It's All Greek To Me - Greece Guide, Part One

At the end of August I was lucky enough to visit Greece for the first time with my mum and sister and I've literally fallen in love with the place. The sun, the scenery, the food (my god, so much good food), and the friendly people - it's a winning combo!

We spent a week in Oia on the beautiful island of Santorini before taking an internal flight to Athens to spend the remainder of our time. I've decided to do a bit of a recommendation/guide to Greece that'll run for a few parts covering a whole load of stuff like where to go, what to do and some dining out suggestions as well. In this first part I'll cover what we got up to in Santorini.

Though Oia is renown for being pricey we managed to find a fantastic family run hotel called Anemomilos, literally a 5 minute walk to the main street in Oia the location was ideal. Although not 5* luxury our room was decorated really stylishly and simply and even had a little balcony and kitchenette to cook breakfasts in the morning.

We also had access to the pool which had gorgeous views of the Aegean ocean and neighbouring islands and was a lovely spot to relax on an afternoon with a book. Rooms start at just £50 during the high season and there's a range of accommodation available to suit all needs. The hotel restaurant also became a haunt of ours but I'll write more about this in my post on food!

Out of everywhere on Santorini I'd definitely say Oia is the best place to stay if you can. Oia is beautiful just to wander through and admire the views, there's basically two main streets in the whole town so it was extremely easy to navigate. Unfortunately though, the streets do get crammed full of tourists seeking out the sunset at around 4 in the afternoon, so make the most of the quiet in the morning. If you're staying in the town though you're at leisure to find your own sunset spot away from the crowds.

Full of shops selling everything from designer clothes to cheap trinkets it's pleasant to spend time just wandering and looking in these - I managed to get myself some amazing photo postcards of island life in the 1950's which I've framed and will be up on my wall in no time. Whatever you're seeking I'm sure one of the shops will have it. Look out for Atlantis books which is a great little book shop filled with literature of almost every language and even some rare first editions to admire.

We loved Kastro beach, about a 20 minute walk out of town it's located at the bottom of a wall of cliffs and is surprisingly quiet for such a beautiful spot. We reckon it was because most people come to Oia for the sunset and don't plan time for beach trips - all the better for us! Being a rocky beach as most are on the island make sure to bring something comfy to lie on and wile away the hours. There's also a great little cafe you can grab lovely fresh fruit juices and smoothies before you head back up the hill to Oia.

I'd also recommend a trip down to Ammoudi bay which is lined with tastey looking fish restaurants. Head round the cove and over some rocks to discover a tiny spot where you can enjoy a swim in the unusually calm waters. There's also a rock you can swim out to to try out cliff jumping for the adrenaline junkies out there. However I'd definitely say get here early, we arrived in the morning and got a great spot, but there's little room and it gets busy in the afternoon (we retreated back to Kastro beach once too many people arrived). 

Part two will cover even more things we got up to in Santorini before I move onto food and our few days in Athens in parts three and four!

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Labels: Travel