Due to some excellent foresight, we had planned to stayed 4 nights instead of 2 on the island of Santorini – a fantastic choice in hindsight.

As we got close to Santorini we went out to the top deck of the ferry to admire the view as we came into port. The island is gorgeous – a crescent shape due to an ancient volcanic eruption. The port is on the concave side of the island clinging on to the side of a seemingly insurmountable cliff-face.

We were staying in the main town of Fira – centrally located in the island and perched on top of the cliff – overlooking the ancient volcano and water beyond. There is a small port just below the town, and a windy track known as the donkey trail leading from the port to the town.

On our first night we had dinner with our tour group at a restaurant overlooking the town and the water. We watched the sun go down whilst eating Greek food – and trying to ignore the lingering smell of donkeys from the trail just below.

Our first day adventure was a tour to see the ancient volcano crater (Kameni Island). We walked down the donkey trail to the Old Port of Fira and hopped on the excursion boat to the island. The island itself wasn’t particularly interesting – just volcanic rocks and dust everywhere. After our hour long walk around the island in the sweltering heat, we boarded the boat where we were taken round to some thermal springs in the water. We dived off the boat and swam over to the springs – which were also full of volcanic mud.

Once back at the Old Port, we stupidly decided to avoid the cable car and the donkeys (they are treated badly) and walked the 588 steps up the donkey trail. Let me tell you – it was a LOT easier coming down than going back up. The steps themselves are about a meter in depth, and each should really be two steps instead of one. By the time we got to the top Jeni and I were completely exhausted and dehydrated.

Aside from wandering along the path at the top of the cliff, the other thing we did in Santorini was to hire quad-bikes and explore the island. Jeni, Kerrie and myself hired the bikes for the day and drove down to the bottom of the island, then all the way back up to the top.

Our first stop was the ‘Red Beach’ at the southern end of the island. We arrived and climbed over the rocks – and I was surprised that the beach and cliff behind the beach was actually red. We spent a while cooling off in the water and watching a Bollywood movie being filmed at the start of the beach.

Next stop was the ‘Black Beach’ at Kamari. We strolled along the water front stopping to check out the resorts, restaurants and shops that were lined up along the beach.

From there it was a race to get up to Oia (pronounced Eee-ah) at the top of the island to have time to take photos before sunset. Oia is the town where most of the famous Greek Island photos are taken from and it is a really gorgeous town. We arrived only an hour before sunset and Jeni and I were madly running around the town taking photographs before the sun disappeared. And speaking of which – the view of sunset fro Oia is supposedly one of the most beautiful in the world. we went out to the point where everyone gathers to watch – I’ll let you decide from the the photo.

Santorini is a beautiful island and we spent many hours just walking around the caldera and around the towns taking photos. The pristine white buildings and colourful highlights make this part of the world something really special.

This post is tagged Cyclades, Greece, island, Santorini