Santorini is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 120 miles southeast of Greece’s mainland. Its steep cliffs are lined with the famous whitewashed architecture, blue roofs and infinity pools that overlook the islands volcanic caldera. It’s an incredible view that never gets old.
Our Airbnb was in the middle of the island in the town of Imerovigli. We walked the maze of narrow rock pathways and found little nooks with blooming fuchsia bougainvillea making for great photo opportunities. This pathway is 6.2 miles long and connects the towns of Firs to Oil in the northern part of the island. The guidebook says this walk takes 2-4 hours but we unfortunately didn’t have the time to complete the full 6.2 miles. We’d like to have an excuse to come back.
Tourists who arrive on the island from their cruise ships swarm the bars, restaurants and shops in Santorini’s main town of Fira. We went into town a few times for the best frozen yogurt at Chill Box but we prefer to get off the beaten path so we rented a scooter to explore the rest of the island.
After a quick stop to exchange our dollars for Greek Euros (the Greek 1 Euro coin has an image of the original Greek “drachma” on it – right now the Traveling Tooth Fairy is out of “drachmas” but you can see other tooth fairy coins from around the world here), we went straight to the Santo Winery to share a flight of wine and Greek snack platter on their outdoor patio enjoying the beautiful view. I’d recommend making reservations as it can become very crowded. Down the road was Venetsano Winery, which was the first winery established on the island. This intimate winery had great wines, a cafe and an even more stunning view.
Our next stop was to Amoudi Bay at the north end of the island. Although we were on our scooter, you can also reach Amoudi Bay by walking down the 300 steep steps from Oia. The bay is lined with open-air restaurants serving the catch of the day. If you continue walking past the restaurants, you come to a short trail that takes you to a small rocky area for swimming and a spot for cliff jumping for the more adventurous. The water was cool and refreshing after a day of site seeing in the warm Santorini sun.
We ended our day in the village of Oil pronounce “eea” to watch the most magical sunset over the caldera. You will want to get there early and pick the perfect spot, as it can get really crowded. You can bring a bottle of wine and a snack while you enjoy the spectacular view. Even with the amount of people who gather, a peaceful hush floats over the village as we all quietly celebrate the end of another day as the sun went down. It really is the most beautiful sunset we have ever seen.
