Santorini is hands-down one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever visited. Located in the Aegean Sea, this rocky island looks how it does today after an enormous volcanic eruption hundreds of years ago created its caldera. Home to incredible sunsets, fresh seafood galore, amazing wine, and endless stunning views, Santorini is a dream to visit!

• How to get here:
  • If you’re coming from the US, you’ll typically fly through Athens first to get to Santorini, so if you’re looking for how to spend a day or two in Athens, you can find that here. From Athens, you can catch another flight to Santorini on Aegean Airlines or RyanAir, or take a high-speed ferry instead. If you choose to visit Mykonos first like I did here, there’s also a ferry that you can take from Mykonos to Santorini.

• When to visit:
  • Santorini is a popular summer destination for good reason, so I recommend avoiding most of the crowds by visiting before or after peak summertime.
  • April or May are great times to visit, when the weather is still typically quite warm but the island is much quieter, as are mid-September to October.

• Where to stay:
  • Santorini has several towns that are located on the cliffs of the caldera, the most popular being Fira, Oia, and Imerovigli, that all have fantastic views, gorgeous sunsets, and plenty of charming streets and restaurants to enjoy. I suggest staying in one of these towns for easiest access to all of Santorini’s best sites and scenery.
  • We stayed at the Cori Rigas Suites on the cliffside of Fira, and I can’t recommend the location, the service, the food, or the views highly enough!

• What to do:
  • Hike from Fira to Oia:
    • My absolute favorite thing to do in Santorini is to hike from Fira to Oia, a 6.2 mile (or 10km) hike along the cliffside that has the most incredible views I’ve ever seen. It takes about 3 hours to do this hike with plenty of stopping to enjoy the scenery and take photos, which you’ll definitely want to do!
    • I highly recommend starting in Fira and hiking to Oia, (rather than starting in Oia), because it’s less uphill hiking this way. After your hike, you can take the bus back to Fira or Imerovigli, or wherever you are staying.

      

  • Do a wine tasting:
    • While planning our trip, I learned that Santorini’s dry climate makes it perfect for wine making. Vinsanto is a dessert wine that is unique to the area, so we actually brought a bottle home to open on our ten year anniversary!

      

    • Taking a winery tour like this one is the most convenient (and safest!) way to visit a few of the wineries, where you can enjoy incredible views and try a variety of different red and white wines. Make sure you make a reservation for Santo Winery if it’s not included in your tour. Their views and their wines just cannot be beat!

      

  • Take a sunset catamaran tour:
    • Another highlight of my time in Santorini was a sunset catamaran cruise that took us everywhere from the famous Red Beach, the White Beach, the Venetian lighthouse, and the natural hot springs.
    • A cruise like this one typically include dinner, and despite being prepared in a tiny kitchen plus on the catamaran’s barbecue, our seafood dinner here was one of our best meals in Santorini! Add in some wine and beer, plus champagne during sunset, and it was an amazing time.

      

Santorini was definitely my favorite destination of our two weeks traveling throughout Greece, and I hope these tips help get you started on having an incredible time here! Have you been dreaming of visiting Santorini, or have you already visited this beautiful island? Let me know in the comments and leave any questions that you have for me!