Cliffside of Oia, Santorini. Click on my photos to pin on Pinterest!

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Santorini in the Spring

This blog will be all about my time in Santorini, Greece in the spring. It is a continuation of my Greece vacation from my blog Milos, Greece in the Spring. If you’d like to get the full run down of my whole Greece vacation, make sure to check out that blog as well!

When choosing what Greek Islands to travel to for our vacation, Santorini was high on our list. There was just one thing, was it going to be super crowded like we’ve seen all over social media? We definitely didn’t want that experience. I can tell you if you travel to Santorini in April, you definitely won’t have to deal with overcrowding and too many tourists, which is so amazing! You’ll get to experience beautiful Santorini with wildflowers blooming and the luxury of enjoying the island without many tourists. The weather was also beautiful while we visited. There were some windy days, but Santorini is known for their wind! Otherwise, it was around 70 degrees every day and it felt warmer in the sunshine. I’m really glad we chose to visit Santorini in the spring.

What to Pack

If you’re traveling to Santorini in the Spring, make sure to pack light layers. We would be hot in the sunshine, but a little chilly when the sun set during the evenings. I packed a light jean jacket and ended up wearing that quite often. I also packed a lot of flowy clothing like sundresses and skirts. These felt so nice to wear during the day and they were perfect for all the photos we took while visiting. Sunglasses and sun hats are also a must pack, because the Greek sun is very intense, even in the spring. I packed tennis shoes and sandals, but ended up only wearing my sandals everywhere. I found that I never really needed my tennis shoes. Finally, don’t forget to bring a swimsuit or two!

Besides clothing, you should also pack sunscreen, dramamine for the ferry if you’re prone to getting seasick, a universal travel adapter, euros, and a travel credit card like the SavorOne credit card. This comes in handy while abroad, because there are no foreign transaction fees. Not only are there no transaction fees, but you get cash back on all purchases and there is no annual fee. Travel tip: make sure to choose EUROS vs US when paying with a card to get the best conversion rate. I love this card, and if you’re looking for a great starter card for your international travel, here’s my link to sign up.

Taking the Ferry

After our time spent on Milos, we took a ferry to Santorini. We booked our ferry with Seajets, because it was the only ferry option during that time. Ferryscanner and Ferryhopper are both useful sites when looking at ferry routes between the Greek Islands. I was a bit nervous because I had read that smaller ferries like Seajets could provide a rough travel experience with many passengers getting seasick. I also read that ferries were often late. Luckily for us, our ferry was right on time and the waters were very smooth. It turned out to be a quick 2-hour ferry ride without any troubles at all! I was very happy with our experience.

Ferry Tip: Check-in online 48-2 hours in advance to get your e-ticket. Alternatively, you can visit the Port Agency to print your ticket for a small fee.

VIP Limo Service from the port to the Vrbo in Santorini

Our Vrbo

As soon as we were off the ferry, our Vrbo host set up transportation for us to our vacation home in Pyrgos. It was so sweet of her and we even got the VIP experience for about 50 euros. This allowed us to get all our luggage from the port to the Vrbo without any hassle, and increased our relaxation time.

Once we made it to our Vrbo, our host greeted us and showed us around her beautiful place. She gave us recommendations on what to do and where to eat and even provided us with plenty of water and breakfast items so we didn’t need to go out shopping right away. I highly recommend this Vrbo if you’re traveling with a group. It was the best vacation home I’ve ever stayed in! The home was stunning and included so many special amenities, like bath robes for each person. Since we booked an April trip, it was very affordable with a group of 8 people. Prices go up during the peak season.

Our airbnb in Santorini, Greece — Our beautiful Vrbo in Santorini

Our Vrbo was very spacious with a room and bathroom for each couple and multiple patios. It even had a hot tub with an amazing view. It overlooked the whole island! Many of the rooms were built into the side of a hill, like my cave bathroom below. It was so cool!

Woman in cave bathroom bathtub — Me in the cave bathroom bathtub in our Vrbo

Almost every night was spent relaxing in the hot tub with this gorgeous view. We may have had some wine and ouzo as well ;) This was our favorite spot during the evenings.

