Planning a honeymoon in Greece? Well, then do consider Santorini as one of the options.
This was our first international trip together and likewise our Honeymoon. A lot of research went through as we wanted a budget trip without losing out on the charm of luxury as we were on our honeymoon. Collectively, our first choice was Santorini and we could not skip this fairytale place for next time, and undoubtedly, its the best decision we've ever made.
While booking our stay in Santorini, we were both excited and nervous, at the same time. Speaking of which, we made sure that we spend at least 4-days at this Greek island. There are a lot of beautiful islands in Greece. But there's something about Santorini that allure people from all over the world to come traverse its picturesque landscape.
Anyway, before we ramble on any further about how phenomenal this place is, we want to share some of the very best things we did in Santorini.
1.) Hiking from Fira to Oia (Mandatory)
2.) Watching the sunset in Oia
3.) Visiting the Santo Winery
4.) Exploring small lanes of Fira
5.) Witnessing the Black Sand Beach, Kamari
Day 1:
We took a flight: Mumbai - Istanbul - Athens and later boarded a cruise from Athens port to Santorini. We arrived at 2 pm and had asked the hotel to arrange for pickup, as not much public transport was available at the port.
We checked in Hotel Loizos which was just 2mins away from Fira's prominent streets. We can never get over the dazzling beauty of this town. We stuck to wandering these pretty little streets and ended our first-day having dinner at some cute restaurant.
Day 2:
Fira to Oia Hike: On Day 2, we chose to do the remarkable hike, which turned out to be the star-highlight of our trip. We strongly urge everyone to do this. (Level of the hike is moderate)
We began the trek post-lunch at around 3 pm, so that we do not miss the phenomenal sunset at Oia. The hiking trail from Fira to Oia distances around 12kms. The path is similar to a sidewalk, cobblestone, a dirt path. There is a good incline in both directions. Along the hike, you’ll pass by several Santorini hamlets that will take your breath away. In our view, the villages are what makes this walk so exceptional. The extensive views of the Aegean Sea are pretty magnificent, too, but these small coastal villages cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. Firostefani and Imerovigli are both small villages full of Cycladic homes. You’ll pass through these villages soon after leaving Fira.
Be sure to get your best camera because you’ll want to snap a photo at every curve.
Note: Carry water, Cap, Sunscreen, and snacks on this hike. As there would be 3 mountains which you will climb up & down and at one stretch there is no shops.
See below images from each small villages through which we pass.
Being sunset-lovers, we began this trek way too early. The place was too jam-packed and fortunately, once we reached the top we got a place to sit and relax and enjoy the view. Post-sunset, we took the Bus to Fira (2Euro p.p.) and were back to our hotel.
To behold the splendid views of Santorini, one has to take this trek from Fira to Oia.
We had our dinner in one of the Chinese restaurants in Fira Market, which cost us roughly 12 Euros for Chicken fried rice & Manchurian.
Below is the food we enjoyed for Lunch
Day 3:
We had a slothful morning as we were drained of the previous day's hike. Post a good breakfast, we left out to saunter around the Fira Town.
Many visits to the Fira town are a must, as you would not get enough of this place. Every day lot of vacationists come via cruise here for a day tour and swiftly the town becomes congested. Fresh morning, you can walk around the town for some postcard-perfect pictures. The charm of white - blue cover gives you a sense of how gorgeous the place can be. Quaint elegant Cafes with the view of the sea, Souvenir stores, street play all this makes your day.
We had some Pizza, Greek Coffee and White wine for our lunch. It's an extravagant affair if you wish to have a meal in a restaurant with a view (Spent around 40Euros for two). Post that we tried Frozen yogurt @ChilliBoxyogurt.
Since the sun was directly beaming on our head, we headed back to our hotel, due to scorching heat.
Again in the late evening, we left to view one more sunset from Fira this time. As again we were tongue-tied by the exquisiteness of the sunset.
After sunset, we clicked a few photos with the background of Santorini dwellings & hotels on a cliff which are lit in the night.
This time we wanted to have a budget-friendly meal and headed straight to have Gyros, our newly profound love. 1 Open Gryos + 1 closed Gyros + Coke & Chips was our meal, which cost us only 10 Euros.
We witness numerous church in Oia, Imerovigli, Firostefani, and Fira. Each one was spectacular and we loved the exterior and interior of these church. See below few of the images we manage to click.
Day4:
We had reserved our last day's stay at Kamari beach which is popularly known as the Black Sand beach. From our room, we could hear the sound of waves. Our hotel was on the beach promenade itself. This place was calm and very few travelers were around as the peak season starts from June to Sept on this party beach.
In the evening, we wanted to go touring, but the nature god had different plans. There were constant rain showers, so we just went out for good budget food. This time we had Wok Box.
Day 5: We had a cruise scheduled for Mykonos, another island on our Greece diaries.
Stay tuned for our Mykonos blog. Let me know for any inquiries, if you have on your travel plans. Happy to help & share our experiences.
See below the approx cost breakup:
Flight Cost from India - 38k pp (u can book multicity and this cost remain constant for additional European cities you explore) (Only intercity travel will add, which is not costly)
Hotel Stay @4nights - 25k couple
Transport - 8k all days transfers included for couple
Food - approx 21k for couple
Misc + Shopping - 5k
Total per person = 70k