This part two of my Greek Islands travel guide is an exciting one for me since I absolutely fell in love with this island. There is no better place than Santorini (at least from anywhere I’ve experienced!) Don’t get me wrong, Mykonos was beautiful— you can read all about it here, but the views in Santorini, by far, are incomparable.
As I mentioned in part one, when my husband and I travel we like to do our research so we can guarantee to visit all of the right spots and not miss out on anything. We stayed at a resort where we were able to enjoy laying back with spectacular views in between our days of sightseeing. The island has so much history, shopping, and of course the absolute best Mediterranean foods and wine. Keep reading to learn all about where we stayed, what we did, and where we ate. You can view my Instagram Santorini highlights here.
Where to fly into:
We spent five days in Mykonos, then took the fast ferry to Santorini. This was an experience! You step onto the huge ferry, leave your bags unattended in the lower level area garage (where the pocket-pickers that are everywhere in the port can easily get on since there is no ticket-checking when you enter), then make your way upstairs to the seating. There were several people lugging their suitcases upstairs with them, which I would probably do next time, since I had major anxiety about getting my luggage stolen! We did use an Apple Airtag for our big suitcase, but this doesn’t prevent our bag from getting stolen or lost—just locates it after the fact. We went ahead and paid for the first class floor since I get seasick (which I did not—the ride was extremely smooth), and this way I can guarantee more space and be by a window. It was worth it, in my opinion, as the lower level regular seating was pretty crowded. Once we arrived and thankfully grabbed our suitcases, it was also a bit crowded to get off. Although taking the ferry was a little messy, I still recommend this over a flight—you have to travel back to Athens before flying to Santorini. The regular ferry takes over 4 hours. The fast ferry we took was just under 2 hours. A flight would have been at least half a day! Our resort arranged a private transport, which I recommend setting up ahead of time, rather than having to wait for taxi service, since the Santorini port was a crazy mess when we arrived. Nothing beats an SUV with a friendly driver sharing everything about the island on the way to the hotel!
Where to stay:
We stayed at Grace Hotel, which was in the town of Imerovigli. The reason we chose this location rather than staying in the popular Oia was because it was a quieter area in the center of Santorini—easy access to either side for our day trips. When I found Grace Hotel during my research I fell in love with the resort. Although significantly more expensive than any of the other hotels we were looking at (probably the most expensive in the island), I feel it was well worth it. This trip was for our 10-year anniversary so we didn’t mind the splurge!
Our walk to Grace Hotel
In order to get to the entrance of the hotel, you are required to walk quite a bit…well, really, in order to get around anywhere in Santorini you have to walk a whole lot! Thankfully the walk is not a problem because it is along a safe cliff overlooking the caldera. The views were literally jaw-dropping. Make sure to click the video I included! The good thing is the hotel arranges what they call “heroes” — big strong men to meet you at your car and carry your suitcases for you.
Our room was in a perfect corner of the hotel with a complete 180 degree view of the caldera, Skaros rock, Oia, and the beautiful Aegean Sea. We got a room with private heated pool, so we divided our free days between there and the hotel’s main pool which is the largest infinity pool on the island. Besides the exceptional service and breathtaking views, the best part about this resort is that it has a very limited selection of rooms. This made our stay extremely private, quiet, and romantic. Here are other perks of our stay at Grace Hotel:
5-course breakfast included: this changed daily and consisted of breads and cheeses, a smoothie, Greek yogurt, an egg dish, and a dessert. Check out my story highlights to see what we ate here.
Nightly turn-down service with gifts: tea mugs with specialty teas, his and hers donkey milk soaps, mini bottles of the local liquor, and eye masks were some of ours.
Arrangement of EVERY SINGLE ACTIVITY. No need to reserve at restaurants or taxi service. Our hotel arranged our tours and transport every day.
Where to eat:
VAROULKO: a Michelin-awarded restaurant, this one was right in our hotel. You can choose from a 6, 8, or 9-course tasting menu—Greek and Mediterranean cuisine and DELICIOUS, although only fish (no other meats).
SELENE: another tasting menu dinner with the most amazing tomato tart. The menu is mostly fish and the presentation of each dish was phenomenal. This restaurant is located in Santorini’s capital, Fira, in a beautiful courtyard.
ATHENIAN HOUSE: Luckily this restaurant was right next door to our hotel, so just a few steps up to get to. You want to request outdoor seating so you can be front and center to watch the sunset. Here can order a la carte or enjoy their tasting menu.
AMMOUDI BAY: Located in Oia, this spot is ideal for lunch—casual and right by the marina. All of the fish is local catch, so it’s super fresh. We had the whole snapper with rice and veggies and enjoyed a couple glasses of wine while we took in the view. FYI—you have to climb down quite a bit of steps to get here from the town. We chose to walk back up to get some exercise after eating, but you can call for a car transport if you’re not in the mood to climb.
What to do:
OIA : Most tourists stay in Oia, but we were 100% happy we did not after visiting this part of town. It was extremely crowded, since it’s also where the cruise-goers visit every single day. This is where you’ll find all of your shopping needs—beautiful jewelry, wines, donkey milk soaps, and lots of souvenirs. Oia is also where most of the blue dome churches are for photos, but I’ll give you a fair warning—this was nearly impossible with the crowds, unless you want to wait in long lines or go at 6am (no thank you!).
VENETSANOS WINERY: We took an island tour one day, which our hotel set up for us. A private driver took us around to all of the important historical sites like the volcano eruption ruins, museum, and of course Venetsanos Winery. Greek wines are different than others because of the high mineral content from the volcanic soil, so visiting a winery is a must—you want to take advantage and learn all about the wine-making and be able to purchase bottles to take back home. We had a light lunch at the winery overlooking the opposite side of the island—also breathtaking!
RED BEACH: Our tour guide also took us to the red beach, which required a short hike after parking. It was an amazing site with the backdrop of the volcanic ruins and bright copper sand.
SKAROS ROCK & HIKING: Many tourists do walk the 3+ mile hike from Oia to Skaros Rock. Luckily our hotel is pretty much connected to Skaros so we just had to walk down a few steps. The hike is doable for all fitness levels—not much immediate elevation. The only downside was the ability to get to the very top. My husband did it, since I’m afraid of heights. You literally have climb with your arms vertically to get up there. But the views are amazing so I recommend it if that’s what you’re into! Check out this Instagram Reel to see the surprise at the back of Skaros Rock.
HORSEBACK RIDING: We did a two and a half hour ride the morning before our island tour. We rode thorough the ruins, vineyards, olive farms, and eventually to the black beach. We were able to get off our horses here for photos and to take a break. I highly recommend the horseback riding BUT for just the one-hour tour. The longer one felt LONG and we were pretty sore the next day.
The full seven days we spent in Santorini were perfect for us. We always want some relaxation days when on vacation and our resort was perfect for that. This gave us enough time to explore for a full three days and have four days of relaxing by the pool. All of the hotel food comes from Varoulko’s so everything we had for lunch by the pool was exquisite. Oh yes! And my absolute favorite drink I had too many times every day that I miss very much right now is the cherry bitter — omg it was so good! Make sure you check out my Instagram highlights for full details and videos of our trip! You can always send me an email with any questions you have before planning your Santorini vacation. Stay tuned for more of my travel adventures!