Greece is incredible. The country is beautiful, the history is remarkable, the people are the nicest, and the food is delicious. If you get the chance, take it!
How we got there.
Getting here was a slight pain in the butt. We were supposed to be flying through LA to Tokyo on Air Canada. It wasn’t until a few weeks before our trip that Japan finally opened up to tourism. By this point, we had flipped our flights to Athens. We were a little bummed out but it ended up being a great trip.
Check out the credit cards we use to get free flights!
What we did.
We flew into Athens, Greece, and immediately hopped on another flight to Santorini. It was 27 minutes which was surprising and wonderful. Once there we took a private transfer to our Airbnb in Oia. Which was incredible. If you google image Santorini you’ll see just how beautiful Oia is.
While there we relaxed and enjoyed the beauty. At first, we weren’t so sure if it was worth the time and money but after spending 3 days there we loved it. The sunrises were incredible, the food was delicious, and our Airbnb couldn’t have been better.
After 3 days in Santorini, we hopped back on the 27-minute flight and headed back to Athens where we caught a plane to Istanbul. 3 days there and we were back in Athens.
Athens was a whirlwind. Mostly because of celebrations in the street closing down half the city. We bypassed our closed metro station and ended up walking all over Athens to get to our Airbnb. The plus side is the Acropolis is breathtaking and you can see it all over the city. Throughout the trip, we found ourselves stopping and staring at the site. Especially at night from our Airbnb.
In Athens, we walked and walked. There are so many ancient sites and things to see.
Get the Athens Pass. It lets you see all 6 of the top sites for a discounted price.
The ancient sites are pretty incredible and if you’re a fan of history there’s so much to see. We walked and ate and enjoyed all the city has to offer.
Where we stayed.
We were extremely fortunate to be able to get the Airbnbs that we did. Our view in both places was unbelievable. In Santorini, we had windows that opened right up to the caldera and a balcony overlooking the cliffs.
In Athens, we had a view of the acropolis that couldn’t have been better.
Really though, these places were incredible. If you get the chance to go to either of these places in Greece, don’t hesitate to stay at these Airbnbs.
Transportation.
Like everywhere in Europe, the rails are king. Greece is no different. In Athens, we used the metro and taxis. In Santorini, they have a bus system that’s really inexpensive but it’s a bit slow and painful. We used private transfers through our Airbnb host to get us to and from the airport.
Athens like most European cities has protests and strikes and demonstrations and all kinds of events that delay or suspend metro operations. We didn’t know about this and we zipped past all the stations we needed to get to and ended up walking all over the city at night.
What we ate.
On some of our previous trips, we felt we didn’t fully appreciate the cultural cuisine. We changed our tactics by eating a lot. Most of it was pretty similar. Naturally, the food is Mediterranean so it includes lots of kabobs, salads, olives, yogurt, and vegetables.
Santorini: Lotza, Skiza, Terpsi N Oia, and Skala. All great places with delicious food and friendly staff. Lotza and Terpsi have beautiful views of the cliffs and caldera.
Athens: Oavaons, Greek Stories, Alexander the Great. All were really good. Oavaons has great wrapped Gyros.
We learned that Gyros aren’t typically wrapped. It must be a U.S. thing. A standard Gyro comes as a plate.
Gluten-Free in Greece.
It does exist. Like most places, it just takes a little more effort to find, but it should never be a deterrent. Greek Stories was an all-gluten-free restaurant.
What we learned.
Santorini is beautiful but like all Instagram paradises, it’s got its regular sites. Santorini is a volcano so there isn’t much on the island other than cliffs and dotted white homes. It’s rocky and dead. And just like all beautiful cities, there are non-beautiful parts as well. We were a little thrown off because of false expectations, but after some time we fell in love and it really is beautiful.
They use squatting toilets! Not everywhere, but don’t be surprised if you come across some in your wanderings. With that, most public toilets aren’t free so make sure to keep some change with you.
It’s always stated to go in the off-or-shoulder season, and it’s truly the best to time go anywhere. Santorini was a week away from closing down for the season and unless you want lots of people, it was the perfect time to go. There were very few people out and about, it was quiet, and there were no waits when we wanted dinner. It really was perfect.
The same can be applied to big European hotspots. We never had to wait to get into any of the archaeological sites in Athens and there were very few people roaming through them. It wasn’t intentional on our part but it made everything so much more enjoyable.
Santorini is a volcano. The outer islands are the remaining pieces of the peaks.