Greece Day 5

The thing I had been most looking forward to was going to Santorini. So even though it would make for a fairly long day, we decided to do a day trip. It was great, but one piece of advice up front, try to set aside two or three days if you plan to go. We would have really loved more time!  We got up early and headed to the port where the high speed boat was due to leave at 9:30. We got there an hour in advance and the ticket guy said that the boat was sold out!  Oh no!  But he advised us to hang out until just before departure to see if there were cancellations. About a dozen people did so and it was no problem for all of us to get on the boat. From what I can tell, they make reservations with tour companies and estimate the number of seats needed based on the number of buses coming, and it's always somewhat less than that. The board from Heraklion to Santorini is not cheap, about 120 euros round trip. It's just good to know that island hopping in Greece is going to cost you.

The boat takes about two hours to get there. It's a pretty smooth ride.  It docks in a port called Athinios. There is not much in Athinios other than services for tourists, although the views of the Aegean and the three or four smaller islands off Santorini are spectacular. But you want to get out of the port and into the other towns to experience Santorini. It is possible to take a bus or taxi from Athinios, however, we chose to rent a car so we could have more flexibility. This is definitely more expensive than Crete. We paid 35 euros for the day, which is really only five hours. We would have liked to have rented a scooter, but the road out of the port is not considered safe for scooters, so you have to get up to Phira to do so.  So we settled on the car, another tiny car, and went up the very windy road toward Phira. 

The car rental guy had suggested to us that we park in a lot right outside of Phira and then walk in as it is very challenging to drive in Phira and not really possible to park.  This was absolutely the right call. So we parked and headed into the town. It was spectacular. Just beautiful - the white buildings built into the cliffs, the spectacular views.  It was simply amazing and indescribably beautiful.  We had lunch at a nice restaurant with a great view. The food was great, including a wonderful fava bean soup, but it was the setting that was so special. After lunch we walked around Phira a little more before heading out to Oia.

So one word of advice for future visitors.  The drive from Phira to Oia is short, it's only about 5K, but very windy so it is actually a fairly long drive, and beautiful, but there are no gas stations on the way.  Fill your car up in Phira!  We drove this magnificent and slightly scary route and then we got to the outskirts of Oia to notice our gas light come on.  Not a place to run out of gas!  But we stopped at a rental car company and the guy there got on his scooter, drove to a gas station and brought us back four liters of gas. Did I mention how nice the Greeks are? It was wonderful. 

We drove up to Oia, parked, and went into the village. It may be the most beautiful place in the world.  Simply stunning. Beautiful vistas, beautiful buildings. All we did was walk around and be simply awestruck. I've added some photos and you can find much better photos than these on Pinterest and other places, but trust me, none of them do it justice.  Amazing. 

A word to the wise about Phira and Oia. There are lots of steps. Lots of walking in narrow streets and I am sure in high season, it is crowded. So be prepared for exercise!  Unfortunately, it is not possible to navigate these towns with a wheelchair or stroller. It would just be too hard. 

We left Oia and headed back to Athinios, but we had some time so spare so we stopped to taste wine in a winery called Santos near the port. Another big hit. Great wines, great views. If we had had more time we would have gone to the beach with black sand or the ruins at Akrotiri, but overall it was a great day and we will go back!

The trip back was actually better than the trip over.  For some reason, it was a larger boat and way more comfortable, so we slept the whole way.  Here are just a couple of pictures of Santorini.