It’s no big secret that Santorini is a beautiful corner of the world. It first came to my attention in the 1982 movie Summer Lovers. Except for the fact that it is perhaps the best piece of scenic marketing ever produced for the Greek Islands, you are not missing much if you haven’t seen the movie. The story is fairly thin – basically American boy and girl summer on Santorini following their graduation from college. Once there, boy is attracted to an exotic French woman and begins an affair. The affair does not break up the young couple, but rather they eventually have the French girl move in with them. They spend the balance of the summer as a threesome. It amounts to a little more than ninety minutes of gratuitous nudity and sex spread across the beautiful backdrop that is Santorini.
Watching the movie so very many years ago, I remember my breath being taken away by the landscapes and sweeping vistas of the islands. Even as a teenager, I found the island views so striking it was hard to concentrate on all the beautiful naked bodies also competing to fill the screen. Of course, back in the 80s, superfluous nudity in movies targeted at my teenage demographic was nothing if not the norm. We had an endless buffet of skin and sex in just about every teen comedy that came through the theaters and later landed in our local movie rental stores. Remember Fast Times at Ridgemont High? Porky’s along with Porky’s II and Porky’s Revenge? Risky Business? Blue Lagoon? The list of examples of these movies is endless, although it is certainly not a movie trend we see anymore. I suppose those teen sex-romps went out of fashion when somewhere along the line it became all important to achieve a PG-13 rating to maximize profits. These movies portrayed a world where “boys will be boys”; an endless supply of female nudity; lots and lots of casual sex without consequences; and the girls were often not presented in the most favorable terms. Even in Summer Lovers, both of the women become the man’s lovers, but no relationship between them was depicted. I suppose the 80’s was not quite ready for such images on the mainstream screen.
All these many years later, I don’t even remember how Summer Lovers ends or if the characters came to any resolution. Because even as a teenager, and with the naked bodies filling the screen, I couldn’t miss what was the real star of the movie for me: Santorini. It took me another almost 35 years to visit, but it was certainly worth the wait. It turns out- just as I’d suspected as a teenager and regardless of what the movie’s plot would have you think- engaging in a threesome while visiting is really not needed to enjoy Santorini.
Located in the Aegean Sea, Santorini (or Thíra) is actually a small group of islands in the southernmost part of the Cyclades, and includes Thíra, Thirassiá, Asproníssi, Palea and Nea Kaméni. The Santorini islands were formed from very intense volcanic activity beginning hundreds of thousands of years ago, and are still classified as an active volcano today. A unique feature of the volcano is that its crater- or caldera- is in the sea. Its last “big” eruption was some 3600 years ago and destroyed the prehistoric civilization that flourished in the local area, and the most recent volcanic activity on the island was recorded in 1950.
Getting to and from Santorini
Arrival by Air: On our first trip, Todd and I found ourselves unexpectedly traveling in Greece without a solid itinerary or much prep work. See: Europe Without Reservations.
After spending several wonderful days on Crete we decided to move on to Santorini. This first trip to Greece was in March and certainly “off-season.” However, that afforded us the opportunity-even last minute-to take advantage of inexpensive fares on the low-price regional airlines that service Europe. Had we been traveling during the busy season, we perhaps could have booked passage on a ferry taking us directly to Santorini from Crete. But the low-season ferry schedule did not permit this. Our only real choice was to fly through Athens. We were able to book the tickets a couple of days before we flew for about 50 euro each on Aegean Airlines. Depending on the times of the year, and when you book your tickets, you can find much lower available fares.
Tips and notes:
- The airport at Santorini is small and crowded during scheduled arrivals and departures. The airport internet is easily overwhelmed and of little use. I was glad that I had taken the time to write down the necessary contact information for our lodging before leaving the Athens airport. We were arriving after 10 pm, and without a useful internet connection at the Santorini airport, we would have been lost upon arrival without my notes. Instead, we were easily able to connect with our hotel driver once we arrived.
- Depending on where you are staying many hotels arrange transportation to and from the airport for an additional charge. Beyond that, your options are to use the public bus service or shuttles/taxi services offered by transportation companies on the island. Via the bus, you can travel to all towns and villages on the island. It is the cheapest way to travel, but you can also spend a good deal of time waiting. Bus tickets are issued inside the bus during the trip.
- Car rental services are available in the airport arrival area.
