It was another chaotic morning because we nearly boarded the wrong ferry. The drawbridge was already pulling up and the ferry was leaving the jetty, when someone finally noticed we had the wrong tickets. What followed was a flurry of shouting, the drawbridge being lowered, before we ran and jumped back onto land. It was slightly traumatic. Santorini.
Our ferry came 20 minutes late and reached Santorini 45 minutes behind schedule. But at least it wasn’t Fast Ferries. This was operated by Seajets, which allowed e-tickets and had all indoor assigned seating.
Arrival
Because we arrived late to the Port of Fira, the public bus had already left. Swarms of tourists were either picked up by their hotel’s concierge or had to hire a taxi. The taxi companies had a field day that day. They tried to charge us EUR 25 each for the ride, before we brought it down to EUR 25 in total. When we got to the vehicle, it turned out to be a minibus with other tourists waiting inside. Private hire my ass. We were dropped off first, but not before the driver practically forced a tip out of us.
Our hotel Mesanto Luxury Suites (the best accoms I’ve ever stayed in) is located in a village in Megalochori (ch pronounced as h). The nearest bus stop is simply known as the one at Megalochori bakery. It sells the most delicious desserts I’d ever had, including baklava, kataifi, other traditional Greek desserts, gelato, and more.
Navigating Santorini’s public buses is more art than science, as we eventually found out. The timings on the sign at the bus stops are usually not accurate, and it is common to wait half an hour for the bus. Bus fares are paid to the conductor onboard. At first we couldn’t make sense of how it was charged, but eventually we got the hang of it and gave them the exact in coins, which they loved. I recommend going to the terminal at Fira bus stop to take note of the island’s most up to date bus schedules, along with the bus fares. In general we didn’t pay more than EUR 2 per person for any ride.
Fira and Oia
Fira is the capital of Santorini, and one of the places where Santorini’s iconic photos are taken from, the other being Oia. It is very, very touristy, even when we were there during low season. The streets and famous photo spots were crowded with tourists trying to take their instagram worthy shot.
We then took the bus to Oia, which was even more touristy than Fira. We got there coincidentally just before sunset. Swarms of tourists were already camped at the the best spots for photo taking, waiting to capture an unobstructed view of Oia’s white buildings during sunset. Not gonna lie it wasn’t a particularly enjoyable moment for me.
After a long day, we took the bus back to Megalochori while the world quickly became dark.
At night there was a blackout in the area at 10pm, and power was only restored at 11.30pm as the lights turned on suddenly all at once. It was an intensity of darkness that I hadn’t experienced in 2 years.
The next morning was sleeping in in the best accoms ever, followed by a trip to the Red beach (the route’s last stop is Akrotiri).
Red and Black beaches
It was a short trek from the bus stop to the red beach. The sun was absolutely scorching but there were people sunbathing on the sand. Otherwise there wasn’t much else to the red beach. We had lunch nearby, and bewilderingly in the shade, the wind was freezing cold. For EUR 30 in total, we had a huge bowl of Greek salad with multiple slabs of feta, several tomato balls whose shapes do not resemble balls, four cods, Greek yoghurt with marmalade, and a whole bottle of Greek white wine.
If you thought Red Beach was meh, Black Beach is even more meh. We took the bus back to Megalochori and waited for the one to Perissa. Black Beach is the stop at the terminal. Unless you plan on spending a day at the beach, you can give this a miss.
Back we went to Megalochori. There is a photo spot marked on Google maps within walking distance from our hotel, called the Heart of Santorini. I’ve no idea what the heart refers to, perhaps this misshapen hole in the rock. We watched the sunset here without any of the rowdy crowds at Oia.
Departure
The next day we checked out of the best accoms ever and went to Fira to have lunch. Our ferry to Heraklion, Crete, was supposed to be at 16:10 but was pushed back half an hour at the last minute. We still took the last public bus to the port at 14:00 because there was no way we were paying for a taxi again.
Oh Santorini, I still don’t know what to feel about you.
Hi! I am Joey, a University student from Singapore, attempting to show my appreciation for the world’s most powerful passport by literally milking its visa-free benefits one country at a time. I describe my travel budget as shoestring and travel style as audacious.
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