The Many Colors of Santorini

My interest in Santorini is, like yours I’m sure, the product of Pinterest, Instagram, and an ingenious team of digital marketers. This island wasn’t even on my radar two years ago, but by the time we had booked our tickets it was my number one travel obsession. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to be the woman in this picture?

Our ferry stopped at a couple other islands before we arrived at Santorini, so we got a small tease of what to expect. Still, Santorini floored me. It was unlike any place I’ve ever been before, in geography, architecture, and hospitality. And even though it’s known for its pristine white houses and vivid blue roofs, I found it to be a place full of color, from the exotic Red Beach to the pink and burnt orange sunsets. We spent two and a half leisurely days drinking wine, soaking up the sun, and zipping around on our rented motorbike. I can see why this island life attracts so many people.

The two most popular places to stay on Santorini are Fira and Oia. We ended up at a charming guest house in Akrotiri, on the complete other side of the island. Akrotiri is remote, less of a village and more of a scattered collection of houses and restaurants. We ended up really enjoying the quietness there on the southern tip of the island, maybe because we’re secretly old crotchety people, or maybe because we had a view like this.

To solve the problem of distance, we rented ourselves a motorbike from Rent Me Love Me. I LOVE renting motorbikes when we travel. I rode on for the first time with Boyfriend in Costa Rica, and now I’m the one who’s always looking for opportunities to get on the back of a bike. Santorini is not a place for beginner bikers, though. Boyfriend spent four years driving in Vietnam, and the winding, wind-blown roads on Santorini were sometimes a challenge. If you’re not confident on a bike, I’d suggest renting ATVs instead. You might not be able to zip around the way you can on a motorbike, but you’ll be more comfortable.

Even though Santorini is an island, being a volcanic island it’s not really known for its soft-sand beaches. Instead, it has a myriad of different kinds of colored sand beaches. We tried the famous Red Beach first, since it was closest to Akrotiri. The Red Beach is stunning, a rocky beach squeezed underneath a dramatic rust-colored cliff. However, the tide was coming in, making it a struggle to walk from one end of the beach to the other. We weren’t going to enjoy being sea-sprayed on the lounge chairs and we definitely weren’t going to be able to swim. We had been hoping to hop over to the White Beach, which is only accessible by boat, but we were informed that the water was too rough. Disappointed, we gave up and instead headed to Perissa’s black sand beaches.

You can’t stay disappointed for long when you’re at Perissa. The black sand is hard and hot, but the entire beach is lined with lounge chairs, pubs, and cafes. Take a drive to pick your perfect spot – some of the cafes offer free chairs (and when cappuccinos are 4€ a piece, any savings is important!).

Of course one of the main draws of Santorini is the gorgeous sunsets. Having three beautifully clear evenings, we took advantage and saw the sunset from three different places.

First we went to the lighthouse near Akrotiri, at the southern tip of the island. It wasn’t too crowded and we had an unbroken view of the sunset. It was a little too quiet and people clapped at the sunset, which Boyfriend and I found amusing and had us giggling. One thing I liked about this sunset was that you could look back on the rest of the island and see the cliffs flaring up red in the sunset.

The second night we headed to the opposite end of the island, to Oia. Oia is one of the most popular places to watch the sunset and since we didn’t want to battle the crowds we opted to catch it while eating dinner. During peak season you’d need to make a reservation, but very sweet shopkeeper I bought a necklace from made a phone call and got us a table at an outdoor restaurant with a beautiful view of the sunset.

If you’re not staying in Oia but feel confident driving back at night, hang out for an hour or two to see Oia at night. The village gets even more stunning as the sky fades into indigo twilight and the house lights glimmer like a treasure chest of jewels.

For our last night I wanted to be in Fira, the other top contender for best sunset. This time I wasn’t as interested in looking out at the sunset over the water. I wanted to see the red hues light up the white-washed houses. We found a little terraced wine bar, secured ourselves a seat facing the ‘wrong’ way, and watched the village turn pink.

All three sunsets were beautiful, but I think my favorite was the lighthouse at Akrotiri. It wasn’t packed with people and we had just as much of an unbroken view as we got in Oia. There was just something about the mood that felt more authentic, less pre-packaged — even though we were just stifling giggles at the applause for the sunset.

Which pictures are your favorite?