Navigating Around Santorini & Car Rentals

Our Vrbo was located in the village of Pirgos Kallistis (or Pyrgos). We used their public transportation to get to the airport to rent cars. Santorini’s public transportation is not like the rest of Europe, which is straightforward and fast. It took quite awhile to get to the airport using the bus. There were also car rental companies down at the port, but we opted to rent from the Santorini Airport with more familiar rental companies. I recommend renting a car or ATV to explore the whole island. The car rental process in Greece was simple, as they drive on the same side of the road as the U.S. and we didn’t need a special license. We used Apple maps to navigate. I was able to use my cell service with an eSIM bought through the Airalo App, which was super cheap and made navigating that much easier. I highly recommend Airalo, as I had great service and it saved me money versus other carrier’s international roaming fees. Renting a car was nice, since we had the option to go all around the island to explore, but we were also in walking distance to shopping and restaurants while at the Vrbo.

Where to Eat

We ate so many fantastic meals while in Greece. We enjoyed gyros, souvlaki, seafood, tzatziki, spanakopita, and saganaki to name a few Greek classics. Here’s a list of some of our favorite places we ate around Santorini.

Rymidi

If you’re in Pirgos Kallistis (or Pyrgos), make sure to eat at Rymidi. Not only is the food excellent, but the service is by far the best restaurant service I’ve had anywhere. They really went out of their way to make sure we had the absolute best experience and even sent us home with our favorite wines. This was the first place we tried saganaki, a fried cheese dish, and it was amazing!

Aris Restaurant

Over in Fira, the capital of Santorini, we enjoyed our dinner at Aris Restaurant. The restaurant is located right along the cliffside, so the views are beautiful. Aris is known for their seafood and it was quite delicious! The service was great and they even offered us ouzo on the house after dinner.

Melitini

The village of Oia is a must while visiting Santorini. We did a lot of shopping here and had some incredible food while overlooking the ocean. Melitini, a Greek tapas restaurant, was recommended to us by locals. We tried a variety of their delicious dishes and shared with the whole group. The food was excellent and our table had marvelous views. I highly recommend it!

Oia, Santorini

One of our favorite places to visit while in Santorini was Oia. This is the most popular town and the place you think of when you think of Santorini. Oia is very picturesque with blue domed churches and villas. My favorite shop in Oia was a local artist’s, Apollo, small store called Santorini Scapes. I learned that his family has owned this shop for over 40 years! I bought a beautiful watercolor landscape painting and I absolutely love it and loved getting to chat with Apollo.

Of course, we also took a lot of photos while in Oia! If you search for the blue domes, you’ll find tons of beautiful photo spots all around Oia. You can also use Apple Maps to find the blue domes and other tourist hot spots around the area.

Bougainvillea also blooms all over. The colors are so vibrant. It’s pretty magical. The whole village is picturesque, so have fun exploring the pathways and stumbling upon the small shops and restaurants in Oia.

Enjoying the bougainvillea blooms and beautiful weather

We spent another day in Oia, but this time down the cliffside in Amoudi Bay. The water was vibrant and beautiful. We ate ice cream from the Cool Cave and enjoyed the views. Amoudi Bay has restaurants, a swimming spot, and plenty of picturesque sights. You can walk down the steps from Oia to get here or drive down and park along the roadside.

I wore this skirt everywhere around Greece. It was the perfect, easy to pack item to wear no matter the occasion and it photographed beautifully. We loved taking photos down in Amoudi bay. Everywhere we looked was gorgeous!

Octopus hanging outside restaurant near ocean — Octopus hanging outside restaurant in Amoudi Bay

Other Things to do While Visiting Santorini

On our last day to end our amazing vacation, we spent the afternoon at Santo Wines. It was just a short 15 minute walk away from our vacation rental. We enjoyed cheese plates and a few glasses of their wine varieties. As usual, the views were amazing and we very much enjoyed our time.

If you’re looking for a Santorini winery tour, check out this one that goes to three different wineries and ends with sunset at Santo Wines. This tour is great, because it provides transportation and tapas.

Couple enjoying a glass of wine at Santo Wines — Ross and I at Santo Wines

If you have the opportunity, you should venture into Fira, the capital of Santorini. This area was lively at night and is another cool area to check out on the island. Before we knew it, it was time to head back home. The next morning, we flew back to Athens and started the long journey back to the U.S.

Overall Thoughts on Santorini

I loved the Greek Islands so much. I’m definitely going back someday. I’d love to see the other islands and check out Athens as well!

Overall, Santorini was beautiful, luxurious, but more expensive and more popular than Milos. It’s the most visited island in Greece. If you decide to go, I highly recommend visiting during the shoulder seasons, April-May or September-October. I would not have had the same lovely experience that I had if I went in the middle of summer when the most tourists visit. In my opinion, Santorini in the spring is the best time to visit!