This little island located in the Mediterranean overlooks the Algean sea and has an amazing postcard view from the main town of Fira and Oia. By sunset, the sky turns into an array of colours; Orange, pink, purple, red and yellow. It is just so beautiful. The different coloured lights are turned on as the sun sets and the town comes to life! The cool wind is welcomed as you sit at a cafe sipping your 3.50euros coffee frappé with a million dollar view beneath your feet.
Everything about this place is so surreal and magical!
Here are some tips that we've discovered on the trip to share with you all:
1) Santorini is definitely NOT kids-friendly. We were super relieved when we arrived knowing Z and D were not with us. The main reason is because the main strip in Fira (capital of Santorini) is filled with cars, motorbikes and quadbikes. To top it off, streets are so narrow and you don't have any footpath to walk on so you have to be super vigilant at all times. You have to share the same road as all the other drivers and thousands of holiday makers! Sometimes when a bus comes onto the road, it is literally 5cm away from you! It's pretty stressful for parents especially w prams (all concrete pebble road.. Very hard to push let over trying to go up and downhill). There are also a lot of big stairs made of rocks/concrete for you to climb up and down the island and once again... definitely not ideal for kids or young family. The island caters more for honeymooners, backpackers or family w teenagers.
2) We had tried over 10gyros by day 3 in Santorini and the verdict is.. For the best gyros (pork wrapped w tomatoes/lettuce/chips) it is foud in Obelix in Fira. For the best lamb gyros which the Greeks call it the kebab is found in Tabasco also in Fira (the main 'no cars allowed' strip). For the best Greek food including seafood, head to Nikolas which was recomended by two different locals. Their moussaka (eggplant w beef mince, potato, tomato and cheese bake) is super delicious along w their seafood spaghetti. Their bread and olive oil is superb too! This restaurant is located also in Fira and even though it's located without any view but rather in a small alleyway, there were still heaps of ppl lining up to get in. The restaurant is soooo popular amongst both the locals and tourists and now we know why! It's your traditional Greek food w fans on the ceiling and wooden tables and chairs (nothing modern or fancy about it). The price is also reasonable and undoubtedly it was the best restaurant we've been to in Europe (along w Tapa Tapa in Barcelona).
3)You don't really come to Santorini for their beaches, because it is filled with rocks and pebbles that cuts
your feet when you stand on it and if they have algae on it, u can slip easily when you're walking or swimming in the sea. The beaches are no where as good as Australia or SE Asia! Instead, if we had more $, we would've splurged on at least a 4 star resort (which will cost u min 120euros p.n) with a beautiful view and a swimming pool for is to do nothing except to relax and soak in the serenity. Oia is definitely where I would recommend any couple to stay (instead of Fira which is more a happening town and very noisy similar to Kuta in Bali).
4) if u can find a local supermarket (not like a general store which the Greeks still call a supermarket but rather a supermarket w a conveyor belt) which is generally on the outskirts of tourisy areas, then buy up the bottles of water there!) we had only discovered it on our last day in Santorini and we were shocked to see the prices in a real supermarket was 6 x 1.5L mineral water for 1.69euros!!! U know how much the tourisy so called 'supermarket'/sundry shop is selling water for? Btw 1-1.20euros for a 1.5L only! I felt so ripped off!!! And whilst we were in the local supermarket, you could tell the cashiers didn't want us there as it was literally just the locals that go there! Everything was ridiculously cheap vs in the heart of Fira or Oia town!
5) Bring your own hat and sunblock otherwise it is super expensive to buy it on the island. For example, I found my round blue hat w a ribbon that I had bought in Langkawi for AUD$5. The same thing at the shops was selling for 18euros which is about $25AUD! Rip off!
6) You can not drink the local water... So this means u have to pay for 'water' in restaurants which can cost from $1.5-$4 euros for a 1.5L bottle. So what we did was buy our water from supermarket and order only 1 drink say coke zero which then the waiter will give u 2 cups and then I would pour my own water hidden in my longchamp handbag to drink instead ;) hahaha7) To get around the island, u can catch the bus which is around 1.60euros one way (doesn't matter the distance). You can also rent quadbikes which are 4WD cross w a motorbike for 30euros per days for a small one or 50euros for a large one. Every local we asked told us they did not recommend the quadbikes as is very dangerous and has seen many accidents. So Mr M being super protective reminded me that we are parents and therefore need to be super cautious so he went to rent a car 4WD Suzuki coupe w the roof off for us to drive around the island. We paid 75euros inc of insurance to rent for a day in Fira main town. If u rent from airport or the Port, it will cost u at least double!
8) Greek ppl are so nice! They probably have the best customer service in Europe! The French has a lot to learn from them! For all of our hotel transfers, they were more than happy to pick us up and drop us off for free! Normally u need min 3 nights stay w them but because I asked several times nicely on email, they gave in and did us a favour (from two different hotels!).
Over all, Santorini is a beautiful place to chill out and unwind especially with their breathtaking views. I wouldn't stay more than 3 days though cos u will start to get bored and take the view for granted ;p Would I go back again? Probably not, because there are just too many beautiful places around the world we just haven't set our feet on...
