What to do in Santorini, Greece

Well, nowdays public seems to think that coming to Greece will be nothing but chaos. Or people tend to think it’s quite chancy to travel to one of the richest historical country worldwide ever since they’re facing an immense bankruptcy. The truth is, the country might have a billion debt to pay but the life isn’t death, the beauty remains, and the culture preserved. Athens might be your first choice of destination when you think of Greece. Name under the Goddess Athena, the city provides you not only for its beauty but also its heroic scar all over the road. But Athens, like any other capital city, is crowded, busy, and clearly not the best place to clear up your messy head.

Try Santorini, its beyond beauty. A perfect place to lose up your head especially for those who love the sea. In summer, Santorini can be a real scorcher, but not to worry you can always jump of the hills and enjoy the Aegean sea. The water is like nothing else. It is so blue, pep up, and you can clearly see whatever underneath it. Santorini is all about beach and bitches. Never expect to have a white glistening sands, cause Santorini won’t give you. It is a volcanic island, that’s why the sands are black, red, or in some beach like Perissa beach, it’s fully rock instead of sands. But not to worry, the water will amaze you. Perissa beach is a great spot for chilling. You can rent an umbrella for 7 euro, and stay there as long as you want. In summer, you can stay at 5 pm till the sun goes down cause by that time, the rock is not boiling hot. Swimming in Perissa is something you have to try. The water is amazingly clear and not too deep. Underneath the water is fully rock, like a big flat rock coming together so it won’t hurt your feet. The view from Perissa is stunning, it’s rite behind a huge hills of Ancient Thira, so you can clearly see the amazing cliff rite beside you. If you plan to come and enjoy Perissa you can start from Kamari Black Beach, and climb the hills to see Ancient Thira. The sands of the black beach are black and is why they name it Black Beach. Black Beach will offer you some option for water sports like jet sky or other like sailing. Things that you have to do in Kamari Black Beach is jump off the cliff and deal with your adrenaline. Then, when you’re done with the beach you can go up to the top of Ancient Thira. It’s an old village which is standing up on the hills. Here you can see an old church made by marble, sanctuary, bath, houses, and all of them were from 3rd or 4th BC, made by marble. You can walk to the hills (but trust me, if you’re not a fan of hiking, its not for you), you can try to use ATV or car or bike. The things are, if you choose to walk, you can walk back in a small pathway in the different side of the hills to reach Perissa beach, which unfortunately no ATV or car or bike can barely pass the roads. Those with transportation need to go back to Kamari and choose another big road to pass the hills. From Kamari to Perissa it took only 30 min or less. You can make your way worth it by coming to Boutari Winery on the way to Perissa, you can take a winery tour and try their wine. You can see a lot of winery garden all over Santorini, and you probably ask why the tree is shorter comparing to the usual grape tree. If you are curious and probably a wine lover, try Boutari, well you must be familiar with Boutari, it’s quite well known in Europe. Not only the black ones, Santorini also have the Red Beach in Akrotiri and White beach. Compare to Perissa beach, the water is quite rough but Red beach is something to visit cause the sunset is beautiful from here. You can go by boat from Red Beach to White Beach and it cost only for 2 Euro.

Sailing in Aegean sea is something worth to try. Santorini is so windy, the it makes such a perfect choice for sailing. While sailing you can visit the Vulcano Island. The view from Vulcanoisland is worth your every efforts to climb the top. For those who like diving, Vulcano Island is one of the favorite spots to dive. To get to the island, you can rent a private boat or joining one day tour from Central Bay of Fira to Vulcano Island and Thirassia Island. From the volcano island to Thirassia, they take you to Hot Spring water. In summer, the hot spring water is a definite place to visit. The water is so blue, and refreshing. Mostly people swim from the boat to a small island surrounded by it. Thirassia Island, is the best spot for food. A lot of people come here to actually have a brunch or lunch. They serve Seafood grilled in Souvlaki or Gyros. The most favorite restaurant is Captain John, it’s located right in the beach line. The Calamari Souvlaki is worth to try. For seafood,it is a bit pricy compare to chicken, pork or lamb. One big Souvlaki can cost 11 euro to 15 euro, depend on what you like, Shrimp Calamari and Octopus is slightly more expensive compare to fish. From Thirassia, you can enjoy Oia sunset. Usually the boat will drop you in AmoudiBay ,Oia. In here, you can walk a bit, and find a small Cliff close by the sea. The water in Oia is similar with the one in Hot Spring, blue and clear. Try to swim from the rock to the cliff, it is deep but trust me its worth it! Water in Oia is the most beautiful. Basically, there’s no beach in Oia and that’s why it’s so deep. If you are not a good swimmer you should be more careful because the waves are quite high, especially at 5 pm. From AmoudiBay up to the Oia village, you can find the Blue Dome house everywhere! You can go either by walk or by riding a Donkey. Try to ride a donkey will be fun and it costs only 5 euro. Up hills, you can enjoy the sunset as well. They say, sunset in Oia is the most beautiful sunset in the world.

Close to Santorini, you may want to visit another big island close by. You might try, Paros, Naxos, Dalos, Ios and Myconos. Travel to Myconos and Dalos can take 3 to 4 hours with ferry. Tourists from Santorini mostly go to Naxos or Paros. Naxos is more preferable. It takes only 2 hours by ferry. Unlike Santorini which is dry, Naxos is somehow green and not as crowded as Santorini. You can spend one whole day in Naxos and go back the day after. The ferry’s expense depends on its speed. The two hours one is 18 euro. In Naxos, you have to go to the Old Market. The souvenir in Naxos is better compare to Santorini but unfortunately more expensive. The market is a Labyrinth, and it is beautifully confusing, so make sure you read the map so you won’t get lost inside. The beach in Naxos is different with Santorini because in here, finally, you can find the white glistening sands. Try to go to Aliqa beach or Plaka,Plaka is nude or semi-nude beach, a lot of babes.

How to get to Santorini? You have two options. Either by plane, it takes only 45 min or 5 hours by ferry. Well, the price is slightly different, it’ll be back on your preferences. If you enjoy sailing (as much as I do) then ferry will be your mate, but if you wanna get your ass quickly to Santorini, then fly it is. You can take two most famous Greece airlines, like Aegean and Olympic. Aegean has a better reputation compare to Olympic but both are actually fine. Well, in choosing place to stay, Santorini has so many villages for you to stay. The island mainly offers you a lot of villas, hotel or dorms with different prices. If you choose to stay in the Caldera and directly facing the Aegean Sea, the prices will be more expensive, you can try to stay in the village like Karterados. It’s close to Fira, the city center, and the people are definitely chisseled. Karterados is small village, and everyone knows each other pretty well and they treat you best. You can also choose another village to stay, I’m sure they won’t fail you.

Make your travel worth it by coming to Greece, “She” won’t fail you.
(Putri Caesa)