Travel Diaries - Athens & Santorini, Greece
Before I start describing our itinerary, a few things to note if you would like to follow this itinerary - we were not greedy to see everything in the short trip, were okay to skip a few things to have a more relaxed holiday/ we are vegetarians and I totally enjoyed Greek cuisine so would like to talk of some restaurants we visited/ we rented a car in Santorini which was very helpful/our dates of travel were in the last week of May'18/we are budget travelers!
Day 1
Athens - We landed on a Saturday afternoon, there are three ways to reach the city center from the airport -you can take the public bus, take the metro, take a cab. We chose to take the public bus as it is the cheapest, the ticket price is 6 EUR per person per trip and it takes an hour to reach Syntgama square from the airport depending on the traffic, we had minimal traffic on our route at 13:00 hrs. X95 is the bus that goes directly to Syntgama square where we were headed. I found a vegetarian restaurant by the name Avocado (http://www.avocadoathens.com/) very close to Syntgama so we walked there. We enjoyed the meal so much that we went back to this place on our return as well, we ordered a Falafal plate and Om Shanthi rice. The menu has a wide variety of dishes to chose from and is every vegetarian's delight. This was the most comforting factor for us as food becomes a constraint when we travel, the only vegetarian dishes we can find are usually some breads or a single variety of pasta or Indian food which we rather prefer to cook at home.
After lunch we headed to the meeting point for our afternoon tour of the Acropolis, we booked a 2 hour afternoon guided tour to Acropolis from GetYourGuide - https://www.getyourguide.com/athens-l91/athens-acropolis-afternoon-tour-t63942/ as I didn't want to just walk through these ruins and not know the significance of this magnificent place as my memory about Greek history is faint. Our guide Marissa was very helpful and entertaining, we saw the open amphitheatre, the medicinal center, temple of Nike, the Partheon. It was a good time to visit as the temperatures were coming down and a lovely time to click pictures with the sun setting.
We headed back to the bus stop after this and returned to the airport to catch our flight to Santorini!
Day 2
We landed in Santorini around midnight and collected the keys to our rental car to drive to our hotel in Firostefani/Fira. Rental cars were not very expensive and since we were landing very late we thought it is easier to drive there than find a cab at that hour. We were staying at Hotel Thira (https://www.booking.com/hotel/gr/thira.en-gb.html) which was reasonable and also close to all the important landmarks in the Island. The hotel was neat and well maintained, has some pretty balconies. Sanotrini is a windy place and it was new to be sleeping with the balcony door open, listening to the wind blow and the sound of leaves rustling. We had a huge palm tree outside our window and I will always remember that sight of the blue balcony and the palm leaves rustling through the day and night.
We rested well, had some breakfast at the hotel and started our Fira to Oia hike around noon. Wasn't the best time to get started but we thought it wasn't too sunny. But it was quite sunny so remember to be dressed comfortably and be well protected. We just kept walking towards Oia with no particular route or map. We then found Skyros Rock on our way which I insisted we visit as it has some good views, the path is not well made and is not an easy walk down and back. But I am glad we did it, the views were great - you can see the entire mountain stretch and the little villages on these hills from here. After that climb we were sure hungry so stopped over at another Avocado restaurant (https://www.avocadosantorini.gr/en/) which was a great find for us. We ordered the Fried Potatoes with herbs, pita bread with hummus and avocado dip and a veggie risotto. The appetizers itself were filling so we packed a portion of the risotto which was nicely made with some cheese topping and a familiar mint taste. All in all food was great and so we continued the hike and finally reached Oia at around 18:00 hrs. I did some shopping at a local store - bought a greek salad ingredient box hoping to perfect it in my first attempt in future! We then found a spot to watch the most awaited sunset at Oia that everyone talks of. There were hordes of people like us so by 19:30 hrs all streets were full with people trying to get a good view, there was infact a whole traveler group that settled down on the floor with drinks & food. So it was pretty much like a picnic, it also started to get a little chilly by then so make sure you carry a jacket. The sunset was slightly overrated in my opinion, maybe because I have seen some better or similar ones back home :) After sunset we took a bus back to Firostefani and found our way to the hotel. We quickly took a shower and drove to a vegetarian bar/restaurant called Tranquilo (https://www.happycow.net/reviews/tranquilo-santorini-41548). This place was 30 minute drive from our hotel, it is close to Perissa beach but we still decided to explore it as the night was still young and we were glad we did. It is a cool hip place, gives you vibes of a relaxed atmosphere and it overlooks the sea. We ordered the veg platter here and realized the quantity is for four people and not two! We spent some time here and headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.
Day 3
We woke up a little tired after the hike from previous day and just wanted to relax today so woke up, had the leftovers from Tranquilo for breakfast and headed to Tranquilo again for lunch. Had a veg fried rice and smoked eggplant dip for lunch and headed to the beach next doors. To sum up today - Basked in the sun, read a book and got a tan! After a relaxing afternoon, we headed to the hotel around 18:30 hrs, took a quick dip in the pool at the hotel (the water was chilly!) and again got ready to leave for dinner. We walked towards Fira center to have dinner and found a restaurant with great views, can't recollect the name now but they served good caprese pasta and a brownie with ice cream to finish off. Thus ended day 3 on a relaxing and satisfying note. The winds, blue seas and beautiful views from every corner makes you feel so relaxed and magical!
Day 4
We checked out of the hotel, had a quick bite at the one of the first few places which was still serving breakfast. Had an omelet and scrambled eggs, and headed to the port as we booked a boat tour from 14:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs. Walking to the port means going down 500 steps and the steps could be slippery so be careful or you can chose to take a donkey ride down. We walked down and boarded our boat which first takes us to Nea Kalmeni which is another island and houses an active volcano. This is another small hike that may take you 20 minutes. From there the next stop is another island where people can take a dip in the hot springs, the water is brown due to high sulphur content and warmer. We chose to watch from the boat here. And then the boat drops you back at the old port. We were half hour late on schedule but it was a decent boat tour for the cost. The 3 hour tour costs 20 EUR per person which can be purchased at your hotel itself. There is also a 6 hr tout that takes you to another island and amoundi bay which costs 26 EUR and starts earlier.
We then headed to Galini cafe (http://www.galinicafesantorini.com/), an impressive looking restaurant which we noticed on all days of our tour had long lines. So finally we found a place. We finally ordered the famous greek salad here and a pasta with Santorini tomato paste. Both were beautifully made and wonderful views while you dine add to the pleasure!
We had one last stop to make before our flight in the night back to Athens. This was Santo Wines. Its a huge place with views overlooking the caldera and the sea. Lots of people come here for the sunset again. We ordered the 5 white wine tasting and bread with dip to enjoy the sunset. It was chilly but gorgeous with some live music playing. Finally headed back to the airport and said our goodbyes to Santorini. Please leave ahead for the airport as it is a small one and pretty messy.
Day 5
We woke up late, checked out of our hotel Best Western Musuem Hotel (https://www.museum-hotel.gr/) to head to Mamma Tierra (https://www.mamatierra.gr/), the popular vegan restaurant in Athens. And again no words to explain the joy of finding good vegetarian food alternatives. We ordered the most popular - bean dip and mousakka. Enjoyed the meal, clicked a picture and found our way back. We packed a Om shanthi rice at Avocado on the way back for the airport. Took an early bus to avoid traffic, and boarded our flight back home.
The perfect, relaxing holiday for us!
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