Santorini - The Island of Romance
To many, the mention of Santorini sends images of blue seas, white stone houses, romance, beautiful sunsets and beaches. I had high expectations before I arrived at this much-talked about island of romance. Boy, I was disappointed. Maybe Crete wowed me so much that in comparison, Santorini paled. The other downside of the island - super packed with tourists and it is seriously challenging to take a nice picturesque photo of any part of the scenery without any tourist in the picture. Santorini is also a very small island so the choices of activities are pretty limited.
Let's start with the accommodation we chose for Santorini. This place topped all the other places we stayed in Greece although it was very hard to locate. The luxury house is called Afoura Houses and it is situated up a very narrow single lane side road. Don't be shocked by the listed price on Tripadvisor. Google around for third party sites to get deals for the accommodation and you probably can get it at a fraction of the listed price. I love the rustic feel of the room, raw terracotta flooring, aged heavy wooden doors, wrought-iron grilled windows, superior bedding that allows your body to sink into lullaby and plenty of storage. Also, this place is located in the centre of Santorini hence it is easy to get to different parts of the island. Love love love this place.
Santorini is a small island - most people would visit Fira, Oia, Amoudi Bay, beaches and wineries. I am no exception.
Wineries
Santorini has a small but flourishing wine industry, and produces its own species of grapes that are unique to Santorini. For our holidays, it is a ritual to visit breweries, wineries and distilleries. Over the years, I have picked up quite a fair bit of knowledge on the production of alcohol and that was also how we got interested in home brewing. We visited 3 wineries in Santorini - Venetsanos Winery, Koutsoyannopoulous Wine Museum and Domaine Sigalas.
Venetsanos Winery
Koutsoyannopoulous Wine Museum
In contrast to Venetsanos, Koutsoyannopoulous has an extensive museum section that provided very indepth information, exhibits and displays of the history of this winery. You will be provided with a headset that allows visitors to choose their preferred language. The headset will provide the information when you touch every exhibit point. The museum tour is then followed by the wine tasting session where a staff of the winery will share more information about each wine.
Domaine Sigalas
We visited Domaine not entirely for its wines but we read good reviews on a dish made with fava beans. So we are here, rather famished from a long drive in the day. It is a cosy winery that does not have a museum. Most people who visit are here to try their wines and get a bite. The food served are more appetizer-type of portion but they go well with the tasting. I ordered the Fried Guyere Cheese with Strawberry Compote. Very complex in taste, and I can't decide if it is an appetizer or dessert. Nonetheless, it was a lovely dish. Hub ordered the Fava Santorini - it is fava bean mousse topped with chopped onions and peppercorn. I am not a fan of legumes but this dish went well with me. It is quite filling too. Indeed, it was a dish worth driving for. Beaches
Greece is famous for its beaches so regardless of island, you will be spoilt for choice when beach hopping. However, Santorini is not exactly well know for its beaches compared to the other islands, mainly due to the fact that it was a volcanic island, thus the beaches are mainly filled up with black volcanic sand At this stage of the holiday, I was already very tanned and was quite reluctant to sunbathe anymore. Nonetheless, we decided on two beaches to at least get a flavour of the Santorini beaches.
Perissa Beach
Typical of a Santorinian beach, the beach is mainly made up of black volcanic sand that can get very hot from noon onwards. The view at the beach is quite different from that of Crete's where you can see far into the horizon, clear waters and bright blue skies. In Santorini, there is a misty feel and the beaches kind of disappear into a mystical realm where the skies and the sea join in a blurry faraway land. Perissa Beach is flanked by many restaurants and pubs, and the typical deal is to get 2 mojitos, and two sunbeds are yours for the rest of the day. Not a good idea to lie on a mat over the sand as the sand is coarse and hot.
Vlychada Beach
A rather small stretch of beach, pretty quiet as compared to Perissa. The interesting thing about the beach is the rock formation behind the beach that you can see as you sunbathe. You might catch some surfers doing their stunts as the waves can get quite high.
Fira
Fira is the main town of Santorini. Here, you spend your day shopping, eating, chilling out, having a gelato, or grabbing fresh bread from the bakeries. Vibrant place to hang out and soak in the atmosphere.Oia
Oia is THE PLACE where you see the images when you google 'Santorini'. White cave houses on a slope overseeing the blue waters. Oia is a small town with many shops, cafes, restaurants and luxury resorts, all perched on the slope. You can spend the afternoon strolling, stopping by ever so often to snap a picture or two. By dusk, grab a good spot at a restaurant to enjoy the sunset. It is one of the most mesmerising sunset I have ever seen. The huge orange ball of fire slowly 'descending' into the waters. A sky painted in hues of orange, yellow and blue, interspersed into each other. Oia is an expensive place to shop so I won't recommend any shopping to be done here. When the sun sets, and the sky darkens, get a spot to watch the lighted houses glittering by the slope. Equally captivating!
Amoudi Bay
Besides the row of taverns that will greet you when you arrive, there is actually a spot for deep sea swimming if you are game enough. I am not a water-baby so I was quite contented chilling at a tavern watching the sunset and having seafood. You could also rent a boat out with some friends and enjoy the sea and view.
Some of guides that you read online will say that you could walk from Fira to Oia to Amoudi Bay. From Oia to Amoudi Bay and back, there are also donkeys (which happens to be one of their mode of transport) that take you up the slope. We rented a car so we skipped the walking. Given the weather, it is actually pretty nice if you don't mind the walk.
Well, you can probably sense I didn't do as much in Santorini as compared to Crete. And if you have read my post on Crete, you would agree that it looked better than Santorini, right? Nonetheless, there are a few places I would recommend if you visit Santorini:
Well, you can probably sense I didn't do as much in Santorini as compared to Crete. And if you have read my post on Crete, you would agree that it looked better than Santorini, right? Nonetheless, there are a few places I would recommend if you visit Santorini:
- Brusco Wine Coffee Deli - nice place to have breakfast, serves food made with natural and organic ingredients. One of the earliest place to open for breakfast if you are an early bird like me.
- Good Heart Restaurant - This is a very nice place to have lunch or dinner. They serve a variety of food, generous portions, good service and delicious food. The setting is like a little hut, very rustic but clean and comfortable.
- Taverna Katina - Located at Amoudi Bay, this is a great place serving fresh seafood grilled upon order. Get a front table (only for dinner) and enjoy the sunset with freshly grilled seafood and beer.
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