And the Greece adventure continues. In my last post - Travel Guide: Athens, Greece - I mentioned that I would be doing a Travel Guide for Santorini next. I'm so glad to hear you all enjoyed the format of it! Without further-a-do let's get into Santorini aka the place you probably see on your twitter timeline WAY too often.
📍Santorini, Greece
As I mentioned in my Travel Guide: Athens, Greece post I went with EF Tours Ultimate Break. Included in the tour for Santorini was an excursion but I decided to opt out.
Now, I am going to tell you what my dad told my sister and I (Fun fact: My dad actually used to live in Greece):
Ask the hotel if they have any day-tours happening.
Chances are, they do have something happening. Best part? IT WAS ONLY 50€ TO SEE EVERY PART OF SANTORINI - my wallet was doing a happy dance.
Ask the hotel if they have any day-tours happening.
Chances are, they do have something happening. Best part? IT WAS ONLY 50€ TO SEE EVERY PART OF SANTORINI - my wallet was doing a happy dance.
Red Beach
I overlooked the beach from a cliff
GENERAL TIPS:
TIP #1: It is a bit of a rocky climb, so wearing sneakers or Toms is a must here so you're guaranteed not to fall/misstep.
TIP #2: As you walk back down from your climb, there is a small little souvenir shop there. It is actually normally priced -although a touristy area, it wasn't anything too crazy.
TIP #3: Our Tour Guide for the day mentioned that you can swim there however, he advised against it because mudslides occur often.
TIP #4: This cliff is child safe, there is rope lining around the cliff itself so no one can actually go all the way to the edge.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:
TIP #1: There are a lot of people there trying to get their perfect shot, so you're going to have to wait your turn - when you have that turn, take your time with taking a photo. Chances are, the opening won't come up again.
TIP #2: Wear your sunglasses for photos, if you feel like opting out of wearing sunglasses please take a look at how that went for me:
my eyes were blinded by the actual sun
TIP #3: Taking a jumping photo here wasn't really the best, I'd recommend taking a photo of you standing with your back to the cliffs and water. Here's how my jumping photo went:
I'm not the HUGEST fan of this photo, partly because my 5'5'' 1/2 self couldn't jump higher (Ok my doctor said I'm 5'6'' but everyone I know tells me I am not 5'6'' so 5'5 1/2 is what I'm going with)
TIP #4: For the person taking the photo of you, make sure they get each angle. What I mean is have them take a photo of you with them standing directly in front of you, then have them take a step to the left and take a photo, and lastly have them step to the right.
Straight in front of you: You get the view of the water and a cliff behind you.
Standing to the left of you: You get more of the cliff you are on behind you.
Standing to the right of you: You get the full view of the vast amount of water behind and maybe even of people canoeing in the background!
_____
Not a tip but here's a small blurb from my day-tour map about Red Beach so you have a bit more of an idea of where you'd be visiting:
Short stop for photos at the famous volcanic beach, well known for the unique color of the sand, it's soaring red lava cliffs and clear green waters.
just so you know I'm laughing at ~short stop~ for photos because you and I both know for the memories & 'gram you are taking 3902+ photos
Akrotiri Excavation Site
GENERAL TIPS
TIP #1: This tip is for my students: Bring Your Student ID! The original ticket was I believe 14€ but for students, it is brought down to 7€.
TIP #2: There are multiple tours happening at the same time so make sure you have you eyes on your tour and aren't standing too long in one spot reading small blurbs.
TIP #3: This kind of goes hand in hand with the tip above, make sure you are close enough to the tour guide to hear what they are actually saying - there were times where I couldn't hear what was said because I was too far in the back.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
TIP #1: The lighting in here is actually sunlight so rest assured your photos will have nice lighting. Not really a tip, but thought to mention!
TIP #2: When taking photos of the different artifacts, make sure to take a photo of the blurbs alongside. I have a few photos I took in here that I actually don't remember what they were.
TIP #3: Take your photos as you are walking through your tour and not try to make a mental note to take them when you have free time. I did this and wish I took photos right-then and there instead of thinking I'd have free time afterwards to retrace my steps.
