want to check out Oia. Fira was still an incredible experience and it depends on your budget. For those looking for a quiet and romantic getaway, Oia is the place to stay. Fira is full of bustling restaurants and lively nightlife if that is more your speed. But those iconic blue-topped houses and traditional architecture you will find in Oia. Not to say that Fira doesn’t have any beautiful white architectural buildings either. 

Santorini Travel Guide

When To Visit

The weather was perfect, definitely beach weather and a bit hot during the daytime but cooled off just enough to enjoy dinner outside at night. We visited at the end of June. I wouldn’t suggest visiting Santorini any other time, it was truly a beautiful experience. It gave us an excuse to book a boating excursion and venture to the beaches. This is where a hotel with a pool could come in handy…

Santorini Travel Guide

Activities

We decided to rent an ATV for a day and drive to the black-sand beaches. It was great to sightsee while experiencing the thrill of driving an ATV. It was a truly indescribable experience especially when we got lost on the way home and our ATV broke down. We survived and I am here to tell the tale but all I can say from this is to make sure your ATV doesn’t break. Like that’ll be easy. We found the ATV directly down the street from our AirBnB and easy to walk to. Nonetheless, it is easy to find a place to rent an ATV.  There are two options to choose from when going to the black sand beaches and I would suggest going to: Perissa Black Sand Beach. We had the best authentic Greek lunch there as well. 

Santorini Travel Guide
Something I would suggest is any type of boat tour. The one we chose was an all-day private boat adventure that brought us all around the island and to different beaches. There are many boat tours to choose from and I don’t think any of them will be bad. I liked our private one because it was fewer people and also provided lunch and drinks. We were able to jump into the ocean in the hot spring and see the volcanic island of Nea Kameni. All of the boat tours leave from Old Port Fira and is a taxi drive from downtown Fira. Even if you don’t do a boat tour, Old Port is a must-see and you can even have a nice fish lunch there at the port restaurant. I liked our private boat tour because it was fewer people and also provided lunch and drinks. We were able to jump into the ocean in the hot spring and see the volcanic island of Nea Kameni. We booked our tour through Pelican Travel Services. They have more than just boat tours too, highly suggest booking through them. 

I had so much fun roaming around Santorini and finding all the cool houses and architecture. In the end, we didn’t search for true Greek cuisine or recommended restaurants on Yelp. It was fun for us to just walk around the island and find new places to check out. That is where we found our favorite spot to enjoy a glass of wine, and every night after that we always watched the sunset from that same spot. 

Something You Can Save Your Money On

We also rode donkeys through Santorini and it was a beautiful view to see the island. Several companies do this and it was only 6 euros.  With that being said, it was a short trip and wasn’t as fulfilling as I thought it would be. Save your time and money on this and adventure around by foot. 

And Don’t Forget

Bring all the outfits and blogger inspiration because there wasn’t one spot here that I didn’t want to take a picture at. You might want to upgrade your photography gear or get a drone because the shots are going to be EPIC. Now I need to go back so I can get quality pictures because these from 2016 just aren’t cutting it. 

Santorini Travel Guide

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