Introduction

My friend Sam and I were looking at board games to buy and I showed her one I wanted to get called Santorini. It's a game about moving pieces on board and building churches in the typical style with the blue dome on top.

Sam said that Santorini was somewhere she always wanted to visit and I thought as well that sounds good because Greece is one of the only countries open to me at the time due to my vaccine status. We decided then that we would go to Santorini in October so I kept my word that as long as things were okay work-wise that I'd go and we booked our flights in July.

This is a record of the days spent there with some information on transport and food that people might find interesting.

Transport

Getting to Santorini

There are direct flights to Santorini Airport and connections to and from Athens.

We flew direct from London Gatwick and from Santorini (JTR) to London Stansted for the return journey.

Taxis

Taxis between destinations in Santorini seem to be of a fixed price of €35 regardless of how many people. For example, the airport to Perissa was this price as was from Perissa to the port.

Busses

There are numerous bus services for transport around the island so it is easy to get around by public transport. They are easy to use and set up for tourists. Locals use them as well, but the majority of people on them are tourists. The busses are modern and comfortable.

Fira is a transport hub and to get around it is easiest to change at Fira.

At Fira bus station the destination will be called out and you can then board the bus. You either have to pay before or someone will come round. Prices vary, but are around €2 for a single ticket.

We stayed in Perissa and would get around the island by waiting at the bus stop near the church and then changing at Fira depending on the destination.

They can take a while, but are fairly reliable. Timetables are printed in Fira bus station and available online, but don't expect them to run according to the time table they seem to work out okay, but allow plenty of time to get to your destination as they are often not running according to schedule.

Getting to and from the airport is easy and just requires changing at Fira. Luggage can be stowed underneath the bus.

Ferries

Santorini port has regular ferry services from Santorini to other Greek Islands.

On our trip we went to Ios and back.

One problem we ran into was that the ferry services seem to be random.

To get from Santorini to Ios the fare was only around €8, but to return on the Friday there only seemed to be one ferry company running with two services. Both were priced at €64 which seems crazy for a 25 mile journey by boat. I guess they have no competition so they can change that much.

I'd advise looking at the ferry times and then planning the days you spend on an island around the ferry times if you are on a budget as you can get the tickets a lot cheaper.

We also had problems where the ferry we were supposed to get at 11:50 to arrive for 12:40 was cancelled. Another ferry was available where they seemed to be taking everyone who was leaving the island, but it was delayed until 17:30 so we missed most of a day waiting for the ferry. They told us it was to do with the weather, but I think it has something to do with the fuel costs and if they don't have enough people to make a profit. The ferry back was rammed.

Ferry prices seem to be the same regardless, if you book from a travel agent or online. I wouldn't say you need to book that far in advance, but the prices change dramatically depending on which companies are running.

Find Ferries to Greek Islands and Book Online

Food

Restaurants

I was on a budget. For food options restaurants seem reasonable in Perissa and Fira, but in Oia they are expensive. You can get a decent meal with a drink for under €20.

Supermarkets

Food in the supermarkets seems to be quite expensive, compared to UK prices. There are numerous mini markets and supermarkets. They sell snack foods and tins of ready made food which you can heat up in your apartment. These are things like tuna, stuffed vine leaves, beans, etc. The supermarkets that were slightly outside of the resort areas seemed a bit cheaper, but not much.

Bakeries

This is a really good option if you are on a budget. Greece has numerous bakeries selling nice food. These places are sometimes open for 24 hours, food is normally freshly baked, they often have seating areas and you can buy drinks as well. They have good vegetarian options as you can buy cheese pies, spinach and cheese pies, eggplant pies and leek and potato. I found these to be very filling and this was part of my diet out in Greece as I couldn't afford restaurant meals so I'd often eat at the bakeries and buy some cheese and spinach pies to take with me in the day for lunch.

The cheese is normally feta cheese.

Gyros

Gyros is a popular dish in Greece. It is basically the same thing as a donor kebab in the UK and not really anything special. The Gyros is means that it is the meat on the thing that rotates round. These are available from takeaway shops. You can also get the same kind of fast food you get in the UK, such as burgers, pizza, etc. There are a few places like this in Fira, in the main square. There is also a McDonalds there.

I liked the Calamari wraps and sandwiches that you can buy. They are available from fast food places and they put the Calamari in pitta bread or subs with salad. This is a good way to have Calamari rather than spend over €20 in a restaurant.