Highlights and Must Dos in Athens and Santorini, Greece
"You can dance, You can jive, Having the time of your life..."
This week I spent 6 days in Greece checking off a major item on my bucket-list, Athens and Santorini. The trip was filled with incredible highs, laughs, and a little transportation frustration but mainly just pure bliss.
Athens
I met up with my friend Courtney Yansza for this trip at the Athens airport on Friday morning. We spent the day walking around in the extreme heat, checking out the Acropolis and Parthenon over looking the entire city of Athens.
At the Acropolis
View from the Acropolis looking out
The views up there are INCREDIBLE. Just buildings and ancient ruins for as far as you can see. I have always thought Greek mythology was fascinating and have even read books and watched movies on the subject so seeing all of this in person was just so surreal.
After, we decided on an early night since we’d been up since 4 am and had a flight early the next day so we enjoyed the views from the hostel that we booked strictly for the rooftop bar they have, then headed to bed.
View from the hostel rooftop bar
Santorini
Saturday we flew to Santorini in the early morning and this started my favorite part of the trip!
Santorini is one of the several beautiful islands nestled off the coast of Greece in the Aegean Sea. Scenes from movies including The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Mamma Mia have been inspired by these beautiful islands with their amazing black and red sand beaches, incredible views and charming villages with white walls and blue rooftops settled on the cliffs of the islands. This place has truly captured my heart as a vacation destination I will return to one day!
Day one:
We arrived at the airport and took the bus from the airport to Fira, and then the bus from Fira to Perissa beach (one of the black sand beach areas on the island) where we checked into our hostel.
Our hostel
Then headed to lunch and later the beach. Most restaurants on Perissa beach have a deal where you eat at there establishment for a certain amount and after you get two chairs with an umbrella and (spotty) WiFi on the beach. We spent 25 euros for two people’s meals and this deal. If you’re looking for slightly cheaper prices and more reclusive beaches, check out Perissa beach. We also went in September so keep this in mind but it didn’t feel over crowded to me at all and the weather was still plenty warm enough.
Enjoying the black sand beaches
Day two:
Day two was a day trip to Oia on the north west side of the island. We took a bus from Perissa beach to Fira, then Fira to Oia. Oia is the place you think of when someone says “Greek islands” or “Santorini.” The town is set on the cliff side overlooking the Aegean Sea and it’s BREATH TAKING.
The view from Oia
We got about two/three hours into the day when we decided it was too hot to be on land and headed to Ammoudi Bay for some adrenaline kicks! 220 steps to the bottom of Oia is where the Ammoudi Bay cliff diving takes place and it’s worth every single step. Totally free to do as well so that’s a total score! The trek to the popular area is a little dangerous since there are falling rocks and a damaged path way so bring good shoes and change before you get there or end up changing behind a large boulder in front of a few dozen people. (Not speaking from personal experience or anything.. 😂)
The walk to the cliffs. You can see where the bridge collapsed
Swimming to the island to jump
The cliff is located just on the left
Jumped a few times and decided I swallowed enough salt water to last me
the rest of my life so then we just swam
The water was so clear and a beautiful blue
We had to make the admittedly awful climb back up those 220 steps afterwards, which I can’t say I enjoyed, but I decided I didn’t want to do a donkey ride while there. It’s a popular tourist attraction but after seeing their poor beat down faces I decided I would walk. This one is for you guys!
(Also shout out to my Grandma D! When we have family Christmas Eve at her house she plays Dominick the Italian Christmas donkey and every time I see a donkey I think of my grandma! So.. with love from Santorini, I miss you!)
We spent the rest of the evening shopping, taking pictures, eating with incredible views and watching the sunset over the island.
Dinner over looking the sea
The ruins of the castle is a pretty popular spot at the edge of the city to watch the sunset
Day three:
Our hostel had a few excursion options we could pay for so we chose to take a boat for three hours to hike a volcano and swim in the hot springs. It cost 20 euros for the trip and 2.50 euros for the volcano entrance. We were worried that our pricing was skewed from where everyone else buys them but we neither saved nor over spent. I checked out the dock’s pricing and all the tours available had the same prices. To get there we took a bus from Perissa beach to Fira and walked to the cable cars that are a two minute trip down the side of the cliff. It’s the quickest way down but costs 6 euros each way. The other two options were to walk or ride the donkeys.
Once on the tour they gave us about 30 minutes at the springs and then we headed to the volcano for an hour and a half round trip hike up an active volcano! When we reached the top we were at the highest point of all the island.
The boats we took
The hot springs
Side note: bring an old or dark colored bathing suit for the hot springs. My white suit didn’t get destroyed thankfully but I was warned it very well might not be white by the end of the swim
The top of the volcano
We explored the city of Fira after our excursion and window shopped a bit. Then had another night of swimming back at the black beaches of Perissa by our hostel. We decided we wouldn’t have enough time to check out the red beaches unfortunately.
Athens again
Helpful Information:
Transportation:
There are a few ways to travel around the island:
- By bus
- By car
- By taxi (most expensive)
- Or my personal favorite by Vespa/ATV quad
If you’re choosing the bus, be prepared for cheap bus rides usually around 1-3 euros but unfortunately longer commutes. The main bus station is located in Fira so anywhere on the island essentially takes you to Fira, where you have to transfer to the next city. For example, the previously mentioned bus from the airport to Fira, then Fira to Perissa beach was slightly out of the way but the cheapest route costing less than 5 euros.
Side note: allow yourself PLENTY of time to get to your destination if you have a set time to be somewhere. We almost missed our boat tour because our bus took over an hour to get to the destination that was supposed to be a 20 minute ride.
If you chose the taxi be prepared for insanely high costs all trip.
The final two options require a little bit of preplanning but I recommend if you have the time! Cars, vespas and ATVs require international licenses to rent. If you’re already an EU citizen no problem! If you’re an American I believe you can get an international licenses at AAA before you leave. The reason is for insurance purposes but this is most of Europe so if you’re doing multiple cities I encourage this option! I really wanted to rent an ATV but was unfortunately unable to do so since I don’t posses a license. They’re an easy and quick way to get around the island which is surprisingly larger than one would think. It cost about 40 euros per day and you can go anywhere on the island and have no issues parking. On beach days it’s not necessary but for sight seeing days, check it out!
Before You Go:
Bring LOTS of cash - the island is mainly cash only and ATM machines have high withdrawal fees
Bring sunscreen - sunscreen on the island is very expensive. Like 20-35 dollars for small bottles expensive.
Bring goggles - there are plenty of diving and snorkeling excursions to do on the island but I think bringing a pair of your own goggles is a cheap way to do your own snorkeling and not just in designated areas
Water on the island is not drinkable - we were even advised not to brush our teeth with it so we used bottles bought from the store. Thankfully everywhere on the island has super cheap water. Normally .50 cents for a ,50 bottle and 1.00 euro for 1,5 liters typically.
If Greece is not on your bucket list ADD IT NOW. The food and the views are definitely worth checking out in person. Also don't forget to follow me on Instagram (@KaseyMeetsWorld) for more incredible pictures of my travels.
Happy Traveling!
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