Santorini Travel Tips

Experience to travel in Santorini

My photo - all rights reserved

After a successful visit to Santorini I will share with you a bit of Santorini travel experience. First, I have to say that there are two main means to go to Santorini from Athens - Greece, that is the airplane and ferry.

• Flight:

You can also buy direct airfare from other European countries to Greece, but will usually have to transit in Athens (I have found out direct flights from Rome to Santorini without a transit). One day there are quite a few flights to Santorini by Greek airlines like Aegean Airlines, Olympic Air, or some European carriers such as EasyJet, Ryan Air, which takes 45-50 minutes from Athens to Santorini.

For me, I have booked the flight from Athens to Santorini though it might be not very convenient as the flight is very late at midnight however we have saved a lot of money.

From a city in Europe you can book flights to or from Santorini, or split your flight to Athens first, then buy your ticket to Santorini later, as a direct flight of one airline costs more if you hunt for cheap tickets. different brands. Santorini Airport is quite small if departing from Santorini you should leave early to avoid long queues. Between the airport and the villages of Santorini there are cheap buses running through it, or you can take a taxi, rent a motorbike or car as a means of transportation.

From Santorini to Athens or other places by plane, you need to pay attention a little early because the tourists are so crowded that the airport is small. If you arrive late, you may have to queue for long periods of time and risk losing your flight.

Note: From Barcelona you can fly directly to Santorini with Transavia and from Barcelona International Airport, however I find the fare is quite high.

• Take the ferry:

To go to Santorini Island cheapest and most popular, you should take the ferry. It's called a ferry but it's a huge high-speed train that many operators like Blue Star Ferry, Hellenic Seaways Highspeed ... but most famous is probably Blue Star. In the summer (from April to October - travel season), Blue Star Ferry often travels from Athens the afternoon before to arrive early the next morning, save a night hotel, or have a faster trip. It's only 11 or 12 pm or a night to arrive, and there are plenty of other airlines out there. But in the winter (low season), there is only one trip from 7.30am to 3.30pm.

You can book ferry tickets through the website below with a fare of 37.5 euros / way.

http://www.greeka.com/

http://www.ferries.gr

http://bluestarferries.gr/en/

https://hellenicseaways.gr/en

If you have pre-booked online, when you arrive in Athens you should take the bus from the airport to the port of Piraeus to get tickets always, when to go to catch the train from the center to the port. Then you need to leave before 1 hour to avoid missed trips, and you remember to carefully look at the port of departure of the ferry company where you go, what is the gate symbol (Gate). My experience of blood and blood on the ferry of Blue Star, not paying attention to its port so wandering at the port of view, and then when the port is walking without knowing that this port it is so terrible any. The office at the bus station where the train is parked on the other side, walking forever without seeing, then I panicked soaked wet sweat finally arrived, calculated to walk away 45 minutes.

In fact, I usually do not need to book in advance because every day there is a trip to Santorini and the ship is very large so it is very wide and many chairs, you are assured that there are always vacant seats, but in the peak tourist months, be sure to book ahead. Tickets can be purchased directly from the shipping lines or travel agents. Another option that you might consider is small wooden boarding, although it is slower but it is also an option for your plan.

• Traveling in Santorini Island

In Santorini, there are many means of transportation such as taxis, buses in the villages, shuttle buses to the airport, or the best way is to rent a motorbike or scooter for a few days. You can rent a small car if you go in groups.

• Public transport on the island: If you take a ferry to Santorini, there is a taxi or bus to get to the island. The bus will cost you about 1-2 euro / person. To move from the hotel to the airport you can take the public bus on the island, or ask the hotel owner to help the taxi to the airport for more expensive (10 euro per person). The running time of the public bus on the island can be found here: http://ktel-santorini.gr/ktel/images/pdfs/ktel.pdf

• Rent a motorbike: To move between villages or places, beaches on the island, you can rent a scooter or a motorized three-wheel motorbike. You should look at the price of the car rental because in my case, I have seen in my hostel there is a car rental specialist cheaper than other places, only 12 euro / car / day while the door In the center of Thira they are priced at 15eur a day, but they are quite upset about their license. My gas will have to fall. Note that the price of gasoline in Santorini is very expensive, 1.5 euro per liter.

Also note that your license in Vietnam will have some motorbike rental shops on the island do accept. Otherwise I advise you to refer to my Fira Backpackers Place hostel, they recommend a motorbike rental only for a passport or credit card number, and does not require a valid international driver's license. When I rented a motorbike I was wondering, one is set passport (slightly shaky, not very trust), two is put credit card (they will write the card number and security code of the card). Finally I chose the first way because the second way to reveal the credit card number slightly risky, while the passport to think on this little island is not lost where to worry! And actually, I worry a little bit, the business people here are extremely kind and keep their credit, when they return the car they return their passport, that's all!

