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