Wandering Spud: S A N T O R I N I
SANTORINI
We had an amazing time in Santorini, it was postcard perfect and I'm so glad I did so much research before we went because our time away was the ideal mix of activity and relaxing and it felt like we were away for weeks. This is quite a long blog, but we tried so many new things and I'm really excited to tell all my stories.
HISTORY
I love to plan plan plan when it comes to trips, especially when it's somewhere new because I don't want to miss out on anything. I had bought the Marco Polo guide book, which was a really good read and I thought it would be useful to write out a couple of things that took me a while to get my head around.
So Santorini is classically called Thera or Thira but is known as Santorini as that's it colloquial name. It used to be one whole island and due the volcanic activity it is now shaped like a crescent moon (like a backward C) with some smaller islands. It is tiny and at times you can see from one side to the other. Oia (pronounced ee-ah) is at the top of the C and is thought to be the oldest settlement on the island. It is known as one of the best sunset spots of the world. Fira (the capital and almost pronounced the same as Thi/era and even more confusingly Google has Fira written as Thera) is about half way down the C. Oia is definitely the more picturesque of the two. The curvature of the C is called the Caldera as its the large flooded volcanic crater. There was a horrendous earthquake in 1956 which destroyed a lot of the island, the buildings and 80 people were killed.
Tourism has recently exploded since about 2010 and the infrastructure isn't quite there for the number of people who are now visiting. There is a massive difference between cliff side and city side and there is a lot of building work going on. The airport desperately needs development as well but Santorini's shining star (apart from the views) is the local people; they are wonderful and very friendly. Greece is two hours ahead, English is widely spoken and the currency is Euro. I can't recommend the Revolt Card highly enough either.
Something you see everywhere is the 'evil eye'. According to the all knowing Wikipedia: 'The evil eye is a curse believed to be cast by a malevolent glare, usually given to a person when they are unaware. Many cultures believe that receiving the evil eye will cause misfortune or injury. Talismans created to protect against the evil eye are also frequently called "evil eyes"... In the Aegean Region and other areas where light-colored eyes are relatively rare, people with green eyes, and ...blue eyes, are thought to bestow the curse, intentionally or unintentionally. Thus, in Greece ... amulets against the evil eye take the form of blue eyes...'
Mark and I both have bright green eyes so we thought this was hilarious. I don't really believe in luck so we didn't come home with talismans but they were pretty and you see them everywhere.
FLIGHTS
There are no direct flights from Belfast or Dublin. We flew with Easyjet from Belfast to Gatwick, then Gatwick to Fira (Santorini) so it's important to factor that extra flight into your budget if you are travelling from N/Ireland. Also don't forget to book hold luggage onto that first flight and that the allowances are the same!
We arrived in London on the Saturday and flew out to Santorini very early on the Sunday morning and Marks parents, God bless them, booked us in to stay at Premier Inn just at Gatwick. It was super handy and the hotel is just on the other side of the car park at Gatwick and it meant me got about an extra 2 hours sleep. We were also in room 429, which I thought was hilarious as my birthday was the next day 4/29.
So the flight was really comfortable; it was about 3.5 hours and it was about 25 degrees when we landed. We were stuck at Fira airport for well over an hour at passport control which wasn't great and there wasn't really a queue system which was frustrating but it was nice to stand in the sun.
AIRPORT TRANSFER
We had originally booked the return transfers through Thomas Cook for approx. €70. We had asked for a private car and when the confirmation came though it said 'public bus'. So we cancelled that because a private car was another €100 (even though we orginally explained upon booking was the reason we needed a car was due to the fact that we both suffer from travel sickness) and booked with a company called Rideways.
I was really worried after I booked it because the reviews for Rideways had been quite poor but the service we received was incredible. The driver who picked us up waited for nearly an hour as we queued for passport control, the car was a fancy black Merc which was spotless and the driver gave us great tips on what Greek foods to try. The cost was €40 for return transfers and it was awesome. Oia was only about 30 mins from the airport so it wasn't a long journey at all and the views were stunning.
