The lazy Aegean Sea — Head to the relaxing town of Oia at the northern tip of Santorini

Text & Photos / Doris Travel Diary

I’m in the dreamy town of "Oia, Santorini"!!!

Finally, finally, I’m going to write about my Santorini travel diary~~~~'d
Today we left Mykonos Island, where we stayed for 3 days, and came to the blue-and-white world of Santorini!!! So excited!!!
Ever since stepping onto the real island of Santorini, those fake Greeces in Taiwan have completely lost their appeal to me~

Every day in Santorini, we wandered through this blue-and-white world, feeling like we were walking through a painting every day—it felt unreal~
You absolutely must visit "Santorini" once in your lifetime!!!

We stayed on Santorini for a total of 4 days. To fully enjoy the entire island, we spent 2 days in OIA and 2 days in FIRA. Today, come with me to explore the northern town of Santorini—Oia town~~~

On the fourth morning of our stay on Mykonos Island, I wanted to make the most of the last beautiful moments and enjoy a leisurely breakfast~

That day, I even ordered an omelet with cheese. The breakfast made by the kitchen auntie was so delicious!!!

The large balcony outside the room was amazing!!! You can see the endless Aegean Sea. Eating breakfast while looking at the sea has become a habit for us on the Aegean islands!!!

After breakfast, we headed to Limani Port (the old port) of Mykonos to take a high-speed ferry to Santorini/Thira!!!

There were already quite a few tourists waiting at the port~

A few private yachts were docked by the old port. Want to go on vacation to any island? Just hop on a yacht and set off!!!
When I was in Australia before, I often saw locals driving their yachts out for trips on holidays, just drifting on the sea, taking it easy!!!
Some people even spend their retirement life drifting on the sea, completely free!!!
But… actually, I don’t really want to drift on the sea!!! As long as I can be free and go wherever I want, that’s good enough~ haha!!!

We bought the ferry tickets from Mykonos to Santorini on the island. Every island in the Aegean Sea has ticket windows where you can purchase ferry or flight tickets. For our trip from Mykonos to Santorini, we chose to take a wave-piercing high-speed ferry. The journey takes about 2.5 hours, and the fare is 55.5 euros per person. The high-speed ferry has assigned seating because the ride is very bumpy throughout… so it’s not suitable to stay on the deck.<

Oh,There are usually about two ferry departures from Mykonos to Santorini per day, but the times aren’t fixed, and the ferry companies vary. On our day, there was only the Superjet ferry, with two departures—one at 10:15 AM and another at 2:30 PM. The departure times are generally very punctual (unless the sea is rough or there’s a strike). So it’s recommended to arrive at the port earlyin case you miss the ferry and end up crying.

Everyone started lining up to board the ferry. There were quite a lot of tourists heading to Santorini.

The whole journey was really windy and wavy. About 30 minutes in, the crew started handing out vomit bags. Seeing everyone getting seasick made my stomach churn as well.....~"~

Finally... just when I thought I was going to throw up, we arrived in Santorini!!! ((Phew~ what a relief)) As soon as we got off the boat, I had an ice cream to cool down, and then figured out how to get to Oia.

Santorini has two main towns. We stayed in Oia for the first two days, andOia is located at the northernmost tip of the islandGetting a hotel transfer in Oia costs 30 euros (you can arrange it in advance), otherwise, you’ll need to take a bus to Fira first, and then transfer to another bus to OIA (bus fare is 1.6 euros). Another option is to rent a car—renting a car in Santorini costs about 20–40 euros per day, but if you’re staying in the volcanic crater hiking area, driving isn’t very convenient!!!

Or you can share a shuttle minibus with others at the port to go to Fira or Oia—you can negotiate the price, about 15 euros for two people to Oia.

Then... since we hadn’t arranged for a hotel pickup in advance and missed the bus — we had actually planned to take the bus but went to a shop to ask and found out it had already left, with the next one not coming for another two hours. The minibuses drove off just as quickly too (we’re so spontaneous)! All that was left were the row of car rental companies along the harbor. Usually, they’ll approach you if they see you without transport and try to sell you a rental car!

We said no to renting a car, and then he started offering to drive us to our destination. After some back-and-forth haggling, we finally settled the price from 40 euros down to 25 euros, and he took us to our hotel in Oia. It’s about a 40-minute drive from the new port of Athinios to Oia. And then began our crazy island speed-racing adventure — this driver sped through mountain roads at 80–100 km/h, probably thinking he was Takumi (from Initial D)! OMG — he almost drifted around the corners…!

I was bouncing all over the place, nervous the whole time, but finally, after 20 minutes, we arrived in Oia. A 40-minute drive, and he got us there in just 20 minutes (sweating)!

The taxi dropped us off on the road outside the crater, and we went in to find the hotel ourselves. Actually, you can also take a vehicle to the information center in Oia, ask them to contact your hotel, and the hotel staff will come pick you up here and even help carry your luggage. (The building on the far left is the information center.)
Both the taxi plaza and the local bus terminal are located here.

As soon as we stepped into the volcanic crater hiking area, we were greeted by breathtaking views. The blue-and-white buildings and the vast Aegean Sea — we’ve finally arrived at “Santorini!” (shouting)

We stayed at this hotel for the first two days.%?antorini Oia Caldera Villas%?/a>
The view is amazing. The room is super comfortable, with a swimming pool and a private balcony. It made us want to stay in the hotel forever and not go anywhere else.

A little info on independent travel accommodations:
For this trip to Greece, we traveled independently and booked our flights and hotels separately. Throughout the trip, we stayed at four hotels, which we booked on%?GODA Global Booking Network%?/a>. Here's the link for your reference~

%?Notos ttalos Hotel%?/a>
%?ykonos Madalena Hotel%?/a>
%?antorini Oia Caldera Villas%?/a>
%?antorini Fira Ersi Villas%?/a>

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