Santorini Reviews -General

After two days in Athens, which I must admit, is a pretty awe inspiring city with its rich historic legacy and grand monuments, Santorini was a complete contrast. Much as I admire Athens, it is nothing compared to the Santorini experience, which is, as many would agree with me, something close to the divine. In fact, not all the travel guides in the world can actually do justice to the outstanding natural beauty of the place because the experience is quite indescribable. From our first spectacle of the caldera, to white cubical houses and blue-domed churches tightly hugging the vertical cliffs (appears quite gravity-defying!!), to black-sand beaches, Santorini is simply awesome.

We stayed at Ia, the village that hangs precariously on the cliff side and which is famous for its spectacular sunsets. I actually thought this to be a bit overrated because we saw some equally impressive sunsets at Imerovigli and Firostefani. I think every village on the island has a year-long contract with the sun god to market his sunsets. We stayed at one of the moderately priced pensions. It was September and we were able to enjoy a relatively serene atmosphere. We spent a week on the island and tried to visit as many places as we could. Santorini is not a place a budget traveler visits more than once! The bus rides were convenient and pretty economical too, 1 euro for a short ride between villages. The eateries at Santorini are quite something. We saw a number of upscale places at Fira and Oia, which we were sure offered the finest of gourmand stuff and the best views, but we preferred to try the local taverns with the delicious mezedes.