On our summer trip to Europe we were in Naples, Italy and Greece was our next stop on our trip. We had planned about 10 days to visit the Greek Islands and Athens.
We decided on Santorini as our first stop- you have to see it once right? You can fly from Naples to Santorini so it was a perfect fit for us so we didn't have to fly to Athens twice. When we are within Europe we always look for cheaper in continent flights once we are in Europe because it is less expensive and more flexible. If you can avoid the super busy summer tourist season you'll enjoy lower crowds and less expensive accommodations but Santorini will likely be your most expensive stop.
The Famous View of Oia, Santorini, Greece
We stayed 2 nights in Gemini Caves in Oia* not staying directly on the Caldera can save you hundreds of dollars a night and we still had our own private pool and a view of the water, just not the famous caldera.
Our room and private pool at Gemini Caves
What we did on Santorini
Santorini was the only Greek island on this trip that we didn’t rent a car. Since we only had 2 nights we wanted to soak up as much of the famous town of Oia as we could.
The narrow walled streets of Oia
We spend most of our time enjoying the breathtaking views and traditional Cycladic architecture, wandering the picturesque narrow streets and popping in and out of the local shops, and eating delicious food.
A shop in Oia, Santorini, Greece
Of course catching the famous Santorini sunsets is a must.
Golden Hour on Santorini
Since our cave house had its own private pool, we wanted to be sure to have time there. 
The view from the upper deck of our Gemini Cave House and private pool
On our last morning before taking the ferry, we visited Domaine Sigalas Winery, which we could walk to from our cave house and enjoyed a wine tasting.
One of the restaurants that we really enjoyed was Lefkes for its amazing food. You eat at a lot of places that are not memorable but this one is one that i have never forgotten even what I ate. I remember the taste of summer in this unusual but delicious watermelon salad.
Summer salad with Watermelon & Tomatos at Lefkes
And you can never go wrong with lamb, especially in Greece.
And the restaurant itself was even cuter.
Lefkes, Santorini, Greece
Our funny but not so funny story about Santorini was being woken up during our last night to lots of racket outside the cave house. Things were banging all around and I peeked out and told Scott that it was super windy. The next morning the wind was crazy (blowing sand in our eyes as we walked to the winery). We were supposed to catch the ferry to Milos and I knew that in California the ferry to Catalina Island doesn’t run when it is super windy during the Santa Ana winds. As our host came to help us get checked out, we asked her if the ferry would run and she was like of sure, of course it will. We didn’t think anything of it then but oh boy. Was it ever a rough ride to Milos. Let’s just say we don’t want to experience it again and that we always carry dramamine with us.
This sign of course caught my eye since Santorini is such a popular tourist spot but we often forget that people live, raise their families, go to school, work, and church, own shops and businesses and we want and need to be respectful of these places as their homes too.
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