During the last week of September I whisked myself off to the Greek island of Santorini for few nights with some friends for a calm and relaxing girlie break.
After the 4 hour easyjet flight from Gatwick, we landed on schedule at 12:30 local time. We hired a car in advance and a representative greeted us in arrivals with the keys. The fifteen minute drive to our hotel in Imerovigli gave us our first glimpse of the island and to be honest I was a little disappointed. The back roads were reasonably scruffy with many quad bikes and scooters. This wasn’t the Santorini I had seen in the photos and guide books.
However my opinion soon changed when we arrived at our Hotel, Honeymoon Petra Villas. The porters were waiting for our arrival in the car park ready to carry our luggage up the hilly and cobblestoned walkways that meander through the white washed buildings of Imerovigli. After a few minutes of walking we had arrived.
The hotel was stunning; the pool is one of the largest in the area and is surrounded by black rocks on one side and infinity views on the other. There is even a small swim up bar. The bedrooms and apartments are carved out of the rock which makes them very interesting and so full of character and charm. Yet the white and grey colour scheme keeps everything light and airy and gives a sense of tranquility and serenity.
Our room had a terrace area which looked straight out to the twinkling sea and the coast line. Each morning when we woke up we could see the cruise ships coming into dock down below. Being this high up on the cliff is very peaceful.
After some lunch in a local café we had spotted, we plotted up on the comfy sun loungers around the pool for a couple of hours. From this point I could look out and see Oia on one side and Thira on the other. Then directly in front there was the sea, volcano and island of Thirasia. I am conscious that I am writing a lot about the views in santorini but it is for good reason. They are quite simply breathtaking.
Later in the evening I sat here, sipping on a Kir Royal and watched the beautiful sunset . A wonderful sight of oranges and reds light up the sky over the ocean and volcano. The first evening we walked to a nearby restaurant, called The Aegean, which was very busy but our hotel had recommended it and kindly telephoned an hour in advance to reserve us a table. The food was traditional Greek food and it was delicious.
Tuesday morning’s breakfast was a mixture of hot and cold buffet. It was a chance to sample some traditional Greek breakfast foods along with the usual scrambled eggs and bacon. What really made this breakfast though was the location. I sat here in the same spot for breakfast for three days in a row and I have never eaten breakfast with such wonderful views.
The walk from Imerovigli to Thira takes approximately 20 minutes along an uneven path. It is mostly downhill, so leave yourself a bit of extra time for the walk back as you may want to stop for a couple of rests on the way home. We wandered around the pretty cobbled streets of souvenir shops and boutiques for a couple of hours before taking a ride on the cable car and seeing the famous Santorini donkeys. The donkeys do appear to be well looked after but I can’t help feeling a little sad for them having to work in the heat and carry tourists and goods up and down the mountain. There are many opportunities to book boat tours from here which take you to the volcano and smaller islands of Santorini. If I had spent longer here I would have definitely booked on to one of these trips.
On the second and third nights we ate in Thira (Fira). The path to walk is mostly unlit during the evening and so it would be difficult to navigate. As a result I drove our hire car down to the town and we found a car park just outside. Both nights we found restaurants where we could watch the sunset from our table and the food was great. It’s also very cheap. We had starters and mains for 4 people for approximately 80 euros. We saved space for dessert as there are some shops selling crepes with fantastic fillings to choose from such as banana, nutella, biscuit, oreo, strawberries, praline, and whipped cream. We ate these as we wandered through the streets taking in all of the sights.
On day 3 we headed to the village of Oia. It’s a 20 minute journey by car along some twisty roads that seem to cling to the edge of the cliffs. If you’re a serious walker though, you can put on your trainers and walk from Imerovigli to Oia instead. The walk takes about 1 hour 45 minutes. But give yourself an extra half an hour if keep stopping to take photographs on the way like me.
Again Oia is stunning and the views don’t disappoint. We explored the walkways and alleyways that seemed to lead to nowhere. Often we found the best views down these paths and you can see why this is one of the most photographed areas of the island. There are many ‘photo tour groups’ from cruise ships with around 20 to 30 people per group being hustled to the next chosen location by their guide to have their picture taken in front of an incredible view. After lunch and some more walking, it was time to go back to our hotel.
Sadly the next morning it was time to go home. We chose to get to the airport only an hour before we flew (rather than the usual recommended 2 hours) as this airport is so tiny with very few facilities.
I would like to go back again but next time I might keep the visit short to only 2 or 3 days and then hop to one of the other islands nearby such as Mykonos for a few days.
She's Away Again! 
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