Who knew this was going to be my new beginning. I couldn’t have imagined any part of this dream vacation going any better or more amazing.
Here's what you're gonna get with this blog:
* What to pack/How to pack smart
* Airbnb vs. hotel
* Top things to DO in Santorini
* Good eats in Santorini
* How we saved some cash
* Best time to visit/ How long to STAY
Where is Santorini, Greece?
Santorini is a Greek island, located in the Aegean Sea, just southeast of Athens. Santorini has a population of 15,500 and was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. Did you know Santorini used to not be the name of the island? This island was formally known as Thera.
Packing List:
* Pack as lite as possible! We learned the hard way with all the stairs you are traveling up and down on & no smooth path in site that large luggage is SO brutal. Even if you have 2 small suitcases...DO THAT!
1) Convertor/adaptor - I found the best one on Amazon; 'Castries Universal Travel Adapter, All-in-one Worldwide Travel Charger Travel Socket...' for only $20. Can plug 4 different devices in at once!
2) Cash - Go to the bank or even at the airport convert to Euros at least $100USD. There are ATMs ALL OVER Athens & Santorini, but of course you will be charged $3 or whatever it is each time & the less times you have to take out Euros the better. NOTE: if you have to much of it after your trip...you can convert it back to USD at the bank or airport as well :)
3) Ladies - lots of dresses! It is so gorgeous there & there is no such thing as overdressed as you are walking up and down the gorgeous paths of Oia (pronounced Ee-A)
4) If you have a drone...bring it! David got some amazing shots. Just don't be annoying with it or fly it around a congested area. There are signs that say not to fly them, but our Airbnb host said its usually Oia residents hanging up those signs. Just be smart about where you are flying.
5) If you love hiking - bring a good amount of workout clothes. There is a 9 mile hike from Oia-Thira that is absolutely worth it! You will get to see the island, get a solid workout in, & go past a city that is known for having weddings constantly! << We walked past this caldera village & witnessed 3 different ceremonies going on.
6) Hair dryers/straighteners/curling irons - make sure the watts match what your convertor can handle. I almost blew my hair dryer because I forgot to pack a travel sized one. Your Airbnb/hotel might have one, but to be safe bring a travel sized one of your own.
7) Water Shoes - they might look dorky & be weird to wear, but trust ME! You will want them. Everywhere you go to swim is super rocky & my cut up feet can prove that. David was smart & brought his!
ATHENS
Athens is where our adventure began! We only stayed one night on the front end of our trip and one night on the back end in Athens. I went through a lot of trial and error of trying to book a flight myself, like weeks of looking through all the sites & every airline, but the costs were ridiculous. I finally decided to go through a travel agent & she booked this hotel in Athens, Melia Hotel, which David and I both highly suggest because it was a really stunning hotel & the staff were incredibly kind. So the flight & hotel, together were under half the price of what I was finding online for JUST the flight alone. Also, this hotel is down the road from the absolute best bakery, Café Veneti, that has amazing coffee, really great sandwiches, & sooo many amazing goodies, but I went for the macaroons both times! We also had to book another flight from Athens to Santorini, which wasn't very expensive & my travel agent also took care of that.
Luckily for us, we had enough time on our first day to have our first date night at Lycabettus Hill. Yes, we were both exhausted from the long flights, but when in Athens...it was a must to take advantage of the short time & go site seeing & taste some delicious Greek food. It was a bit pricey, but honestly everything wasn't the cheapest all throughout Greece. You're on vacation though! There is nothing wrong with splurging on a couple meals.
The next morning we woke up early enough to go see the Acropolis of Athens. It cost 20 Euro/person, but definitely worth it to view the remains of the ancient buildings & see the great architecture. If you are like us & don't have a whole lot of time to venture out make sure you go here. I suggest going early! The place opens at 8am every day. We were there around 9-930am & after walking around for just a half hour it was PACKED with other tourists.
SANTORINI
Our first 6 nights we stayed in an Airbnb & I have to tell you...we couldn't have gotten a better location & hostess! If you are nice to me I will tell you what the Airbnb is called, but for now I am keeping it to myself because it is such a hidden gem;) I'm sure you will find her on the Airbnb app! We stayed in a very cozy studio, but this spot was ALL about the views directly out or bedroom window. We could have stayed laying in our bed all day long just watching the city move with tourists, catamarans floating through the Aegean Sea, and screams & laughter coming from cliff jumpers. We were at the very bottom of the city so we had ZERO people walking on our path past our studio, besides the amazing UK couple that we hung out with for a few nights!
