We are a travel couple and we are traveling the world! In this travel blog we are in Oia, Fira, and Perissa in Santorini, Greece. In our last blog we detailed leaving the Greece main land and heading to the islands for some island hopping. We used the Greek ferry Delos from the Blue Star line to travel from Piraeus to Santorini through the Cyclades. It was a long journey, but full of beautiful sights.
Santorini
Santorini is one of the most famous Cycladic Islands. We went there in search of the world famous Santorini sunset! But before that we had to hike up to the town of Oia from Amoudi Bay. It's the Cyclades, so it was the warmest weather for one of our hikes this year and we had to sneak past several donkeys along the path. We also visited Perissa Beach for the black sand beaches and then headed over to the Fira (Thera) Santorini main square. Finally we looked for a good spot for the famous Santorini sunset.
Amoudi Bay - Oia
From the town of Oia you can hike down or take the paved road down to Amoudi Bay. We decided to take the paved road.
We are glad we did because we saw such spectacular colors on our walk. There was the rocks which were red, black and white. The flowers were green, yellow and purple. The water was 2 or 3 different shades of blue.
After about a 20 minute walk we finally reached Amoudi Bay. After walking around the area and checking out the boats and restaurants we made our way back up to the town. Instead of trekking the paved road back we saw a path that zigged and zagged up the mountain that we just had to take.
Hike Back to Oia
Less than a minute into our ascend back to town we ran into our first road block - the famous Santorini donkeys. Sadly they were tied up instead of being free and wild.
The donkeys were tied up by their owners so we had to walk behind them which was interesting since we were not sure if donkeys could "mule kick" you as a defense mechanism.
The climb was very steep and was well over 200 steps. Plus the weather in Greece is much hotter than when we hiked in other parts of the Balkans.
Oia Town
The town of Oia is just one portion on the north end of the island. Oia has become the main portion of the island. When we visited there were not many other tourists so it was like walking through a movie set.
As we walked through the streets on the cliff side we passed many shops selling jewelry, linen clothing and other goods. We walked by plenty of hotels and glanced at their on-deck jacuzzis with incredible views of the water.
We passed by several churches with and without blue domes. Some people only get to vacation here; others get to live here permanently. Nuzzled between the hotels were families' homes. These residents get to see these views each and every day.
Oia Sunset
After our hike and walking, it was time to find a spot for a Santorini sunset. Based on the time of the year you are in Greece, you have to switch up the spot for sunset as it will set over different angles. We walked around and finally found a secluded spot. The key is to find a spot that is peaceful but is not a private area of a restaurant or hotel.
Seeing the world renowned Santorini sunset was definitely a bucket list item for us. To be honest we prefer the sunset back in Florida as the sky illuminates with colors such as red and pink and orange due to how cloudy it can get. In Greece the skies are so blue that it is just the huge dome of the sun that you see. The weather in Santorini is also better due to the lack of humidity.
Perissa Holy Cross Orthodox Church
The Holy Cross Orthodox Church is an incredible white-washed church with several blue domes. It also has an amazing bell tower which is white-washed and blue and has crosses and double eagles on it.
Perissa Black Sand Beach
Due to the history of volcanic eruptions, Santorini has some very diverse beaches. There is a white sand beach and a red sand beach on the island. In Perissa, the sand is black. Just because the sand and rocks are black does not make it hotter than a brown sand beach; but it still gets hot after standing on in with bare feet for a few minutes. It is not like walking on coals, but you will still want to cool your feet off by sitting down on your towel or lounge chair. Or even better, going into the water.
You can see the planes approaching the airport in the distance. There are black boulders for you to sit on while just having your feet in the water. There are pebbles but also sand depending on which part of the beach you are enjoying.
The route out to Perissa from Fira is about 40 minutes when you take the bus. We got to see parts of the island that we would not have been able to see if we did not take the bus.
Firostefani and the Caldera
The town of Firostefani is a great spot to see the site of the second biggest volcanic eruption in the past 10,000 years. On that day the sky went dark and a thick layer of ash covered the whole island.
That eruption sank a quarter of the land and broke the island into 3 pieces. The last eruption was in 1950 and lasted 22 days. It left this crater or caldera here, that is now covered with water.
Today, while still active, it is a peaceful location to to take in a fantastic view of the caldera.
Fira / Thera Santorni
Walking through the main square of Fira is nice because it has cobble stone streets and you can even see the "Santo" the Donkey statue. There are shops for you to get your souvenirs and sunblock.
There are a variety of restaurants such as vegan falafels, Indian food and Thai food. You can walk down a few steps and find a spot for a Santorini sunset.
We recommend grabbing some food to savor while waiting for the sun to set. We got gyro on pitas and some Santorini Brewing Company beers. Make sure to check the prices before purchasing though because the bottles of beer wound up being 5 euros a bottle which is more than we have ever paid for a bottle of beer.
Oia is the more famous town for sunsets, but we enjoyed the sunset in Fira better.
You can see more of the sights and landmarks of Santorini in 2 videos that we have released on YouTube.
The first travel vlog "Oia Santorini Greece Cyclades Travel Vlog 2021)" is out now:
The second travel vlog "Fira and Perissa Santorini Greece - Cyclades Travel Vlog 2021 (Thera and Black Sand Beach)" is out now:
Thanks for reading our blog on Ultimate Guide to Santorini Greece!
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