Santorini is one of the most commercialized islands in Greece. It is famous for its sunset, Red sand beach, Black sand beach, as well as the active volcano that is visited for its hot water springs.Santorini can be accessed via by plane or ship, however it is better to arrive in Santorini via ship/ferry to see the awesome views. The capital city of Santorini is Fira which is the second most visited town compared to the town of Oia
Typically the ferry's from either Athens or Crete take about 7 to 9 hours to Fira, Santorini. However, the high speed ferry with a shorter duration( more expensive than the regular ferry) can be taken to Fira, Santorini. I decided to take the Sea jets high speed ferry from Heraklion to Santori that took about 4 hours. The voyage to Santorini was not as smooth as the voyage from Athens to Crete. However, I was able to control my motion sickness till we got to Fira, santorini.
Upon reaching Fira, Santorini, I decided to rent a smart car( really small cute cars) to explore the beautiful island of santorini. Driving in santorini is really different than driving in other Greece cities and island. Santorini is situated on Volcanoes ( there is one active volcano today), and therefore lots of windy small roads. Driving in Santorini is definitely not for people scared of heights like me. I magically found the courage to drive by not looking down at the sea as i navigate my away around the windy small roads on the mountain cliff
My favorite view of Santorini is the view from the new sea port called Athinos port. In order to take this picture, you had to drive to the top of the mountain( Very intimidating drive to the top)
Below is a collection of my favorite views of Santorini
Adventures
There are tons of activities to do in Santorini but below are the notables
Ancient Minoan Akrotiri Archaeological site
The settlement is located at the south of the island.The settlement was destroyed in the Theran eruption about 1627 BC and buried in volcanic ash, which preserved the remains of fine Frescoes and many objects and artworks. The settlement has been suggested as a possible inspiration for Plato's story of Atlantis. The site has been excavated since 1967.
Akrotiri was buried by the widespread Theran eruption in the middle of the second millennium as a result, there is the remarkably well-preserved Frescoes, pottery, furniture, advanced drainage systems and three-story buildings have been discovered at the site, during excavations that was started in 1967 by Spyridon Marinatos. Excavated artifacts such as objects and art work have been installed in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. Only a single gold object has been found, hidden beneath flooring, as well as no human skeletal remains have been found. This indicates that an orderly evacuation was performed with little or no loss of life.
The site was closed for repairs due to a freak accident that killed a tourist visitor in 2005. Thankfully the site recently re-opened in 2012
Akrotiri Red Sand Beach
The red sand beach is located in Akrotiri not too far from the Akrotiri archaeological site. At my visit, the beach was closed because there was a land slide that occurred some weeks before my arrival. Although the beach was closed, that did not stop some folks for going around the land slide tracks to get to the bottom of the beach.
Perivolos Black Sand Beach
The most popular black sand beaches in Santorini are the Kamari and the Perivolos Black sand beaches. I chose Perivolos because it is situated at the bottom of the highest mountain ( Prophet Ilias mountain) in Santorini. Unlike the Red sand beach, the Black sand beach was opened to the public. During hot summer months, the sand is usually very hot as I visited in September, the sand was somewhat cooler than a normal summer day
Kasteli Venetian Castle
The venetian castle of Kasteli is located in in the village of Pyrgos not too far from the capital city of Fira. Pyrgos is a traditional village with typical Cycladic Architecture, narrow alleys and Byzantine churches. Kasteli fortress/castle is located just at the entrance of the village and within the castle, there are cave houses, restaurants and churches. It is interesting to note that during the early years after the death of Christ, both St John and St Nicholas stayed at the castle. Nowadays, Pyrgos is one of the least spoiled tourism villages on Santorini
Santorini Sunset
Sunset in santorini is very popularly viewed in the village of Oia, however during September it is best seen from either Akrotiri or Pyrgos. I decided to view the sunset in Pyrgos from the top of the Kasteli castle
Santorini Sunrise
I stayed at the very nice Villa Poppi hotel located in Fira, Santorini that had a spectacular view of the sea from my room balcony. I literally went to bed and woke up looking at the sea and its gorgeous view
Museum of Prehistoric Thera
The Museum of Prehistoric Thira houses finds from the excavations at Akrotiri. A major benefactor is the Archaeological Society at Athens.
View of Oia
Oia is the most visited village visited by tourists to santorini. it is also the picture seen in most advertisements of Santorini ( Especially the sunset view). It is located at the North end of the island
Typically the ferry's from either Athens or Crete take about 7 to 9 hours to Fira, Santorini. However, the high speed ferry with a shorter duration( more expensive than the regular ferry) can be taken to Fira, Santorini. I decided to take the Sea jets high speed ferry from Heraklion to Santori that took about 4 hours. The voyage to Santorini was not as smooth as the voyage from Athens to Crete. However, I was able to control my motion sickness till we got to Fira, santorini.
