In Santorini, Oia is the only place to stay. Yes, flocks of tourists disembark the cruise ships and bombard the whitewashed villages every morning. Yet somehow, Oia retains its charm. There is one main cobbled path the city splays from. It’s lined with guest houses, tavernas, modern boutiques and tourist shops. The blue-dome churches you came all this way to take a selfie with are just off the path. It’s at most a thirty-minute walk from one end of the village to the other.
We walked from our apartment down the three hundred steps to the Ammoudi Port. Three hundred steps may not sound like that many, but with two moms, it’s a lot. There’s always the option to take a donkey back to the top for just €6 but we thought that may be more life-threatening than the walk itself.
At the suggestion of our host, we tried the taverna by the same name, Ammoudi Fish Taverna. There are 3 others to choose from and all come highly recommended. You can’t get much closer to the sea than this. At each of the tavernas there were octopus stretched out on clotheslines drying in the sun. I knew exactly what to order. Along with the grilled octopus, we devoured a classic Greek salad, mussels, a seafood soup and Mastelo. Mastelo is more like dessert – a special Greek cow milk cheese wrapped in filo dough and drizzled with honey and sesame.
When we arrived in Santorini our suitcases were already bulging. Despite this, we shopped. Unlike boutiques in most of the world, the shop owners in Oia are happy to cut a deal. The price is never final and often if you pay cash they’ll lower the price even more. Even though I took a business card from almost every shop I decided to throw those away in an effort to squeeze all my purchases in my suitcase. I don’t have any particular must-visit stores but classic Greek items include handmade shoes, leather goods and silver.
Don’t forget to pop your head in the Atlantis Bookstore. It’s totally charming.
When I think of Greek islands I always think white villages, never white wine. To my surprise, grapes are all over the island. Both the whites and reds are distinctly salty and dry due to the volcanic soil. We chose the 10 wine flight at the SantoWines Winery. We began with sparkling followed by crisp and then more aged oaky whites. Later, reds and a dessert wine finale. We certainly left a bit giddier than when we arrived.
Stay for dinner or have a course paired with food to avoid the over-tipsiness. The sunset is one of the best on the island, so it’s worth spending some time here. You can also take a guided tour around the vineyard.
So it may come as a surprise, but Santorini doesn’t have the greatest beaches. Actually I wouldn’t even call them decent. It’s a volcanic island with most of the villages perched on high cliffs. There’s no sand and most of what they call beaches are just rocky inlets. The three beaches most tourists, including us, visited are at the far side of the island. The Red Beach is the most popular. It’s accessible by a rocky footpath from the ancient village of Akrotiri. From the Red Beach you can also hop on a small glass bottom boat to visit the White Beach and the Black Beach.
Our host made it easy for us to arrange a semi-private catamaran tour with Caldera Yachting. Caldera has everything from semi-private catamaran and sailing tours to private yacht rentals. We had hoped to do the Caldera Deep Blue Cruise – this one conveniently departs from the Ammoudi Bay, but unfortunately it was May 30th and these cruises only run June – August. Instead, we had to take a bus to the opposite side of the island to board the catamaran for the Sunset Caldera Classic. Had we been able to cut this part out I certainly would have enjoyed the day a bit more. All in all the crew and captain were knowledgeable and friendly. We stopped at the Red Beach for a swim, the caldera to experience the hot springs (which were not exactly hot) and then a sunset dinner before heading back to the port.
All the local people want to tell you about is the caldera. So what is it anyway? Basically, Santorini and the surrounding islands you see from the major towns like Oia, Fira and Imerovigli are all part of a volcanic eruption. About 3,500 years ago the volcano at the center exploded changing the land formation in the area. The caldera is about 4 miles in diameter and stretches about a thousand feet below and above sea level. So why should you care? Well, apart from being one of the great wonders of the world, it makes for a pretty spectacular backdrop during dinner.
If you want to fancy it up, Ambrosia is certainly the place to go. The restaurant has only 9 tables or so outside so make a reservation online. The bread basket and dips were utterly delicious. We also tried the Fava from Santorini, the Santorini Salad, the Lamb Cutlets, the Fresh Shi Drum fillet and the Risotto with shrimps. My favorite dish was certainly the risotto. Though filling, the texture was light and fluffy, the shrimp were sweet and the truffle was subtle.
This is the place for delicious gyros, souvlaki and kebab. But make sure you go for lunch or an early dinner. We tried to eat here at night and they were all out of gyro meat. The prices are super low and the gyros super flavorful. My friend did get the halloumi pita and was not impressed so if you are a meat-eater, go for the gyro pork or gyro chicken and if you’re a big eater, order 2. They pair great with the local Crazy Donkey beer from the Santorini Brewing Company. The food is less greasy than your classic gyro shop. You can enjoy your gyros on the terrace or get them to go.
Mextasimas is not located in Oia but it is certainly worth a trip. Much like most of the island, Mextasimas is situated just off an unnamed road a bit inland. Despite its discrete location, this place is popular with pretty much everyone. It’s on almost all the blogs and travel sites at this point because it’s just that good. I’d go as far to say it was the best dinner we had during our week in Greece.
On arrival, we were greeted with a shot of Raki – a grape-based brandy from Crete and some bread and olives. Already feeling tipsy from our visit to the Santo Winery, we were ready for yet another bottle of wine. We were seated in a cozy spot with heat lamps and blankets to stay warm. The atmosphere was cozy and felt more like your grandma’s house than a restaurant. We started the meal with the famous Santorini fava split pea dip and the White eggplant roasted in the oven. Both were melt in your mouth delicious. I continued with the Roasted lamb shank with white eggplant, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese served in a piping hot clay pot. The meat was fall-off-the-bone tender and the eggplant mixed with the tomatoes and cheese made a delicious sauce. I hadn’t been that full in ages. They even followed it up with complementary chocolate cake. The best part was the cost, for 2 appetizers, 4 entrees, a bottle of wine and dessert the meal came to less than €100.
One day we rented a car to drive to the opposite end of the island and visit some of the beaches. Friends had told us to stop by the ancient town of Akrotiri to see the ruins. After glancing at the museum and entrance we decided it was too hot and too expensive to waste our day there – we were going to Athens and that was enough ancient stuff for us. Instead, we found a taverna by the sea for lunch. An old Greek man gave us a warm welcome and sat us up against the sea at his bright blue taverna. He told us the specials of the day and suggested his favorite dishes. We all chose the grilled fish of the day served with a tomato cake, zucchini cake, carrot mash and beets paired with a glass of wine. The skin was crispy and with a little lemon the flavor was perfect. I ate the whole plate!
Some other restaurants my friends and locals recommended are Roka and Lotza for dinner, Lolita’s for gelato and Fino for cocktails.
We stayed at the recently opened Villa Delta Suites. I don’t usually talk much about where I stayed but this one was a true standout and really made our time in Oia all the better. When we arrived at the airport a man held a sign with our name on it and drove us the twenty minutes to the entrance to Oia. There, our host Stefania met us and a man carried our bags through the cobbled village. She showed us around the apartment, explained the map, offered suggestions and left us with an iPhone we could use to contact her at anytime. The apartment itself has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a small kitchen, a terrace and a warm pool. It is located just steps from the main shopping street but is secluded enough for an evening skinny dip. The location is hard to beat and Stefania saved us time and time again with missed flights, ferries on strike, and taxi rides.
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