SANTORINI TRAVEL GUIDE

Warning, this post includes A LOT of photos that will make you want to throw in the towel, pack a bag and get on the next flight outta here… You have been warned.

So hi, hello, howdy, aloha, I’m back from the beautiful Greek Island of Santorini and oh what a week it was. A week of pure relaxation as a whole, but a week that was action packed, breathtakingly beautiful and seriously fun from start to finish.

I’m really excited to be able to share some more photos from our trip to the stunning island ‘cause, nobody likes an Instagram show off now do they #HolidaySpam
Each and every corner you turn in Santorini is like a postcard; completely picturesque and totally stunning it was absolutely impossible to not give in to the temptation of taking photographs, even if it was a holiday away from work.

However, we had such a wonderful time and took photos a plenty, all of which I really wanted to get back and share with you, along with some of the great things we did, places we discovered and our recommendations, should you be visiting Santorini any time soon.

So sit back, grab a cuppa and probs a snack tbf and enjoy a look into Santorini, Megan and George style.

WHERE TO STAY & WHERE TO VISIT
So lets start off with the basics… You need somewhere to stay right!? I was quite lucky in the fact that my parents had recently visited Santorini and they could offer an insight on the best places to stay. They suggested Imerovigli and we managed to find the most beautiful B&B apartment in the very stunning and peaceful town.

Imerovigli is situated extremely central to all of the goings on in Santorini. Now, there’s not a whole lot to do there, but it is slap bang in the middle of both Oia and Fira, the two most popular, must visit towns on the island. Imerovigli is a rather sleepy town but with the most incredible Caldera views which we were super lucky to experience each and every day as we had a huge balcony which overlooked the entire Caldera, making our mornings my favourite part of the day, eating breakfast with such a beautiful and breathtaking view is definitely one of the small things in life.
I would personally really recommend Imerovigli as the must stay place when visiting Santorini, purely for it’s location and as I've said, for it’s incredible views. For example if you stay in Oia, you’re around 45 minutes drive away from Kamari and 30 from Fira, and vice versa, whereas in Imerovigli you are exactly 20 minutes (ATV ride) away from every destination you would want to visit whilst on the island… WIN!

Visiting wise I would suggest Oia for it’s breathtaking views, world famous sunsets and picture postcard pretty streets, Fira for the hustle and bustle of Greek life and Kamari for a lovely totally pedestrianised beach and a few other little gems that I’ll be covering a little further on in this post.

GETTING AROUND
As small as Santorini is, unfortunately it isn’t quite small enough to be able to walk everywhere. With a great and regular bus service it’s pretty easy to make your way around the island.
However, for those of you more adventurous I would 100% highly recommend getting a quad bike whilst you’re out there; in fact that would most probably be my top tip and must do activity whilst on the island.

As a child I was a complete and utter thrill seeker, a dare devil if you will, now at twenty four unfortunately that trait has somewhat faded and I'm a little more wary of potential danger... However I can assure you I felt totally safe on the roads of Santorini on our little quad bike ATV. It was so much fun to explore the entire island, finding hidden gems such as private beaches that aren't discussed in your average travel guide and essentially being able to explore each and every corner of the island. 

Sitting behind George with my arms wrapped around him was also a rather romantic feeling, wind in your hair, sun lashing down on your skin and being with the one you love, I would highly reccomend hiring a quad if you're away with your other half, it's a really exciting and romantic thing to do. 

I completely felt like a four wheeled sixties mod and besides the inevitable helmet hair it was the most perfect way to see such a magical island.

BEACHES
Now you simply cannot visit Santorini without taking in the absolutely incredible beach views. There are a number of incredible beaches in the area such as Perissa, The Red Beach and Kamari. These three beaches will regularly be listed on travel guides for Santorini as they're the most popular beaches with surrounding cafes, bars, restaurants and shops which make the whole beach vibe more comfortable and organised. 

We visited Perissa Beach on our very first day in Santorini and had a really lovely day. Sun loungers and umbrellas were a reasonable twenty euros with that being redeemable should you dine at the restaurant of which the loungers related to. Perissa Beach was just a short 40 minute quad dive from where we stayed, with the sand black (it's a volcanic island afterall) and the sea crystal clear. Perissa Beach was quite a busy beach and one I found difficult to relax on, however, it's a must visit should you be on the island.

The Red Beach was a beach that I was EXTREMELY excited to visit. A beach covered in red volcanic sand and rocks sounded simply incredible to me so it was high on my hit list. We took the short quad bike ride to the beach, parked up and walked to the beach. The parking was considerably far from the beach which was annoying and the death trap hike down the mountains to the beach was unexpected and rather scary INDEED!

If you plan to head to the Red Beach wear trainers for sure, George and I had our flip flops on and it wasn't exactly the nicest of experiences climbing down a steep mountain in 27-degree heat. However, once we arrived it was a lovely beach, although extremely busy indeed and with no sun loungers. We didn't stay too long as we weren't keen on lying on the ground but it was truly beautiful to see and I'm glad we did it, despite the hellish hike up and down.

Perissa and The Red beach were fairly close to one another past Fira and at the bottom of the island, however, North of the Island, towards Oia was where the beachy magic happened.
If you follow the signs into Oia, you'll come to a number of signs for quieter, unspoilt and truly beautiful beaches. 
Baxedes, Koloumbos and Katharos are all pretty much parallel to one another and are all simply beautiful beaches. I found these to be the most relaxing and beautiful beaches I had ever been on with very few people frequenting there, sometimes being just George and I alone with the entire beach to ourselves... Now that is what I call magical. 