Upon reaching Fira, Santorini, I decided to rent a smart car( really small cute cars) to explore the beautiful island of santorini. Driving in santorini is really different than driving in other Greece cities and island. Santorini is situated on Volcanoes ( there is one active volcano today), and therefore lots of windy small roads. Driving in Santorini is definitely not for people scared of heights like me. I magically found the courage to drive by not looking down at the sea as i navigate my away around the windy small roads on the mountain cliff
My favorite view of Santorini is the view from the new sea port called Athinos port. In order to take this picture, you had to drive to the top of the mountain( Very intimidating drive to the top)
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| View from Athinos Port, Fira, Santorini |
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| Pictures of Santorini |
There are tons of activities to do in Santorini but below are the notables
Ancient Minoan Akrotiri Archaeological site
The settlement is located at the south of the island.The settlement was destroyed in the Theran eruption about 1627 BC and buried in volcanic ash, which preserved the remains of fine Frescoes and many objects and artworks. The settlement has been suggested as a possible inspiration for Plato's story of Atlantis. The site has been excavated since 1967.
Akrotiri was buried by the widespread Theran eruption in the middle of the second millennium as a result, there is the remarkably well-preserved Frescoes, pottery, furniture, advanced drainage systems and three-story buildings have been discovered at the site, during excavations that was started in 1967 by Spyridon Marinatos. Excavated artifacts such as objects and art work have been installed in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. Only a single gold object has been found, hidden beneath flooring, as well as no human skeletal remains have been found. This indicates that an orderly evacuation was performed with little or no loss of life.
The site was closed for repairs due to a freak accident that killed a tourist visitor in 2005. Thankfully the site recently re-opened in 2012
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| Ancient Minoan Akrotiri Archaeological Site |
The red sand beach is located in Akrotiri not too far from the Akrotiri archaeological site. At my visit, the beach was closed because there was a land slide that occurred some weeks before my arrival. Although the beach was closed, that did not stop some folks for going around the land slide tracks to get to the bottom of the beach.
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| Red sand beach |
Perivolos Black Sand Beach
The most popular black sand beaches in Santorini are the Kamari and the Perivolos Black sand beaches. I chose Perivolos because it is situated at the bottom of the highest mountain ( Prophet Ilias mountain) in Santorini. Unlike the Red sand beach, the Black sand beach was opened to the public. During hot summer months, the sand is usually very hot as I visited in September, the sand was somewhat cooler than a normal summer day
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| Perivolos black sand beach located below Prophet Ilias Mountain |
Kasteli Venetian Castle
The venetian castle of Kasteli is located in in the village of Pyrgos not too far from the capital city of Fira. Pyrgos is a traditional village with typical Cycladic Architecture, narrow alleys and Byzantine churches. Kasteli fortress/castle is located just at the entrance of the village and within the castle, there are cave houses, restaurants and churches. It is interesting to note that during the early years after the death of Christ, both St John and St Nicholas stayed at the castle. Nowadays, Pyrgos is one of the least spoiled tourism villages on Santorini
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| View of the famous church in the Venetian Castle- Kasteli |
Santorini Sunset
Sunset in santorini is very popularly viewed in the village of Oia, however during September it is best seen from either Akrotiri or Pyrgos. I decided to view the sunset in Pyrgos from the top of the Kasteli castle
Santorini Sunrise
I stayed at the very nice Villa Poppi hotel located in Fira, Santorini that had a spectacular view of the sea from my room balcony. I literally went to bed and woke up looking at the sea and its gorgeous view
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| Sunrise view from my balcony while eating breakfast |
Museum of Prehistoric Thera
The Museum of Prehistoric Thira houses finds from the excavations at Akrotiri. A major benefactor is the Archaeological Society at Athens.
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| Some Artifacts from the Akrotiri site at the Museum of prehistoric Thera located in Fira, Santorini |
View of Oia
Oia is the most visited village visited by tourists to santorini. it is also the picture seen in most advertisements of Santorini ( Especially the sunset view). It is located at the North end of the island
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| More Pictures of Oia Santorini |
Perivolos black sand beach with its biblical connotation is awesome. This can be compared to the black sand beach at Hawaii, USA. I am very impressed with the scenario of Kasteli Venetian castle and been a home- place of great saints ( St. John and St. Nicholas). Love your pose on the pictures.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments!!! was not aware there was a black sand beach also located in hawaii
Deletehope the next trip would be for the couples,.........?
ReplyDelete