Santorini, Greece (Winter)

Santorini, Greece (Winter)

Santorini is on e of the most popular Greek Islands. It is known for its amazing views, whitewash  homes overlooking the sea, and beautiful beaches. Santorini is the island you will always see on the travel magazines and commercials that are enticing people to come and visit Greece. I highly recommend this island if only as a day stopover on a ferry tour. I was able to visit during the winter and I have to say that the experience was amazingly wonderful. It was nice not to have to compete with all of the crowds. Most days the sun was out by 10am and the mild temperature did not inhibit me from exploring the island with nothing more than a light jacket. The only thing that was not really possible was swimming, but I still ventured to the beaches to enjoy the scenery and take long and beautiful walks.

Getting to Santorini is pretty straightforward. There are flights from Athens that run very often and the trip only takes about an hour. Just be careful with these smaller airlines they want you to pay for bag fees ahead of time online or they will charge you almost double when you check-in. You can also take the ferry from Athens but this will set you back about 5 hours. I would honestly just recommend flying because the price of the ferry ticket is not really that much less and if you think about it round trip you are losing 10 hours of vacation time. Upon arrival you can take a taxi or bus from the port to the main bus station or your hotel. 

On your walks through town you will see donkeys used all over to carry everything from luggage, to people and shopping goods. 

Unobstructed views! These are hard to come by if you come here during the Spring and summer. I was able to navigate everywhere without worrying about umping into people. Many of the roads are too narrow for cars, even so when its crowded here it can take awhile to move through the streets. 

 
I had plenty of time to take in all of the beautiful architecture and homes that are on the island. Many are unoccupied during this time since so many of them only operate during the high season.
Traditional Blue and White colors of the Greek flag
Traditional White-wash home that Santorini is known for
One of the amazing churches on the island, you will probably recognize this one from social media
There are hiking trails all over the island. I took the trail from Fira to Oia and the view was beautiful. However, proceed with extreme caution on windy days because on certain parts of the path you are very close to the edges of the cliffs on very steep inclines.
One of the local residents free to roam the island and greet all of the new visitors. No leash laws here and most of the animals are very friendly and used to being around a lot of people. 
No rentals, No problem.
Perissa beach is probably my favorite beach in all of Greece. it has black sand and is absolutely stunning. During the summer the sand can be extremely hot but for winter I really enjoyed walking along the entire beach at my own pace.
I'm not sure whats happening in the sky right now but I like it and the pink makes me very happy. I took this trip on my own and I was so glad that I got to see the island at my own pace. There really is a lot here if you have the time to really stop and take it all in . I would recommend staying for at least 3 nights/4days and don't be afraid to fly in and then take a ferry to one of the other islands nearby. The majority of the Ferries end up back at the main port in Athens at some point in time and you'll probably be flying back home through there anyway.

 

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