Holidays in Santorini – An Honest Opinion

My honest opinion – Santorini is without a question THE Greek island. Snow-white houses, postcard motifs everywhere, sea blue roofs and a breathtaking view over the cliffs – those who don’t see the beauty of this island must be really blind. Whoever comes here returns with beautiful pictures and memories, doesn’t he? Surprise – It’s not all gold that glitters and so there are so many things I would have liked to know before I visited the island for the first time. Love and hate are really close together during Santorini holidays and I tell you why in this blogpost.

 

Let’s start – An honest opinion about Santorini Holidays

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Ok, let’s start with something positive! Yes, Santorini really is that beautiful! There is no denying. If you ignore one or the other fact, it is really just as breathtaking as in all those pictures. It’s candy for the eye and you feel like you’re walking in a postcard world. Santorini should be a part of every good greek holiday and I’d come back anytime. For me, it really is one of the most beautiful Greek islands ever.

A small note on the sideline:

The whole of Greece is Greek Orthodox. Of course, you should not climb on roofs here to not put yourself above God, but also the dress code must be observed. When entering a Greek church, it is important to keep shoulders and knees covered. Especially for women it is important to know that the shape of the legs should not be recognizable. So it is not enough to wear long jeans, but skirts or dresses are recommended. Many women also simply wrap a long cloth over their jeans to pay their respects to the rules of the Church.

 

 

People people and more people

At this point in my honest Santorini opinion we actually come to the first big CON: Santorini is crowded – and with crowded, I don’t just mean a few people who run into your picture from time to time. No, it is overcrowded, really! Especially with the so often mentioned sunset in Oia, 40 buses are delivering tourists in droves. The relaxed mood at sunset is more like elbows out and fighting for the best place – come at least an hour BEFORE, the sun goes down otherwise you’ll watch from 10th row. 

Thank God this does not apply to all parts of Santorini. Away from the tourist areas you can experience a really beautiful Greek island. Anyway, the locals say you can watch the most beautiful sunset in Fira.

 

 

 

Santorini Holidays don’t have to be expensive

…No lies telled here. Of course, the restaurants and hotels with the best views over the island and great exclusive places cost money, but especially in terms of food we were positively surprised. Even in the most famous places there are small Gyros shops that offer their Pita breads in many different variants at really fair prices. So if you follow my Santorini guide here, you get through the day well with a delicious meal and pay no more than 4€.

You can also rent accommodation for a small amount of money during your holidays in Santorini, if you stay away from the city centre. We had a great accommodation in Fira, which was not right in the center, but did not cost us more than a 10 minutes walk. In fact, we were twice as lucky, because in our booked room, the air conditioning stopped working  so we got an upgrade incl. whirpool. The link to the hotel can be found here.

 

 

Some do everything for the perfect picture

I know it’s tempting and you can see the pictures all over Instagram, but please don’t do it – you really don’t have to climb rooftops in Santorini to take great or spectacular photos.

Remember, someone lives here. It’s his home or it’s just a place of worship – you just don’t trample that underfoot. Do you always want to have any tourists on your roofs who will ruin the freshly white painted facade immediatly? I don’t think anyone wants that for their own home and it’s a matter of respect to stick to the rules. In addition, there are signs everywhere in Santorini that draw attention to this problem. So be good a influencer, don’t climb rooftops and respect the locals’ wishes. 😉

Of course you want great photos when it comes to this stunning and beautiful island. But actually, for the first time since I started sharing my pictures on Instagram, I’ve waited in line to get a photo. Unfortunately, this also shows how differently people act in Santorini. Most tourists just ran to their favorite photo spot and quickly took the picture. However, I also experienced a group of girls here, who changed their outfit like three times and just blocked the opportunity to take a photo to everyone else for at least half an hour. It just doesn’t have to be like that.

P.S. Drone footage is also prohibited in Santorini, but unfortunately we have seen many violations here too.

 

 

 

Public transportation is great

When you arrive on Santorini by ferry, everything is very confusing. There are taxis, shuttle buses and companies everywhere offering a transport to the island’s center. They are shouting at you and it seems to be a fight for every tourist. With my blogpost, I want to prevent you from falling into the price trap and spending an unnecessary amount of money on transportation during your Santorini holidays.

Just ignore the offers and walk a few more steps when you travel to Santorini on a small budget. There are at least two public buses directly at the port. You buy your ticket comfortably on the bus and since from the port all the buses go to the central bus station in Fira, you can do nothing wrong. The ride costs about 2.50€.

The public buses are really great. You can actually get anywhere with little money during your Santorini holidays. Before you board the bus, the route is always announced and the timetables are also open to the public. Everything is really easy, so that you don’t really need a rental car on the island. 

 

 

 

Stairs, stairs and even more stairs

Santorini is steep. I think I’ve never climbed as many stairs in my whole life as I did in Santorini. And there were so many of them that I woke up the next morning with sore muscles. That’s not a reason not to travel here, but it’s something that really surprised me.

As a young person, I actually underestimated how exhausting it can be to walk almost exclusively uphill at 30 degrees. So make sure you have enough to drink with you. For those who have physical problems, Santorini may not be the right island. From the old harbour there is only one cable car, which helps with the ascent, otherwise there are of course the world-famous donkeys. But I would advise against a ride with these really poor animals solely on the basis of animal welfare.

 

 

 

Holidays in Santorini: The Conclusion

Is Santorini worth the hype? All in all, the pros and cons hold the balance and many of the things I found annoying or unpleasant on Santorini are not the island’s fault. So if you know what you’re getting involved in, you can spend really wonderful holidays in Santorini. The island is beautiful, all the villages are very well maintained and the colors of the island are fantastic.

In addition, most visitors of Santorini are day tourists, so in the mornings and evenings you really get to enjoy the island without many people around.

For my part, I am glad to have seen Santorini’s beauty and would come back at any time –  but next time I’d prefer off season.

Find all locations for perfect Santorini pictures HERE!

 

Holidays in Santorini are not enough for you? There are more great places here!

Want to discover more great places in Greece? How about Rhodes? Here you find to the most beautiful photo spots of the island.

 

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