Santorini, Greece

Day #1

We took a morning ferry from Mykonos to Santorini arriving a little before lunchtime. A bus met us at the port and drove us on a winding road that took us up and out of the caldera. We could look down at the water and see our ferry departing to its next stop. The bus took us to the town of Fira where we were on our own for lunch. Jim and I opted for Mexican food because we'd had our fill of Greek food at this point. After lunch, the bus took us to our hotel, the 9 Muses Resort, where we showered and got ready for the evening activities.

Looking down into the caldera

 

Our ferry as it was leaving Santorini

The evening excursion started with a wine tasting at Santos Winery. It was fun to learn about the different wine grapes that are grown on Santorini and to sample a few of the local wines. The wine and the views from Santos Winery were excellent!

At Santos Winery

After the wine tasting, we had a group dinner and additional wine tasting at a Greek restaurant.

Day #2

Today, our tour guide Katerina, led us on a walking tour through the traditional Santorini village of Megalochori. It's a charming village with whitewashed buildings, winding alleys, blue-domed churches, and a bell tower. We were there early in the morning, so we nearly had the place to ourselves.

After a thoroughly enjoyable time in Megalochori, our Gate 1 bus took us to the excavation site of ancient Akrotini, a former Bronze Age settlement. This ancient city was frozen in time after a volcanic eruption 3600 years ago buried it in ash. The excavation site has been enclosed in a building that contains walkways that allows visitors to walk above the excavated parts of this ancient port town. 

After visiting Akrotiri, we had a group lunch at a restaurant down by the water before going back to the hotel to relax.

In the evening, we were transported to the town of Oia which is known for its picturesque views of the blue-domed churches above the caldera. It was extremely crowded with many tourists trying to get the quintessential Santorini picture at sunset. We waited our turn and were rewarded with some great pictures! 

We stumbled upon a restaurant, Lotza, with gorgeous views of the caldera and inexpensive, delicious food.

Day #3

For our last full day in Greece, we had a relaxing day on a catamaran cruise soaking up the sun and enjoying the views of Santorini from the water.

Santorini's Red Beach

In the evening, we said goodbye to our tour group at the Farewell Dinner.

The 35 members of our Gate 1 tour group with our guide, Katerina

Mykonos, Greece

Day #1

We had an early morning wakeup call in order to make it unto our ferry from Athens to Mykonos. Katerina, our Tour Manager, warned us that it can be a bit chaotic loading our luggage on the ferry and finding our seats, but all went smoothly. We enjoyed our 2.5-hour ferry ride and were very impressed with the cleanliness and amenities on the ferry.

Our ferry made 2 stops at other Greek islands (Syros and Tinos) on the way to Mykonos. This was the view from the ferry deck as we were docked at one of the islands.

Once we arrived in Mykonos, a bus met us at the port and drove us up the hill to our hotel, San Antonio Summerland Hotel. Our rooms weren't ready yet, so most of our group spent an hour or so enjoying the hotel pool. Once we got our room assignment, we realized we lucked out - our room had an infinity pool stretching in front of the patio area.

Our room was the 4th one from the right.

In the evening, we met back up with our tour group for a walking tour of Mykonos Town along with a Gate 1 provided drink by the water. Afterwards, we headed up to the windmills to get some pictures with the setting sun. Then it was time for dinner on our own near the water before meeting the bus to take us back to the hotel.

Our first view of the windmills during our walking tour.

The part of Mykonos Town known as Little Venice.

Day #2

After breakfast at our hotel, we boarded a ferry for the 45-minute ride out to the island of Delos to explore the archaeological ruins there.

On the ferry as we were approaching Delos.

The island of Delos is an uninhabited island that contains the ruins of a major religious center and port dating back to 900 BC to 100 AD. It was the mythical birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.

Jim standing in front of the Avenue of Lions. 

Intricate mosaic work on the floor 

In the Ancient Theatre of Delos

By midday, we had completed our exploration of Delos. So, our group took the ferry back to Mykonos Town where we had a group lunch at a restaurant in the main square of town. After lunch, we had the option of taking the bus back to the hotel or staying in Mykonos Town. We chose to stay in town so that we could wander around the beautiful alleyways. There were so many picturesque spots that I took way too many pictures.

We took a taxi back to the hotel where we had dinner at the hotel restaurant and then drinks by the hotel pool before heading to bed.

Day #3

In the morning, we boarded the bus for our island tour of Mykonos. The first stop was the Armenistis Lighthouse which is perched high above the water overlooking the neighboring island of Tinos. The views from the lighthouse were spectacular!

Next, we walked around the village of Ano Mera and toured the 16th century Monastery of Panagia Tourliani.

Inside the Monastery of Panagia Tourliani

In Greece there are cats literally everywhere. This one was taking a nap in the monastery.

The last stop on the island tour was at Elia Beach where we had an hour to enjoy the water.

At the end of the island tour, we had the bus drop us off in Mykonos Town where we got lunch and gelato before taking the hotel shuttle bus back to the hotel. The rest of the afternoon was spent by the hotel pool and then dinner in the hotel restaurant.