HOTEL
We stayed at the Kirini Suites and it was EXACTLY what we wanted; cliff side, white cave rooms, bright blue pool but my goodness did it surpass all of our expectations. We were greeted and given a show around by the General Manager and when you walked out of the main part of the hotel to the cliff side view, it just took my breath away. It was just everything and more. People are so right when they call Santorini a little corner of Heaven.
We were given a complimentary upgrade from a Junior Suite to a Superior Suite (with its own private Jacuzzi thank you very much) and our room was fricking fabulous, crisp white, wooden floors, walk in closet, Jacuzzi and massive bathroom; the epitome of luxury. The whole hotel is stunningly designed and not a thing out of place. The service from the staff was top class and Kirini should be really proud of their team. I would be back in a heartbeat if I could be and to top it all off we were staying in room 23!
OIA v FIRA
We went on the caldera cruise (more about that below) and everyone else on the catamaran was staying in Fira and said that they wish they had stayed in Oia instead (*super smug here having done my research*). So what are the main differences between the two.
Oia is more of a long stretch , like an elongated walkway where as Fira feels more like a town with different sections;
Fira is also much bigger but apparently it gets a lot more visits from cruise ships. However, Oia got a bit mad with so many tourists especially towards sunset and it was honestly a bit much. There were thousands of people crammed into the end of the island and over the ruins. Apparently this was only the start of the season and I couldn't imagine what it would be like in 45 degree summer with more people.
Oia is definitely prettier but when I was doing my research I couldnt figure out what photos were where. Also you see blue domes and three bells everywhere, especially along the walk form Fira to Oia so there's loads of chances for the 'true blue' pics. So here's some of pictures and I hope this helps clarify if uou are looking for that perfect Santorini shot:
ACTIVITIES
We decided that we didn't want to be running round the whole time so we picked two half day activities and spent the rest of the time relaxing in the sun.
Hike from Fira to Oia
I'm so glad we did this, the views were absolutely beautiful and it gave us a chance to explore Fira. Even though it was 10km this 'walk' took us about 4 hours, firstly you have to climb through Fira, then two small towns, then two mountains. The road almost disappeared at times so little holiday sandals will not cut it. During my research I kept getting conflicting views as to how intense the hike/walk was. If you have any form of injury you will struggle and I would say you'd need to be quite fit (but not like to run a marathon just can breathe up heavy hills) but it did take a lot out of us, especially the two mountains. The conditions of the path totally changed so decent trainers/sneakers are a must! We also got lost twice as the signs aren't crazy clear so bring a phone for Google maps.
This was amazing- we had booked through Viator and the tour included sailing around the island and the caldera on a deluxe catamaran. We stopped at the Red Beach and the White Beach and we had the chance to swim and snorkel in the sea.
We also went to the Nea Kameni springs, which were not hot springs like the Blue Lagoon in Iceland but we were only informed when we got on the boat, that, due to the volcanic activity if you were wearing a white swimsuit the water could damage it and turn it yellow. So that ruled out swimming for me which sucked a bit but we still; had a fabulous time on the boat.
There was unlimited Santorini wine and Greek beer, and an amazing Greek meal which was impressively prepared on board. I would definitely recommend the sunset cruise and it was the best way to end it (even better sans crowds) and another thing that was great about the cruise is that the numbers were limited to 16 people so there was so much room on the boat it was fabulous! They served cocktail towards the end of the day, so we ended up very merry on the boat.
FOOD AND WINE
The food was insane- try everything and everything! This blog really helped me out before we left but here are some of my favourites that we tried;
Greek Salad
Santornini Wine
Baklava
Moussaka
Ellinikos (Greek Coffee)
Tzatziki
Feta
TIPS
Sunscreen
Sensible shoes for the hike
Try all the wine!!!!
Have a Greek salad with every meal
Invest in your hotel and make sure its cliff side
Book a table at a restaurant for the Oia sunset, that way you'll have a seat and a view!
HANDY HASHTAGS
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Santorini was really a dream come true, and was so special I can't believe I got to celebrate my 30th there <3 Mr. Andrew is really something special too.