I did want to note that I wasn't COMPLETELY blown away at this. If given the opportunity to see this place again, I think I'd pass it. I found it interesting, of course. But not to in a wow this is so cool kind of way. Fun lil fact though: This ancient civilization had a full draining system while the civilization at the time of discovering this didn't.
Perivolos Beach
Here! you! can! swim!
GENERAL TIPS
TIP #1: You can't just walk right onto the beach. There are taverna's lined up where there's a section to eat/grab drinks + this also includes going to the beach right in front of said Taverna. So, look for a beach section you want to go to and then go and get a drink from the place there. Win Win situation. You pay for your 3.50€ drink and get to swim in the beach!
TIP #2: The beach here is interesting. You know how on a beach you can walk and walk until you can't reach anymore and then you're floating? Yeah, so this beach isn't like that. You walk about 15-20 steps and suddenly you can't reach - there's a massive drop.
TIP #3: Keep watch of your bags while you're swimming. This might just be me being paranoid but while swimming I didn't want something happening to my money + phone!
TIP #4: Try grilled Feta cheese. (I didn't get a chance to due to being short on time on this day-tour in each area but I really wish I did.)
TIP #5: If you also manage to find yourself on a day-tour then you may also have to decide between going for a swim OR eating lunch. My sister and I opted to swim and didn't have time to eat lunch
If you are not on time constraints, take your time here and eat some seafood. Since you're literally right by the sea it can't get any fresher than that! There are some places along the boardwalk that are expensive and some that are nicer on your wallet - so pick and choose the best one for yourself there!
TIP #6: Uh this isn't really a tip, more of a don't be alarmed by the sand being black - it's black volcanic sand!
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
So I'm just going to leave you with one Photography Tip because I'm just going to assume you all know how to take photos on a beach!
TIP #1: Remember how I mentioned you take 15-20 steps and then there's a huge drop? Yeah, so make sure you aren't walking backwards in the water trying to get a good photo of yourself and then suddenly down you go.
_____
This Travel Guide is being split into 2 (or maybe 3?) because there is actually 4 more places I visited within Santorini, places to eat, weather, hotel, and transportation that I want to write about + give tips on and I think this post would turn into a novel if I wrote all of that here.
I think I may do:
Part 2: 4 other places I visited + Tips (General & Photography)
Part 3: Places to Eat, Hotel, Weather & Transportation
Does that sound okay? Let me know your thoughts!
I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of Santorini - SEE YOU ALL IN PART 2!
If you haven't already, you can read up on Travel Guide: Athens Greece which is actually more of a novel than this post.
I overlooked the beach from a cliff
GENERAL TIPS:
TIP #1: It is a bit of a rocky climb, so wearing sneakers or Toms is a must here so you're guaranteed not to fall/misstep.
TIP #2: As you walk back down from your climb, there is a small little souvenir shop there. It is actually normally priced -although a touristy area, it wasn't anything too crazy.
TIP #3: Our Tour Guide for the day mentioned that you can swim there however, he advised against it because mudslides occur often.
TIP #4: This cliff is child safe, there is rope lining around the cliff itself so no one can actually go all the way to the edge.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS:
TIP #1: There are a lot of people there trying to get their perfect shot, so you're going to have to wait your turn - when you have that turn, take your time with taking a photo. Chances are, the opening won't come up again.
TIP #2: Wear your sunglasses for photos, if you feel like opting out of wearing sunglasses please take a look at how that went for me:
I can confirm I couldn't actually see out of these glasses because of how tinted they were but! great for a photo
TIP #3: Taking a jumping photo here wasn't really the best, I'd recommend taking a photo of you standing with your back to the cliffs and water. Here's how my jumping photo went:
TIP #4: For the person taking the photo of you, make sure they get each angle. What I mean is have them take a photo of you with them standing directly in front of you, then have them take a step to the left and take a photo, and lastly have them step to the right.
Straight in front of you: You get the view of the water and a cliff behind you.
Standing to the left of you: You get more of the cliff you are on behind you.