I would highly suggest sussing out these quieter beaches for pure relaxation, just you, your other half and the sound of the sea... Sheer bliss! But be warned, there aren't bus routes to these quieter beaches, so the only way to get there is by quad, car or by foot, however I would not recommend foot as they really are off the beaten track with nothing around for miles.

OUR FOOD & DRINK FINDS

Visiting new places and finding your own little gems is all part and parcel of what makes a holiday so wonderful. However, George and I are completely pants at discovering must have dining experiences, usually getting SO hungry and sometimes hangry that we panic choose and hop into the nearest restaurant, only to end up seriously unsatisfied having made a completely rubbish choice.  This unfortunately happened for our first three dining experiences.

However, once we were in the flow of Santorini life we did stumble upon a few little gems that I really wanted to share with you.
First up we have Franco's an incredible classical music bar in Fira that overlooks the entire caldera with the most stunning of views. The music was so fitting to such a beautiful and absolutely breathtaking view that it was somewhat moving. 
Now this bar is rather over priced, what with the awesome views, the huge airy outdoor space which covers over three levels and of course with it's central Fira location; however, it is totally worth it for all of the above. We had previously hiked from Imerovigli to Fira and were absolutely gasping for a alcoholic beverage of the Aperol Spritz variety and Franco's was the perfect place to relax after a tiring hike and to take in the beautiful views. We unfortunately didn't make it back to Franco's at night as we'd originally planned, however, I am certain it would have been a totally magical experience. 

There are SO many incredible places to grab yourself some delicious food whatever it is you fancy however, you cannot go to Greece without having a Gyros. A Gyros is essentially a chicken kebab, however with the most beautifully fresh meat, the fluffiest pitta bread you've ever had, filled with fresh lettuce, greek sauces and dressing and of course french fries. These come in at around five euros a pop and are simply delicious! We had an amazing little haunt by our apartment in Imerovigli and boy was it good.

Seafood, now if it's seafood you're after then head to Amoudi Bay; Not only is it a gorgeous part of the island close to Oia, but it has the most awesome seafood restaurants, but be warned, you may have to book. 

Similarly to that of restaurants in Oia.
Oia is famous for it's beautiful sunsets and can get extremely busy with people fighting to catch a glimpse of what is essentially a sunset that will bring you to tears it's that stunning! 
However, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a restaurant that I was actually highly recommended named Ochre, which fortunately had a table for two available with front row seats to the world famous sunset... RESULT!
Not only did we have the best seats in the house BUT we also had the most delicious seafood spaghetti that I have EVER eaten, my goodness it was awesome, I mean just look at it, bladdy marvellous!

On our final night we headed to Fira, which in all honesty was way too busy for my liking. I felt like I could have been anywhere in the world, it was just swimming with tourists and therefore wasn't as beautiful as it was by day. Finding haven in this rather cute Jazz bar, we sat for hours sipping cocktails and listening to ace music ranging from jazz to rock & roll, it really was truly awesome. The guy behind the bar was such a sweetheart and I would love to have you visit as it was a total quiet gem in such a crazy town. If you ask the locals for directions to "The jazz bar" they'll be able to help you out as they did us.

OUR 2ND MUST DO TIP
Okay so the Quad bike was our must have suggestion for your time in Santorini and now it's time for our second, less daring suggestion, KAMARI OPEN AIR CINEMA!

This had come up on tonnes of travel blogs and a number of you had commented suggesting I check it out and to be perfectly honest, at first I wasn't sure I was keen to visit a cinema whilst on my holidays but I am oh so glad we did!

They had EVERYTHING from the setting, to the ambience, to the food and snacks, to the incredible music DOWN to a T. It was completely magical and despite the modern film that was playing (Daddy's Home; absolutely hilarious FYI) I was completely transported to the 1950's with the only thing missing being a car with it's top down. 

We took our seats with frozen strawberry daquiri's, salted pop corn and nachos in hand and settled down to watch the movie in our directors chairs with the starry sky above us, my goodness it was magical and so romantic.
I urge you to check this place out whilst you're in Santorini, the films rotate every three days so you're bound to find something you like. Head down there early at 830pm when doors open to bag your spot, you will not regret it!

A SPLURGE WORTH THE MONEY
So as you lot may know if you follow George and I on Instagram, we celebrated one year of being together whilst we were away and for such an occasion we wanted to do something seriously special. 

We decided to book a sunset cruise with the Sailing company Spiridakos and my, what a truly beautiful and romantic trip it was. 
We set sail at 3pm in a group of around 15 on a rather large and spacious yacht and visited a number of hot spots including the red beach, the white beach and the hot springs. We snorkeled, swam and relaxed on the most beautiful yacht with such incredible scenery... Crystal clear, blue waters and volcanic rock is a combination to be reckoned with, let me tell you. 

After a few hours of hopping on and off the yacht, or relaxing and quite frankly napping to the sounds of waves we anchored up and enjoyed a delicious banquet in the middle of the ocean before getting ready for the sunset.

A sunset like no other; and when I tell you I have never been moved like this before, this is no lie. The yacht company had created a playlist throughout our sail with party tunes to start, relaxing tunes a few hours in and then the most stunning classical music I have EVER heard for the sunset. Watching the most beautiful sunset of my life on a yacht, in the middle of the ocean with the man of my dreams, on our anniversary with classical music playing... I BAWLED LIKE A BABY! I've never, ever been moved in that way before and it was one of the most special moments of my life so far. 

Phew, so there we have it, I told you it was a long one. I really hope you enjoyed this post, even if you were cheeky and just looked at the photos 😉
I really hope it provided you with some ideas for what to do on your trip to Santorini. 
Santorini is such a stunning place and I would highly suggest visiting, I'm already dying to get back there. 

Thanks for reading and chat next week.

x M

P.S for links to all my outfits check out this post here