Travel Guide - Santorini - Part 1
Hi Galas,
Thank you so much for continuing to support my travel series – I cannot believe what a huge success it has been and I couldn’t have done it without all of you! Today, I’ll be sharing details on the magical island of Santorini, Greece – completely Insta-worthy! This island is straight out of a magazine filled with perfect white houses, narrow alleys and blue domes overlooking the beautiful views of the sea and caldera. It’s the perfect spot for couples and families that want to relax, explore and spend quality time together.
STAY
There are two sides of Santorini Island – we have Oia, Fira and Imerovigli, towns with famous views of a beautiful sunset overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, or Kamari and Perissa, towns that are near the beaches.
Rohit and I wanted Santorini to be the focal point of our honeymoon so we decided to treat ourselves to a stay at the Lilium Hotel in Fira. After our wedding, we really wanted to unwind and relax, and the best way to do that was to have a private pool overlooking the caldera. This view was worth everything! We woke up every morning to beautiful blue skies and the bright sun overlooking nature’s beauty! We definitely enjoyed our private pool to the fullest and had quite a few room service meals!
Side note: We booked our hotel in January for our honeymoon in August and already so many of the hotels were completely booked. I would recommend booking your hotels a year in advance, but of course with COVID-19 still around, you may get away with booking later.
A few hotel recommendations:
- Lilium (outskirts of Fira)
- Panorama Suites (Fira)
- Athina Luxury Suites (Fira)
- Belvedere (Fira)
- Katikies Hotel (Oia)
- Canaves Oia Suites (Oia)
- Andronis Arcadia (Oia)
- Dream Luxury (Imerovigli)
- Mediterranean white (Kamari)
- Nikki Beach Resort (Kamari)
- Sea View Hotel (Perissa)
- Anastasia Princess (Perissa)
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ATTRACTIONS
Santorini is a paradise island filled with tons of different activities to choose from for couples and families.
Sunsets – Santorini is well-known for their sunsets! The sky turns into magical shades of the rainbow and casts a beautiful aurora over the town/sea. It’s completely unreal. We saw the sunset from three different view: Oia Castle, Bar and winery. Note: Oia is famous for its sunset view from the Oia Castle but I personally found it to be really underwhelming. There were so many people squeezing by and taking pictures that you couldn’t truly enjoy the moment. Next time, I will reserve a restaurant in Oia to see the sunset and hope it’s more enjoyable.
Cruise – Sailing the Mediterranean Sea around island is a must! It’s a great opportunity to see various attractions in Santorini – you will get to see hot springs and different colored beaches (red beach, black beach and white beach). You can also enjoy a full Greek meal with unlimited drinks while you swim in the ocean or jump off the boat!
Winery – This was one of our favorite excursions! This tour takes you to three different wineries across Santorini: Assyrtiko, Nykteri and Vinsanto. At each one of these places, we were provided 3 types of wine with respective pairings to cheese/crackers. We ended the tour near the calderas in Vinsanto giving us one last beautiful sunset to remember our vacation.
ATV/Hike – If you are adventure seeker, I would definitely recommend the ATV tour around the island or the Foot Hike from Fira to Oia. I have heard so many great things about these two! Unfortunately we did not have time for the ATV tour due to our limited days so I’m unable to share any personal stories and Rohit and I are definitely not hiking people, so we passed on the foot hike.
FASHION
Rohit and I spent every morning in swimwear attire – either laying by the pool or sailing on a yacht so it was important to us to pack a few trunks, swimsuits and cover ups! We also took our beach accessories such as sunglasses, hats and beach bag.
During the evenings, we wanted to dress up in cute outfits that reflected Santorini vibes. I chose to wear earthy colors, florals and a linen dress. All of my outfits were flowy and feminine. On the other hand, Rohit wore a variation of shorts, tees and button downs. Also, most importantly, we both wore flat shoes! The island can be quite hilly so it’s important to have comfortable walking shoes. Also, the evenings can get chilly in Santorini so always remember to bring a light denim/leather jacket!
As always, hope you enjoy the first part of my Santorini travel series. Stay tuned for part two, which will include our favorite restaurants and drink spots!
Hugs and Kisses
Krupali Govind-Mehta
