We've made it to Santorini! Santorini has been on my travel bucket list since Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Mamma Mia were released. This stunning island is instantly recognizable with its white buildings and blue domes. Santorini is the perfect destination for everyone, from honeymooners to families to friends. 

We spent five days on the island, after visiting Athens and Paris. Five days was definitely enough. Honestly I think three or four days would be sufficient as well. It seems like the most popular towns to stay in are Oia (north) or Fira (south). We chose to stay in Imerovigli, which is in the middle. I feel like Imerovigli is becoming more popular and has great hotels, restaurants and sunset views. I don't think you can go wrong in Santorini. Without further ado, let's get into my Santorini travel guide.

SANTORINI TRAVEL GUIDE

Where To Stay

We stayed at the Andronikos Santorini Hotel in Imerovigli. I’d give it a solid 4 out of 5 stars. There were a few cons (we’ll get into those shortly) but overall it was a great pick!

What We Liked:

The Andronikos Hotel is picturesque, to say the least. We opted for an upper level suite with hot tub on the balcony. Santorini feels like it’s built on top of itself so having a high room made a huge difference for privacy. When we arrived, we were delighted to find that we had a little set of stairs (with a gate) to our room. This felt more secure and secluded. The walkway below was a popular spot for photos so we appreciated having a little space. 

Room & View

The room itself was lovely. We had a queen bed, which was comfortable. There was a little reading nook area and plenty of windows to look out at the view. The closet space was thoughtful designed and included several shelves and drawers with ample storage. The shower was roomy and the drainage/orientation (I’m not sure exactly how to describe this) kept any water from escaping. I was really impressed with the layout! The room also came with a balcony with a hot tub and table & chairs. It was the ideal spot to enjoy the sunset or read a book.

Staff

I cannot say enough good things about the staff at Andronikos Hotel. Everyone we interacted with kind, courteous, and helpful. Alex, the manager, was always available to make arrangements or offer suggestions. He recommended restaurants our first night and made a reservation for us. He set up taxis when we went wine tasting. He arranged laundry services for us and had it delivered back to our room.

The housekeeping was also excellent. I was impressed everyday how spotless our room looked! We also received a couple bottles of water every day, which was definitely appreciated with all the walking we did.

What We Didn't Like:

Accessibility

As you probably can imagine, there are a lot of stairs involved with this hotel. This is the case with a lot of properties in Santorini. Unfortunately, this is not a very accessible location in general. I’m sure there are other towns that may be more accessible but the scenic hilltops of Santorini are not.

Overall, we really liked the room. The only awkward part was the bathroom, with its relatively transparent walls. I’m glad I was there with my husband of six years and not a friend. Zero privacy in the bathroom. 

Breakfast

Finally, we didn't like the lack of variety with the breakfast. Our room included daily breakfast (I think this is a perk for all rooms on the property). While I appreciated the convenience of the breakfast service, I was a little disappointed by the lack of variety. We essentially received the same meal every morning, which some style of eggs and a slightly different croissant. Otherwise the other components of the meal stayed the same. Note: Alex allowed us to choose the exact time we wanted breakfast every day and it was hand delivered to our balcony, which was a huge plus.

Transportation

Ok transportation was our least favorite part of visiting Santorini. We did a combination of buses and taxis. If it was up to us, we would have just used buses but it wasn’t an option with the location of our hotel. We also know others who rented cars or ATVs and enjoyed those options. Personally I don’t feel brave enough to driving down those narrow roads!

Buses:

Depending on where you’re staying and where you want to visit, buses can be really straightforward and affordable. Unfortunately, we had more difficulty, as we stayed in a quieter area.

Fira has the main bus station and taxi hub. If you’re staying in Fira, it’s easy to get around to other cities and the airport. Luckily there are a ton of buses and a one way ticket will only cost you 1.60€. Note: you will need to cash (but exact change isn’t required!). The buses are much nicer than your average city bus. They are all charter buses with comfy seats and overhead storage. The only other thing to keep in mind is that popular destinations may not have enough room for everyone so you may need to stand or wait for the next bus. Otherwise it was my preferred mode of transport (when it worked to get to/from our hotel).

Taxis:

This is where things get painful. Taxis were incredibly expensive, often required a long wait (or weren’t available) and ended up being my least favorite experience. We paid a whopping 40€ for our airport transfer, which was a (max) 15 minute drive. I figured it was worth it because we had to deal with all our luggage. Unfortunately we felt quite uncomfortable with the driver asking us a lot of questions about where we lived and our finances. Eek!

On another day, we needed to book a taxi to get to/from a winery. We asked our hotel to arrange one for us and sadly, we ended up with the same driver. We paid 30€ for a 15 minute drive and another 25€ for a 7 minute drive (winery -> Fira). On this trip, he accused us of not paying our hotel back for the first airport transfer. We had to pay hotel instead of him directly because I’d confirmed with the hotel we could pay with credit card and of course, the driver wasn’t pleased when we didn’t have cash. Yikes.

While options were limited, everyone knows each other. We (politely) shared our feedback with our hotel and they booked a different (and very professional!) driver for our return airport transfer. Even though it was pricey, our driver was respectful, timely, and kind.

Overall, this was the biggest pain point on our trip. If you’re staying in a more secluded area, like we did, I’d highly suggest booking excursions that include transportation. Our sunset cruise included transfers and it made all the difference.

