Second stop in Greece: Santorini!
Given our travel window in early April, we knew we’d be rolling the dice in terms of how warm it would get on many of the Greek islands. Also, some accommodations/activities aren’t even open before their Easter. Still, we opted to check out Santorini because well, it’s Santorini.
As it turned out, we didn’t have great weather. It was too cold to swim or lay out and the hotel pool wasn’t heated. Nevertheless, this gave us an opportunity to explore basically every corner of this small island over the course of 3-4 days.
Nana Lucy also joined us in Santorini which was very special to have quality time and to spend Passover in a place with no matzah in sight. 😉 Oops. That’s on me for not looking at the holiday calendar when planning this trip six months ago.
A few thoughts from our visit:
• Though iconic Oia with the contrasting bright-white buildings and blue domes is a must-see for photos, we actually preferred exploring the quieter towns (in April at least) of Megalochori, Pyrgos, and Imerovigli. Imerovigli had a crazy-steep but enjoyable hike of winding steps all the way down to a scenic peninsula with an old castle/fort. Fira was pretty once you climb up away from the car traffic.
• Without the usual vacation plan in Santorini of lounging at the pool and every evening being the best sunset in Greece (though we did catch two gorgeous sunsets), a rental car was necessary for exploring the island, including for playground stops. Taxis are crazy expensive there.
• Lodging is pricey in Santorini, even in the shoulder season; perhaps a vacation rental might have given us more flexibility, as we had to drive everywhere for meals except the included breakfast buffet. That being said, we did enjoy excellent dinners at Rymidi (that moussaka and grilled haloumi cheese!) @rymidi_restaurant in Pyrgos, Geromanolis in Megalochori, and Kantouni @kantouni_traditional_restaur in Pyrgos.
• Fewer crowds meant a more enjoyable time walking Perissa’s Black Sand Beach, and the famous Red Sand Beach.