• Hostels and hotels in Santorini

The price of the hotel, hostel in Santorini has many types, if you stay in hostel rented bed only about 10-15 euros / person / night. You should rent a room in the village of Fira (Thira) for convenience as this is the largest and busiest village in Santorini, the price of everything is cheaper than in the village of Oia (Ia). The further away from the center the cheaper the price. Before you go you should email information about where you are, what there is, what facilities, or they have shuttle bus from the airport or ferry to the hotel or not.

• At the hostel: For more options you should book through booking websites such as Booking.com or Agoda. In my case, I booked through Hostelworld and booking.com, hotel Ikaros  is quite comfortable, spacious, with cooking stove for people and close to the center of Thira. There is also a swimming pool but maybe because I come in the winter they should drain the water not used. There are also a number of highly rated hotels, including The Fisherman's House ($ 50 per night, Akrotiri a bit far), Blue Dolphins Apartments ($ 80 per night in Firostefani), Top Oia - $ 100 / night

• At the hotel: If you have plenty of room available to rent in luxury hotels, located in the central cliffs of the villages of Thira or Oia, this is where you can feel the most taste of Santorini, sunset and sunrise at the balcony, windows of your room, experience the room with the unique architecture deep in the cliffs are very interesting. Some of the luxury hotels you can consider below are luxury and Aegean Sea views, with swimming pool, massage, a breathtaking feeling!

1. Fira Village: Cosmopolitan Suites; Fanari Vista Suites; Ikaros Hotel
2. Oia Village: Katikies Hotel; Canvas Suites;
3. Imerovigli Village: Grace Santorini; Condo Hotel Aqua Luxury Suites Santorini
4. Firostefani Village: The Tsitouras Collection

• Famous Sites in Santorini

• Thira (Fira)

My photo- all rights reserved

This is the largest and most populated village in Santorini. You can buy everything here at a cheaper price than other places, ranging from restaurants, hotels or supermarkets. Situated in the heart of the island, it is easy to travel from Thira to other villages such as Oia or Perissa and return easily. It is also good to see the houses stretching over the cliffs of Thira you have spent all day, and especially watching the sunset here is great.

In Thira, in addition to wandering the alleyways of the village, gliding between the stairs scattered from house to house on the cliffs, there are some characteristic places you need to know to avoid being missed, It can be mentioned here:

• Fira old port:The old harbor of Santorini is located at the foot of the mountain, in the village of Thira, 980 meters (300 m) high. The main port has now been replaced by a new harbor which if you take the Blue Star will dock there. To get to the Old Port, you can walk through the zig-zag path, or hire a local folk-donkey service (let's say the donkey here is very dirty!), And the other way is cable. hang (cable car). Traveling with a donkey is € 8 / trip, go cable car is € 5 / every 20 'to have a trip and open daily from 6.30am-10pm, while walking is free but climbing tired!

• Museum in Thira:

In Santorini there are not only beautiful beaches, unique villages but also museums displaying antiques of an island with long history. The two main museums here are the Museum of Prehistoric Thira, open from Tuesday to Sunday (8.30am-3pm) and the Thira Maritime Museum open on weekdays except Tuesday (10 am-2pm and 5 pm- 8 pm).

• Oia Village (Ia)

Oia village is a village on the northwestern tip of the island, also the most famous village of Santorini. The cost of living, rooms in this village is also more expensive than in Thira. Here I will list down some places to explore, activities to try here:

• Walking in Amoudi Bay:  The top of Santorini but not in the mountains but a beautiful beach, crystal clear water, if not winter, then I jumped into the bath.
• Walking Around Oia:  Like Thira, you will spend a long time wandering through the craggy houses on the cliffs.

• Buy souvenirs in Oia: a lot of beautiful souvenirs made from terracotta, colorful colors, in addition to the clothes here are also very stylish, to the store like fairy tale has already!

• Sunset:

My photo - all rights reserved.

Oia village is famous for being one of the most beautiful sunsets in the world. Located at the highest point of Santorini, if you want to have a pleasant spot to watch the sunset, you need to come here before 4pm, take a walk around the village and choose a seat to enjoy the beautiful and fantastic sunset that many people wish to see it.