The last 2 nights we wanted to splurge and stay in one of the fancy hotels in Oia. We were so excited to turn down the path where it went from dark colored cracked stone to amazing white cobblestone & that we could actually afford it!
Airbnb vs. Hotel ---
So here comes my comparison between staying in an Airbnb vs. Hotel in Oia. STAY IN AN AIRBNB! We were so disappointed when we got to our expensive hotel. They told us it is private, you have a breakfast brought to you every morning, and a hot tub right outside your door. I was expecting something from an Instagram post from a travel blogger, you know the really amazing gorgeous hotels with the best scenery? Yeah, it wasn‘t private at all. Yes, it was down a path that only the hotel guests could walk down, but there were about 4 other hotels in this area so that's quite a bit of foot traffic. Don't get me wrong, our room was gorgeous, but the breakfast was right above us for all the guests (so loud), the cook/cleaning lady had her kitchen and closet RIGHT outside our door (insanely annoying) & we couldn't lounge on our chairs because she was ALWAYs out there. Don‘t even get me started on the hot tub we had to walk up the stairs for and it was right next to the walking path:/ So overall, that experience was disappointing. Plus, we were exhausted by the last 2 days and just wanted to relax at our place, but really couldn't. We stayed at Kaleidoscope Luxury Cave Houses so I feel bad for bashing them, but want to give my readers the honest truth. There were also Armeni Village, Alter Mare by Andronis, & Andronis Exclusive all right next to us & those looked really nice! So if you are thinking of doing what we did I would look those ones up. NOTE: most Airbnb's and hotels have a check-in of 3pm so make sure you plan your flights accordingly.
Our first couple of days was all about adventure, seeing what we could climb, how to creatively get down to the water, watch a wedding being set-up, & seeing our first, but not last, breathtaking Santorini sunset in a place on the very opposite side of the island that not a lot of tourists knew about, which was amazing! (Sorry I may overuse the word 'amazing' because that is exactly how I described everything while I was there!).
Catamaran trip is a must!! We booked with Santorini Yachting Club and did the semi-private tour. We were with about 10 other people & everyone we met was so awesome. We were going to do the private tour, but it wasn't really private. You were still going to be with 4-6 other guests so we decided to save some money & go with semi-private! You got a tour of the entire island! We stopped one time to jump in the hot springs, which has a lot of sulfur in the water so make sure you don’t wear a white bikini or else it will come back orange. Then at another point we stopped to grill some food & got to know everyone, flew our drone, you could even swim if you wanted to, but the water was pretty cold when we went. This was hands down our favorite part of the trip.
Another must while in Santorini is a gorgeous 9 mile hike from Oia to Thira. It was not a very straight path so make sure you have some great hiking shoes, water, snacks, etc. Definitely worth it going through each city. Took us about 3-4 hours one way. We took a bus on the way back because we had dinner plans with our hostess, but you could easily make this an all day experience.
David and I could relive this one day over and over again! We rented a 4-wheeler in Oia for 60 Euro, which you could have for a full 24 hours. I would suggest you get your international license because you will need it to rent a 4-wheeler or scooter. For some reason you don't need your international license for a car...which is weird. We did get lucky and found a company that took our U.S. drivers license, but I would say JUST IN CASE get your international. This was such a fun way to see the entire island. David was an excellent driver for not being able to read the signs (if there was one) & dealing with the crazy driving of other vehicles :) Note: if someone is honking at you that means pull off to the side or else you will get run over. We made a pit stop at Santo Winery, which was highly recommended for the wine choices and the incredible view...neither of which disappointed. Also went to the Red Beach, which was nice & really fun to swim in, but it hurt soo bad to walk around & in to the water so beware that & follow the packing list I made above! Then our final stop was at the famous lighthouse on the southern tip of the island in a town called Akrotiri. It is considered one of the best & most beautiful lighthouses in Cyclades.
