Santorini, Greece - Review and Recommendations

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I think Santorini was the biggest surprise and my favorite island of the Greek Islands that we visited.  We arrived by cruise ship and since the ferry port is not deep enough for cruise ships, our ship chose to dock near the town of Fira and tender in passengers.  If you don’t know what that means, I will explain.  Rather than pulling up to and docking at a dock, the ships anchor in deeper water and uses its small “tender” ships to shuttle passengers to shore. 

 

In this case, Fira is actually located on the top of the caldera.  You have three choices on how you can get to the top from the water.  The first option (and most pleasant) is to use the cable cars.  The cable car will cost 6 Euro in each direction per person.  The trip lasts about three minutes.  The second option is to climb the stairs.  I don’t remember the elevation of Fira but I do remember that there are over 600 steps.  The route is windy with many switchbacks and they are walled.  The steps are uneven and can get slick with moisture and by the next option.  The third option, is to take a donkey up or down.  I don’t recommend this option.  I am a bit of an animal enthusiast and the poor animals are a little overworked.  Just my two cents on the matter.  Any way you choose to get to and from the top of Fira, be sure to allow plenty of time.  The lines can be long.

 

The most famous picture of the Greek Islands is of the beautiful white buildings with the blue domed roofs.  These are actually located in Oia (pronounced eeya in Greek).  Oia is located on the far end of the caldera and in an area that is not as high up, but still on a sheer drop rim of the caldera.  Fira and Oia are probably the most commonly visited towns on Santorini but there is much more to see.  For more details, read our blog about our private tour there.

 

Sitting atop the highest point of the island is a monastery.  The order is slowly dying out since they have been unsuccessful in recruiting new monks.  The views from the monastery are quite remarkable and you can see both sides of the island at the same time.  If you are unaware of its history, Santorini used to be a round island with a volcano located near the center of the island.  About 1600 BC the volcano blew leaving only sections of the outer island and the volcano in the middle.  The towns are mostly built on the caldera side but there are some scattered around the rest of the remains of the island.  Even though I knew this fact before arriving, it was still a stunning site and quite unbelievable.

 

 

For help planning your perfect trip to Santorini, contact us, your Santorini experts.  We can help you plan your perfect visit to this stunning Greek Island of Santorini.