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The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece! Things to Do & See!

by Nadeen
September 22, 2019
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The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece! Things to Do & See!

I remember when my mother came back from her Mediterranean cruise many many years ago. There were two places she kept raving about. Capri Italy and Santorini Greece. Capri is an island off the coast of Southern Italy and Santorini is one of the Greek Isles. If my mother loved a place I knew it was spectacular.

In 2010 I had the great fortune to make the trip to Santorini Greece. It was the last stop on what I called my “planes, ferries, pirate ships and donkey” trip! I  started in Athens, flew to Mykonos then took a ferry to Santorini. Arriving at sunset, driving up a mountain (a caldera to be exact) to the hotel, looking out at the magnificent views and the Aegean sea, I knew why my mother fell in love with this island.

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
Sunset in the town of Fira in Santorini

Santorini is one of the larger Greek isles and is a remnant of a volcanic caldera. A caldera is formed by the collapse of land after a volcanic eruption. In Santorini it amounted to a lagoon surrounded by steep cliffs on three sides and a smaller island on the fourth side. Santorini Greece is layered with white buildings overlooking the bluest water you will ever see. All those classic postcards and images you see of Greece-I bet at least half are from Santorini!

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
The town of Oia in Santorini

Besides staring out at the ocean and basking in its beauty, I was surprised at the wide variety of activities and sites to behold on the island. On our first day we took a gondola down to the ocean, sailed across to a smaller island on a pirate ship, and climbed to the top of and inactive volcano.

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
After climbing to the top of an inactive volcano

We also stopped at hot springs area where many people took a dip. On our return there was an option to take the gondola or ride a donkey up the side of the caldera back to the top. I chose the donkey! It was a bit stinky but I had perfect breathtaking views of the caldera and island the entire way up!

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!

Santorini views!

Due to volcanic eruptions Santorini also has black and red sanded beaches! I witnessed the beauty of black sanded beaches in Maui Hawaii but it was my first time seeing red sanded beaches.

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
The red sanded beach in Santorini
The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
The black sanded beach in Santorini

We also traveled to the top of a mountain on one side of the island to visit the ruins of  Ancient Thera. It was inhabited as far back as the 9th century BC.

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
Ancient Thera

As a wine lover I was pleasantly surprised that the island is home to several wineries! We visited a winery with an underground museum and a self-guided walking tour showing the history of wine making on Santorini. It was very cute. After the tour we did our tastings. Their indigenous grape is “Assyrtiko” which produces a delicious dry white wine. They use this grape along with two others to make their signature sweet dessert wine called “Vinsanto”.  They even have chocolate infused with the Vinsanto flavor. This is perfect for a wine lover and chocoholic like me! Unfortunately, at the time there was an embargo against bringing any Greek wine back into the US! Therefore, we had to drink as much as we could there :-).

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!

I could not end this piece without speaking about the sunsets. We traveled to the town of Oia known for its breathtaking sunsets. Many tourists do the same and there is actually a place called “Sunset Seranade point” where they gather. Many cruise ships dock and sail from Santorini and watching them sail off into the sunset just adds to the magic!

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
Sunset in Oia

Unfortunately, I only had 3 days to spend in this remarkable place. I obviously packed a lot in! However, I was jealous of those laying out by the many hotel infinity pools all perched on the edge of the steep calderas. I will definitely make time for this on my next visit! I have since met several people who have been to Santorini Greece for their honeymoons which led me to pick it as one of the most romantic cities in the world. My suggestion-give yourself enough time in Santorini to see the many wonders AND relax!

The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
I loved how this doggie was taking in the magnificent views!
The Many Wonders of Santorini Greece!
I snuck over a hotel entrance to take this picture. It was worth it!

Have you been to Santorini Greece? If so share your thoughts with us below! Be sure to read my other posts on Greece! Mykonos, Delphi and my story featured in the Huffington Post “Its All Greek To Me.”

N.S.W.

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Tags: europegreecesantorinisunsetsTravelVacationwine
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Nadeen

Nadeen

Dr. Nadeen White is a "Blogger by Day, Physician by Night". She is an award-winning travel blogger, Amazon bestselling author and speaker. The Sophisticated Life Blog covers affordable luxury travel, culinary travel and wine. Her domestic and international travel guides gets people to the destinations of their dreams. So, if you are living the sophisticated life or desire to do so, this is the blog for you!

