Santorini- Do's and Don'ts

Everyone always has such magical things to say about the island of Santorini and I certainly felt like I was going with very high expectations because of this as well. In my mind everything needed to be perfect but there were numerous reasons it didn't quite live up to the dream I had in my head. I thought I would create a list of do's and don'ts so that you don't have to experience the island being a little disappointing.

I'm not saying I would never go back to the island, but I learnt that it isn't really the place for a student to go, and it isn't the place to go if you want to use public transport, anyway here are my do's and don'ts.

DO check the bus time table before you go- We stayed in a gorgeous hotel called The Fisherman's house in the village of Akrotiri. The hotel was stunning with amazing breakfast and pool but the bus links to the village were horrendous and ended up putting a huge downer on our last night where we wanted to get into Fira and realised that after 5 the bus doesn't run very often and the last bus home was at 9!

DON'T rely on public transport- This follows on from my point above. If you want to visit the island and make the most of your time you will need to hire a car or ATV or stay in the towns where the bus links are better. As Santorini was our last stop we made the choice to go on a boat trip instead of hiring a ATV but this did mean we missed out on a lot. Taxi's on the island are normally 25-30 euro for one way as well which is fine if you're splitting it with another 3 people but hefty if its just you every time!

DO walk from Fira to Oia - It's a long walk (10km), you will need sensible shoes and plenty of water but the views along the way are brilliant, plus it's an activity which is pretty much free to do (apart from buses). Try to set of early though, we didn't finish till 1.30pm and it was roasting

DON'T stay outside of Fira - or if you do make sure you can get in and out of the centre easily. Fira is the hub of activity and the point that leads to everywhere else on the island. It's more expensive to stay here but this is obviously the reason why. I would recommend where we stayed, the food in the village was really well priced and you still had the views Santorini is famous for but without a car it really isn't worth staying there!

DO the boat trip - The boat trip is fantastic! You have a guide and get to go to the volcano, you then get to go to the hot springs, and then to one of the other islands called Therisia which was stunning as well. For 28 euros it is such a well priced excursion, all you need to do is head down to the old port in Fira and a ticket desk is there next to the main boat ticket desk, or you can book online should you wish.

DON'T ride the donkeys - As we walked down to the boat trip we walked past hundreds of donkeys, with only a few that we felt looked happy. We saw no water along the way or food for them to eat and there was no shaded areas built for them to stand under in the midday heat. We saw one donkey so exhausted it nearly collapsed 4 times when in had a women and her son on him, struggling to get up the steps. The scene made me feel physically sick. If the animals had good conditions then I would say it's a good thing to do, sadly this wasn't the case and I was so disappointed that it wasn't better.

DO watch the sunset - If you didn't do this, then you would be crazy, the sunset is the main reason to head to Santorini in the first place and it really is just as beautiful as you can imagine. When I have enough money for a room with a private pool in Oia or Fira I will be heading back, just so I can spend all day and evening looking at the view. I don't think you can ever get bored of it!

DON'T do it on a budget- The island is beautiful, there is no getting around it but to really enjoy it you do need to do it properly, we learnt this the hard way. Our hotel was amazing, the location was frustrating. Food in the centre is expensive, but the view is what you pay for, the bus one way is 2 euros so together you can easily spend 16 euros if you want to go somewhere else on the island as all buses have to go into Fira before they head out to any other location.

DO head to the open air cinema - One thing I really wish we had been able to do was go to the open air cinema, it looks like such good fun. Sadly we couldn't go because the movies don't start till 9.30, and obviously the last bus back to where we were staying was at 9 (see how annoying it is). Make sure you check online whats on obviously but for something a little different in the evening I was gutted we couldn't go!

DON'T visit all the beaches - We visited the red beach, where the sand is almost black and although the other beaches look incredible there is no reason to see them all, especially not in peak season when there is hardly any beach left for people to get onto. Near the red beach there is a restaurant called The Dolphin, if you like seafood, get their stuffed calamari, it's the tastiest food I ate whilst on the island, and one of the cheapest meals as well!

Have you been to Santorini? What do you think of my tips?

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