Suggestion, when you get the chance in Oia go and venture off the beaten path. We have never been more happy to take the stairs ;) We went down to this port twice even though it was the most brutal walk. The hardest hikes are always worth the views though! You can ride a donkey down & up, but we never saw anyone give them water once & we just felt to bad for them. There was a separate island to swim out too. I believe our hostess told us that it used to be a church, but you can jump off of it! David & I were guessing it was about 40 ft up. Beyond scary, but worth it for sure! There were three seafood restaurants overlooking the water. Best seafood you will ever have.
Of course I cannot forget the biggest, most perfect, most amazing surprise of our trip 💍! I still cannot believe that I get to be the future Mrs. Heckman! I want to cry happy tears every time I think about it. For those of you wondering how he did it...you might think it was at our big fancy dinner with a 9 course meal & over looking the entire island, but you are incorrect. He made the decision that the dinner was not where we felt the most comfortable or really even felt like ourselves. We were cracking jokes about how expensive the drinks were, how tiny the food was, & how long the meal actually was. I was very happy that he brought it back to our perfect little airbnb. We sat outside on our little patio with a bottle of wine, holding hands, & just talking the night away. That’s when the mood changed & he started getting very serious about how he felt about me. He ended his speech, that I think I blacked out on, telling me that he has a question for me & then got down on one knee and asked me to marry him! :)
BEST FOOD/BEST RESTAURANTS:
I want to end this on a note that everyone loves...food! All of this places are in Oia, Santorini.
I am going to start from the top left picture:
1. Flora - Calamari & burgers were amazing here!
2. The octopus on the grill was from one of the 3 restaurants down by the port. I do not remember what any of them were called, but if you want some fresh, incredible seafood definitely stop at one of these places
3. Greek Yogurt - the yogurt was sooo different here. It had a very different texture than back in the states, but super yummy. This was on our Catamaran trip!
4. Vitrin - the next three pictures are all from this place. We went here like 3 times (at least)! Seriously the best crepes in the world!
5. Skiza - picture from the bed to the two peach teas on the table...BEST pizza, hands down, in Oia for a really great price! That's why we had it twice ;) They also have a little dessert bar & ice cream set up there as well.
6. Patisserie - Chocolate balls. That's all. Enjoy. Mouth Watering. Worth the calories.
7. Nocturna - We were told there are two really good pizza places in Oia so of course we have do try both. This one was equally as good as Skiza! And the bruschetta was the bomb. Also, you could sit upstairs & have a pretty view (really every place you went was gorgeous) & they provided blankets so we sat at this restaurant for awhile & enjoyed being with each other.
8. The middle picture in the last row was the awesome meal our Airbnb hostess made for us & the UK couple in the room below us.
9. Lioyerma Lounge Cafe Pool Bar - best burgers, drinks, sunset views & time spent with your boo! So this place is kind of a golden nugget. Not a lot of people know about it. So while they are all piling up in one area to watch the sunset...you will be sitting at the stone bar with your drink in hand with all the space in the world :) All you have to do is buy a drink to be able to sit here & this gives you access to use the pool! But the pool was freezing cold so swim at your own risk
Ideas to Save Cash
* Take the bus as often as possible. It is very easy to figure out & only 3 euros for 2 people.
* If you have an Airbnb with a kitchen try to cook as many meals as you can. Eating out every meal definitely adds up.
* Rent one four wheeler/scooter rather than 2. This is also a bonus because you get to hold your significant other & that’s always cute
* Eat at the crepe place, Vitrin, because it’s cheap, yummy & filling
* Window shopping is a good idea. Don’t buy something right away because you are bound to find it cheaper somewhere else.
* Venture & walk around as much as possible. Excursions are fun, but it’s so much better not planning out every second & finding the hidden gems on your own
**^ #1 Plan your trip out far ahead so you can research prices & find what you want, where you want to stay, what’s cheaper but not cheap looking. We starting planning in Oct & our trip was end of May
Best Time To Go:
Lastly, you want to go on the off seasons. In May or late October- early November. Everything is ’cheaper’ and way less crowded than in the summer months.
When we were there in May the temperature was so perfect. It got chilly at night so bring at least one pair of sweats & a sweatshirt. During the day it was high 70s to 80s & it was perfect! It’s a little more humid there so even though the temp wasn’t super high it was still warm for sure.
Thank you so much for all the Love! I hoped you enjoyed this post. Tell me what you love about it below!! Cannot wait to show you all some more travel adventures, workouts, collabs, etc. <3