greece

we decided to stayed in fira, santorini in an airbnb. needless to say, our airbnb was AMAZING! It was a two story villa with two beds, two baths, a private pool and two private terraces. for those interested in booking the same airbnb we did, click here.

the best part about the villa was that it is on the main path so you can easily access restaurants, bars and shopping or walk to another town. overall, petra (who took care of the villa) was amazing! She organized a shared pick up from the airport to the villa. when we arrived at the villa, she and her colleague carried our luggage to the villa (this is a big deal because villa/main path on the caldera is not accessible by car and is an extremely steep walk). petra was very welcoming to the home and gave us a map of the island with restaurants, bars, beaches, and other recommendations. petra also offered a cleaning service every day - which was life changing! The cleaning lady came every day 11am and changed the sheets and towels. she was a great host and made us feel welcome. We would definitely stay here again.

ACTIVITIES:

exploring fira:

sunset boat cruise: after spending our first full day on the island exploring fira, we took a 5 hour sunset cruise through santorini sailing. we thought it was fantastic! it included pick up from your hotel/airbnb, swimming in volcanic hot springs, dinner on a private beach, and bottomless beer & wine.

hike from fira to oia: on our second day in santorini, we decided to hike from fira to oia: a 3-4 hour walk depending on how many stops you take along the way. this was, by far, my favorite day on the island. here are a few of the stops we made along the way before making it oia:

rent ATV's: we rented ATV's from tony's rent a car & motors (they don't have an official website but can be found at Firostefani, 25th March, FIRA Santorini Greece 847 00, Greece). they're located just off the caldera in fira. we decided that we wanted to see the south west part of the island, best known for their red sand beaches. it took us about an hour to drive to perissa beach:

at perissa beach, we grabbed a boozy brunch at THE BEACH BAR. the best part about this spot, is you get access to a private beach where you can lounge & drink.

EATS:

here are some of the restaurants we especially enjoyed doing our stay on the island:

IDOL: https://idolsantorini.gr

NIKI : https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g482942-d3323506-Reviews-Niki_Restaurant-Fira_Santorini_Cyclades_South_Aegean.html

MURPHY'S BAR : https://www.murphysbarsantorini.eu

VOLCANO BLUE : https://volcanoblue.gr

KASTRO : https://kastro-oia.gr

ATHENS

we had an 8 hour layover in athens and took the leap of faith to leave the airport and visit the city. the athens airport has a storage unit where you can leave your suitcases for ~$20.

PRO TIP: we took a taxi from the airport to the acropolis. this should only cost $40 each way. *however, beware of taxi drivers that dont speak english.* in our experience, our taxi driver didn't speak an ounce of english and took advantage of us by taking us to the nearest mall instead of center city. we were left stranded, still 30 min from the acropolis. luckily, their was a local subway stop nearby that allowed us to get downtown. that left us 2 ½ hours to explore and make it back to the airport in time for our flight home.

if you have a long layover, definitely plan plan plan. this is totally do-able and definitely WORHT IT.

for any questions about my trip, feel free to reach out!