Our first proper day in Santorini and i knew exactly what i wanted to do... as we had 2 nights in Fira i wanted to take advantage of being able to do the famous Fira to Oia hike i had read about... Now to start with i had read it takes roughly 2/3 hours to do the hike and that it wasnt too intense, we chose to do the full scenic route and not go through the centre on Imerovigli.... We did take a little detor to Skaros rock and had a quick pit stop for lunch but in total it took us 5 hours!! We were exhausted by the time we got to Oia but were also quite glad we hadnt chosen to do it later on in the day...
To start the walk you basically need to head as high as you can get in Fira and just follow the path round it is very easy to follow we only had one little confusing blip (which is how we ended up at Skaros rock) but other than that it was smooth sailing and we took hundreds of pictures because as you move around the edge of the island you just see everything from a different angle and you cant resist taking picture after picture. Santorini Dave whose fool proof instructions on how to do the walk can be found here we found it sooo helpful especially when we found ourselves on the rock and were not sure how to get back on track.
After Cafe Monopati it starts to get a bit intense and you feel like you are just constantly climbing, in the days heat it gets really intense so have plenty of water and head out as early as possible we did not... we left at 11.30 which was probably the worst time we could have chosen... Now something i didnt read about was the terrain and after Cafe Monopati it gets very gravelly under foot, i had pretty Primark sandals on (BIG mistake!) you really need something sturdy underfoot but obviously i wanted a nice outfit on for pictures and i paid for it because as we began to work our way down the gravel hill (with my sandals filling with gravel constantly) it was so slippy and dusty and then when we got to the bottom where there were concrete steps i went flying... camera in hand... getting cuts and bruises and a swollen ankle on my first full day of holiday was not my ideal and then to carry on walking for another hour up hill and then back down hill with unsteady ground underneath us killed me, i couldnt put pressure on my ankle but i was having to to be able to get down hill so i would definitley recommend putting some real thought in to your foot wear for this trek!
Anyway we finally started our descent in to Oia and at first i was a little disappointed that i couldnt see the domes every where live i had imagined (especially after a 5 hour hike and a few injuries) but as we walked further in to Oia they soon started cropping up and were exactly what i was hoping for and more!
Oia is as you can imagine packed with tourists and is also quite expensive, but there are so many amazing restaurants and cafes to stop and have drinks that have spectacular views, we spent hours wondering (or in my case limping) taking pictures and having drinks it was bliss, but my main concern was how would i know where the Oia postcard shot places are? Well not to fear because it is packed with tourists you basically just follow the hoards of people past the main church and down a little alley, then down some steps and keep going, thats where the windmill sunset spot is and people really do start setting up camp hours before there but as everywhere in Santorini has stunning sunsets we weren't too bothered about getting that shot.
The one thing i did miss the first time around was the 3 blue domes... so i did quite a bit of research on where to find said domes ready for when we revisted later in the week, but basically as you go past the big church (on your right) you will start going past all the shops and just before the Blvgari shop on the left is a little walk way if you follow that down the domes will be on your left (and they really are worth looking for).
So after deciding we were not staying for sunset we found a taxi to take us back to the apartment (there was no way i was limping back 5 hours!) and to be honest it wasnt that badly priced 20 Euro for around 20 min journey but after our day i would have paid double.. All the taxis are found by the main bus station just behind the big church.
Here are a few shots of our afternoon in Oia
This route is perfect for endless photographs, be prepared to see plenty of people with SLR cameras posing away.
Some of the amazing luxury suites along the route!
We made sure we took endless stops to take in the view (and local beers & wines)
Skaros Rock and Louis attempting to get to the top...
The amount of people who flock to the 'postcard' picture standing places is crazy and its this busy most of the day, however if you can get a picture without anyone standing in the way then it is so worth it.
I never got bored of the endless white and blue structures....
Having a quick pose in front of the famous windmill backdrop with my love x
Oia is as you can imagine packed with tourists and is also quite expensive, but there are so many amazing restaurants and cafes to stop and have drinks that have spectacular views, we spent hours wondering (or in my case limping) taking pictures and having drinks it was bliss, but my main concern was how would i know where the Oia postcard shot places are? Well not to fear because it is packed with tourists you basically just follow the hoards of people past the main church and down a little alley, then down some steps and keep going, thats where the windmill sunset spot is and people really do start setting up camp hours before there but as everywhere in Santorini has stunning sunsets we weren't too bothered about getting that shot.
The one thing i did miss the first time around was the 3 blue domes... so i did quite a bit of research on where to find said domes ready for when we revisted later in the week, but basically as you go past the big church (on your right) you will start going past all the shops and just before the Blvgari shop on the left is a little walk way if you follow that down the domes will be on your left (and they really are worth looking for).
So after deciding we were not staying for sunset we found a taxi to take us back to the apartment (there was no way i was limping back 5 hours!) and to be honest it wasnt that badly priced 20 Euro for around 20 min journey but after our day i would have paid double.. All the taxis are found by the main bus station just behind the big church.
Here are a few shots of our afternoon in Oia
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