Standing to the right of you: You get the full view of the vast amount of water behind and maybe even of people canoeing in the background!
_____
Not a tip but here's a small blurb from my day-tour map about Red Beach so you have a bit more of an idea of where you'd be visiting:
Short stop for photos at the famous volcanic beach, well known for the unique color of the sand, it's soaring red lava cliffs and clear green waters.
just so you know I'm laughing at ~short stop~ for photos because you and I both know for the memories & 'gram you are taking 3902+ photos
Akrotiri Excavation Site
GENERAL TIPS
TIP #1: This tip is for my students: Bring Your Student ID! The original ticket was I believe 14€ but for students, it is brought down to 7€.
TIP #2: There are multiple tours happening at the same time so make sure you have you eyes on your tour and aren't standing too long in one spot reading small blurbs.
TIP #3: This kind of goes hand in hand with the tip above, make sure you are close enough to the tour guide to hear what they are actually saying - there were times where I couldn't hear what was said because I was too far in the back.
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
TIP #1: The lighting in here is actually sunlight so rest assured your photos will have nice lighting. Not really a tip, but thought to mention!
TIP #2: When taking photos of the different artifacts, make sure to take a photo of the blurbs alongside. I have a few photos I took in here that I actually don't remember what they were.
TIP #3: Take your photos as you are walking through your tour and not try to make a mental note to take them when you have free time. I did this and wish I took photos right-then and there instead of thinking I'd have free time afterwards to retrace my steps.
I did want to note that I wasn't COMPLETELY blown away at this. If given the opportunity to see this place again, I think I'd pass it. I found it interesting, of course. But not to in a wow this is so cool kind of way. Fun lil fact though: This ancient civilization had a full draining system while the civilization at the time of discovering this didn't.
Perivolos Beach
Here! you! can! swim!
GENERAL TIPS
TIP #1: You can't just walk right onto the beach. There are taverna's lined up where there's a section to eat/grab drinks + this also includes going to the beach right in front of said Taverna. So, look for a beach section you want to go to and then go and get a drink from the place there. Win Win situation. You pay for your 3.50€ drink and get to swim in the beach!
TIP #2: The beach here is interesting. You know how on a beach you can walk and walk until you can't reach anymore and then you're floating? Yeah, so this beach isn't like that. You walk about 15-20 steps and suddenly you can't reach - there's a massive drop.
TIP #3: Keep watch of your bags while you're swimming. This might just be me being paranoid but while swimming I didn't want something happening to my money + phone!
TIP #4: Try grilled Feta cheese. (I didn't get a chance to due to being short on time on this day-tour in each area but I really wish I did.)
TIP #5: If you also manage to find yourself on a day-tour then you may also have to decide between going for a swim OR eating lunch. My sister and I opted to swim and didn't have time to eat lunch
If you are not on time constraints, take your time here and eat some seafood. Since you're literally right by the sea it can't get any fresher than that! There are some places along the boardwalk that are expensive and some that are nicer on your wallet - so pick and choose the best one for yourself there!
TIP #6: Uh this isn't really a tip, more of a don't be alarmed by the sand being black - it's black volcanic sand!
PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
So I'm just going to leave you with one Photography Tip because I'm just going to assume you all know how to take photos on a beach!
TIP #1: Remember how I mentioned you take 15-20 steps and then there's a huge drop? Yeah, so make sure you aren't walking backwards in the water trying to get a good photo of yourself and then suddenly down you go.
_____
This Travel Guide is being split into 2 (or maybe 3?) because there is actually 4 more places I visited within Santorini, places to eat, weather, hotel, and transportation that I want to write about + give tips on and I think this post would turn into a novel if I wrote all of that here.
I think I may do:
Part 2: 4 other places I visited + Tips (General & Photography)
Part 3: Places to Eat, Hotel, Weather & Transportation
Does that sound okay? Let me know your thoughts!
I hope you enjoyed Part 1 of Santorini - SEE YOU ALL IN PART 2!
If you haven't already, you can read up on Travel Guide: Athens Greece which is actually more of a novel than this post.
