Greek Isles Part Two: Santorini

Although we really enjoyed our time in Mykonos, we immediately fell in love with Santorini. As soon as our ferry started making its way into the caldera and the dramatic cliffs came into view we knew we were somewhere special. Never before had we seen anything remotely similar. To say the least we knew we had made a good choice and were excited to see our hotel (which was built into the side of the cliff as many of them are) and to explore the beautiful island of Santorini.

Our hotel shuttle met us at the port and from there we made our way up an impressive climb of a road that wound its way up the side of the cliff.

If you look closely you can see the zig zag of the road in the side of the cliff.

Upon arrival at our hotel we had to descend quite a few stairs followed by two elevators just to get to the reception as the entrance to the hotel from the road was at the top of the cliff. The hotel was amazing in the way it was staggered into the side of the cliff with each room being at a slightly different level. And to say the least the views from our room were simply incredible.

View from our hotel room onto the main pool at our hotel with part of the island in the background

Not a bad for a "splash pool" at the hotel

What a view from our hotel!

As it was already getting late we quickly found our way to the hotel restaurant where we enjoyed more great Greek food with a view of the sunset. However, the first night's sunset (along with the one we saw every other night on the island) was a bit disappointing as a slight haze in the sky prevented us from seeing the dramatic colors that the island is famous for. Yet it was hard to be too disappointed as everything else about the view was stunning. Good thing it did eventually get dark though as I am quite sure we could have sat and looked at that view all night, but instead we sat down to map out or plan for the next three and a half days so we could make sure to see and experience as much of Santorini as possible.

Sunday morning we set off on the 45 minute rim walk from our hotel in the town of Imerovigli to the largest town of Fira. We enjoyed meandering our way along the cliff that is filled with beautiful hotels, restaurants, and shops. It was hard not to take a photo every few steps. Some of our favorite views included those of Skaros Rock, Nea Kameni (the small uninhabited island in the center of the caldera that is formed by volcanic remains), and the cascading cliffs. We enjoyed a great lunch on an outdoor terrace that sat high above surrounding buildings and allowed us once in a lifetime views.

Ready to go on our first day in Santorini!

View of Skaros Rock and Nea Kameni along our walk



View on the town of Fira and the beautiful cliffs

Family photo!

Emma loved watching the donkeys!

Daddy and daughter enjoying the views from lunch

As it was quite a bit warmer in Santorini than it had been in Mykonos we were very anxious to get back to our hotel and test out the pool. It did not disappoint (us nor Emma) other than the water still being a little chilly. We quickly concluded that this would have to be a daily stop on our agenda!

Too cute... someone's really starting to like this swimming stuff!

It's easy to get tuckered out quickly after a swim.

After relaxing poolside we had an ambitious evening planned as we set out for a two hour hike from our hotel towards the town of Oia, which was in the opposite direction that we had gone that morning. Although our hotel receptionist seemed quite concerned about us doing the hike, we found it not particularly challenging, but just that it was fairly remote for the entire walk as the island gets quite narrow for much of the hike. We ended in Oia just a little ahead of the sunset, but it turned out to be not much of anything just like the night before.

Stunning scenery all around us

View of the Caldera

You can see both sides of the island in this photo with the far left side flat as a pancake and the right with the dramatic cliffs.

A little ways into the hike with our destination to the far left.

Dad and daugher sporting their shades

Halfway point family photo

So many beautiful old churches, some of which are still used today in remote parts of the island

We made it - enjoying the views in Oia looking back on the rest of the island of Santorini

Beautiful sunset or not it had been an evening and a hike we will surely never forget. Fingers crossed we will one day be lucky enough to come back and do it again.

We had a fun day planned on Monday as we headed out sailing on a catamaran around part of the island and throughout the caldera. We lucked out as it was early in the season and instead of the more typical 8 or 10 passengers there was only us and one other couple. The crew was a lot of fun and did a great job of narrating what we were seeing as we cruised around the island making quick stops to jump in and go swimming. Steve got in the water twice, but I only made a quick hop in once as it was freezing cold in most spots and even the "hot springs" where I swam near the volcanic remains was still quite cool. Emma did great and seemed to really enjoy being on the boat, especially when she got to lay on the net with her dad. Although the excursion lasted the majority of the day it was over in what seemed like the blink of an eye. Yet I think we all realized we had been out on a boat in the sun all day as we were exhausted and happy to have a relaxing evening back at the hotel.



Red sand beach

Relaxing and enjoying the scenery

Stunning cliffs and beautiful water!

Our little sailor!

We like family photos, whether or not we're all sitting still

Swimming in the hot springs near the volcanic remains of Nea Kameni, the water was a distinct green.

Our last full day arrived much too quickly. We decided to start off the day with another hike, this one out to Skaros Rock, which distinctly juts out into the caldera from the rugged cliffs. It was a lot of steps both up and down to get out and around the rock, but it provided great views back on other parts of the island. Steve even hiked to the top of the actual rock to get some of the best views of all!

We walked down from the cliffs to only have to walk back up to get to the actual rock.

View back from Skaros Rock on the town of Fira.

By the end of our hike it was quickly getting quite hot outside so after finding lunch we made our way back for another afternoon by the pool. From there we decided to spend our last evening back in the town of Oia since we had really liked it for the brief time we were there on our second night. We enjoyed wandering through many unique shops full of local crafts and we enjoyed perhaps one of the freshest fish dinners we will ever have as we ate right in Oia's port and picked our fish out that had been caught just a couple hours before. However it was quite a hike just to get to dinner (or maybe more of a hike after dinner) as the restaurant was some 300 or 400 stairs down below the actual town. Although there were donkeys you could ride we decided not to as unfortunately the donkeys appear quite poorly cared for and instead just hiked both up and down!

Town of Oia, just amazing to think of how difficult it was to build into the side of the cliff

More beautiful views of Oia and the port below

Last night in Santorini

A certain little miss is always busy making new friends.

What a fun time together!

The evening in Oia was the perfect end to a magical trip. We did still have part of the day on Wednesday, but we decided to keep it simple and just enjoy the hotel pool a bit in the morning before heading for our flight home.

Goodbye Santorini!

While it is difficult to compare Santorini to anywhere else we have visited in Europe, it is no doubt near the top of the list of all time favorite vacation spots. To see an island formed in such a unique way from a volcano was a once in a lifetime experience, I just hope I get to experience it again one day!