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Comments 27

  1. April says:
    11 years ago

    Gorgeous pictures! I would love to visit Greece one day! The sunset is amazing. I actually have a bucket list of places I want to visit. No 1 place is Ghana. Ghana because my teen son’s family is from there and the 2nd place is Mauritius.

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      April I had to look up Mauritius! sounds interesting. I would also like to visit Ghana. Greece does have the most amazing sunsets!

  2. Logan Cantrell says:
    11 years ago

    I’ve always wanted to go to Greece! It looks so beautiful.

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      It really was!! Thx for reading and the comment!

  3. Louida says:
    11 years ago

    Wow Greece looks like a beautiful place! You need to go back again sometime to be able to see more.

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      I do hope to go back! Thanks for reading!

  4. Reginia Cordell says:
    11 years ago

    I want to see Santorini so bad. We have a holiday coming up in two weeks and we’re trying to decide on Athens or Instanbul.

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      I know a lot of people who go to both! I wish I had been able to go to Istanbul as well. I heard its very interesting but we did 3 cities in Greece. I did not like Athens thou. Its only worth a day to see the ruins. I loved Mykonos and Santorini but give yourself the most time in Santorini!

  5. Dee Dee (@MissFoodieFab) says:
    11 years ago

    Girl, color me jealous!

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      Lol!! Thanks for reading!

  6. Caroline Topperman says:
    11 years ago

    It looks absolutely magical!
    xo
    styleontheside.com

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      it was Caroline! Thanks for reading!

  7. E.B. Davis says:
    11 years ago

    Nice pictures

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      Thank you!

  8. Erica says:
    11 years ago

    Sounds and looks wonderful! Santorini is definitely on my list.

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      It was! Its worth being on the top!

  9. K. Elizabeth @ YUMMommy says:
    11 years ago

    Greece is one of those places that I wouldn’t mind going to visit and never coming back. From the beautiful sites to the delicious food, I would love to vacation there for at least a month and just explore everything it has to offer and really immerse myself in the culture.

    • nadeen says:
      11 years ago

      I agree! I wish I had had more time there!

  10. Adanna says:
    11 years ago

    Greece is on my list of places I want to visit and every picture I see, I notice more beauty. Those sunsets look incredible and I can only imagine what it was like to experience it in person. I look forward to that soon.

  11. nadeen says:
    11 years ago

    It truly is as beautiful even more so than you see in pictures! it will not disappoint you! Thank you for reading and commenting!

  12. Natasha B|Fashionably Fabulous says:
    11 years ago

    Great post doll. I want to be like you when I grow up one day. You said three days isn’t enough. Yikes….that’s how many days we plan on staying. You like myself love travel. I wish I could do it more often. I’m super excited to visit the island. We’ll be stopping in London and Paris also. Thanks for stopping by. I’ll make sure to share my experience. xoxo

  13. Andrew Darwitan says:
    9 years ago

    There are lots to see in Santorini. From the gorgeous villages of Fira, Firostefani, Imerovigli, Oia to natural attractions like Skaros Rock and the many panoramic caldera views as you trek through the islands. Wonderful place!

    • Nadeen says:
      9 years ago

      Your comment has me ready to get on a plane!! I cant wait to look at your photos! Thank you for commenting on my post!

  14. Ming Lai says:
    7 years ago

    Where are my 5 travel guides??

    • Nadeen says:
      7 years ago

      Did you fill out the form to subscribe to the blog? If yes you should have received a separate email with instructions to retrieve the guides.

  15. Ming Lai says:
    7 years ago

    I did not see any form to fill. Can you send me a link. The window below asks for a website, which I do not have. I am told I am not a spammer, which is true.
    I am also told I am currently subscribed to your mailing list.

    • nadeen says:
      7 years ago

      try this link to subscribe. http://eepurl.com/7sNM9
      if you are already a subscriber you should be receiving my biweekly newsletters. I will check to make sure the link for the travel guides is working.

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