TRAVEL: 2 Days in Santorini // Greece 2016

Oh, Santorini... the island of clean white buildings with blue roofs and beautiful sunsets. Santorini is the southern most island of the Cyclades islands in the Aegean Sea. It's shaped like a crescent, as it was once a volcano with a centre that has since collapsed into the ocean, which makes for some interesting amazing views.

I spent 2 days in Santorini, which seemed a little short but I would spend 3 days at most. Santorini was the smallest and most topographically beautiful of the islands that I visited. I can see why people fall in love. However, it was also the most touristy, as even though we travelled there during off-season there were crowds of people at the most popular and well-known sights. Touristy-ness aside, here's what I got up to in Santorini!

Accommodations at Evgenia Villas

We stayed in Fira (also known as Thira or Thera), which is in the centre of the crescent-shaped island. Fira is about 25 minutes north by car to Oia and 25 minutes south by car to Akrotiri.

Greek mix grill for breakfast/lunch at Bagiatiko Food Bar.

The walk/hike from Thira (Fira) to Oia is almost 10km. Google maps says it will take 2 hours but if you plan on taking photos, it will take 4 hours or more. Every few steps, I would turn back and the view would look a bit different. We left around 4:00pm on our hike and got to Oia at 7:00 pm, which was just in time for the sunset at 8:00pm. After the long walk, we hired a taxi to take us back to Fira.

Sunset in Oia

Our first dinner at Salt & Pepper Santorini was one of the best. It's on the outskirts of Fira and run by the sweetest couple. The wife is the waitstaff while the husband works in the kitchen. They pride themselves on using fresh, local ingredients (the herbs are picked immediately before plating). We went for seafood dishes because it doesn't get any fresher than right out of the ocean.

Fish and baked rice from Salt & Pepper

Grilled Octopus from Salt & Pepper

Mussels from Salt & Pepper

Greek Crepe with lemon and sugar for breakfast/lunch at Corner Restaurant

The next morning, we took the bus from Fira to Akrotiri (€2). The Akrotiri Archeological Site (€12 admission) houses an indoor dig of a Bronze Age Minoan settlement that was buried by a volcanic eruption ("the Pompeii of Santorini") in approximately 1627 BC and was found and excavated in 1967.

Akrotiri Archeological Site

The Red Beach at Akrotiri

Grilled Calamari

Buttered Monkfish

Sweet and Sour Cheese

Loukoumades (Greek Timbits) with Vanilla Ice Cream

Coming back on the bus from Akrotiri, we had dinner at Theoni's Kitchen in Fira, again ordering lots of seafood. A little factoid - it's common for Greek restaurants to provide a complimentary dessert at the end of each meal. Theoni's had my favourite dessert of the trip because it reminded me a little bit of home (timbits but better!). After dinner, we walked through Fira (and walked off the dessert).