Arrival by Ferry: During our second trip to Greece we were traveling in May. While still not the “high season” travelers encounter in July or August, many more folks were certainly coming and going between Athens and Santorini. Once again, we made a last-minute booking originating in Athens, but decided to take a ferry from the Athens port in Piraeus. The idea of a ferry ride seemed like a romantic notion at the time, and in the end it was an overall positive experience. But at the same time, I wouldn’t necessarily do it again:
Tips and notes:
- There are many companies to choose from, but we opted for Blue Star Ferries. The ferry from Athens for Santorini leaves at 0730 necessitating arrival at the Blue Star ferry terminal around 0630. It made for an early morning. We traveled from our hostel in Plaka (old town Athens) via the Athens metro which was easy enough to navigate. The metro trip took the better part of an hour. The walk from the metro stop in Piraeus to the terminal for our ferry was easily a couple of miles according to our pedometers. With our backpacks in tow we hiked it, not understanding what we were getting ourselves into. It didn’t look that far on the map! I would take a cab the next time to ensure an on time arrival at the ferry.
- The particular spring day we traveled to Santorini via ferry was a very chilly morning. We had booked economy passage on the ferry and it was a VERY cold and damp ride. The main section of the economy ticket seating areas of the ferry was also the designated smoking section. I wouldn’t make that mistake again. However, as I explored the other areas of the ferry, I don’t believe any were much better off. Sure the seating provided was more plush and there was less draft, but it was very crowded anywhere you went on the ferry. I did get a peek at the “business/first class” sections of the ferry which looked like the place to be. However, unless I was traveling with a car that necessitated a ferry trip-for the ticket price-I would much rather fly instead.
- Once the day warmed up a bit, Todd and I spent a good deal of time enjoying the sea views the ferry ride afforded us from outside deck chairs. The trip took most of the day, and the ferry made several stops on other islands on its way from Athens to Santorini. We passed the time reading books and playing cards. The lunch available from the on-board restaurant was tasty enough.
- On arrival at the port in Santorini, we were met with a wall of people, cars, and buses in every direction. While planning for the trip, we had carefully studied which city bus we needed to get ourselves on for the ride to the main bus terminal in Fira and found it easily enough. We rode to the bus terminal where our daughter and niece, who were traveling with us, were able to walk to their hostel. Todd and I took another bus to the village of Emporió where our Airbnb was located.
- This particular trip to Santorini with our daughter and niece was a leg of a larger journey designed to teach them how to travel throughout Europe as frugal twenty-somethings. I’m glad to have experienced traveling by ferry around the islands with them. But in the future, I think I’d rather stick to flights in and out of Santorini. Although someday I might try the more expensive high-speed ferry options….It was a beautiful day at sea.
Departure: We have departed by air both times we’ve traveled to Santorini. In both instances we took flights in the evening arriving in Athens late.
Tips and notes:
- On our first trip we happened to be staying in Fira and easily arranged for airport transportation at the taxi stand in the town’s main square. It was slightly cheaper than what our hotel could arrange for us. However, it is easy to call a taxi for pick up from other areas of the island. Fares depend on pick-up and drop-off locations.
- As mentioned, the Santorini airport is small and crowded during times of arrivals and departures. It’s very important to arrive with plenty of time to get through security and to your gate. Once you arrive in the small gate area, seats can be at a premium. It’s not uncommon to have to stand or stake out a place on the floor to sit and wait for your flight to be called. There is an outdoor deck area for waiting as well, where we enjoyed card games. Options for snacks and drinks in the airport beyond security are minimal.
- On both our return trips from Santorini, we were routed through Athens. Once in Athens, before we were able to board a plane for the next leg of our journey, we had to again be screened through airport security. European airlines are much stricter about carry-on luggage size than you find in American airports. Also, be mindful of the liquids in carry-on luggage. Todd has had his “travel size” contact solution taken away from him more times than he cares to be reminded of when passing through Athens.
- When shopping for low regional fares on airlines such as Aegean or Ryan Air, the lowest fares are, of course, for early morning and late evening departures/arrivals. Athens is a very convenient airport for late arrivals. In one instance, we were able to take the metro into Athens arriving at our hostel in time for a lovely midnight dinner in the neighborhood. The last train leaves the airport at roughly 2330. The buses run 24 hours, however. On another occasion we were able to take a bus from the airport arriving at our hostel and our much needed beds at 0300.
Santorini continued: Part II…. LINK