Bonjour tout le monde! C'est encore moi, PK! (Sorry, trying to seriously pick up french at the moment)
Currently I'm in my London hostel, just checked out after a week's stay in the city. Since I have some spare time before catching my train back to the "sunny" Sunderland, I might as well start updating my tripsss!
This time round I will be back in Sunderland for 2 weeks or so before I embark on another Europe adventure again. So I guess I will play the role of post-spammer for the next 2 weeks since I will have absolutely nothing to do (supposedly to go on a Scotland roadtrip T.T)! After throwing the dice, in my mind, I've decided to share about my solo birthday trip to Greece back in April. Haven been reading news lately but I've heard about the current situation in that country, and thought probably people will avoid visiting there for the time being. But Greece is still an amazing and stunning place to visit, hope this post will give you a rough idea about the few cities/islands I've visited.
So, for my 9 days Greece adventure, I have been to 4 places in total; Santorini, Naxos, Mikonos and Athens. Lets start off with most people's dream destination.... Santorini!!!! Jealous right?? *insert wicked smile*
- All photos were taken by my Samsung NX-mini, no filter, no edit. -
This is the map of Santorini, just to give you a idea of those famous tourist hotspots locations.
So I flew from Newcastle to Athens (transiting in Amsterdam) with KLM, then took another domestic flight to Santorini Thira National Airport with Aegean Airlines. It took me almost a day to arrive in Santorini and the sun was already setting when I arrived.
Another point to take note is the transportation from Santorini airport to your accommodation, there is public bus that runs from the airport to Fira, but the last bus leaves pretty early, around 7pm. If you arrive after that you only can take a taxi or arrange your own transportation. However, taxis there don't run on meter, so please make sure you bargain with the driver before hopping on the taxi! BECAUSE I GOT CHEATED!
Another point to take note is the transportation from Santorini airport to your accommodation, there is public bus that runs from the airport to Fira, but the last bus leaves pretty early, around 7pm. If you arrive after that you only can take a taxi or arrange your own transportation. However, taxis there don't run on meter, so please make sure you bargain with the driver before hopping on the taxi! BECAUSE I GOT CHEATED!
Fira
On my first night, I've decided to stay in a small B&B in Fira, the main tourist area, because I didn't want to waste money on luxury hotels as I will be arriving late in the night.
If you are looking for an area with plenty of restaurants and shops, go to Fira! It's the most happening town in Santorini. The port for Thirasia and other Santioni islands and the main bus terminal to all parts of the island are also located in Fira.
Firostefani
The day after I arrived in Santorini was my birthday, so I decided to go all out and splurge on it. So..... I moved to another hotel where I booked a caldera view suite room for 2 nights. I admit, I am very anal when comes to accommodations. Be it hostel, b&b or hotel, I must choose the best, if not 2nd best, of the category. After much much much research, comparing price, location, design, service and all, I booked a suite at Ikastikies, and I am not lying, IT IS THE BEST HOTEL I'VE EVER STAYED!!!!!!!!!!!
This is Giorgos (most left) and his staff giving me a birthday surprise when I popped by the reception for enquiries. Not only the stunning view of the hotel, the sleek interior design and the thoughtful amenities that have stunned me, the passion for personalized hospitality that Giorgos and his team have immensely inspires me as well.
For location wise, as Firostefani is a very small town, it is much more quiet and peaceful as compared to Fira. There are a couple of restaurants and a few shops in the area but if that doesn't satisfy you, don't worry, Firostefani is only 20 minutes walking distance to Fira where you can still find all the food and do all the shopping. The path to Fira is by the caldera, hence while walking to Fira, you can still admire the signature Santorini view.
Oia
Oia (pronounce as YEE-AH) is probably the most famous town in Santorini where everyone wants to be there to witness that postcard scenery (above). However, it is the most up north town on the island (kinda make it far away from main attractions on the island) and the most expensive too. All the high end luxury hotels are located in Oia. If you want to experience the beauty of this town but yet doesn't want to up your budget, you can simply stay in Fira or Firostefani and catch a bus to Oia which only cost €1.60 per trip!
Just a side note, because Oia is so famous, this town is always pretty packed with many tour groups too(and you can guess where those tour groups are from -.-"), which somehow made the place over touristy. If you looking for a peaceful town to stay at, probably you have to think twice. And let me warn you again, Oia is EXPENSIVE even if it's just for food!
My last sunset in Santorini was spent by my hotel's swimming pool. Though Oia is known to have to best sunset on the island, but Giorgos thinks otherwise, therefore he suggested that I should at least catch the sunset at Firostefani (which he thinks is the best) once before I leave and even offered me a glass of wine with fruit salad to watch the sunset as my birthday gift!
My 3 days 3 nights in Satorini was spent relaxing, reading and star gazing, super therapeutic but yet so serene. I can easily declared this birthday is my best birthday ever, despite spending it alone for the very first time. I almost wanted to extend my stay in Ikatikies but..... no money. Lol.
When leaving Santorini for the next island, I decided to take the BlueStar "ferry". I wrote "ferry" because.....
IS THIS EVEN A FERRY?! ITS A CRUISE BUDDY!!!
There I go, after Giorgos offered to drive me to the main port, I left Satorini with tears (in my mind) and headed off to the next stunning Greek island....
Stay tuned!
À bientôt!
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