Imagine the sparkling waters of the Aegean Sea, the white buildings with blue domes, the narrow streets all on a small little Greek island. It's no wonder why Santorini became an Instagram sensation.
Santorini isn't an easy island to get to. For one it is a small island and lacks the airport size for many airlines to land. This means that only 2 airline carriers land in Santorini - Olympic (Aegean) & Sky Express. Olympic has a monopoly of island hopping airlines in Greece so we chose Olympic.
The other way to get to Santorini is by boat or a ferry or cruise ship. Most people choose the cruise ship route. This might be a more economical way since flights to Santorini are quite pricey.
We got to Santorini from Athens right after sunset. The sunsets in Santorini are legendary. But that would have to wait until tomorrow. The town we stayed at was Fira. There are a number of towns in Santorini but the two most popular are Oia (north), Fira (west). These two towns showcase the idyllic white hotels and blue domes.
We stayed at the Asteras Villas which had a 9.2 rating on Booking.com. Anything over a 9 on booking seems to be a good bet. Our hotel manager Andreas ordered a taxi to pick us up from the airport. Andreas and the bell boy greeted us at the hotel and took our suitcase down the steps. Because of the location of the hotel (overlooking the sea), the steps are steep and are of different sizes. I was worried about falling and was careful when I walked down the steps. We went into Andreas' office and checked in. He was very thorough in his explanation of the island. After our conversation with him, I wish every hotel manager was able to provide us more information about the place we are visiting. We also ordered breakfast. One amenity of this hotel is that they serve breakfast to your room every morning.
The room also had a jacuzzi outside and a patio. The inside of the room was smaller than expected, but the king size bed and shower was nice. We were minutes away from Fira's main street where the bars and small shops were.
The downside to going to Santorini in winter is that many businesses take off. However it is less crowded and services tend to be cheaper. I guess you pick your poison. For me I loved it, we didn't get a chance to go on a wine sunset tasting or a cooking class. That would have to wait until later. I loved having the streets to ourselves and the restaurants less crowded.