After staying in Santorini for 12 days, Matt and I felt like experts on the island. In August Santorini is hot hot hot, so the hours from 12-2 need to be spent in the water somewhere- be it at a beautiful infinity pool or at one of the island’s beaches. However, once the sun begins to go down the scorching heat disappears and activities become much more enjoyable. When we were planning our trip, everyone told us that we needed to go on a wine tour, rent an ATV and book a sailing day trip. If you are only in Santorini for a few days you need to make sure you do all those things because they are so unique to the island. However, if you have more time you need to do all the things on this list-
1) Take Wine Tour.
Before coming to the island I had no idea that Santorini is really known for its wine. The island is covered in vineyards, but not the type of vineyards that you would expect to see in California or Italy. The grapes grow busheled on the ground to get the benefits of the minerals in the volcanic soil. We learned all this and much more on the wine tour that we went on around the island. It stopped at 3 vineyards where we learned about the harvesting techniques and got the try different wines and see new parts of the island.
2) Rent ATVs.
This was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip. Renting an ATV is seriously the best way to get around the island. Everyone seems to be on an ATV. It is the most affordable and most effective way to get around. We rented an ATV for a day for about $42 dollars and got to explore different villages that we would not have found otherwise. I will never forget the gorgeous views we saw and the vineyards we drove through that we would not have seen had we not rented an ATV. It was such a blast. I would recommend renting one with high power because you need it to get up the island’s hills.
3) Sign up for Santorini Sailing.
Santorini is basically made up of cliffs that drop down like 5,000 feet to the ocean. It is not a beach island. There are beaches but they are black beaches and are hard to get to. The best way to see the beaches and see the island from the ocean is to sign up for one of the Santorini sailing trips. We did Santorini sailing where they took us to 3 different beaches. We anchored off the beaches and had the chance to jump in the water and swim. The crew cooked an amazing lunch and provided unlimited drinks. It was a blast.
4) Explore Pyrgos.
This ended up being our favorite village on the island. Fira and Oia are the big towns that everyone explores but Pyrgos is off the beaten path and is totally gorgeous without all the tourists. It is just more authentic and undiscovered than Fira and Oia. Matt and I only found this village from our time spent exploring the island on the ATVs, and I would definitely recommend that you visit it and eat at Cava Alta. Pyrgos is also the highest point of Santorini so it has panoramic views of the whole island.
5) See the Sunset at Oia.
There are no words. Truly no words. You MUST MUST MUST go to Oia and watch the sunset there. We did not do this until the last 2 days of our trip and we should have done it sooner. Everyone had a different opinion about this. Crowds flock to Oia to watch the sunset. People get a glass of wine and stake out their post an hour before. They then all cheer when the sun finally sets. It is crowded and difficult to leave once it sets with all the people but let me tell you the sunset is the best from Oia. I do not know what it is. At the start of our trip we avoided Oia because we had heard about the crowds and just watched the sunset from Fira and our hotels. It was beautiful from all angles but there is something about seeing it in Oia that makes it much more amazing. You can literally see the sun break the horizon. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before and you can only see it in Oia. It is worth the crowds and honestly it was kinda fun to watch it with the crowds anyway. I love how the sunset is a whole event there.
6) Get a drink at the Grace Hotel to watch the sunset.
The Grace Hotel is beyond gorgeous. We stayed there in the beginning of our trip and if you have the chance I would recommend staying there for a night if at all possible. If you can’t, then you need to get a drink on the gorgeous deck and watch the sunset. The cocktails are amazing and the staff caters to your every need. The Grace is in between Oia and Fira which we loved. The area is very peaceful and private. You have such a fun view of the island and a panoramic of the ocean.
7) Eat at Aktaion.
The food here! GAH! I want it now! Order the tomato balls, I am not sure what the Greek name is for them but they are a specialty on the island, deep fried tomato which is actually insanely amazing. This restaurant is known for its amazing traditional Greek food. It is in Firastefani which is right on the edge of Fira. Very affordable and has a beautiful view of the caldera. Definitely make a reservation so you can get in.
8) Eat at Metaxi Mas
This restaurant was unreal. It is a favorite of the locals and where the Greeks themselves go to eat. It is kinda hidden away on the other side of the caldera closer to Pyrgos. You feel like you are eating at the best kept secret on the island. You need to make a reservation since it is usually booked. Very affordable with all the best traditional Greek dishes- we could have eaten there every single night.
9) Hike up to the church at the Skaros Rock in front of the Grace Hotel.
I really, really enjoyed this little hike out to the church which is on the tip of this rock. It probably took us about an hour to walk out to the church. The path is really well paved and not at all crowded with tourists. You have amazing views of the whole island and the ocean. At the end of the hike there is a little blue and white church to explore and climb on. The church area is clean and perfect for taking amazing pictures and totally private. The hike is very manageable, not at all grueling.
10) Eat and swim at Amoudi Bay
A lot of the scenes from the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants were shot here, so obviously you have to come and see it! You have to walk down about 300 steps to get to the bay- and beware you do not want to have to walk back up these steps during the day when the sun is out! Grueling! However, they have donkeys that you can ride back up, but also beware the donkeys go to sleep when the sunsets. Matt and I went down to the Bay for dinner to watch the sunset. It was totally different from most places on the island and definitely worth experiencing. The seafood was amazing. I loved it. However, we missed the donkey ride back up the steps so we walked – a killer stair master workout. Jump off the cliff down at the bay if you are feeling adventurous 🙂
Loved your take on Santorini-and am so glad you loved it!