The place where people focus on the sunset is a cliff protruding brick wall built around, located in the middle of the village. From here you can look directly to the west where the sun goes down, with the right side of the house cluttered on the cliff (as in the picture)

• Perissa Village

This is a village of few tourists known for it is simply not famous with Oia and Thira, but it is also a good place for tourists to explore the special nature. The sandy beaches of Santorini have a unique blend of colors between the red, white and black sand beaches. One of the darkest beaches is Perissa. Often when not in either Oia or Thira, you will choose this village to rest when traveling Santorini.

• Red Beach, White Beach

This is the area at the bottom of the island, where you can easily see the most characteristic of Santorini formed from the surrounding volcano. The sand and mountains here are covered in a distinctive red color that is scarce. Red Sea is also a favorite place for tourists who like to swim, so you can easily catch sunbathing tourists all day here, even without clothes.

• Imerovigli village, Firostefani village

Look at the map above you can easily see some other places can be explored while traveling Santorini. You can visit some small villages such as the village of Imerovigli, the village of Firostefani (also located near the village of Fira, although not as famous but the view from the village to the sea is also very nice), common characteristics are the two villages are Quiet instead of the hustle and bustle of Thira and quite close to Thira by walking or by bus.

• Nea Kameni volcano

Arrived Santorini if you have the time and you can buy a tour to visit the famous Nea Kameni Volcanic Crater here, which is an uninhabited island in the crater of water. What is unique about this island is the crater formed from eruptions from a long time ago, what remains is a large deep well from the top down and not the same as the usual craters. You can buy a pre-booked tour from here (~ 18euro - 2016) or in the hotels, the hostel on the island has a tour. The entrance fee for the volcano is EUR 2 per person.

Nea Kameni volcano is considered as a geological park and needs to be preserved in Santorini, so there will be signs warning you not to bring pebbles from the volcano to "to commemorate"! You will have to walk up to the rim of a volcano so remember to bring sandals for walking or shoes for more convenience, in addition can bring more sunscreen, sunglasses, swimwear because of the beautiful beach here.

• Other beaches in Santorini

The beach in Santorini, which if you are on the island for many days can not be missed, it is in addition to Red Beach, White Beach there are many other super nice beaches spread around the area of the island. Each beach will be unique by the complex geology of Santorini, with black sand beaches, white sand beaches, and where the sandy pebbles are an exotic red. The color of the sea changes accordingly. Other famous beaches can be mentioned here:

1. Black Sea: Beach in Perissa village with typical black sand color.
2. Kamari Beach: The beach is located in the south of the island, right next to Perissa, where it is famous for its large boulders called Mesa Vouno.
3. Agios Georgios: Another Black Beach beach about 3 km from Perissa village, suitable for activities such as jet skiing, scuba diving, ..
4. Cape Columbo: A rather desolate beach on the east side of Thira.

• Foods in Santorini

Getting to Santorini without enjoying yogurt is a waste of time. Yogurt here has a distinctive scent and sweet taste mixed with sour extremely attractive. Also with daily meals you can eat Pita (a kind of sanwich), or Gyros with lamb like Kebab of Vietnam is also okay. Particularly Pita, I really love, eat a few days on the island without bored.

In addition, the seafood in Santorini is very good, are the fresh sea fishing boats. Other dishes on the island are similar to Athens, you can refer to my article on the Athens travel experience. Santorini is a separate island, so it also has to import food and fruit from other places. Fruit on the island you can easily buy and enjoy as Cherry, Strawberry or Olive. Fresh fruit is delicious, cool but with Oliu, it must be someone to eat new, I do not like it because it is strange, hard to eat.

A 2day schedule in Santorini is reasonable, the first day you can take a stroll around Thira, take the bus through Oia village to watch the sunset there. On the second day we went to other places such as the Red Sea, the Black Sea, Perissa, and then back to Thira for a sunset. Evening rides and meals in Thira.

If you are a financier you can not miss the boat cruises and watch the sunset in Santorini. It is an unforgettable experience; the boat will take you from 2pm, around the area, the most beautiful beaches on the island such as Black Sea, White beach, Red beach, watching the sunset in Amoudi Bay. On the boat there will be fruits, wine and BBQ dinner. Tour price is 100Euro / person, tours you can ask the hotel to buy.

My basic costs can be summarized as follows:

- Flight ticket Athens 40 e

 - Eating in Santorini: 75 euros,

-  Hotel on two nights in Santorini: 30 euros,

-  Shopping and transportation (Motorbike hire): 60Euro,

-  Visiting tickets through 20 e.

 Total cost is ~ 225 euros per person.

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