Santorini Vibes | Best Holiday Yet

Sweet dreams are made of this..

 

I don’t exactly recall when I first heard about Santorini, but I recall that for the longest time, I always wanted to visit one of the Greek Islands and the more thought I gave to it, and subsequently did my research, I decided that Santorini was it. Maybe it has to do with all the Greek tales and mythology, but I just couldn’t wipe the thought of relaxing on its beautiful shores away from my mind.

The first time I started to put action into planning a trip was in 2015 for my twenty-fifth birthday. I thought that it would be a befitting gift to myself, but when my plans fell through because none of my friends wanted to go, I let go of my dream. Although by then, I had once been on a holiday all by myself, I just couldn’t imagine being alone in Santorini. It wasn’t the sort of holiday that was meant to be enjoyed in solitary. When I was alone in NewYork, it didn’t matter because it was a big city and there were loads to do, see and enjoy, but a slow paced life on an island was the stark opposite.

Another year went by and the thought of Santorini was put aside, but when I got fed up of work earlier this year and was thinking about my next trip, Santorini came to mind again and this time I knew that I’d go whether I had a companion or not. So again, I rallied my friends and yet it was still the same old story- can’t take time off work, too expensive, etc. I said adios to them and started planning my solo trip. In fact, I was very excited at the thought of going alone this time around that when another friend finally called on the eve to me booking the holiday and said she’d be interested, I was slightly disappointed.

Fast forward to two months later, I was in my studio room in Kaforous Hotel marveling at the view(which is a five minutes walk to the beach) and taking tons of pictures of every bougainvillea tree I could find.

Santorini is truly beautiful. The views are breathtaking and worth every single penny spent in getting there. The best location to stay in Santorini is Oai or Fira with views overlooking the Aegan sea- truly splendid!

As you can imagine, I wanted to stay at one of the hotels offering this view but with a rate of about a thousand pounds per night’s stay, I had to carry my humble self elsewhere 😀

These are ridiculous prices of course and it amazed me that in a world where millions went on without the most basic of amenities, places like these could charge such vast amounts! Traveling is one of the things that definitely confronts you with reality and forces you to question the part you play in the world, because we’re all interconnected after all.

Anyway, not being able to afford the area I wanted to stay in Oai or Fira, I started looking at other locations that would still allow me a great experience. Just to note, not everywhere in Oai and Fira are that expensive. However, the places that were in my price range where too far inland to offer any great view and thus, wasn’t worth me staying in that location.

I ended up booking an accommodation in Kamari, a town by the black sand beach. The splendid beach was a five minutes walk from my hotel, had great restaurants, an open air cinema and chilled out vibe. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

I had already decided that the holiday was going to be a chilled one. I wasn’t keen on waking up early to go and do all the touristy things. I simply wanted to sleep, eat good food, chill on the beach, go for a bit of sight seeing and chill some more. So the first 3 days was spent doing that. By the third day, I got up early and did the wonderful photo shoot for Ofio’s summer collection. I had my lovely friend on hand to assist with the camera. The poor girl must have been tired after all the outfit changes I made.

On day 4, we got ready and took a trip to the other parts of the island. We used public transport which was about 1.80 euros to first get to Fira, then from Fira, we got another bus paying the same amount to Oai. Friends, I cannot explain the incredible views up the mountain to Oai. It is something that you must experience in this life time. I was so engrossed in the moment that I unfortunately wasn’t interested in taking any pictures as we drove. It was amazing, and this simple word under-describes it!

Anyway, we spent an awful long time just walking around and taking tons of pictures. When we needed a break, we went to a restaurant with a rooftop facing the Aegan sea and had lunch. It was a delicious meal with an incredible view. Then after more sight seeing, we took the coach back to Fira where we booked a boat cruise trip from Kamari Tours for the next day and then went to a rooftop to await the glorious sunset we’d been told so much about, with a champagne glass in hand. I got tipsy that night and went on Instagram Live to say hello, can you imagine? Anyway, it was a wonderful day in summary.

Day 5, we got up and got ready for an adventure. The cruise itinerary included visiting a volcano site, swimming in the hot springs, having lunch on the opposite island and finally, a tour of Oai(we opted out of this because we had done it the day before).

On day 6, we got our bags packed and ready for our flight back home. The long awaited holiday of my dreams was finally over. I was super happy to have stuck to my guns and made it happen, as well as grateful that I was in the position to afford it.

The next Greek Island I’ll like to visit is Crete, but I know for sure that I’ll be returning to Santorini in the future. Perhaps for my honeymoon? Hopefully, I’d have saved up well to be able to afford those amazing Aegan sea views in Oai!

What’s the best place you’ve visited? Share in the comments 🙂