Santorini – Take Your Camera

There are two ways to get to Santorini - by plane or by ferry. If you are arriving by ferry try to get one that docks during daylight and be sure to have your camera ready. The view as you approach the island is breathtaking. Steep cliffs, one thousand feet high, rise almost vertically out of the clear, blue water of the Aegean. You can sea a road wind its way up the mountains to a string of whitewashed buildings at the top.

Santorini is famous for its sunsets. You might be lucky enough to have a view of the sunset from the balcony of your Santorini hotel room. To maximise the experience, however, you are probably better off heading for the small town of Oia in the north of the island. Spend some time exploring it's narrow, whitewashed lanes then find yourself a Santorini luxury restaurant overlooking the sea. Get comfortable. Get a glass of wine. Get your camera ready. The whole sky seems to turn orange and the view is amazing. That is the moment you know you are really on holiday and all the cares and stresses of work melt away.

The traditional picture postcard views you get of the Greek islands are often based on photographs of Santorini. Hotels, villas and churches here all have the traditional colour scheme of whitewashed walls with a blue trim. Roads snake their way up steep cliffs. The sun shines overhead and the Aegean sparkles. Almost everywhere you turn you are presented with a view straight out of a postcard.

American Express produces a magazine called ‘Travel and Leisure' which compiles an annual poll of travel destinations. Santorini consistently appears on that list as the top island holiday location in Europe. The poll considers all aspects of an area. Santorini hotels, restaurants, views, facilities and value for money have all achieved high marks, year after year, from thousands of travellers. Why not take their word for it?