Beauty of Santorini

Santorini is one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The views are picture perfect no matter where you turn.

In case you don't already know, Santorini is a volcanic island, formed as part of the Minoan eruption 3600 years ago. I'm not really a history or geography buff so please don't blame me if the facts are wrong. Anyway, the point is that you will be amazed by the white-washed homes, hotels, shops perched at the side of the cliff (caldera side). At the same time, from the top of the cliff you get to look down to see the clear blue lagoon connected to the Aegean Sea. At certain places (namely the old port and Amoudi Bay), you can take a very long walk down the cliff to enjoy the sea at a closer distance. You certainly won't want to walk up the cliff in Santorini sunshine.

Cliff - a very stark difference from Mykonos

More cliffs

Santorini is made up of many villages (I only know the ones that tourists go to). One thing I particularly liked about the island is that the villages are positioned in a way (due to geographical forms) that you can't see another village when you are in one. 

On our first night in Santorini, we attempted to walk from the hotel in Firostefani to Fira. We couldn't see Fira from where we were, but we knew the general direction (i.e. Walk straight with caldera on right). At the turn of one corner after walking for about 10 minutes, we caught out first glimpse of Fira. It was really pretty as the cliff-side bars, restaurants, hotels were nicely lit in ambient light. Fira was also situated slightly lower than Firostefani hence we could see almost the entire village from where we're standing.

First glimpse of Fira

Fira in the day

At the bottom of the cliff is the old port of Santorini

Walking to Fira from Firostefani. Most of the path is paved with cobbled stones like this.

If you walk in the opposite direction from Firostefani you will reach Oia (see other post). You will see Oia only after you are over a mountain/hill. This way it doesn't spoil the surprise and doesn't let you have the feeling "how come we're not reaching" as you are on your hike. 

Some claimed Oia to be the most beautiful part of the island. Yes - because that's where you find the blue domed cathedrals and the pathways are paved with marble (Oia used to be the richer part of the island). No - because that's where the crowds are during the day and during sunset. Oia is where you get to see unblocked views of the sunset but you may get blocked by the throngs of people (look out for my post on alternate ways to view the sunset). 

We prefer Firostefani most because it has a very good balance of tranquility for the view and buzz from the restaurants. You also have a rather good view of the sunset (but not full view as it'll get blocked by Thirassa island). It's also more "local", you don't really see souvenir shops here.