What To Do

Santorini was the least structured portion of our trip and also our longest stop. For Paris and London, I planned every little detail. However, I wanted to keep things lighter in Santorini because so much of the experience is the views and exploring little towns. The only activities I booked prior to arriving were a sunset cruise and wine tasting + tour.

Get a Massage: I’d hoped to fit in a massage earlier in the trip so I hadn’t even investigated options in Santorini until arriving. I was delighted to stumble upon Somi Rei Massage in Imerovigli. They actually come to your hotel room and can accommodate couple massages! Our room was a little tight but we made it work. I had my massage in the space next to the reading nook and Joe had his massage on the balcony. This area is quite windy so keep that in mind. Our masseuses were timely, kind and provided a wonderful massage. We were both in a daze when we finished our massages and crashed for a while before heading out. It was such a treat and probably one of my favorite aspects of our Santorini trip.

Get Your Shop On: There are tons of souvenir shops throughout Santorini. We primarily found them in the bigger towns, such as Fira and Oia. They have all kinds of goodies to bring home. We picked up honey, olives, Greek delights and olive oil soap. 

Take Photos At Iconic Spots: There are a few stunning photo opts I found via Instagram and Pinterest. My favorite spots in Oia were Kastro Oia Houses, Blue Domed Church Santorini, and Castle of Oia. Note: there will likely be lines to take photos but it's so worth it!

Take A Sunset Cruise: This is another highlight of our Santorini trip. I booked our cruise via Viator. There are tons of options based on your preferences (length of cruise, time of day, transportation included, spots to visit, and more). The cruise we took was four hours and included several stops, dinner and drinks. We jumped off the side of the catamaran a couple times and checked out "hot springs". Spoiler: they aren't actually hot. The crew cooked us a feast abroad the boat and we ended the evening by watching the sunset.

Wine Taste: We booked a wine tasting experience at Santo Wines, which included a winery tour and tasting. I was really impressed with both elements of the experience. The tour was informative and interesting. The tasting was relaxing and the winery has stunning views. The tasting included four wines and a generous amount of snacks (cheese, meat, pretzels and crackers). This experience is absolutely something you need to include on your trip.

Hike Skaros Rock: We did this our last day and it was lovely. Our hotel faced Skaros rock so we knew we had to include this on our trip. Make sure to walk around the rock, as there are some ruins to check out.

Watch The Sunset In Imerovigli Or Oia: I may be a little biased because we stayed in Imerovigli and had a prime sunset watching spot on our balcony. I've also read online that Imerovigli is arguably better for watching the sunset than Oia. It's less crowded and you can find some great viewing spots.

Where To Eat

I think the best way to break this up is by town. There were essentially three towns that we visited: Oia, Imerovigli, and Fira. 

Oia:

Lolita's Gelato: This is right when you get into town (near the bus stop). It's a great little gelato shop with plenty of flavor options.

Karma Greek Restaurant: We had lunch here on our first visit to Oia. The ambience was top notch and the food was delicious. They have some lighter options too. I went for a chia pudding parfait, which was so refreshing. There is also a sweet cat that was lounging on the seats next to us. Our waiter said he is the owner 😉

Strogili: We enjoyed a nice sunset dinner here. The food and drinks were excellent. I recommend making a reservation for 30 minutes before sunset.

Feredini: I can't speak to the food because we just grabbed drinks here. We wanted a spot for a leisurely afternoon drink and this was perfect.

There were a number of restaurants I saved that we didn't get a chance to try: Melitini, Black Rock Restaurant, Pitogyros, Naos, Roka, Dimitris Ammoudi Taverna, and Red Bicycle.

Fira:

Coffee Island: This was a last minute find and I'm so grateful I stumbled upon this place on Instagram. We got the Freddo Cappuccino. It has a cream top (like the Starbucks cold foam or Dutch Bros soft top). It was one of the best coffee drinks I've ever had!

Pelican Kipos Cafe: Pelican Cafe is a great option for a meal or wine tasting. We stopped by for a late lunch and they told us that they also have a cellar tour and tasting as well.

Rastoni: If you're looking for a great view and delicious food, this is your spot. Everyone stopped outside the restaurant to take photos and I don't blame them. 

Imerovigli:

Anogi: Alex recommended this spot our first night and it was the perfect authentic Greek restaurant. Everything we tried was delicious. You can't go wrong here.

Let's Eat: We got takeout a couple times here. This was the only to-go pita sandwich shop we could find near our hotel. Great quality food and quick service.

Confetti Dessert Boutique: This might have been our favorite restaurant in Santorini. We stopped here three times during our visit. It was conveniently located in the center of Imerovigli so we passed it whenever we went to/from our hotel. We had brunch here twice and stopped for ice cream once. The food and service were top notch. I think my favorite dish was the strawberry cheesecake pancakes (pictured above). Fresh ingredients, lovely ambiance, and great service.

Dear Elie: We stopped here on our last day for a late lunch before making our way to the airport. I loved the decor and everything we tried was excellent.

There were a number of restaurants I saved that we didn't get a chance to try: Avocado, Aegean Restaurant, and Le Moustache.

I hope you enjoyed my Santorini travel guide! As always, please feel free to comment with any questions. I'm happy to offer any help I can so you can have the perfect trip. If you try out any of my recommendations, I'd love to know. Enjoy Santorini!

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